Creative Selfie Mask

Title

Description

My name is Ronita Stanford, a senior majoring in Communications with a concentration in interpersonal/organizational skills also minoring in psychology. I am super excited to get to walk this May, as I finish this summer. I started in 2016 and I must say it has been a long but rewarding ride. My interests are my children, my family, and my business. I own my own salon and I enjoy servicing beautiful people every day. I say I work on blank canvases daily, or works of art that just need a little enhancing. I have been open for 10 yrs this year and I am very humbled and blessed by this opportunity. As a child, I enjoyed creating looks of expression with my hair. As an Cosmetologist, we have to learn about colors, lines, shapes, elevations, and more. All associated with the arts. Something else interesting I have a radio show that I do on a local station.
Well, the project at first I was going to recreate an image, yet in light of the current events, I can say that it greatly influenced and inspired me to change to my selfie mask. The mask and shirt that I am wearing are from an organization called BlackVotersMatterFund.org. An organization dedicated to make sure that My voice matters. It reads; "I Matter, You Matter, We Matter: Black Voters Matter". Yes, it is a protective mask that has a place for carbon filters and I do wear it if you go out in public. So my process was more of ordering the mask and cutting it to fit a filter into it for added protection and sometimes I wear an extra mask for added protection. I took several poses of myself using a timer and a selfie stick and emailed it to myself. Then I edited the picture and uploaded it.

It represents who I am because of the statement that it makes. This is also sediment to my feelings of how I have dealt with the Coronavirus situation, humbly by grace trusting that my Lord would see us through. The woman in the picture represents a strong black woman, confident in who she is embedded in different patterns and colors. Yet carefully complimenting her skin tone and dress. It represents me.

I took this selfie as a statement to continue to speak for all Black people and people period who vote. I feel no one deserves to have this right taken from us, everyone should have a chance to cast their vote, no matter which side you vote for just vote. After this current election, it has become apparent that our Black voters/votes matter if not why are they fighting so hard to stop it. As a Black 45 yr old woman, I have voted ever since I was able after 18, and I have never seen such hate and violence as I did after the current election. So I chose this mask, as a statement that I wear daily. As I do Matter, We Matter, You Matter, and Our Vote really matter. And I wear it even more now after Georgia passed that unprecedented bill to suppress voters' rights. This virus and current election brought out behaviors never seen before from people, and I feel it's vitally important to continue to fight and speak up for the rights of Black people in America today. Especially as we relive and watch the trial of Mr. Floyd we know there are still massive changes that we still need to make.

This mask was created as an assignment for Susan Ludeke's ART 1910: Art Appreciation course.

Coverage

Greenville, North Carolina

Creator

Stanford, Ronita

Date

2021-04

Item