ragtags studio central: sarah's random this & that

random means "having no definite aim or purpose," (1655), taken from "at random" (1565), "at great speed" (thus, "carelessly, haphazardly"). In 1980s college student slang, it somehow, and sadly, acquired a distinct sense of "inferior, undesirable." (Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper) Well, okay, fine, Mr. Online Etymology Dictionary person, but THIS is the 21st Century. It's a whole new ball of wax.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

This gorgeous mermaid, which now hangs on my wall, was cut from a steel drum by the Haitian artist Nanu, who lives in a Muñoz batéy (Haitian refugee village) in the Dominican Republic. In July of 2012, while visiting the DR for two very short weeks, I became fast friends with his daughter Esmaylove, a jewelry designer in the same batéy. Esmaylove - pronounced Is My Love! - runs the Haitian art shop there. Housed in a tiny tin shack with a dirt floor, its walls and a rustic wooden shelf or two covered with Nanu's steels cuts, Esmaylove's bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, a few paintings, and some darling miniature bottle cap and tin chairs by their friends and neighbors, the art shop serves as both a spirited public gathering place, and an austere gallery which provides a small but essential income for the artists of the batéy.