Ordinary People: Reflections

Watercolor on cotton paper (framed).

33x26x1"

Ordinary People: Reflections
Watercolor on paper

Inspired by the song “Ordinary People” by John Legend, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the social and political climate surrounding the 2020 U.S. election, Ordinary People: Reflections is part of an ongoing collection of quilts and watercolors exploring the humanity, resilience, and emotional interior lives of people of the African diaspora.

This watercolor reimagines an earlier quilt of the same title through faceless abstract figures dressed in rich tones reminiscent of plums, dates, and figs. Rain falls around them — symbolic of grief, sorrow, and the emotional weight of the world today — while their reflections shimmer in the puddles beneath their feet. These mirrored forms serve as a reminder that as within, so without: what is carried internally inevitably shapes what is reflected outward into the world.

Though the figures mourn inwardly, they are adorned with jeweled accessories and move through the composition with dignity, abundance, and quiet grace. The world often sees only resilience, beauty, and composure, while the deeper emotional realities remain unseen.

Created in response to the murder of George Floyd and the continued struggle for equity and human dignity, this work asks viewers to look beyond fear, division, and assumption. At its heart, Ordinary People: Reflections is a reminder that we are all ordinary people deserving of compassion, safety, opportunity, and respect.