March 18, 2025 • 31 mins
This episode's guest is multidisciplinary artist, textile designer, and author Malene Barnett. From her Caribbean heritage (St. Vincent & Jamaica) to her latest book, Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers, Malene shares insights on art, storytelling, and preserving cultural traditions.
Discover the power of art, kinship, and cultural identity as Malene reflects on her journey, the inspiration behind her work, and the importance of documenting our creative legacy.
🔗 Connect with Malene:
🌍 Website: https://www.malenebarnett.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malene.barnett/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofCarry On Friends the Caribbean
American experience.
I am so excited, well, excited.
I kind of said that for all theguests, but it's because I
truly mean it.
I am particularly excited tohave Malaney Barnett on the
podcast.
Malaney is big bad artistrunning place no, not dance hall
artist, but the original typeof artist.
(00:26):
So, Maleni, welcome to thepodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Thank you, Kerri-Ann.
I am super excited to talk toyou today.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Oh, wow.
So why don't you tell thecommunity of friends a little
bit about who you are, Caribbeancountries you represent and the
work that you do?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Sure.
Well, I am a multidisciplinaryartist, a textile designer,
community builder and now authorof the book Crafted Kinship
Inside the Creative Practices ofContemporary Black Caribbean
Makers.
My mother is from St Vincentand the Grenadines and my father
is Jamaican.
I am based in Brooklyn, newYork, but I grew up in a small
(01:03):
town called Norwalk, connecticut.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Malini, I'm so excited to talk to you on so
many levels.
I have notes upon notes, likein a previous lifetime I worked
with a textile designer and herdesigns used to be at Knoll
Designs and she did, yes, mydear and I was there, knowing
Weft and Warp, and they had alube in the studio back in 1999.
(01:27):
Nobody aged myself and theywork on quark for the patterns
and all of these things, andthen we also.
They worked with Prince Streetand Bentley for carpet, and so
yes, I know all them places.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I know all of that yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yes, my dear, I'm going to call the lady and I'm
going to tell her off the ear.
As soon as I said textile, Iremember I was like, oh, I did
this.
But it was a fun experience forme because I remember for the
carpet, when the palms used tocome in because it was woven, so
we had to look at the color,sometimes the black, and that's
(02:06):
when I learned when black hastoo much red in it and if the
dye lots are different, one havetoo much yellow, too much red.
I was like, look at me withskills.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Oh, my goodness, that , yes, you, yes.
That is so funny.
I mean, even though I went toFIT studying textile design and
that's where I discovered rugdesign, I didn't even know it
was a profession.
I said, well, I could do this,make money, like I could draw
paint and make these images andturn them into, you know,
objects that people, many peoplecan experience.
(02:35):
So, yes, it's still my love, Istill love designing rugs.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Listen, I came up with a database to help this
woman make sure she get herroyalties and they were
royalties for the sales.
So I'm like, but we're nottalking about that person, we're
talking about you.
So Vinci Yadi Heritage In yourBones.
Let's start off with tell methe first time you fell in love
(03:02):
with being an artist using yourhands.
I think you use your hands insome things designing.
Tell me, what was that firstexperience where you're just
like I love this.
I want to do this?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Well, you know, it's interesting, I've been drawing
ever since I was eight years old.
You know, I got selected for anartistically talented program
and we would draw and paint on aweekly basis and that's when I
really started to connect withthe materials, right, and I
would love to draw.
I love to draw portraits, so Iwould draw my friends.
(03:35):
I draw my cousin who was livingwith me at the time, my baby
cousin.
But check this out, it wasn'tuntil I was an adult and I
started looking at my paintingsfrom childhood and I saw how I
said wait, all the skin tonesare of white people, right, and
I'm a dark brown girl.
And my baby cousin, he wasdarker than me.
(03:57):
So, but what I realized was,back in that day, our teacher,
she only taught us how to mixskin tones up to a certain shade
, and so I wasn't even allowedto mix anything darker than a
certain shade of brown.
And so all my portraits were,you know, of my white female
friends at the time, and then Ieven had to change my cousin to
(04:19):
look like a white baby baby.
But you know, even though thatexperience inspired my work, my
studio practice now I alwaysloved to create and portraiture
still lives.
I used to draw still lives offabric just because I love the
(04:39):
folds and how, the way the lightwould hit it, not realizing
later in my career that I wouldbe designing fabrics Right.
So I studied painting andphotography at SUNY Purchase.
So when it was time for collegeI had a very supportive art
teacher May she rest in peace.
She passed away last year, butshe was super supportive of my
work and she made sure we hadour portfolio ready.
(05:02):
She, back in the day, wasphotographing our work via
slides.
There was no digital camerasand nothing like that.
But when it was time for artschool she was like you're going
to go to art school?
It wasn't like a question, like, are you going to go to art
school?
And so then of course I did,and I went to SUNY Purchase,
studied painting and photographyfor two years.
(05:24):
It wasn't enough for me.
So then I transferred to FIT,studied fashion illustration,
later on got the bachelor's intextile design and that's when I
knew I found my love for makingobjects.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, Wow, wow.
I really love that storybecause for the last couple of
years I've I don't want to sayobsessed, but I've been
obsessing with baby Carrie,because there's this innocence
and freedom that I felt I had atthat young age.
(05:56):
And I go back to what everyonewould comment and say is
peculiar, like, oh, you know,that's just Carrie, she loves
chat All these things.
And you know, like those, justCarrie, she loves chat, all
these things.
And you know, like those wereearly glimpses of things that we
come to enjoy.
So in hearing that story I feelthe same way, like we
innocently were doing things,but it was really what was
(06:16):
already placed in us to do.
We just needed to be nurturedalong the path.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, exactly, I mean .
Listen, I come from a lineageof makers.
My mother she used to makemacrame wall hanging.
She taught pottery.
You know we need curtains, shemade them.
You need clothes she made them.
My grandmother, my maternalgrandmother she was also a
fashion designer.
My auntie same.
So the making is just in my DNA.
So it just made sense for me tojust flourish in the art in the
(06:45):
way that I have.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Wow.
So now talk to me about what itwas like growing up in a home
where you had a Jamaican parentand a St Vincent parent.
A lot of times, I have peopleon the podcast who are either oh
, their parents come from onecountry, and so what was that
like in terms of where allCaribbean and have similar
(07:07):
things, but they're also verydistinct things from each places
.
And maybe how did thatinfluence your art or your maker
gene?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, well, I'll tell you this.
My parents divorced when I wasfive, right so, but I still saw
my father on the weekends.
He lived nearby.
I was in the house again withmy mother, my siblings, and I
think the difference was andthen I'm not to say the
difference they both were veryproud Caribbean people through
the music, through the food, youknow, and, to be honest, I
(07:39):
didn't know.
My parents were from theCaribbean when I was a kid and
the only reason I started tofigure this out it's funny is
because people would come to meas a child, you know.
People would come to me and saywhere's your mother from?
I'm like, why are you asking methat?
It's because she has an accent.
Well, for me she didn't have anaccent, daddy didn't have an
accent.
(07:59):
Mommy didn't have an accent.
That's just how they talk, andso I had to find out the answer
one day, like mommy, why arepeople always asking me where
you're from?
But listen, they would play thesoka, they played the reggae.
My mother made bakes, made myrice and peas.
You know, the food was alwayspresent in our upbringing and
now, looking back, I see thoseare the things that she brought
(08:22):
with her, you know, but myfather would go to his house.
He was an ital diet, you knowBob Marley and all the roots
reggae, always on repeat.
And the good thing is that wedid stay connected to his side
of the family, even though theywere divorced, which is very
rare.
But as I got older, when Istarted to learn more and
(08:44):
understand, like, oh, daddy isfrom Jamaica, oh, my Jamaican
side of the family, there wasalways about the parties and the
get togethers.
They planned the family reunionso we would go to Jamaica.
When I was a child, on mymother's side, she was the
anchor family where everyonecame to her, because basically,
(09:04):
my maternal grandmother migratedto the US and that's how my
mother came, and her siblings,so all her siblings were here,
and so our connection with StVincent was very minimal and I
only went there once as a childand that was the first time my
mother had returned, back when Iwas 15, you know and so.
But she took us down there,went to Grenada, went to
(09:25):
Barbados, and I would makeimages on my disc.
You remember the Kodak disccamera, so I had one of those
and I would make images downthere and I turned those images
into paintings.
Yeah, so I was already inspiredby the landscape, because I
remember the first time goingand I was like, oh, wow, it's
like black people everywhere.
(09:46):
You know it was so colorful andI and I love the heat and
sunshine.
And you know, and you know, myuncle had a beautiful house and
I was like, oh my God, you couldhave a house and a guest house
like on the same property.
I didn't experience thatgrowing up.
We just had one house and wegrew up by the beach, but it was
just one house and my uncle wasa.
(10:09):
He had a spice business and Ialways remember the packages
that came to the house thatsmelled like spices up packets
from Grenada, that's from UncleBen.
So these are the memories thatI had growing up, but now I
could talk about them with pride.
I didn't know what that meant asa child, and I think it's kind
(10:29):
of good, because then you don'tsee yourself as different.
But it wasn't until, to behonest, high school is when you
really started to see thedifference, because, if you
think about it, I'm datingmyself.
I grew up in the 80s and 90sand it was not cool to say you
was from Jamaica.
It was not cool to say you wasfrom the Caribbean period,
except when dancehall became athing.
(10:51):
Yes, the music changed it forall of us.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yes, I came to the US right as that became a thing.
So I came to the US in 93 and Iwalked around the school and
you know, I was the kid freshoff the boat or fresh off the
plane.
And then they would be like,well, you come from Kinston.
And then everybody was fromKinston, everybody was from
Kinston.
I was just like you all can'tbe from Kinston, this is not so.
(11:18):
I came right as that became athing and I can't even explain
it.
It was just like pride uponpride.
And then the school I went toit's like all the Caribbean
families who came into Brooklyn,landed in Flatbush and their
kids went to this school.
So even the teachers wereCaribbean.
I remember Ms Silvestro, themath teacher from Grenada, the
(11:41):
Jamaican teachers.
So it was for me it was adifferent experience because I
just came from Jamaica, whereit's only Jamaican teachers,
only Jamaican students.
And now you know there's thisaccent that, oh, that person is
Trini.
I remember the first time Iheard David Levy on the radio.
I was like, oh yes, who is that?
(12:02):
My mom said is he Jamaican?
I said he don't, I don't, Idon't think so.
He kind of so, but I'm not sure.
And then he was like he fromBarbados.
I was like, oh okay, yes.
So that was like the cultureshock for me.
But you're right, you know themusic made being Caribbean cool.
So you have book out.
(12:25):
Me love the book, everybody melove the book.
The book pretty, it feel good.
The texture of the book is justso nice.
It is called Crafted Kinship,right Inside the Creative
Practices of Contemporary BlackCaribbean Makers.
Now thank you for sending methis book.
I've learned about so manyartists just looking at this
(12:48):
book and some of them said, oh,really nice artwork.
And I made some notes becauseas I was flipping through it
right.
So, I don't think it's a bookwhere you sit and read through.
(13:10):
For me it's been a book ofinspiration.
Just the concept of the book,as I told you, has inspired me.
You know, because you have acollection of people and I'm
like maybe I'm going to dosomething with that podcast too,
right.
But one of the first things thatstood out to me was Andrea
(13:31):
Chung's response to the questionwhat part of Caribbean identity
or art practice do you thinkspeaks to what is needed in the
world right now?
I think this is a commonquestion you ask, but her
response stood out to me.
She talks about how other Blackpeople look at the Caribbean as
a source of inspiration.
I was like, oh really.
(13:52):
And then she gave a specificexample of being in Mauritius
and the impact of reggae there.
And then she also talks abouthow, what is needed because of
how the Caribbean is.
She didn't have to explain herbeing, because you know it says
well, if I mix up, don't do it,right.
So nobody's never going to askyou like what are you that type
(14:14):
of thing, right?
We're not business,no-transcript inspired you.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
All of the makers have inspired me and really have
truly helped me think about mypractice in a different way.
This was a collaborativeprocess because you have to
think, kerianne, I started thisbook because it was what I was
looking for when I was in gradschool.
I wanted to be in conversationwith a group of makers who were
(15:04):
already thinking about theCaribbean from these different
perspectives and you know Icreated these themes of kinship
in the book where it talks aboutthe different ways of being.
It has truly helped me to talkabout my work in different ways
and I know for many of themakers in the book, it actually
also helped them to really thinkabout their practice, because
(15:27):
when you're in the studio making, you're in your own world,
you're in your process, but thento have to talk about it out
loud to other people, it makesyou really think to your point
why am I doing this?
Is this important?
How are these words going toinspire not only myself, but to
the global community?
Speaker 1 (15:44):
So yeah, Listen, I have like when I tell you like,
because I was flipping through,because you know, my first pass
at the book was just looking atpictures, that's what I kind of
gravitate to.
And then, once I've looked atthe pictures, I was like, oh my
God, these are like pretty, justgo flipping through and reading
(16:06):
.
There was this other aspect byAmina Major that says cultural
memory is our survival.
And that really speaks to me,because when I first started the
podcast, I kind of knew thatthere was an aspect of this new
oral storytelling tradition thatI told myself but I kind of
(16:28):
said it but I didn't actuallyknow what does that really mean
for me or how am I living thatout.
But I knew it in my mind andnow, 10 years in, I'm like it's
a little bit more clear.
So that really spoke to me whenshe said that, because this
idea, like I think we take forgranted that we always have
(16:50):
culture and it will always bearound and I've studied
anthropology to know that no, itwon't always be around if you
aren't doing the things toensure that it stays around and
so that really spoke to me.
So in terms of the work of theseartists, right when you think
of this new generation ofartists versus those you came up
(17:12):
learning about?
Right, eurocentric American,you know Caribbean Edna Manley
Watson was one that I rememberin the seventh grade in high
school.
Don't ask me, you know, butthat's also what I appreciated
about growing up in Jamaica.
We had to do these art projectsand do write-ups.
So I'm appreciative that I canat least name two people.
(17:34):
But when we think about youknow like artists in this way, I
appreciate that you do thisbook, because I can't say I
would have known anything aboutany of these artists if you did
not put this collection together.
And it's not to say that theyaren't there.
(17:56):
And it's not to say that theyaren't there, but it's the same
thing with the podcast, Becauseinformation has proliferated.
Where do you go now to get thatinformation all assembled and
given?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
to you?
Yeah, because that was part ofthe reason why I felt the book
format is so important.
Because, to your point, we haveso many avenues from the
internet, social media to findinformation, right, and we're
constantly doing research andgathering piece from here.
Save a post, do this, but whenyou have it in one envelope,
(18:32):
right, it's something that youcould constantly go back to to
your point.
It's not something where youhave to start, constantly go
back to to your point.
It's not something where youhave to start from the beginning
and go to the end.
You could start in the back,middle, the front, and guess
what, 10 years from now, whenyou go back to that book, you're
going to still learn from it.
You're going to be inspired,right, there's going to be a new
connection that's formed.
And so I feel, as Black people,especially a part of the
(18:55):
diaspora, it's so important thatwe create these archival
objects, because we are thegeneration who are going to.
I think we'll be part of thefirst part of the generation
that are going to be speakingthe truth and filling in the
gaps of our history.
And so how do we do that?
In multiple forms, and becausewe have access to so much now.
(19:16):
We have no excuse not to makethese archival objects and like
how you're doing with yourpodcast, in a book, in a movie.
There's so many different waysand I hope that the storytelling
in this format inspires as manypeople to think about hmm, what
can I now archive and packageso the community could be
(19:37):
involved and be inspired?
So it's just a continuous act ofgiving and care, because I
believe creating archives is asense of care, absolutely, and
the more that we do it in thesedifferent ways, the broader our
stories and experiences aregoing to be, because one of the
(19:58):
things I made a point with thebook is that we all learn
differently.
We all learn differently, and Ididn't want the book to be, I
wanted it to be accessible tomany types of readers, learners,
and it's multi-generational.
There are some people in thebeginning of crafting their
kinship to their work, thecommunity, to the landscape of
(20:20):
the Caribbean, and there aresome makers who have been doing
that for years, and so it wasreally important to create the
space for both to be celebrated,as well as space for the
ancestors, cause there's twoprofiles that are ancestors in
the book Althea McNish andRonald Moody, and these are
names that maybe you may haveheard of, but they're not like.
(20:41):
They're not your quote, unquotehousehold name, and you know we
always have to show gratitudeto the ancestors for how we're
here because of them.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
It's kind of like the quotefrom Donald Barr that says learn
by doing and don't be afraid.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Let me tell you.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
I was like highlight highlight, highlight, highlight.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Oh good, because you know it's so.
You know how we have all oursayings.
Now these will become the newones that we could hold on to
and repeat yeah, and you know,that's the beauty of our words.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, I feel like this book, like it was
intentional that I didn't liketry to read it and study it for
this, it was like, let the pageguide me, let the like whatever
photo I was scanning through,and then that's how I saw
Andrea's and I know that youasked that question to other
people, but for some reason herstood out and that was the book
(21:38):
speaking to me as, like, my girl.
Focus on this, you know.
And it's a book where I feellike, if you need inspiration,
it's like something you pick upand the inspiration you get
today may not be the inspirationyou get tomorrow Because, like,
I want to look, you know, mygosh, but the photos are
(22:04):
beautiful, the artwork is justlike, wow, this is amazing.
And it's also like, you know,caribbean people are going with
tings.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yes, yes, yes.
Isn't it nice seeing the makersin a different setting, not
just like a traditional portraitpose for the camera?
Like you see the making, yousee their process, you see the
messy studios right, and Iintentionally made everyone's
profile different, like no, it'snot a cookie cutter type of
(22:37):
experience type of book, becausewe're all different and I
wanted to celebrate the beautyof our differences.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Listen, when I saw that man on the loom I was like,
oh, I got to bring this up.
I was like I remember that life.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
And you notice, you notice I went far, like remember
most most of the makers arebased in the U S right.
Of course we have many makersin the Caribbean, but I also
went to West Africa because we,you know there was a large
Caribbean community that wentback and you know Joanna Bramble
who's the weaver that's in thebook she has.
(23:11):
She's from Dominica inGuadalupe and she's working with
the Senegalese weavers doingthe manjack weaving.
This is part of our cultureRight.
And also there's makers fromBelize, panama.
You know Caribbean culture runs.
It's spread out, as we know.
It's not just focused on theactual the region itself and
(23:33):
that's also what I wanted tomake sure that you know.
I highlight of course there'smakers in Europe as well, in
Canada.
We're everywhere.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
I know, I know I I truly, truly enjoyed the book.
I'm looking at which questionI'm going to ask here yet.
So what advice would you giveto someone trying to discover or
, like you mentioned, somepeople are like earlier in their
maker journey.
So, generally like, what advicewould you give to anyone who's
(24:03):
like I don't know if I'm goingto start, I don't know if I'm
creative, I don't know.
I don't know if I'm a start, Idon't know if I'm a creative, I
don't know.
I don't know I'm not good, Likeyou know, because that is a
thing we can always tell peopledon't compare yourself, but it's
human, we do it.
So, like, how do they get pastthat?
You know, some people are goingto look at Malaney 10 years,
(24:24):
right?
Versus not seeing Malaney inyear one, right?
So we can't help do that levelof comparison because it happens
naturally, right?
So what would you encouragesomeone to do?
To not look at where someoneelse is in their journey, but
(24:45):
just to be kind to their innerartist, who's a baby that's, you
know they're nurturing.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
I say the first thing is just take a class.
Take a class of just any mediumprocess that is of interest.
Right, let go of all outcomes.
Don't go in with the intentionthat you're going to complete a
project.
You're going to make your bestwork.
Just go in with the intention.
(25:13):
I want to learn and I want tobuild community.
I want to build a community ofmakers who are going to help
support my journey.
That is the key, because Iremember in grad school, carrie
Ann, I remember one of myprofessors told me guess what?
You're not here to make yourbest work.
You're only here to discoverwho it is you want to become and
(25:35):
it's going to take time tofigure that out.
You're not going to figure itout.
So if you already know thatyou're not going to be making
your best work, you most likelywill not complete a project.
Then go in there and learn andhave fun.
I think one of the things weforget about art is that it is
fun and it's also somethingthat's helpful for our mind.
(25:58):
It's not all about like oh, Imade this replica of this person
or the object looks exactlylike it is.
No, it's about process.
I learned something.
How did you feel.
Doing that, I felt so free andgrounded.
And then now I'm thinking about.
You know what I want to do?
Blah, blah, blah.
Art making is.
(26:19):
I think it forces us to dreambigger, because there's this
meditative moments that happenwhile we're in process of making
art.
So just take a class, any class.
That's exactly what I did.
That's how I got into clay.
I took a class.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Listen, let go of all outcomes.
If me could have, like, insertgemstone effects here, gemstone
effects here, like I thinkthat's a barrier for us as
Caribbean people, because we'vecome from a culture of
excellence right, so everythingmust be right, everything must
(26:58):
be good.
You get 95 where the next fiveday you're supposed to get like.
So this idea of letting go ofoutcomes, when a really a lot of
us weren't really nurtured inthat way and I think even for me
just seeing that, I think thatis also part of the art therapy,
(27:19):
right, because art is like,yeah, you know, dry it, panty it
and ta-da, buy it, pant it andta-da yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, you know Exactly when was the last time
you allowed yourself to justplay and just do and not worry.
We're not selling it.
You don't have to frame it.
It doesn't have to becomeanything except the marks that
you put on that paper.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah, I love that.
I love that.
Thank you for that, irma.
I have my last question, allright.
So whenever I see myself as acreative, when I think of
creative people, I think ofartists who use their hands,
like you.
But let's think broadly interms of creators, right?
(28:04):
How can creatives make theirwork personal while honoring,
like, culture and culturaltraditions?
How can we do more of that,especially if we're in this age
of digital archiving andpreservation of culture?
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, I think first we have to talk to our elders
and our families.
You know, have those.
You know the everydayconversation.
If you do have a grandparent,if you have an elder aunt or
even just a family friend, startrecording them.
You see, I didn't haveexperience with either of my
grandparents.
They both died when my fatherwas five and then, when I was a
(28:44):
baby, my maternal grandmother,and then, when I was a baby, my
maternal grandmother, and so Ihave my mother and all her
siblings.
As I've gotten older and theway I personalize my art
practice, I'm having moreconversations with all of them,
asking them about theirmigration experience.
What was that like?
What was grandma like?
What did we call her?
(29:05):
You know, why did she come tothe US?
What happened when you didn'tspeak to her for nine years?
You didn't see her because sheleft all her children at granny,
and you know.
Then we start talking aboutgosh.
Imagine what that was like.
There was no therapy.
You know, she did all this foryou guys and she didn't even get
(29:26):
a chance to experience what shewanted to create for you.
But look all my aunties and myuncle and my mother.
They're in their 80s or closeto it.
They outlived my grandmother bymany years.
She died when she was 55.
And look what she had createdfor them.
So my point is look at thosestories and the objects that are
(29:47):
in your home.
All of that matters.
I'm very much interested inlooking at.
That's why my mother.
She gave me this piece of lacerecently and I created a whole
ceramic sculpture around it thedoilies.
You remember doilies?
These doilies were on the table, they were on the back of
couches.
They decorated our spaces, butthey were also a sense of pride.
(30:09):
Yes, and so those things.
What I'm saying is that we mayoverlook these everyday objects,
but this is by looking at thatand the experiences is how we
could personalize our experienceand then share it.
Yeah, share it.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
I love it.
I love it.
Well, malini, thank you so muchfor being on the podcast
Everybody.
I'm going to put a link towhere you can get this nice,
lovely book.
It is just really beautiful andit's inspired me, so I know it
will inspire you.
And so, malini, tell everyonewhere they could find you on the
internet.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Well, you could go to my website, melaniebarnettcom.
That's M-A-L-E-N-E,b-a-r-n-e-t-t, and my Instagram
is at melaniebarnett.
