Ella Maria Ray

Women's WISE Ways
This body of work unites Akan akua'ma figures and Akan adinkra symbols--life and death--together to bear witness to women's resiliency, their relationship with ancestors, and their commitment to life's longing for itself.

Sequels/Early Editions
"Sequels" and "Early Editions" explores the intersection between African American women writers’ fiction and aesthetic visual communications represented as masks.

(Un)masking Meaning
This on-going series offers me an opportunity to explore masks as a gateway to ancient and contemporary spiritual lessons and truth.

Spirits in the Trees
“Spirits in the Trees" explores bottle trees as a site for the living and dead family members to commune, and it ponders the relationship between family trees and trees of life.

Children of Akua
The series “Akua’s Children” is a study of akua’ba (plural akua’ma) figures—Asante abstract or, less commonly, naturalistic nude black wooden figures with flat disc-like heads that are expressions of fertility and beauty.