The Beauty Of Seeing Ourselves
I started hash-tagging see beauty and find art a while ago on many of my creative contents and instastories as a call to myself to honor beauty when it strikes me and let art be my compass. And in doing so, it has led me to realize that showing both the beauty in many things, small or big and finding art were words of affirmation to myself and inspiration to others.
Martine and Velouse is wearing the Monochromatic Pink Starfish Earrings
The great Toni Morrison has said — “I think of beauty as an absolute necessity. I think finding, incorporating and then representing beauty is I don’t think we can do without it any more than we can do without dreams or oxygen.”
It was an absolute necessity to bring attention to the beauty of seeing ourselves in this Valentine campaign starring Martine Pierre and Velouse Joseph. Their immense beauty was palpable on set on December 8th. My job was to showcase the depth of their beauty, a job they made easy.
Martine wears the Upcycle - Kajou Earrings and Velouse wears The Upcycle Choublak Pin
She is The KADOKÉLÉ Woman
Meet the ever-radiant Martine, the original KADOKÉLÉ woman. A pillar in her community for many years, her list of achievements spans from being a dedicated Day Program Director at Toward Independant Living and Learning, Inc (TILL), a radio personality, a dancer, a singer and the best host.
She has supported KADOKÉLÉ from the beginning. She owns countless of pieces and undoubtedly, the best of my creations. Her agreeing and trusting me to be a part of this campaign is something that I will forever treasure. She does it all with warmth, grace and humor. An all-around powerhouse of beauty.
There is power and beauty in the trail blazed that brings you to where you are exactly meant to be. Meet Velouse Joseph, her story is nothing short of inspiring. She studied dance at the Jean Appolon Expressions' Summer Dance Institute in Port-au-Prince, Haiti from 2013-2018. She also assisted Jean in her hometown of Arcahaie at the organization Hope on a String (HOAS). Velouse joined HOAS as instructional staff, teaching dance to younger students. In 2018, Velouse moved to Massachusetts with family and joined JAE as a professional dancer. She now teaches Haitian Folkloric classes in public schools and with the JAE community.
I dance alongside her on Saturdays at JAE Haitian Folkloric Dance. Watching her dance is a thing of beauty. It feels me with joy to see her blossom. Her relentless pursuit to craft the life she desires embodies who the KADOKÉLÉ woman is.
Both Martine and Velouse beauty, strength and grace is undeniable and inspiring to me. As an artist, my mission is to always show the depth our beauty as women, especially black Caribbean women.
