On September 15 Maya Angelou's estate held an auction of some of her art at Swann Galleries in New York. The piece that appears to have been the most sought after went for $461,000 and was bought by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, in Bentonville, Arkansas. 

What is this piece you wonder? Well it was a piece commissioned by non other than Oprah Winfrey for Ms. Angelou's 61st, and made by the award winning artist Faith Ringgold. Ringgold who creates a variety of art is known for her stories written on quilts. In fact the commissioned piece, was a quilt of a young Maya Angelou surrounded by greenery and excerpts from Angelou's autobiography, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

While watching a mini documentary of Ms. Ringgold (attached below), she expresses this powerful message that...

You can't sit around waiting for somebody else to say who you are. You need to write it and paint it and do it. That's where the art comes from. It's a visual image of who you are. That's the power of being an artist. - Faith Ringgold

Amen, and amen! I said it yesterday, you have to be true to who YOU are. Outside of the Lord your creator and you, there's nobody who can tell you who you are, so quit waiting around for someone to give you permission to follow your dreams and do what you were created to do. Time waits for no one. There's no "oh my bad, Lord add another 10 years to my life because I didn't have the guts before". You get what you get, and what you make of it is up to you. You can read more about The importance living a life of purpose here. 

In closing, I want to echo Ms. Ringgold's statement as you enter her website: "If One Can, Anyone Can. All You Gotta Do Is Try." That's all you have to do. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

Be blessed!