The island of Nantucket, once known as the “Whaling Capital” of the world, is featured in Herman Melville’s classic novel, “Moby Dick.” Melville’s fictional and infamous whaling ship, Pequod, was home ported in Nantucket.
The first Brant Point Lighthouse in Nantucket was built in 1746 after Sea Captains demanded a lighthouse to protect their investments.
Captains Prince Boston, Absalom Boston and Edward Pompey are a few of the known African American Whaling Captains.
Thousands of African Americans migrated to the North between 1900 and 1920 to escape economic hardship and racism and to search for human dignity and financial opportunity.
The veterans of World War I who had fought “to make the world safe for democracy” were determined to make democracy work at home.
From this mass migration, urbanization, and military participation, a dynamic artistic community evolved.
The Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art by Andrea D. Barnwel
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.
According to an article in the New York’s Times “Remote school may be attend to dropping out… “ The article lists a lot of data to discourage Black and Latino parents from homeschooling without addressing obvious reasons besides Covid that these parents are opting to home school.
After years of being ignored by school systems, these parents are tired of discriminatory tactics by the educational system. It’s a system that often degrades students of color and ignores parental concerns about racial insensitivity of teachers. School books and curriculum reinforce this narrative by routinely overlooking the contributions of non-whites.
All the data in the world will not convince parents whose children have faced bias treatment. This article in the New York Times proves that the educational experts are “tone death.”
“Mangroves are magical forests where we discover nature’s secrets. They straddle the connection between land and sea and nature and humans.”
Mangroves help protect Florida’s coastline by preventing erosion and absorbing storm surge during hurricanes.
They capture carbon monoxide and greenhouse gases. They serve as a habitat and refuge for Florida wildlife.
Mangroves provide a habitat for 80 percent of finfish and shellfish sought by commercial and sports fishermen.
They improve water quality by filtering out harmful pollutants.
I just discovered a great resource for youths. I was surprised that it also had information and a link that caters to military kids. As a former Navy spouse, I know that military kids face unique challenges.
This is a great site for the entire family. It has inspirational stories by youth, contests, and many worthwhile services. Be sure to check it out.
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once one grows up.” I love this quote by Picasso. It brings to mind the precious first drawings my three children created during childhood. I was distraught the other day when one of these fragile keepsakes began to tear inside of a frame. It seems the backing of the frame had come apart along with the drawing.
Society is often good at destroying creativity as well. As children grow up, creativity is often discouraged. Creativity while fragile is the backbone of society. When archeologists study past cultures they often gauge their development by the complexity of the art produced.
There is hope. Many schools have Science, Technology, Art and Math (STEAM) curricula. Creativity is a great way to keep students engaged especially now that so many students are studying online.
Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievements. A report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.
Multicultural Art 4 Kids 