In her creative process, Stout created an alter ego named Fatima Mayfield—a seer, herbalist, and spiritual advisor—who has become an ongoing protagonist in her work. There is a room in her house and studio that features dried herbs in jars, fragrant oils, sequined Voodoo flags, Kongo power figures, hand-painted Russian icons, and other spiritual objects. The room serves as an environment for Fatima to research herbs, compose remedies, or simply sit as the spirits of Ancestors whisper to her. Photo by Renée Stout advisor—who has become an ongoing protagonist in her work.
There is a room in her house and studio that features dried herbs
in jars, fragrant oils, sequined Voodoo flags, Kongo power figures,
hand-painted Russian icons, and other spiritual objects. The room
serves as an environment for Fatima to research herbs, compose remedies, or simply sit as the spirits of Ancestors whisper to her. Photo by Renée Stout
Renee Stout
Born 1958, Junction City, Kansas; raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; active Washington, DC
RENÉE STOUT grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon, where she majored in painting. Upon moving to Washington, DC in 1985, she began to focus on mixed media sculpture and eventually became the first American artist to exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.