Stems & Roots: Fabulous Flowers & Fantastic Ferns by Michelle Baptiste

michellebaptiste — 2019-08-02 06:24:31 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2019-08-02 06:24:40 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2019-08-02 06:24:41 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2019-08-02 06:29:33 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2019-08-02 06:35:26 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2019-08-02 15:22:43 UTC

My Aster/Astro Roots Poster

michellebaptiste — 2022-07-28 21:18:35 UTC

Not to be confused: astronomy and astrology 😂 I took a course in Astronomy my first year of college and had to apply all I knew of Physics and Calculus to my assignments after gazing at the Northfield, Minnesota, night sky. "Astro" also has the meaning of "distant in terms of space" --as in "astronomical increases." My father, who grew up in Houston, Texas, is a huge Astros baseball fan. The players sport a uniform emblazoned with a big orange star.

My Beyond-Grammar Lesson

michellebaptiste — 2022-08-08 02:40:13 UTC

Hope you enjoy the alliteration and my Adobe Express experiment. Please click above to expand and view my sample slide show. Note: free Adobe software and web access for all UC Berkeley students and faculty who request it: http://software.berkeley.edu BUT I do not recommend Adobe Express (the new Adobe Spark) as it is 10x slower than Google slides!

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 05:56:47 UTC

Hydrangea on Lombard Street, San Francisco (3 July 2025)

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 06:00:15 UTC

Hydrangea Serrata (Kyoto) is so much more petite and more wreathe-like than California hydrangea's big bouquets! Etymonline ORIGIN: Greek hydr-, stem of hydor "water" + angeion "vessel, capsule" so called from the shrub's cup-shaped seed pods. Native to China, introduced in England 1790.

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 06:02:10 UTC

When in Japan in 2000, I missed the chance to try lavender hydrangea soft-serve... It was 10:00 in the morning in Hakone when I saw the sign advertising the ice cream and we were going to an onsen. But I still wonder how it tastes!

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 06:08:24 UTC

Tropical Pitcher Plant - Nepenthes Ventricosa (Philippines)

MAGIC-POTION-SMALL-OPENING THING!

Root 'NEPENTHES' 1590s "a drug or magic potion of Egypt mentioned in the 'Odyssey' as capable of banishing grief or trouble from the mind," from Greek nēpenthēs, from nē = "no, not" + penthos = "pain, grief" (Etymonline)
Root 'VENT' - c. 1400, "small aperture leading into or out of an enclosed space," from Old French vent from verb eventer (Etymonline)
A VENT is what heat and air come out of too!
'COSA' - thing in Spanish

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 06:13:42 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 20:29:45 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-21 20:30:33 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:18:43 UTC

The denim "britches quilt" impressed me, and our tour guide Megan Barnett helped us see how the quiltmaker removed jeans pockets and chose to use some distressed fabrics - creating useable art by making do with what she had.

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:20:21 UTC

Puff Quilt

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:21:34 UTC

I loved the puff quilt's 3-D quality and can imagine how soft it would feel on a cold winter night. I was so impressed the quilt maker used over 500 tobacco bags/pouches she collected from family reunions and took 7 years to sew this!

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:22:18 UTC

I admire the way the curators organized and hung the quilts in such creative ways - to show the depth and daily use dimensions of the art.

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:23:07 UTC

Even our tour guide (future Folklore graduate student) Megan Barnett wore a colorful sweater - mirroring some of the brilliant shades of the quilts!

Overalls

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:24:46 UTC

The overalls quilt was so unique and included the authentic multi-medium pieces, such as the metal buckles. The perspective the quiltmaker chose to show by opening up the seam of the pants and flattening them on the quilt intrigued me and drew my eye in.

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:25:00 UTC

Tie Wave

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:26:07 UTC

The way the quiltmaker Gerstine Scott sewed the neckties together -- the way they dip and weave in a seemingly flowing movement -- is amazing. I love this one!

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:26:43 UTC

The shapes and the depth here + the way the curators hung is in a curve - I love the way this quilt almost tricks the eye.

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:27:08 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:28:03 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 18:29:13 UTC

We see the Black Cowboys from Oakland every year at our El Cerrito Martin Luther King, Jr., parade, and I always see such joy in the members of this organization! I like how this quilt commemorates all the pride with such gorgeous blues and browns.

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 21:24:14 UTC

Niambi Clay's quilt was so meaningful to me -- especially recognizing all the California history with the propositions and promises - the pendulum swing of politics affecting people's lives when it comes to education and equality.

A Full Gallery!

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-28 21:24:40 UTC

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-30 16:57:47 UTC

Symmetry - I love this quilt pattern https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/berkeley-african-american-quilt-show-20359721.php

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-30 16:59:32 UTC

Creatively patterned to be like MarbleWorks - asymmetrical with a twist!

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-30 17:30:01 UTC

Interloper on Conversations

michellebaptiste — 2025-07-30 20:34:56 UTC

“I’d rather be able to feel a marshmallow than taste a marshmallow” on July 29, 2024 (overheard at Sather Alley)

But then I heard...

“I could bite through the flesh of someone’s arm” on Jan 25, 2025