Jones spent her life learning and teaching. I have found that my natural curiosity keeps me fresh and motivated.
Affirmation
Month: April 2024
We are Finalist!
Affirmation
Sometimes my curiosity is a setback. It brings all progress to a halt and teaches me new things.
And learning new things takes time.
Art of the Month
Lois Mailou Jones (1905–1998) was an artist and educator. Her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Muscarelle Museum of Art, and The Phillips Collection.
She is often associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Thomas Vreeland Jones and Carolyn Adams. Her father was a building superintendent who later became a lawyer after becoming the first African-American to earn a law degree from Suffolk Law School. Her mother worked as a cosmetologist.
Jones’s parents encouraged her to draw and paint using watercolors during her childhood. Her parents bought a house on Martha’s Vineyard, where Jones met those who influenced her life and art, such as sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller, composer Harry T. Burleigh, and novelist Dorothy West.
From 1919 to 1923, Jones attended the High School of Practical Arts in Boston. She took night classes from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts through an annual scholarship. Additionally, she apprenticed in costume design with Grace Ripley. She held her first solo exhibition at the age of seventeen in Martha’s Vineyard. Jones began experimenting with African mask influences during her time at the Ripley Studio. From her research of African masks, Jones created costume designs for Denishawn.
From 1923 to 1927, Jones attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to study design, where she won the Susan Minot Lane Scholarship in Design yearly. She took night courses at the Boston Normal Art School while working towards her degree. After graduating from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, she received her graduate degree in design from the Design Art School of Boston in 1928. Afterwards, she began working at the F. A. Foster Company in Boston and the Schumacher Company in New York City. During the summer of 1928, she attended Howard University, where she decided to focus on painting instead of design.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Mailou_Jones
Affirmation
Curiosity is the thing that allows me to explore the world around me. It sends me in different directions allowing my art to experience the world in different ways. This past year I have explored new avenues of storytelling.
Jones was an artist, teacher, folk dancer, basketball coach and much more.
Book of the Quarter
Dancing During the Storm
Dancing During the Storm is a collection of stories from projects that I have written over the years. They represent a desire to praise God despite the storms in my life. As the saying goes, you are going into a storm, in the middle of a storm or coming out of a storm. All of these stories tell of people who enjoy the life that God has given them and live it to the fullest. Each character has a storm in their life which they are going into, in the midst of, or coming out of.
The first story is about the first man to ever encounter a storm and the impact on his life.
The second story is about a court case that changed the lives of three of the women involved. A Victim. A Juror. A Judge. The impact of the trial changed their thinking, yet prepared them for all that life threw at them.
The third and fourth story is a science fiction tale of the journey of a young woman who searched for peace and quiet after spending the last two years on a planet that had to resemble hell. As she emerged from the storms of her life, she saw that things were not as easy as she thought they would be.
The fifth story is another science fiction story that showed a divided world on the brink of war and two women meet to decide the fate of all the women on the planet. This meeting determined if it would either draw everyone together or increase the divide. Would it be treason or slavery?
The sixth story two bullets changed the life of a man who had cruised through life on the back of rich parents and affluence.
Enjoy these fun, thought provoking stories, and hear the underlying intent.
You can purchase these at Amazon.com and Books2read.com
Coming In April
We will participate in the Spectacular Black Girl Art Show in April in Chicago. Stay tuned for more information on how you can support us.
Affirmation
The word curiosity is not often used in a positive way. Maybe because questioning or searching for something doesn’t always bring positive vibes.
Lois Mailou Jones took classes throughout her lifetime. She spent her life learning new things and growing as an artist. She probably spent a lot of time asking questions and seeking new information.
The results. Her work.
Book of the Quarter
New Quarter! Another Book!
Dancing During the Storm is a collection of stories from projects that I have written over the years. They represent a desire to praise God despite the storms in my life. As the saying goes, you are going into a storm, in the middle of a storm or coming out of a storm. All of these stories tell of people who enjoy the life that God has given them and live it to the fullest. Each character has a storm in their life which they are going into, in the midst of, or coming out of.
The first story is about the first man to ever encounter a storm and the impact on his life.
The second story is about a court case that changed the lives of three of the women involved. A Victim. A Juror. A Judge. The impact of the trial changed their thinking, yet prepared them for all that life threw at them.
The third and fourth story is a science fiction tale of the journey of a young woman who searched for peace and quiet after spending the last two years on a planet that had to resemble hell. As she emerged from the storms of her life, she saw that things were not as easy as she thought they would be.
The fifth story is another science fiction story that showed a divided world on the brink of war and two women meet to decide the fate of all the women on the planet. This meeting determined if it would either draw everyone together or increase the divide. Would it be treason or slavery?
The sixth story two bullets changed the life of a man who had cruised through life on the back of rich parents and affluence.
Enjoy these fun, thought provoking stories, and hear the underlying intent.
You can purchase these at Amazon.com and Books2read.com
Art the Month
Lois Mailou Jones meets us at the interesection of gender, race and profession.
Lois Mailou Jones (1905–1998) was an artist and educator. Her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Muscarelle Museum of Art, and The Phillips Collection.
She is often associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Thomas Vreeland Jones and Carolyn Adams. Her father was a building superintendent who later became a lawyer after becoming the first African-American to earn a law degree from Suffolk Law School. Her mother worked as a cosmetologist.
Jones’s parents encouraged her to draw and paint using watercolors during her childhood. Her parents bought a house on Martha’s Vineyard, where Jones met those who influenced her life and art, such as sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller, composer Harry T. Burleigh, and novelist Dorothy West.
From 1919 to 1923, Jones attended the High School of Practical Arts in Boston. She took night classes from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts through an annual scholarship. Additionally, she apprenticed in costume design with Grace Ripley. She held her first solo exhibition at the age of seventeen in Martha’s Vineyard. Jones began experimenting with African mask influences during her time at the Ripley Studio. From her research of African masks, Jones created costume designs for Denishawn.
From 1923 to 1927, Jones attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to study design, where she won the Susan Minot Lane Scholarship in Design yearly. She took night courses at the Boston Normal Art School while working towards her degree. After graduating from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, she received her graduate degree in design from the Design Art School of Boston in 1928. Afterwards, she began working at the F. A. Foster Company in Boston and the Schumacher Company in New York City. During the summer of 1928, she attended Howard University, where she decided to focus on painting instead of design.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Mailou_Jones
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