Little Witch Nobet's Skin: Unleashing Your Inner Sorceress

Little Witch Nobet's Skin Little Witch Nobet was known all around for her magical powers and mischievous adventures. With her pointed hat and sparkling eyes, she would roam around the enchanted forest, casting spells and creating potions. One day, while exploring a hidden corner of the forest, Nobet stumbled upon a spellbook that caught her attention. It contained a recipe for a special potion that claimed to give her the most beautiful and flawless skin anyone had ever seen. Excited by the prospect of having perfect skin, the little witch decided to try the potion. She gathered all the ingredients mentioned in the spellbook and carefully followed the instructions.

Many people like rain. It is especially nice in a hot day after the sun has been scorching you all day. It feels like some kind of salvation. It refreshes your body and mind, gives you new energy for the rest of the day. It is also nice when it rains at night. The sound of millions of falling drops helps you easily drift away to the dreamland. It brings to the room some coolness and that wonderful smell of the rain that cannot be replaced with anything.

That s how María Magdalena Campos-Pons, who grew up on a sugar plantation in Cuba, reacted to the news that she is one of this year s 20 MacArthur Fellows known as the Genius Grant. Later she drew on that experience in infusing her paintings with a subtle sense of movement, even in something as seemingly motionless as a still life.

She gathered all the ingredients mentioned in the spellbook and carefully followed the instructions. The potion was a mix of rare herbs, moonlight dew, and drops of a unicorn tear. As soon as she took a sip of the potion, Little Witch Nobet began to feel a tingling sensation in her skin.

This Afro-Cuban artist says she's a 'never-sleeper.' And now a 'genius.'

The artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is one of this year's MacArthur fellows. Her sculptures, paintings, installations and photography are displayed in over 30 museums around the globe. When she got news of the so-called "genius grant," she says, " I was running room to room in the house, feeling a sense of terror and elation." MacArthur Foundation hide caption

The artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is one of this year's MacArthur fellows. Her sculptures, paintings, installations and photography are displayed in over 30 museums around the globe. When she got news of the so-called "genius grant," she says, " I was running room to room in the house, feeling a sense of terror and elation."

"When I left the town of La Vega to go to art school [as a young girl], I was wearing pants and a top that my mother made me using the fabric from a used mattress cover. All I had was my luggage and a little piece of brown paper that had the address of where I was going. And I knew that I never was going to return to the town until I had a lot of good news to share. So now I am going back to La Vega — as a MacArthur Genius."

That's how María Magdalena Campos-Pons, who grew up on a sugar plantation in Cuba, reacted to the news that she is one of this year's 20 MacArthur Fellows – known as the "Genius Grant." The MacArthur Foundation calls it a "no-strings attached award" of $800,000 given to "extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential." Campos-Pons, 64, received this honor for her work as a multidisciplinary artist whose sculptures, paintings, installations, photography and more are displayed in over 30 museums around the globe.

Much of Campos-Pons' art draws inspiration from her upbringing in La Vega, where her family lived in former slave barracks and taught her the traditions, rituals and beliefs of her ancestors, Nigerian slaves brought to Cuba to work in the sugar plantation.

In one work, Constellation, Campos-Pons groups together 16 giant Polaroid photos of her dreadlocked hair and painted landscapes. They represent the many cultures that make up the African diaspora. Despite slavery, geography and the passage of time, these cultures are intertwined, and she feels very much connected to them.

After Duchamp uses photographic images to create a "visitation" of the French artist Marcel Duchamp, says Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons. She says the work is conveys "the abandonment of the female body" and "the complexities of geography." Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons hide caption

In the performance art piece Habla Lamadre, she sways through the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in a sculptural white dress while invoking Yemaya, an African deity, to "take hold of this institution and show the power of the Black body."

Campos-Pons, currently the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Fine Arts at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., talks to NPR about what she plans to do with her prize money and what she thinks about being called a "genius." This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Congratulations. How did you react when you first found out that you won the MacArthur Fellowship?

Thank you. I didn't know what to say or do. I was running room to room in the house, feeling a sense of terror and elation.

Esa Palabra Mar and this Word Waiting. Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons says this work, with its depiction of the "arresting beauty of the ocean" speaks to the "tragedy of Cuban family separations after the revolution" and "other migrations of Black and Brown people." Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons hide caption

What are you going to do with the prize money?

I would do a lot of good deeds in relation to my body of work. I started a program at Vanderbilt University called Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice. One of the aspirations of that program is to create a network of creative thinkers to build a more equal landscape for art — how it is acquired, collected, cared for — and who has access to what.

Are there similarities in the lives of people in the American South, where you now live, and Global South, where you are from?

We keep dreaming and producing — and we bring in an incredible amount of surprise to the human experience to overcome the complexity of life. We are a historical miracle. And this is not only restricted to the American South or the Global South, this is something you can find everywhere — in Tennessee, in Cuba, in Senegal, in the Bronx — people who maintain tradition, resilience and possibility in places in which the circumstances are difficult.

Shooting Stars for the Falling Soldiers Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons hide caption

What do you think about being called a 'genius'? It's kind of a big label.

Do I consider myself a genius? I need to laugh about that! I am one of those manifestations of a miracle from the Global South. I am the daughter of a father who only was educated until the third grade. He needed to cut sugarcane in the fields. A mother who only went to the sixth grade, then started making clothes for people and ironing and washing clothes.

I don't know! We need a new nomenclature for what this is.

What words would you propose?

A visionary, a dreamer, a never-sleeper, the one who stays awake all night. But I'm honored. I'll take the cap.

You grew up with a lot of people who were very in tune with their spirituality. Your mother was a priestess of Santeria, a religious tradition developed by African slaves in Cuba. And your father used plants for healing as an herbalist. How did that affect your artwork?

My father had an incredible amount of respect for nature. He would not take a little branch of a tree without knocking on it first and offering a gift, sometimes cornmeal, sometimes a penny. Only then would he take the branch — because you don't take energy from a tree without asking permission. It inspired a piece in 1994 called The Herbalist's Tools. It includes his tools, his machete and his garabato [a hooked staff used to pluck plants from the ground] to clear a path down the forest.

As a woman from the Global South, did you have a hard time getting recognition as an artist?

I have received letters of rejection from very important places. And then ten years later, I get letters of invitation [from these same places]. I always tell my students: recognition and fame has many layers. Be sure you are recognized, respected and cared for in your home — so you are good to the people in your house — in your neighborhood, in your town, in your state and then in your nation. But it starts at home.

What will your family and friends in La Vega think of your award?

I will go back there in December and explain to them the award. But I will have to show them something.

When I was 13, I did my first plaster-cast of an antique sculpture from the Greco-Roman empire at the provincial school in Matanzas. When I came home, I showed it to my father, and he put me on his horse — that was the mode of transportation for our family — and we went from house to house so that I could show the neighbors what he called my "monument." Here I was with something of no importance, but he already knew I was on my way to becoming an artist and he wanted me to have an audience.

So for this award, maybe what I would do is bring a copy of the letter [from the MacArthur Foundation] and frame it [to show people]. Someday I plan to have a site in the town dedicated to the history of the Campos family and the history of all the indentured, enslaved people who worked there to produce incredible wealth.

I bet you wish your parents were here to see you today.

They are. They are seeing me from the sky. They are clapping.

• Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
• MacArthur Fellows
• American South
• global south
• MacArthur Genius Grant
• Nigeria
• MacArthur Foundation
• art
• Cuba
• slavery

Guzik enjoyed animation, but she loved painting even more. So when a former Disney employee with whom she worked for a time encouraged her to apply to art school, she took his advice. She graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and later studied at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Connecticut. It was while studying art in Chicago that a pivotal event changed her life. One day her beloved art instructor, Bill Parks, showed her a still-life painting. It completely blew her away. “I was about to faint, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen,” she remembers. After years of believing all the great masters were relegated to the pages of art-history books, she stared at the painting and realized: “This is by Richard Schmid, and he’s alive!”

She looked in the mirror, and to her astonishment, her skin started to glow with a radiant light. Her blemishes and imperfections disappeared, leaving behind a flawless complexion. Word quickly spread about Little Witch Nobet's magical skin. People from all over the kingdom wanted to get their hands on the potion that had transformed her appearance. Nobet started receiving requests and demands for the potion, and she saw an opportunity to start her own business. She set up a small shop in the enchanted forest where she brewed and sold her magical skin potion. People lined up every day to purchase the potion, hoping to achieve the same flawless skin as Little Witch Nobet. However, as the demand for the potion grew, so did the pressure on Nobet. She found herself spending long hours in her workshop, tirelessly brewing potion after potion. She became so focused on meeting the demands of others that she neglected her own well-being. Months passed, and Nobet's perfect skin began to fade. Dark circles formed under her eyes, and her once glowing complexion started to look tired and dull. She realized that in her quest to make others happy, she had neglected herself. Determined to find a balance between her business and personal life, Little Witch Nobet decided to change her approach. She hired some helpers to assist her in brewing the potions and decided to limit the number of potions she sold each day. This way, she could take care of herself while still fulfilling the demand for the magical potion. Slowly, Nobet's skin started to regain its radiance as she focused on her own well-being. She realized that true beauty came from within and couldn't be achieved solely through potions and spells. The enchanted forest continued to buzz with the stories of Little Witch Nobet's skin, but this time, people admired her not just for her flawless appearance but for her determination, resilience, and self-care. Little Witch Nobet's story teaches us that taking care of oneself is just as important as taking care of others. We should always remember to prioritize our own well-being and not get carried away by external pressures and demands. After all, true beauty lies in being kind, courageous, and caring, both towards ourselves and others..

Reviews for "The Witch's Guide to Little Witch Nobet's Skin"

1. Emma - 2 out of 5 stars:

I have to say, I was highly disappointed with "Little Witch Nobets Skin." The characters were dull and one-dimensional, and the storyline was extremely predictable. It felt like the author took a bunch of cliched ideas and threw them together without much thought. Additionally, the pacing was all over the place, making it difficult to stay engaged. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're really desperate for something to read.

2. Jacob - 1 out of 5 stars:

In my opinion, "Little Witch Nobets Skin" was a waste of time. The writing was juvenile and lacked sophistication. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it hard to connect with the characters. The plot was also incredibly boring, with no real conflicts or surprises. The book didn't bring anything new to the table and failed to excite or engage me in any way. Save yourself the disappointment and skip this one.

3. Sarah - 2 out of 5 stars:

I had high hopes for "Little Witch Nobets Skin", but sadly, it fell short of my expectations. The world-building was weak, and there were many inconsistencies throughout the story. The protagonist was uninteresting, and I found it difficult to root for her. The editing was also subpar, with numerous grammatical errors and awkward sentence structures. I wanted to like this book, but it left me feeling unsatisfied and underwhelmed.

Little Witch Nobet's Skin: Potions and Potency