Enslaved Black people often fulfilled the duties of a light keeper. They filled in when the light keeper was absent or sick.
In 1836, an elderly African American woman assisted in the keeping of St. Simons Lighthouse. She served while the lighthouse keeper was incapacitated with grout. James Gould was the Head Light Keeper during that time. He was the builder and first keeper at St. Simons Lighthouse.
Lily Brown’s Painting by Angela Johnson and EB Lewis is a positive and uplifting book that younger children will enjoy. This book highlights the creativity, strengths and love of a delightful African American girl. Lily has a zest for life, adores her family and especially her baby brother.
Lilly is a compassionate and kind girl with an active imagination. She explores the world through her art.
While there is a reference to art by Van gogh, Lily also finds inspiration and appreciation in everyday occurrences and elevates them to imaginative heights. There are no limits to her creativity. Lily becomes one with her art often immersing herself in the paintings.
I love that the author, Angela Johnson shares center stage with the illustrator. There is a nice foreword by the artist, EB Lewis, about his creative progress.
Check out my website for lesson plans for this book and other art workshops.
I love the artist Jacob Lawrence. I’m not alone —-one of his paintings recently broke an auction record to become among the most expensive works by an African American Artist. Lawrence depicted many social events in his paintings.
In the Jacob Lawrence workshop, students will learn about the US executive, legislative and judicial branches of government and discuss the role of the artist in society. Students will create a painting inspired by Jacob Lawrence. This curriculum meets National Educational Standards.
Jacob Lawrence’s painting “Bus” depicted life in the segregated South. The painting shows a bus with whites comfortably seated and blacks jammed in the back with empty seats separating the two races. It is painted in his signature gouache on paper with brown, blue and red color scheme.
To learn more about the Jacob Lawrence workshop and others, visit my website.
On my first visit to Paris, I stayed at the Hotel de la Tulipe, a wonderful inn located near the Eiffel Tower. I traveled with a group of artists headed to Monet ‘s Garden in Giverny, France.
During my stay at the hotel, I befriended the Inn Keeper who told me about his creative and compassionate 5 year old. It seems his son wanted to make signs so tourists would not get lost in Paris. He showed me photos of the drawings.
The next day, I gave the Inn Keeper a copy of my Art Deco coloring book, “Splash and Color,” for his son. The following day much to my surprise, he told me his son had almost finished the coloring book and was researching the Internet to see what the actual buildings looked like.
Children have an insatiable curiosity. I’m glad my coloring book inspired this young Parisian.
Explore my a new website to see this coloring book, creative lesson plans and art.
In 1992 Crayola introduced Multicultural Crayons. Last year it introduced Colors of the World its most inclusive product line so far.
Multicultural Art 4 Kids 