Hello Ms. Ringgold, Wow-you have a blog! I am floored but not surprised, as your work has always been at eye,heart & spirit level with myself and others in my life-particularly my 10 year old daughter. You are truly a present and sharing artist. So, Thank You! Your work is so appreciated and we LOVED your show this Spring!

I'm writing to you here, because I found a beautiful print on cotton in a thrift store in the Bronx, several months ago. I was drawn to the piece by its strength, spirit and universal projection of a pause in a moment of Womanity. Lofty description perhaps, but the best I can give.

This image is a solid black silhouette of a female form in a backlit archway, wearing a garment covering her head and body -down to her ankles. It is beautiful. and although it has been crudely 'stretched' onto a very rough, homemade frame, its strength and voice are powerful. I had to have it in my life for longer!

Upon getting it home and sharing it with my family, we noticed a small, almost pencil or dry ink-like signature. It reads Catlett.
Hard to say if it was rendered by that incredible artist herself- but certainly, the form speaks to her characteristically human, organic strength. However, we have never seen anything by Elizabeth Catlett on fabric-even though she did integrate fabric into some works.

Needless to say, we were dubious at first- but that led to so many questions and detailed observations; The medium and subject matter were unlike ANY other we'd ever seen by the great Elizabeth Catlett-perhaps lino or wood cut, impressed on cotton batik -type cloth, a 'copyright' encircled c before the Catlett. There is another marking before both, which is interesting, as it is also clearly hand-applied. The mystery is daily unfolding.
I've spoken with a few 'authorities' on her bodies of work and they have either dismissed the notion due to the described medium, that it was even remotely possible connected with the incredible E Catlett. However, the insistence in myself struggles with such dismissals.
As an educator yourself, with many reproduced original artworks(books, etc), have you any notion if Ms Catlett would have used cuts- or sold them for the purpose of instructive printmaking? This subject matter is not represented anywhere I've ever seen-and yet there IS a palpable, familiar strength and feminine power to this entire piece.

Whether by Elizabeth Catlett-or connected to her in any way-or not, it's a beautiful work. My thought to reach out to you is not because I believe you to be a Catlett scholar, but because you too are a strong and spirited woman artist of our age, reaching eyes, spirits and minds through your shared work.

I'd love to send you a few pictures of it, as my desire is to free this cloth from the stressful 'stretcher' situation, which shows evidence of wear at its contacts. As for the dirt here and there, I'll just leave it for now.

Warmly,
Simone Colina

Are you an educator? parent/learner