Memphis Things Hoped For
A Tribute to My Tribe
I spent 13 years in Memphis, TN during which I had the opportunity to meet, work with and befriend some of the most dynamic women I have ever known. This piece of art (alternate composition below) is inspired by and dedicated to five of those women whose lives, hopes, and dreams became part of my own. We shared a love of designing, sewing, teaching, creating, and giving. So, hats off to my Memphis Tribe : Pat Jones , Ruby Dandridge, Delois Campbell, Tara Anderson, and Phyllis Benford,
I am grateful that you are all a part of my life's journey. Love you much!
About the piece
In Memphis Things Hoped For, you will find art within art as each individual shop contains a smaller piece of artwork that depicts the inside of the shop.
I did this piece in two different compositions using the same art elements. The first composition is 60" wide and 20" tall. The second is 48" wide and 32 " tall.
Ballard's Billiards
Ode to Daddy
My father was a multi-talented man and a dreamer who spent several of his early professional years as road manager for his brother and his band (Hank Ballard and the Midnighters) as they toured and performed. He never pursued a career as a musician himself, although he had a beautiful voice. However, he did play the piano and played and sang for us often - especially during the Christmas season. Growing up, I was convinced his version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" was better than the original.
My sisters and I lived with our mother and maternal grandparents in Cleveland Ohio while he was on the road. He came home as often as he could and when my brother was born, he felt it was time to be home all the time. He took a job at Babcock and Wilcox in Akron, Ohio and bought a house there and that is where we grew up. I know it came as a sacrifice to him to leave the world of entertainment and take a factory job to support his growing family. However, he did just that and he and our mother provided us with a stable home and a good life. He was successful on his job, becoming one of the first two Black supervisors at the company. However he had a desire to own two things on his own - a pool room and a restaurant.
In 1976 he was able to bring the first of his dreams to fruition when he opened Ballard's Billiards - a family friendly pool hall he called a recreation center. The hall had five championship size pool tables, a Pac-Man arcade game machine, a jukebox, and a couple of tables where regulars played dominoes. Snacks and sodas were sold behind the counter. It quickly became a favorite spot for local pool players and others who just enjoyed hanging out, listening to and laughing at the lively (often expletive-filled) banter that went on from opening until closing.
My father had a bout of illness shortly after opening and because my mother also worked I had to step in as manager for about a year. Although in my early 20's, I was rather naive and the guys who came in and out of the place seemed to get a kick out of seeing my initial discomfort with their language. However, over time, my discomfort gave way to total amusement. Those guys became family. The names of some have faded over time. However, there are some whose lives were intertwined with ours throughout the rest of their lives.
This piece is dedicated to my father, my brother Casey (who was a regular and considered a genius at the domino table) and the other colorful characters at Ballard's Billiards - Leonard "Boston" Burros, Alexander "Bud" Perkins, Jerry Baker and many others. Along with my father and brother, most of them have gone on Glory. Sometimes I imagine they are somewhere laughing together.
About the piece
Ballard's Billiards can be ordered in gallery wrapped and framed canvases and framed and unframed fine art paper in sizes 40"x30" and 32" x 24".
Fire and Rhythm
Remembering An Experience
Everyone who truly knows me, knows I am a horror movie fan. As a matter of fact, as children, one of the favorite pastimes of me and my siblings was to huddle together in front of the television , wide-eyed and conscious of every shadow and sound in our house as we watched vampires, werewolves, zombies and an assortment of other monstrous characters stalk, petrify, and sometimes slash their victims. Over the years, the horror movie experiences improved. There were enhancements in film quality, color and special effects, making the monsters more realistic and able to perform more dramatic and heinous acts. However, the story lines didn't vary enough to become that memorable to me.
Then, I accompanied my niece and a friend of hers to go see "Sinners" at one of the IMAX theaters in town. As a person who loved Black Panther, I was just looking forward to seeing a horror movie made by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordon. I expected it to be a great film; however, I wasn't expecting it to awe me in the way it did.
Overall, I found the movie to be truly unique . There were lessons and subtle messages wrapped into a colorful story embellished with a soulful musical score. However, there was one scene in particular that blew me away. It was the scene where Little Sammy took the stage and performed the blues song he wrote for his father, the pastor. The song, which begins with a typical blues cadence morphs into other music from other genres and cultures, including funk and hip hop. Patrons of the juke joint flowed to the dance floor doing the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug and were joined by others dressed in the garb of their era and nationalities. As the camera pans from room to room, you could witness everything from ritualistic drums and dances of Africa and Asia to the break dancing of the 80's, to the current twerking. The fusion of music and movement was mesmerizing and I was literally sitting in the movie theater feeling like a child on my first ride on a Ferris wheel.
That was the scene that inspired this latest piece titled "Fire and Rhythm." I wanted to capture and memorialize my own experience with the film, as well as honor the story and it's creators, actors, musicians, and others who brought it to life.
~M.G. Ballard
About the piece
Fire and Rhythm can be ordered in gallery wrapped and framed canvases and framed and unframed fine art paper in sizes 60"x30" and 40" x 20".