The image above is from the book, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave.
Black History Month
Learning, creating, and teaching Art has taken me on many unexpected journeys. In developing lessons for my students that would spotlight some amazing black artists for Black History Month, I discovered a book, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. This book took me on an unexpected educational journey filled with history, story telling, awesome artwork, and new artists to add to my "favorite artist list".
Join me this month as I share my experience and celebrate Black History Month. Each Friday in the month of February, I will add new artists, books, fun videos, and art projects. Hopefully you will enjoy the stories, artists, and projects as much as I did putting it all together.
To follow my experience, follow the dates. For example: Start with February 5th. Read the passages, view the videos, and create a project. The following week, visit this same page but scroll down to February 12th. Read the passages, view the videos, and create a project. The follow week, visit this page and scroll down to February 19th...well you get the idea. Each week, I will add onto the webpage until the last Friday of February (February 26th).
SIDE NOTE: I have posted a few "how to draw" videos of some famous African American leaders of our time. (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges.) Click the link and join Mr. Hub and draw some amazing people.
How To Draw Famous Leaders for Black History Month
Join me this month as I share my experience and celebrate Black History Month. Each Friday in the month of February, I will add new artists, books, fun videos, and art projects. Hopefully you will enjoy the stories, artists, and projects as much as I did putting it all together.
To follow my experience, follow the dates. For example: Start with February 5th. Read the passages, view the videos, and create a project. The following week, visit this same page but scroll down to February 12th. Read the passages, view the videos, and create a project. The follow week, visit this page and scroll down to February 19th...well you get the idea. Each week, I will add onto the webpage until the last Friday of February (February 26th).
SIDE NOTE: I have posted a few "how to draw" videos of some famous African American leaders of our time. (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges.) Click the link and join Mr. Hub and draw some amazing people.
How To Draw Famous Leaders for Black History Month
February: Week 1
In creating this lesson,
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Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier.
Click the image of the book and I will read you his story. |
After reading the book...
My mind was running wild with ideas for my students. I wanted to know more about Dave and his pottery, so I did a little research. Come to find out, I'm not the only one who likes Dave and his artwork. I ran across his pottery on the Antique Roadshow. You will never guess how much his pottery - made 160 plus years ago - is worth today.? Click the jug to the left to find out.
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Then I was thinking about...
How could I show my students the process of how Dave used a potter's wheel to create his huge jugs/jars? So I did some more research and found a great video of an artist named Emily Reason who demonstrates how to throw a bowl on a potter's wheel.
Click on the Emily's photo to watch her throw a bowl. ("Throwing" is a clay term for creating a bowl on a potter's wheel.) Keep in mind, in Dave's time, he used a non-electric potter's wheel. Dave had to use his foot to push a pedal to turn his wheel. So he was not only concentrating on creating a jug with 60 pounds of clay (which he had to use all of his body and strength), he was also kicking with his foot. |
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What about Dave's Poetry?
For Dave to be a well-known as a potter was really remarkable during his time as a slave. Dave also broke barriers by knowing how to read and write and his art work prove it. Dave wrote some very interested phrases on his pots. This got me thinking about proverbs. Proverbs are short phrases that explain a certain situation.
For example: In our culture you might hear someone say, "Don't count your chickens before they catch." This means, don't make a decision until you know all of the facts. To the right, are some of my favorite African Proverbs. In the spirit of Dave applying short phrases on his art, what if we created art to illustrate the meaning of these phrases? Select your favorite African Proverb and create a drawing of what you think it means. If you send me a photo of your drawing and the proverb you illustrated, I would love to post some of them to this website. For example: Below is a drawing I did to illustrate the English proverb, "Caught between a rock and a hard place." |
African Proverbs:
1. It is a foolish mouse that steals from the bag of the cat. 2. The monkey only leaps as far as it can reach. 3. By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have already left. 4. Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king. 5. If you are in hiding, don't light a fire. 6. It is the fool's sheep that breaks loose twice. 7. No one tests the depth of the river with both feet. 8. One cannot both feast and become rich. 9. Only when you have crossed the river, can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout. 10. Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it does not wash out the spots. 11. The moon moves slowly but it crosses the town. 12. There is no medicine to cure hatred. 13. Whey you follow in the path of you father/mother, you learn to walk like him/her. Can you guess which African proverb I illustrated below?
