This piece “Walking Through Cancer Together," is a cartoon drawing of my Mom and I walking with each other, holding hands, wearing masks with alternative-style outfits as we reminisce about her cancer journey and the success of Sista Creatives Rising.

This artwork shows the supportive relationship my Mom and I have and how we embrace each other's disabilities. Throughout her cancer treatment last year, where she lost her mobility due to a lymphoma tumor on her spine and had a 50% chance of paralysis, my Mom fought to walk again. After a high-risk spinal surgery, she became one of the 1% to learn to walk again. While we both navigated the exact same diagnosis of C-PTSD, agoraphobia, and panic disorder caused by racial trauma, she had to manage physical and occupational therapy, chemo, and radiation. Realizing we had the same diagnoses, we supported each other through this traumatizing cancer experience, trudging through the hard times while trying to find the beauty in it all. Decorating her red cane with washi tape and cherry blossoms exemplifies how we coped with my Mom's mobility loss.

I also wanted to show how fashion, in a way, is an access tool for us. Dealing with increasing racial and disability-based discrimination as people move on from the ongoing pandemic and being one of the few still masking her in NH, fashion has been a way to reduce anxiety and build confidence and pride within ourselves. Growing up in a state less than 2% Black, I always stood out and was bullied because of it. I might as well take advantage of standing out and try to embrace it by using fashion inspired by my time in Japan, a peaceful time when I felt accepted and cared for.

ID: A digital cartoon drawing of
Claire & Amaranthia sits on top of a digital collage of a digitally drawn sunflower field. Photos of Claire’s cancer journey, from photos of her spinal scar to pictures of her first steps after surgery and photos of Amaranthia and Claire celebrating Sista Creatives Rising’s Art & Mind event. Hand drawn text bubbles that are white with red handwriting explain the imagery. The two cartoon drawings are drawn with white and black outlines, making them look like a cut-out pasted on the collage.
Amaranthia, to the left, is walking forward with her left leg in front of her. You can see she's wearing a black and white platform boot. She has long locs tinted blue decorated with silver and gold cuffs. Her eyebrows are blue dots, and she has spiky eyeliner. She is wearing a paisley print KN95 and a spiky black choker. Her shirt is a sheer fishnet with a blue denim crop top. The crop top has a large silver zipper and chains swinging on each side. Silver eyelets cover the crop top. The pants are flare style and have tiny black and grey dots. Around her waist is a black and metal studded waist belt with swinging lunar moons attached. In her right hand is a cartoon drawing of a square white portable mini HEPA filter with a brown handle. Behind her is her left hand reaching backward, holding her Mom's hand.

Claire is a fuller-bodied Black woman with a shaved head, and silver fade. She's wearing large red and gold glasses with a gold chain attached. Over her mouth is a zebra print KN95, and she's wearing a zebra print cloth choker. She's wearing a silver Tree of Life necklace, a brown bead necklace, and a tiny necklace with two rose gold and gold hearts. The woman is wearing a black shirt under a large flowing grey jaguar print kimono-inspired top. The top ties in the middle. Her pants are palazzo style and are sprinkled with shades of brown, reminiscent of watercolor splotches and splashes of coffee. She's walking forward, next to her daughter, with a red cane decorated with a Japanese-style print showcasing pink and red cherry blossoms. She's wearing combat-style black boots decorated with a red plaid print.