Writer, Artist, and Psychologist Melissa Blount with Jamie Thome

On September 3rd, we talked with writer and artist (and psychologist) Melissa Blount.  Melissa Blount is a licensed clinical psychologist, writer, and artist who creates textile art and quilts exploring the notions of trauma and white supremacy.   

Through community sewing circles, she cultivates unique opportunities for people to bear witness to the unjust and violent loss of life in communities of color.   

Historic and contemporary influences include: Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Frances E. Willard, Mary Ann Pettway, Chyna Pettway, the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective, Amos Kennedy, Ben Blount, Gwendolyn Brooks, Krista Franklin, Bryan Stevenson, Isabel Wilkerson, and Claudia Rankine.  During this Quarantour, we talked extensively about the murder of Breonna Taylor, and how art can be both an act of protest and a way to deal with grief. 

If you would like to view previous Quarantours, please visit the Evanston Bound page on the Artists Book House website or our youtube channel.       

And, if you like programming like this and would like to see more from Artists Book House, consider donating today!