The quilts of Gee's Bend are quilts created by a group of women and their ancestors who live or have lived in the isolated African-American hamlet of Gee's Bend, Alabama along the Alabama River. The quilts of Gee's Bend are among the most important African-American visual and cultural contributions to the history of art within the United States. Arlonzia Pettway, Annie Mae Young and Mary Lee Bendolph are among some of the most notable quilters from Gee's Bend. Many of the residents in the community can trace their ancestry back to slaves from the Pettway Plantation. Arlonzia Pettway can recall her grandmother's stories of her ancestors, specifically of Dinah Miller, who was brought to the United States by slave ship in 1859. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilts_of_Gee%27s_Bend In this project students create four colored collage quilt cards that are 4.5 x 5.5". Students are encouraged to use at least 15 scraps on each card. They are also reminded to consider using a special color palette, Primary, Secondary, Cool, Warm, or perhaps the Color Spectrum.
![]() Inspiration Read Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend. Connections to the famous civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the small town of Gee's Bend are made in this story. In learning the history of this community and the creative spirit that comes from making students can create their own creative color collages through paper scraps. www.amazon.com/Belle-Last-Mule-Gees-Bend/dp/0763687693/ref=asc_df_0763687693/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312089887152&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12247586967805817146&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019332&hvtargid=pla-568008936922&psc=1
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Students learned about Harriet Tubman. She led slaves out of slavery during the Underground Railroad in the South before 1865. Harriet was called the “Moses of her time” because she led slaves to freedom. When guiding slaves to freedom, she used the North Star to lead the way much like the Star of Bethlehem led the Magi to Jesus. There were a lot of big ideas, but three main points I led the student to express- -Quilts were commonly made in the 1800s and the star pattern was very popular. Students used the geometric shapes (we discussed squares, rectangles, and triangles in my antique quilt example). Students used parallelograms (diamonds) to make their stars -Students learned about constellations and drew a big and little dipper to locate the North Star -They included an Image of Harriet; students used a provided image or drew her themselves. There were a lot of big ideas and I was honored to lead a discussion about civil rights, inclusiveness, diversity, and adversity. The students were kind and thoughtful in their understanding of these monumental and historical figures during black history month at St. Paul’s. I look forward to more opportunities to make firm connections from our American past to our futures.
In one of my lessons planned for the month of February and Black History Month is a Pop Art Portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. I wanted to tie this legendary historical figure to a movement of the time. We looked at Andy Warhol's portraits and talked about his collaboration with the artist Jean-Michael Basquiat. The students watched Mr. Martin Luther's speech, I Have a Dream. We talked about some of their observations. We talked about the civil rights movement of the 1960s and how Martin Luther was an advocate for equal rights for African Americans but also for other minorities, women, and people with disabilities. I downloaded this printable from the blog link listed below. I used color theory as part of the lesson. Student were to chose a primary, secondary, cool, or warm color palette. In a variety of ways to service all student levels we colored plain paper in kindergarten with markers, colored pencils, or crayons. Older students used sharpies to color transparencies for a stained glass look. In this particular printable we talked about the word chosen on the bottom "dream".
![]() Inspiration Andy Warhol (1930-1987) loved celebrities, so he painted them as well. From these beginnings he developed his later style and subjects. Instead of working on a signature subject matter, as he started out to do, he worked more and more on a signature style, slowly eliminating the handmade from the artistic process. Warhol frequently used silk-screening; his later drawings were traced from slide projections. At the height of his fame as a painter, Warhol had several assistants who produced his silk-screen multiples, following his directions to make different versions and variations. Jean-Michel Basquiat's (1960-1988) art focused on ideas such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968) Was a Civil Rights Activist that not only stood up against segregation and the equality of african Americans but also for the rights of women and people with disabilities. Link to Martin Luther Jr"s speech I Have a Dream www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/martin-luther-king-i-have-a-dream-video-washington-dc-lincoln-memorial-civil-rights-movement-a8286926.html Link to Printable and other Martin Luther Jr Projects www.triedandtrueblog.com/martin-luther-king-day-window-art/ ![]()
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AuthorI have a passion for the visual arts and love sharing it with others. I have enjoyed teaching all ages and love to incorporate art history and traditional disciplines as well as innovative ideas. Art is vital to who I am as a creator and educator. Archives
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