African Art The dawning of my soul life occurred at the age of 9 standing before a huge stuffed elephant in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. His glass eyes and long lashes were so similar to my dolls but... THAT BODY! The doors of my perception opened in that shimmering moment to the existence of other cultures and I have never recovered. Certain tribes began beckoning me: The Tarahumara, Tuareg, Dogon, Puele, Ashanti, Yoruba. In grade school we made an "Eye of God" out of colorful wool wrapped around a cross of popsicle sticks. I fell in love with ethnicity. Shopping with my mother in the streets of Washington DC, a group of Nigerians would stroll by in regional garb, followed by women in bright fluttering saris. One of my customers once said "You just have beige poisoning." I suppose that is true, I grew up in the 50's when neutral colors and straight lines were happening thing. Today I sit in my kitchen surrounded by color. My walls are Nile green, my cabinets Grecian blue with red curtains made of my old belly dance veils. Somehow, with little effort on my part, my nest has become feathered.. with Yoruba house posts, Tibetans Thankas, Contemporary art, splendid African masks, song birds, sea shells, tribal beadwork, yarn paintings and prayer flags. This love of color and ethnicity extends to my professional life through the offerings at Ruby Chasm. There, a richer still array of color, texture and form, goddess reproductions, carvings, masks, amber jewelry. All assembled to duplicate that moment of the opening of my soul. And then this questions arises: What is the common thread that connects us all in our diversity as full human beings?