Returning to the African American Museum

There will be no Friday Smiles this week, because I am gone.  By the time most of you read this, I will be at the hospital with Sally who is having her foot operated on.  I had to be up by 4 a.m. to take her to the hospital where her surgery is scheduled for 5 a.m.  I simply couldn't stay up long enough to link to Annie whose post goes live at 12:30 a.m. my time.

Because I needed a post I wouldn't have to link to, we are returning to the African American Museum today to see the remaining photos I took.

I'm sure you remember this photo of Verlene I shared about a week ago.  She called this piece "Flour Sack" and explained it reminded her of how her mother used to make all the children's clothes (there were eight in the family) from flour sacks once they were empty. 

Here were the others she brought, except for the Butterfly which is off to the side, but I showed it last week.

She called this one Cotton Candy.

Can you see how she gathers the material (either fabric or canvas, I'm not sure which), then paints it?  I believe she hardens it in place before she begins the painting process.  

This one was all about peacocks.

The price on this one (the only one with a price) was just out of camera shot, but I remembered it was $700.00 (USD).  I remember making something similar using caulk and water.  I placed a doll dress in a plastic bag with the watered down caulk, and when I removed it the next day, it was nicely scrunched.  I didn't attempt to paint it other than one flower on the skirt area.  It still sits in my craft room on the dresser that I keep my mailing supplies in.

But now it is time to take a look at the featured artist this month at the museum.

These are really difficult to photograph because all the photos are behind glass and the lights and windows reflect into the glass.

I never got a good photo of these two paintings, but I got a good reflection of one of the beautiful windows!

For some reason, I was drawn to this painting.

When I first saw this painting, I felt a twinge of sadness come over me.  This was such an emotional painting.  The color is off here, but it is much more correct in the photo below.

This is what I look like when I get up in the morning, although my hair isn't that long and much curlier!

Such diversity in these paintings, and such emotion, too.

So who is the artist, you ask?  Her name is Samella Lewis, and according to her bio, she is an artist, activist, art historian, and educator.   She also collects others' art, especially African-American art.

Lewis became the first African-American and the first African-American female to earn a doctorate in fine art and art history. She has been in five films and has written seven books in addition to the paintings you saw in the museum.  Talk about an overachiever.

She founded the Museum of African-American Arts in 1976 in Los Angeles, CA.  The museum recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.  She also founded three other museums in the Los Angeles area, and one near New Orleans, LA, her place of birth.  She was born in 1924 and is now 93.

Thank you for joining me today as I looked at the art by Samella Lewis and shared the art of Wichita artist, Verlene Maholmes.