Attributions and Artist Statement
Lukey Ward
Lukey’s vivid blue scarf
Lukey’s star sapphire ring with diamonds
1 suffragette pin of lock and jail door
1 square of cream paper stamped with black ink of sewing machine
1 silver candy cane with a circle charm engraved with Lukey I and Lukey II
1 red pen
Lukey’s cream and gold Paloma Picasso purse
Lukey’s burgundy wallet with her driver’s license (not visible)
Lukey’s gold necklace that she was wearing when she died
1 of Lukey’s diamond earrings
2 sets of bead necklaces: one in deep Autumn colors, one in light Springtime colors
1 perfume flask engraved with someone wearing a sombrero napping under a palm tree
1 Chanel No 5 body powder round container with puff
1 Chanel No 5 parfum bottle and its box
1 Chanel No 5 body creme round container
1 Chanel No 5 bath powder container
1 sculpture of a pair of legs wearing gold shoes
3 protractors in different colors and shapes: clear semicircle, orange 45 degrees triangle with fun cut out shapes such as a star, pink 45 degrees triangle with fun cut out shapes such as a heart
Purse
10” x 3 1/2” x 11”
Scarf
11” x 50”
Assemblage
24” x 25 1/2” x 11”
2024
I made this art to honor my mother’s mom, my grandmother, Lucretia Baldwin “Lukey” Ward.
A feminist and civil rights activist, Lukey co-founded the Women’s Alliance, the Louisville, KY chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Allied Organizations for Civil Rights. The AOCR’s commitment to open housing resulted in the passage of a public accommodations act in 1966 (the year I was born!). She marched in Louisville, Selma, and Frankfort, and was among the close group at the Lorraine Motel with Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was assassinated.
My grandmom also raised five kids with her husband, the architect Jasper Dudley “Jack”Ward III, and helped raise their numerous grandchildren, including me. Their doors were always open (and so was their fridge!), welcoming an array of people. Their vivid home created community.
Everything in this art assemblage was given to me by Lukey or Jack or my mom, Lucretia Baldwin “Teka” Ward. It was my mom’s idea to include the protractors!
When I was a kid, I mispronounced Lukey as Kooky. She said, “She already knows!” So my father nicknamed her Kook-a-lo. She gave the silver candy cane to me when I was a child, and on the charm is her name on one side, Lukey I, and mine on the other, Lukey II.
Kooks made her own clothes, wrote an unpublished novel, was a lively and entertaining conversationalist, wore short skirts in her seventies, and taught me how to compost. She adored reading, and I loved her vast personal library. She always made sure to bring me library books, or get me to the library, and always treated me to my beloved paperbacks. If you look closely, you can see the star in her sapphire ring.
When I looked for the suffragette gate pin, I couldn’t find it. I looked in a carrying case where I just knew I’d stored it. But it wasn’t there! Where else could it be? I looked every place I could possibly keep jewelry, and also where I might’ve stored my grandmother’s belongings. I couldn’t find it. I looked one more time in the carrying case and didn’t see it anywhere. As I closed up the case, the pin leapt out - and so did the diamond earring I’d forgotten all about until the moment it leapt out to me!
My grandmother had a grand sense of humor and such intelligent eyes. I miss her.
My mom, my brother, Lacey Thomas Smith, Jr., and I also created a website to honor Kooks and Jack. My mom wrote an excellent article about Lukey for the website, and this artist statement is based on it: