10.11.2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY SIS, BRENDA DULAN-MOORE

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

This is a birthday shout out to my  baby sister Brenda - Chicago's finest muralist and artiste extraordinaire.  Her work is on display in the Chicago Museum of Art. - Brenda was an artistic genius from the day she was born.  She has more talent in her little left pinky finger than most artists have in all their body of work.   But that's not the only reason why I love her!!  

I'm so proud of her - particularly since she survived me - i.e. I was a tough big sister.  But Brenda always maintained her cool - which is the way Librans do - they are mad cool!  Aries are always over the top - LIBRANS just flow with it and remain elegantly serene.  

We were the first two for a long time in our family - our two brothers came later.

The first time I ever saw Brenda she was sleeping in the top of a dresser that Mom had lined with a pillow, because where we lived at the time was so small there was only one bedroom and we all slept together.  

When we later moved to a larger house - a shotgun house, we had two bedrooms but we slept together in one bed, and our parents had the other.  

 Mom was a stay at home mom then - so we got a lot of attention.  She always made all our clothes and dressed us up like twins - even though we weren't.  People used to ask if we were - used to really annoy me  - it was clear that we didn't look like twins - well, at least I didn't think so - Brenda had a head full of hair that went down to her waist (what we called Indian grade) and my hair was shorter.  

We managed to get into a sufficient amount of mischief to keep our parents on their toes. 

We used to play trampoline on our parents beds and jump up and down til the slats fell out - then we were too skinny to pick the bed back up - so you know that was a behind whipping.  

We used to make mud pies in the back yard, and trample it into the house - another behind whipping. 
We used to run in and out of the freshly washed sheets on the clothes line and get them dirty again - another behind whipping.  

Continued after the break:

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But we would also play dress up and put on Mom's high heels and her hats and dresses and have tea in the living room with our dolls.  Great fun.  

Or sit on the front porch and shake up the root beer in the bottles until they fizzed all over the place.  More fun.  

Or play hide and seek with all our friends on the block; or roast weenies in the back yard; or make potted meat sandwiches (primarily because Brenda couldn't/wouldn't cook) when it was her turn to do the food.  Yuck!  

Or sit up all night in bed and tell each other silly stories - and Daddy would come in and say "I bet you better go to sleep, or you'll be in trouble."  And we'd pull the sheets over our heads and giggle all night, because we knew he didn't mean it.

Or the times when Daddy would come home from the Split-T with bar-b-q'd ribs, and we'd talk him out of half of them.  Yumm!

Or swinging in the swing set that Daddy put up for us in the back yard to see who could go the highest. 

Or hanging upside down by our knees on the jungle gym til our faces turned red (oh wait, that was me). 

Or playing hop scotch and jump rope in the driveway.

Or swinging from the rope on the Lucky Bean tree and then seeing who could jump the farthest.

And we would sit with Mom and look through all her photo albums - Mother should have been a model - she was drop dead gorgeous.  
Or licking the spoon and the egg beater after Mom made a cake from scratch - it was always a fight to see who would get the bowl. 

Or when we would sit in the middle of the living room floor with Mom and eat freshly popped popcorn and draw pictures - Brenda was definitely an artist from day one.  She won a "Draw Me Contest" at age 9, and was offered a full scholarship to go to art school - they held it for her til she graduated from High School.

We used to recite poetry from Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Langston Hughes and other famous poets - and have contests to see who could say it the fastest.

Brenda was the "good" kid.  I was always in hot water - she'd see me get switched and decide she wanted no parts of that; kept her out of a lot of trouble - so you see, I was a good example for her (LOLOLOLOL!!)

I remember when Brenda went away to college - she went to Central State in Wilberforce, OH; I  was already at  Hampton (and then later transferred to Lincoln U); she came back her Freshman year with her hair completely cut off - Daddy had a hissy fit - Brenda's hair  used to hang down her back - like Mom's - she didn't even save  him a braid -as was part of the tradition - don't think he ever got over that.  (Of course that was nothing to my coming home  my Junior with my hair in an Afrol!! - they quickly got over her hair  cut - nappy hair was even more scandalous than a short hair cut Black then - once again I saved her from hot water - the focus shifted to getting me to "straighten" my hair. I never did, though. LOL

We're proud of our Black and Indian Heritage - and Brenda has done a wonderful series of art work and jewelry designs reflecting that - including a fantastic portrait of our Maternal Grandmom who was Cherokee and our Paternal Grandmom who was Black and Creek.  

The interesting thing is that neither of us returned to Oklahoma City to live - she moved to Chicago; I moved to New York.  We both consider each other's city "dangerous" LOL.

I featured some of her art work on my Blog last year - but that was only a sampling of the wonderful work she does - Brenda has a beautiful heart, mind, soul and spirit, and it shows in the work she does.  

Here's the link.

http://gloria-dulan-wilson.blogspot.com/2015/07/by-gloria-dulan-wilson-hello-all-ive.html

So this is 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY SIS  BRENDA DULAN-MOORE!!!

LUV4U from 

Gloria Jeanne

Stay Blessed &

ECLECTICALLY BLACK 

7.03.2015

Introducing Artiste Extraordinaire - and my Sister - BRENDA DULAN-MOORE OF CHICAGO

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

I've had this in my heart to do for quite some time, but have allowed other things, ideas and events to intervene. But one should never sit on a hunch, or an impulse, especially if it's a good one - such as this - and that is to introduce you to my sister, Brenda.

I've mentioned her from time to time. She's the second kid in the family. I was the first born. She's as quiet as I am outgoing. Probably because she's a Libra and I'm an Aries.

But the thing that I love most about Brenda, is the fact that she is an artistic genius, and has been since the age of 9. Our mom, Ruby Love, always encouraged us to develop our talents. She would study what it was we had a tendency toward, and then would work with us on it. Mom herself had a fabulous voice, and was somewhat of an artist; but the most she ever did was sing in the church choir.

MY SHERI AMOUR BY BRENDA DULAN-MOORE - IS A PORTRAIT OF MY NIECE, HER DAUGHTER, SHERI AT AGE 10 WEARING HER MOM'S HIGH HEELS

She would get all kinds of coloring books, connect the dots, blank sheets of paper and teach us how to draw. Starting with stick figures, she'd show us as much as she could about how to draw human figures. We would find stuff around the house or yard and create things out of them - our little contests would be to see who could come up with the best idea.

The upshot of it was that Brenda was able to draw faces by the time she was five. By the time she was 9, she was doing portraits. So much so that she secretly entered one of the old fashioned DRAW ME contests that used to appear in the back of comic books. Her work was so good that they actually came to our home to offer her a full artist scholarship - not knowing that she was only 9 years old! They actually were so impressed with her work that they promised to hold it until she got ready to attend college.

Brenda has that rare talent that can paint, draw, sculpt without having ever had lessons. Our home in Oklahoma City, and her home in Chicago are both full of her artwork.

I am taking this time to introduce her work to you because it's apparent that it's a widely kept secret in Chicago, just as Obama was, but no one outside that realm seems to know about it. It's high time you found out what you're missing.

I was so surprised and proud when I found that her work was being exhibited in the Chicago Metropolitan Museum of Art! Wow! But she was so quiet and non-assuming, that it took Mother to get her to show me the book - with pages and pages of her artistry.

BLOSSOM HEATH BY BRENDA DULAN MOORE - is a portrait of my Mom and Dad - Warner and Ruby Dulan (left) at a Black Country Club in Oklahoma City, Black in the day - it was taken from an actual photo that sits on our mantel piece at home.

I am so proud of her - and the fact that she's her own internal inspiration. Art just oozes out of her - always has, and always will. This is a clip of her statement from the catalogue:

Brenda Dulan Moore

Chicago, IL - United States

objects and have created works from found objects and have produced 3D art work by combining several mediums. Art in one form or another has always been in my life. It is something that I will always do." She's featured in

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"Creating soulful Traditional Art is my passion. I am skilled portrait artist and I have produced a compilation of unique painting/prints of numerous subjects. I also have fine art that I have created from my own designs. I love drawing faces, especially lips and hair. I also illustrate animals. I have expanded my artistic vision to landscapes/still life, etc. My usual medium is acrylics. I also Illustrate in pencil, Ink, digitally, etc. .
I am a proficient digital artist and I have amassed a collection of vivid digitally generated designs. I meld my traditional artistic and computer skills together to create stunning visual art. My vision is to present my art to the public for their enjoyment.
I was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. My Mother started me drawing stick people as a small child. My Father colored my people purple to give me a sense of who I am. I have always worked with my hands. I have created works from found

This is just some of the art work Brenda has done - her genius extends to interior design, duvet covers, logos, clothing and a host of other products. Check her out and "LIKE HER" on FaceBook - or in the catalogue of the Chicago Metropolitan Museum of Art.
And if you get to Chicago, and get an opportunity to meet her, tell her you're a friend of mine.
I am so proud of my "Baby Sis!" I think you'll like her as well.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson