Sensibilities 2.9: Fierce & lovely

This year's Workshop Workshop is officially ONE MONTH AWAY. Huzzah! There's still room at camp if you'd like to come join us this summer -- head on over to Register for more information on how to make that happen!

In the meantime, here's some of the far-ranging resources, ideas, and inspirations that have been bouncing around in our heads this month, in the hopes that they pique your interest, jumpstart your creativity, or simply add a little intrigue to your day -- happy exploring!

1 is the art of Amy Sherald, known for painting Michelle Obama's official portrait and her stunning, dreamlike portraits of black Americans, which are all named by her sister:

from the top:

Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)

What's precious inside of him does not care to be known by the mind in ways that diminish its presence (All American)

Try on dreams until I find the one that fits me. They all fit me

a conversation with Amy Sherald / her website / more about her and her work

2 is author Michael Chabon's loving account of a trip to Paris fashion week with his fashion-conscious 13-year-old son:

From GQ:

"He looked at me, a funny expression on his face. I realized that the reason he'd had such a great time [at the Pigalle show] was because I had not been present. I had not been his father, or his friend, this past week. I had only been his minder. I was a drag to have around a fashion show, and because I could not enter fully into the spirit of the occasion, neither could Abe. He was worrying about me, watching me, wondering if I was having a good time or not, if I thought the shaggy Muppet pants, for example, were as stupid as the look on my face seemed to suggest.

'It wasn't the show, really,' I suggested as his eyes filled with tears. 'Was it? It was the people you were with, the GQ guys, the buyers, that dude who owns Wild Style.'

'They get it,' he said. 'They know everything about all the designers, and the house, and that's what they care about. They love to talk about clothes. They love clothes.'

You are born into a family and those are your people, and they know you and they love you and if you are lucky they even, on occasion, manage to understand you. And that ought to be enough. But it is never enough. Abe had not been dressing up, styling himself, for all these years because he was trying to prove how different he was from everyone else. He did it in the hope of attracting the attention of somebody else—somewhere, someday—who was the same. He was not flying his freak flag; he was sending up a flare, hoping for rescue, for company in the solitude of his passion."

full text / more about family from Michael Chabon

3 is Janelle Monáe's bold, queer, Afrofuturist, infectious "emotion picture" Dirty Computer:

listen to the album / more about Janelle Monáe / more about Metropolis, the sci-fi universe of her early work

4 is this unlikely singalong, thanks to They Might Be Giants, Chumbawamba, and the magical musical matchmaking powers of the AV Club: