CityView Magazine

30 | September 2020 D uring a pandemic, or in the midst of any other strife for that matter, there is healing to be found in both the spoken word, as well as in putting pen to paper. "at's my mantra," said 39-year-old LeJuane Bowens, better known as El' ja in poetry circles. "It can be used as a way of healing. e spoken word is a way of both entertaining and edifying people." Bowens, an award-winning spoken word poet and author, is the founder of Poetry-N-Motion. Born in Detroit, he joined the United States Army in 2000. During his six years of service, which included two deployments to Iraq, he began to write his thoughts and ideas. In 2005, at the urging of a friend, he posted several poems online. e response proved to be an epiphany. Bowens is the first ever poet in North Carolina to compete and win in three different Grand Slam finals. He went on to win the 22nd Southern Fried Poetry Slam alongside the Bull City Slam Team, and in 2015 was nominated for Spoken Word Artist of the Year at the 5th Annual National Poetry Awards. Bowens is the author of two books of poetry. He helped found and currently directs the annual Southeastern Regional NC Poetry Festival. is year's event, scheduled to run Sept. 23-26, will be held virtually and will kick off with an open mic event, that is open to all varieties of artists of all ages. To sign up, go to http://sernc2020.eventbrite.com. Poetry-N-Motion Cape Fear Studios Pictured are artists Angela Stout and Jen McRae with Cape Fear Studios administrator Salena Moore, middle. J en McRae, a former museum exhibition designer and marketing director, happened upon her latest cra by accident. "I messed up a painting," she said. "So, I started cutting into it." e result was a pair of colorful and unique dangling earrings that intrigued most everyone who noticed them. "at started something that really hasn't stopped," she said. "I think of them as tiny works of art that you can wear." McRae is one of the variety of artists at Cape Fear Studios and Gallery, a nonprofit organization at 114 Maxwell St. downtown. Cape Fear Studios was established in 1989 and features artists who express their talents through pottery, woodworking, jewelry, glass, metal, drawing, painting and photography. Cape Fear Studios has seven in-house studios for working member artists, as well as retail space, classroom space and an art gallery for exhibits. e artists rent studio space, volunteer their time and sell their works. e studio gets a percentage of what they sell. Angela Stout, another of the studio's artists, just about does it all. She's a sculptor, painter and printmaker. "I've come up with a few of my own techniques," she said. She'll be demonstrating on of her more unlikely skills of speed sculpting at CityView Presents Food, Wine & ART Sept. 25 at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Jen McRae will be there as well, giving those in attendance the chance to purchase her colorful jewelry. Yolanda Barnes, pictured with El'Ja Bowens will perform at CityView Presents Food, Wine & ART Sept. 25.

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