Pretty much those are the twoplaces where you can find me
Wonderful.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Wonderful, all right.
So at the end of the show Ilove to say walk good.
And we still are going to walkgood.
But guess what?
Melania and I is going into theafter show, and the after show
is only available if you're inthe community, so come over
there with us, alright.
Hello everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofCarry On Friends the Caribbean
American experience.
I am so excited, well, excited.
I kind of said that for all theguests, but it's because I
truly mean it.
I am particularly excited tohave Malaney Barnett on the
podcast.
Malaney is big bad artistrunning place no, not dance hall
artist, but the original typeof artist.
(00:26):
So, Maleni, welcome to thepodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Thank you, Kerri-Ann.
I am super excited to talk toyou today.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Oh, wow.
So why don't you tell thecommunity of friends a little
bit about who you are, Caribbeancountries you represent and the
work that you do?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Sure.
Well, I am a multidisciplinaryartist, a textile designer,
community builder and now authorof the book Crafted Kinship
Inside the Creative Practices ofContemporary Black Caribbean
Makers.
My mother is from St Vincentand the Grenadines and my father
is Jamaican.
I am based in Brooklyn, newYork, but I grew up in a small
(01:03):
town called Norwalk, connecticut.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Malini, I'm so excited to talk to you on so
many levels.
I have notes upon notes, likein a previous lifetime I worked
with a textile designer and herdesigns used to be at Knoll
Designs and she did, yes, mydear and I was there, knowing
Weft and Warp, and they had alube in the studio back in 1999.
(01:27):
Nobody aged myself and theywork on quark for the patterns
and all of these things, andthen we also.
They worked with Prince Streetand Bentley for carpet, and so
yes, I know all them places.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I know all of that yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yes, my dear, I'm going to call the lady and I'm
going to tell her off the ear.
As soon as I said textile, Iremember I was like, oh, I did
this.
But it was a fun experience forme because I remember for the
carpet, when the palms used tocome in because it was woven, so
we had to look at the color,sometimes the black, and that's
(02:06):
when I learned when black hastoo much red in it and if the
dye lots are different, one havetoo much yellow, too much red.
I was like, look at me withskills.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Oh, my goodness, that , yes, you, yes.
That is so funny.
I mean, even though I went toFIT studying textile design and
that's where I discovered rugdesign, I didn't even know it
was a profession.
I said, well, I could do this,make money, like I could draw
paint and make these images andturn them into, you know,
objects that people, many peoplecan experience.
(02:35):
So, yes, it's still my love, Istill love designing rugs.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Listen, I came up with a database to help this
woman make sure she get herroyalties and they were
royalties for the sales.
So I'm like, but we're nottalking about that person, we're
talking about you.
So Vinci Yadi Heritage In yourBones.
Let's start off with tell methe first time you fell in love
(03:02):
with being an artist using yourhands.
I think you use your hands insome things designing.
Tell me, what was that firstexperience where you're just
like I love this.
I want to do this?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Well, you know, it's interesting, I've been drawing
ever since I was eight years old.
You know, I got selected for anartistically talented program
and we would draw and paint on aweekly basis and that's when I
really started to connect withthe materials, right, and I
would love to draw.
I love to draw portraits, so Iwould draw my friends.
(03:35):
I draw my cousin who was livingwith me at the time, my baby
cousin.
But check this out, it wasn'tuntil I was an adult and I
started looking at my paintingsfrom childhood and I saw how I
said wait, all the skin tonesare of white people, right, and
I'm a dark brown girl.
And my baby cousin, he wasdarker than me.
(03:57):
So, but what I realized was,back in that day, our teacher,
she only taught us how to mixskin tones up to a certain shade
, and so I wasn't even allowedto mix anything darker than a
certain shade of brown.
And so all my portraits were,you know, of my white female
friends at the time, and then Ieven had to change my cousin to
(04:19):
look like a white baby baby.
But you know, even though thatexperience inspired my work, my
studio practice now I alwaysloved to create and portraiture
still lives.
I used to draw still lives offabric just because I love the
(04:39):
folds and how, the way the lightwould hit it, not realizing
later in my career that I wouldbe designing fabrics Right.
So I studied painting andphotography at SUNY Purchase.
So when it was time for collegeI had a very supportive art
teacher May she rest in peace.
She passed away last year, butshe was super supportive of my
work and she made sure we hadour portfolio ready.
(05:02):
She, back in the day, wasphotographing our work via
slides.
There was no digital camerasand nothing like that.
But when it was time for artschool she was like you're going
to go to art school?
It wasn't like a question, like, are you going to go to art
school?
And so then of course I did,and I went to SUNY Purchase,
studied painting and photographyfor two years.
(05:24):
It wasn't enough for me.
So then I transferred to FIT,studied fashion illustration,
later on got the bachelor's intextile design and that's when I
knew I found my love for makingobjects.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, Wow, wow.
I really love that storybecause for the last couple of
years I've I don't want to sayobsessed, but I've been
obsessing with baby Carrie,because there's this innocence
and freedom that I felt I had atthat young age.
(05:56):
And I go back to what everyonewould comment and say is
peculiar, like, oh, you know,that's just Carrie, she loves
chat All these things.
And you know, like those, justCarrie, she loves chat, all
these things.
And you know, like those wereearly glimpses of things that we
come to enjoy.
So in hearing that story I feelthe same way, like we
innocently were doing things,but it was really what was
(06:16):
already placed in us to do.
We just needed to be nurturedalong the path.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, exactly, I mean .
Listen, I come from a lineageof makers.
My mother she used to makemacrame wall hanging.
She taught pottery.
You know we need curtains, shemade them.
You need clothes she made them.
My grandmother, my maternalgrandmother she was also a
fashion designer.
My auntie same.
So the making is just in my DNA.
So it just made sense for me tojust flourish in the art in the
(06:45):
way that I have.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Wow.
So now talk to me about what itwas like growing up in a home
where you had a Jamaican parentand a St Vincent parent.
A lot of times, I have peopleon the podcast who are either oh
, their parents come from onecountry, and so what was that
like in terms of where allCaribbean and have similar
(07:07):
things, but they're also verydistinct things from each places
.
And maybe how did thatinfluence your art or your maker
gene?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, well, I'll tell you this.
My parents divorced when I wasfive, right so, but I still saw
my father on the weekends.
He lived nearby.
I was in the house again withmy mother, my siblings, and I
think the difference was andthen I'm not to say the
difference they both were veryproud Caribbean people through
the music, through the food, youknow, and, to be honest, I
(07:39):
didn't know.
My parents were from theCaribbean when I was a kid and
the only reason I started tofigure this out it's funny is
because people would come to meas a child, you know.
People would come to me and saywhere's your mother from?
I'm like, why are you asking methat?
It's because she has an accent.
Well, for me she didn't have anaccent, daddy didn't have an
accent.
(07:59):
Mommy didn't have an accent.
That's just how they talk, andso I had to find out the answer
one day, like mommy, why arepeople always asking me where
you're from?
But listen, they would play thesoka, they played the reggae.
My mother made bakes, made myrice and peas.
You know, the food was alwayspresent in our upbringing and
now, looking back, I see thoseare the things that she brought
(08:22):
with her, you know, but myfather would go to his house.
He was an ital diet, you knowBob Marley and all the roots
reggae, always on repeat.
And the good thing is that wedid stay connected to his side
of the family, even though theywere divorced, which is very
rare.
But as I got older, when Istarted to learn more and
(08:44):
understand, like, oh, daddy isfrom Jamaica, oh, my Jamaican
side of the family, there wasalways about the parties and the
get togethers.
They planned the family reunionso we would go to Jamaica.
When I was a child, on mymother's side, she was the
anchor family where everyonecame to her, because basically,
(09:04):
my maternal grandmother migratedto the US and that's how my
mother came, and her siblings,so all her siblings were here,
and so our connection with StVincent was very minimal and I
only went there once as a childand that was the first time my
mother had returned, back when Iwas 15, you know and so.
But she took us down there,went to Grenada, went to
(09:25):
Barbados, and I would makeimages on my disc.
You remember the Kodak disccamera, so I had one of those
and I would make images downthere and I turned those images
into paintings.
Yeah, so I was already inspiredby the landscape, because I
remember the first time goingand I was like, oh, wow, it's
like black people everywhere.
(09:46):
You know it was so colorful andI and I love the heat and
sunshine.
And you know, and you know, myuncle had a beautiful house and
I was like, oh my God, you couldhave a house and a guest house
like on the same property.
I didn't experience thatgrowing up.
We just had one house and wegrew up by the beach, but it was
just one house and my uncle wasa.
(10:09):
He had a spice business and Ialways remember the packages
that came to the house thatsmelled like spices up packets
from Grenada, that's from UncleBen.
So these are the memories thatI had growing up, but now I
could talk about them with pride.
I didn't know what that meant asa child, and I think it's kind
(10:29):
of good, because then you don'tsee yourself as different.
But it wasn't until, to behonest, high school is when you
really started to see thedifference, because, if you
think about it, I'm datingmyself.
I grew up in the 80s and 90sand it was not cool to say you
was from Jamaica.
It was not cool to say you wasfrom the Caribbean period,
except when dancehall became athing.
(10:51):
Yes, the music changed it forall of us.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yes, I came to the US right as that became a thing.
So I came to the US in 93 and Iwalked around the school and
you know, I was the kid freshoff the boat or fresh off the
plane.
And then they would be like,well, you come from Kinston.
And then everybody was fromKinston, everybody was from
Kinston.
I was just like you all can'tbe from Kinston, this is not so.
(11:18):
I came right as that became athing and I can't even explain
it.
It was just like pride uponpride.
And then the school I went toit's like all the Caribbean
families who came into Brooklyn,landed in Flatbush and their
kids went to this school.
So even the teachers wereCaribbean.
I remember Ms Silvestro, themath teacher from Grenada, the
(11:41):
Jamaican teachers.
So it was for me it was adifferent experience because I
just came from Jamaica, whereit's only Jamaican teachers,
only Jamaican students.
And now you know there's thisaccent that, oh, that person is
Trini.
I remember the first time Iheard David Levy on the radio.
I was like, oh yes, who is that?
(12:02):
My mom said is he Jamaican?
I said he don't, I don't, Idon't think so.
He kind of so, but I'm not sure.
And then he was like he fromBarbados.
I was like, oh okay, yes.
So that was like the cultureshock for me.
But you're right, you know themusic made being Caribbean cool.
So you have book out.
(12:25):
Me love the book, everybody melove the book.
The book pretty, it feel good.
The texture of the book is justso nice.
It is called Crafted Kinship,right Inside the Creative
Practices of Contemporary BlackCaribbean Makers.
Now thank you for sending methis book.
I've learned about so manyartists just looking at this
(12:48):
book and some of them said, oh,really nice artwork.
And I made some notes becauseas I was flipping through it
right.
So, I don't think it's a bookwhere you sit and read through.
(13:10):
For me it's been a book ofinspiration.
Just the concept of the book,as I told you, has inspired me.
You know, because you have acollection of people and I'm
like maybe I'm going to dosomething with that podcast too,
right.
But one of the first things thatstood out to me was Andrea
(13:31):
Chung's response to the questionwhat part of Caribbean identity
or art practice do you thinkspeaks to what is needed in the
world right now?
I think this is a commonquestion you ask, but her
response stood out to me.
She talks about how other Blackpeople look at the Caribbean as
a source of inspiration.
I was like, oh really.
(13:52):
And then she gave a specificexample of being in Mauritius
and the impact of reggae there.
And then she also talks abouthow, what is needed because of
how the Caribbean is.
She didn't have to explain herbeing, because you know it says
well, if I mix up, don't do it,right.
So nobody's never going to askyou like what are you that type
(14:14):
of thing, right?
We're not business,no-transcript inspired you.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
All of the makers have inspired me and really have
truly helped me think about mypractice in a different way.
This was a collaborativeprocess because you have to
think, kerianne, I started thisbook because it was what I was
looking for when I was in gradschool.
I wanted to be in conversationwith a group of makers who were
(15:04):
already thinking about theCaribbean from these different
perspectives and you know Icreated these themes of kinship
in the book where it talks aboutthe different ways of being.
It has truly helped me to talkabout my work in different ways
and I know for many of themakers in the book, it actually
also helped them to really thinkabout their practice, because
(15:27):
when you're in the studio making, you're in your own world,
you're in your process, but thento have to talk about it out
loud to other people, it makesyou really think to your point
why am I doing this?
Is this important?
How are these words going toinspire not only myself, but to
the global community?
Speaker 1 (15:44):
So yeah, Listen, I have like when I tell you like,
because I was flipping through,because you know, my first pass
at the book was just looking atpictures, that's what I kind of
gravitate to.
And then, once I've looked atthe pictures, I was like, oh my
God, these are like pretty, justgo flipping through and reading
(16:06):
.
There was this other aspect byAmina Major that says cultural
memory is our survival.
And that really speaks to me,because when I first started the
podcast, I kind of knew thatthere was an aspect of this new
oral storytelling tradition thatI told myself but I kind of
(16:28):
said it but I didn't actuallyknow what does that really mean
for me or how am I living thatout.
But I knew it in my mind andnow, 10 years in, I'm like it's
a little bit more clear.
So that really spoke to me whenshe said that, because this
idea, like I think we take forgranted that we always have
(16:50):
culture and it will always bearound and I've studied
anthropology to know that no, itwon't always be around if you
aren't doing the things toensure that it stays around and
so that really spoke to me.
So in terms of the work of theseartists, right when you think
of this new generation ofartists versus those you came up
(17:12):
learning about?
Right, eurocentric American,you know Caribbean Edna Manley
Watson was one that I rememberin the seventh grade in high
school.
Don't ask me, you know, butthat's also what I appreciated
about growing up in Jamaica.
We had to do these art projectsand do write-ups.
So I'm appreciative that I canat least name two people.
(17:34):
But when we think about youknow like artists in this way, I
appreciate that you do thisbook, because I can't say I
would have known anything aboutany of these artists if you did
not put this collection together.
And it's not to say that theyaren't there.
(17:56):
And it's not to say that theyaren't there, but it's the same
thing with the podcast, Becauseinformation has proliferated.
Where do you go now to get thatinformation all assembled and
given?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
to you?
Yeah, because that was part ofthe reason why I felt the book
format is so important.
Because, to your point, we haveso many avenues from the
internet, social media to findinformation, right, and we're
constantly doing research andgathering piece from here.
Save a post, do this, but whenyou have it in one envelope,
(18:32):
right, it's something that youcould constantly go back to to
your point.
It's not something where youhave to start, constantly go
back to to your point.
It's not something where youhave to start from the beginning
and go to the end.
You could start in the back,middle, the front, and guess
what, 10 years from now, whenyou go back to that book, you're
going to still learn from it.
You're going to be inspired,right, there's going to be a new
connection that's formed.
And so I feel, as Black people,especially a part of the
(18:55):
diaspora, it's so important thatwe create these archival
objects, because we are thegeneration who are going to.
I think we'll be part of thefirst part of the generation
that are going to be speakingthe truth and filling in the
gaps of our history.
And so how do we do that?
In multiple forms, and becausewe have access to so much now.
(19:16):
We have no excuse not to makethese archival objects and like
how you're doing with yourpodcast, in a book, in a movie.
There's so many different waysand I hope that the storytelling
in this format inspires as manypeople to think about hmm, what
can I now archive and packageso the community could be
(19:37):
involved and be inspired?
So it's just a continuous act ofgiving and care, because I
believe creating archives is asense of care, absolutely, and
the more that we do it in thesedifferent ways, the broader our
stories and experiences aregoing to be, because one of the
(19:58):
things I made a point with thebook is that we all learn
differently.
We all learn differently, and Ididn't want the book to be, I
wanted it to be accessible tomany types of readers, learners,
and it's multi-generational.
There are some people in thebeginning of crafting their
kinship to their work, thecommunity, to the landscape of
(20:20):
the Caribbean, and there aresome makers who have been doing
that for years, and so it wasreally important to create the
space for both to be celebrated,as well as space for the
ancestors, cause there's twoprofiles that are ancestors in
the book Althea McNish andRonald Moody, and these are
names that maybe you may haveheard of, but they're not like.
(20:41):
They're not your quote, unquotehousehold name, and you know we
always have to show gratitudeto the ancestors for how we're
here because of them.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
It's kind of like the quotefrom Donald Barr that says learn
by doing and don't be afraid.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Let me tell you.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
I was like highlight highlight, highlight, highlight.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Oh good, because you know it's so.
You know how we have all oursayings.
Now these will become the newones that we could hold on to
and repeat yeah, and you know,that's the beauty of our words.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, I feel like this book, like it was
intentional that I didn't liketry to read it and study it for
this, it was like, let the pageguide me, let the like whatever
photo I was scanning through,and then that's how I saw
Andrea's and I know that youasked that question to other
people, but for some reason herstood out and that was the book
(21:38):
speaking to me as, like, my girl.
Focus on this, you know.
And it's a book where I feellike, if you need inspiration,
it's like something you pick upand the inspiration you get
today may not be the inspirationyou get tomorrow Because, like,
I want to look, you know, mygosh, but the photos are
(22:04):
beautiful, the artwork is justlike, wow, this is amazing.
And it's also like, you know,caribbean people are going with
tings.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yes, yes, yes.
Isn't it nice seeing the makersin a different setting, not
just like a traditional portraitpose for the camera?
Like you see the making, yousee their process, you see the
messy studios right, and Iintentionally made everyone's
profile different, like no, it'snot a cookie cutter type of
(22:37):
experience type of book, becausewe're all different and I
wanted to celebrate the beautyof our differences.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Listen, when I saw that man on the loom I was like,
oh, I got to bring this up.
I was like I remember that life.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
And you notice, you notice I went far, like remember
most most of the makers arebased in the U S right.
Of course we have many makersin the Caribbean, but I also
went to West Africa because we,you know there was a large
Caribbean community that wentback and you know Joanna Bramble
who's the weaver that's in thebook she has.
(23:11):
She's from Dominica inGuadalupe and she's working with
the Senegalese weavers doingthe manjack weaving.
This is part of our cultureRight.
And also there's makers fromBelize, panama.
You know Caribbean culture runs.
It's spread out, as we know.
It's not just focused on theactual the region itself and
(23:33):
that's also what I wanted tomake sure that you know.
I highlight of course there'smakers in Europe as well, in
Canada.
We're everywhere.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
I know, I know I I truly, truly enjoyed the book.
I'm looking at which questionI'm going to ask here yet.
So what advice would you giveto someone trying to discover or
, like you mentioned, somepeople are like earlier in their
maker journey.
So, generally like, what advicewould you give to anyone who's
(24:03):
like I don't know if I'm goingto start, I don't know if I'm
creative, I don't know.
I don't know if I'm a start, Idon't know if I'm a creative, I
don't know.
I don't know I'm not good, Likeyou know, because that is a
thing we can always tell peopledon't compare yourself, but it's
human, we do it.
So, like, how do they get pastthat?
You know, some people are goingto look at Malaney 10 years,
(24:24):
right?
Versus not seeing Malaney inyear one, right?
So we can't help do that levelof comparison because it happens
naturally, right?
So what would you encouragesomeone to do?
To not look at where someoneelse is in their journey, but
(24:45):
just to be kind to their innerartist, who's a baby that's, you
know they're nurturing.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
I say the first thing is just take a class.
Take a class of just any mediumprocess that is of interest.
Right, let go of all outcomes.
Don't go in with the intentionthat you're going to complete a
project.
You're going to make your bestwork.
Just go in with the intention.
(25:13):
I want to learn and I want tobuild community.
I want to build a community ofmakers who are going to help
support my journey.
That is the key, because Iremember in grad school, carrie
Ann, I remember one of myprofessors told me guess what?
You're not here to make yourbest work.
You're only here to discoverwho it is you want to become and
(25:35):
it's going to take time tofigure that out.
You're not going to figure itout.
So if you already know thatyou're not going to be making
your best work, you most likelywill not complete a project.
Then go in there and learn andhave fun.
I think one of the things weforget about art is that it is
fun and it's also somethingthat's helpful for our mind.
(25:58):
It's not all about like oh, Imade this replica of this person
or the object looks exactlylike it is.
No, it's about process.
I learned something.
How did you feel.
Doing that, I felt so free andgrounded.
And then now I'm thinking about.
You know what I want to do?
Blah, blah, blah.
Art making is.
(26:19):
I think it forces us to dreambigger, because there's this
meditative moments that happenwhile we're in process of making
art.
So just take a class, any class.
That's exactly what I did.
That's how I got into clay.
I took a class.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Listen, let go of all outcomes.
If me could have, like, insertgemstone effects here, gemstone
effects here, like I thinkthat's a barrier for us as
Caribbean people, because we'vecome from a culture of
excellence right, so everythingmust be right, everything must
(26:58):
be good.
You get 95 where the next fiveday you're supposed to get like.
So this idea of letting go ofoutcomes, when a really a lot of
us weren't really nurtured inthat way and I think even for me
just seeing that, I think thatis also part of the art therapy,
(27:19):
right, because art is like,yeah, you know, dry it, panty it
and ta-da, buy it, pant it andta-da yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, you know Exactly when was the last time
you allowed yourself to justplay and just do and not worry.
We're not selling it.
You don't have to frame it.
It doesn't have to becomeanything except the marks that
you put on that paper.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah, I love that.
I love that.
Thank you for that, irma.
I have my last question, allright.
So whenever I see myself as acreative, when I think of
creative people, I think ofartists who use their hands,
like you.
But let's think broadly interms of creators, right?
(28:04):
How can creatives make theirwork personal while honoring,
like, culture and culturaltraditions?
How can we do more of that,especially if we're in this age
of digital archiving andpreservation of culture?
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, I think first we have to talk to our elders
and our families.
You know, have those.
You know the everydayconversation.
If you do have a grandparent,if you have an elder aunt or
even just a family friend, startrecording them.
You see, I didn't haveexperience with either of my
grandparents.
They both died when my fatherwas five and then, when I was a
(28:44):
baby, my maternal grandmother,and then, when I was a baby, my
maternal grandmother, and so Ihave my mother and all her
siblings.
As I've gotten older and theway I personalize my art
practice, I'm having moreconversations with all of them,
asking them about theirmigration experience.
What was that like?
What was grandma like?
What did we call her?
(29:05):
You know, why did she come tothe US?
What happened when you didn'tspeak to her for nine years?
You didn't see her because sheleft all her children at granny,
and you know.
Then we start talking aboutgosh.
Imagine what that was like.
There was no therapy.
You know, she did all this foryou guys and she didn't even get
(29:26):
a chance to experience what shewanted to create for you.
But look all my aunties and myuncle and my mother.
They're in their 80s or closeto it.
They outlived my grandmother bymany years.
She died when she was 55.
And look what she had createdfor them.
So my point is look at thosestories and the objects that are
(29:47):
in your home.
All of that matters.
I'm very much interested inlooking at.
That's why my mother.
She gave me this piece of lacerecently and I created a whole
ceramic sculpture around it thedoilies.
You remember doilies?
These doilies were on the table, they were on the back of
couches.
They decorated our spaces, butthey were also a sense of pride.
(30:09):
Yes, and so those things.
What I'm saying is that we mayoverlook these everyday objects,
but this is by looking at thatand the experiences is how we
could personalize our experienceand then share it.
Yeah, share it.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
I love it.
I love it.
Well, malini, thank you so muchfor being on the podcast
Everybody.
I'm going to put a link towhere you can get this nice,
lovely book.
It is just really beautiful andit's inspired me, so I know it
will inspire you.
And so, malini, tell everyonewhere they could find you on the
internet.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Well, you could go to my website, melaniebarnettcom.
That's M-A-L-E-N-E,b-a-r-n-e-t-t, and my Instagram
is at melaniebarnett.
Pretty much those are the twoplaces where you can find me
Wonderful.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Wonderful, all right.
So at the end of the show Ilove to say walk good.
And we still are going to walkgood.
But guess what?
Melania and I is going into theafter show, and the after show
is only available if you're inthe community, so come over
there with us, alright.
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