Teresa Jenkins

Antelope Console
quarter sawn black walnut wood
34 x 48 x 12 in.

My family eats gumbo on special occasions. The crabs, shrimp, chicken and sausage are separate but essential ingredients for a good broth.

My parents grew up picking cotton in the South. I came up in the sixties as Negro, then black. I revere nature and her multitude of colors and rhythms because of my parent’s rural upbringing. I realized early on that my skin color made a difference.

The ingredients of my life created the woman I am. My African heritage influences my work just as the gumbo broth seeps in, around, over and through to flavor everything in the pot.

© Teresa Jenkins