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February: Week 2
Last week...
I shared the amazing book, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier. After reading the book, I found myself going back (over and over) and looking at the illustrations. I was impressed how the illustrator was able to capture the process of working with clay and telling Dave's story at the same time. So I wanted to know more about the illustrator, Bryan Collier. What art medium was the artist using? What was his process of creating the artwork for the book?
This is what I found...
I shared the amazing book, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier. After reading the book, I found myself going back (over and over) and looking at the illustrations. I was impressed how the illustrator was able to capture the process of working with clay and telling Dave's story at the same time. So I wanted to know more about the illustrator, Bryan Collier. What art medium was the artist using? What was his process of creating the artwork for the book?
This is what I found...
Meet Bryan Collier
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Mr. Collier is a talented artist who is a four time winner of the Caldecott Honor award and six time winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator award - all for his amazing illustrations in children's picture books.
I have included some of his award winning books below. Be sure to look from them and many others at our school's library, McCracken County Public Library, and during our virtual book fair (which ended Feb. 14th).
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An Interview...
In my research to learn more about Mr. Collier, I discovered several video interviews. One of my favorite interviews was when he had an art show exhibiting some of his illustrations at North Carolina Central University in May of 2020. Click on the photo below to watch the interview. Then scroll down and I will share some more interesting facts, his favorite books, and an art project.
Interview with Bryan Collier at North Carolina University in May of 2020.
While listening to Mr. Collier in the interview above, he mentions what inspired him when he was younger and his dream of becoming an artist and illustrator. He made connections with picture books which had people in their stories that looked like him, a person of color. His favorite picture books as a kid were, The Snowy Day and Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. Since few picture books at that time portrayed people of color, he decided when he grew up, he was going to create books and tell stories about African Americans.
I have included the three books that inspired Mr. Collier in hopes that they also inspire us. You can click on the books below to play the "books on video".
I have included the three books that inspired Mr. Collier in hopes that they also inspire us. You can click on the books below to play the "books on video".
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.
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Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats.
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Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.
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A Second Interview...I discovered another interview with Mr. Collier where he describes his painting and collage process. Once you watch the video to the left, scroll down and we will do a collage project based what we learned from Mr. Collier.
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An Art Project based on Bryan Collier's work.
Let's create a work of art like Bryan Collier. Let's create a collage!
A collage is a work of art created by the 2-Dimensional art process of cutting shapes out of construction paper, newspaper, old magazines, or any printed material and gluing the shapes onto another sheet of paper or cardboard.
A collage is a work of art created by the 2-Dimensional art process of cutting shapes out of construction paper, newspaper, old magazines, or any printed material and gluing the shapes onto another sheet of paper or cardboard.
Here are the steps:
Step 1: Ask you parents or grandparents for old magazines, something they might throw away. Step 2: Flip through the magazine and find images, colors, shapes, textures, and patterns you like and cut them out. Step 3: You may draw and/or color on a sheet of drawing paper before glueing the cut shapes. For example, if you find a cool photo of a dinosaur in an old magazine. Cut out the dinosaur. On a clean sheet of drawing paper, draw a landscape of where the dinosaur lives. Then glue/paste your image of the dinosaur on your drawing. You can also draw and color a dinosaur on a sheet of paper, cut it out, and glue/paste it on a large photo of a landscape found in a magazine. Another option: You may use the colors and textured shapes cut from the magazines to fill in shapes on your drawing. For example, you may find a photo in an old magazine of a blue lake. Take that image of the blue lake and cut out a shape of jeans/pants for a person you are drawing. It will look like the person is wearing blue jeans with a texture or pattern of water. Click on the video below to see a video demonstrating both collage options. The video will explain how I created the collages to the right. Send me photos of what you create and I will try to add them to this page. Have fun everyone. |
February: Week 3
Our educational journey continues...
After reading the book, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, I wanted to know more about the artist/illustrator, Bryan Collier. In doing so, I discovered a whole new world of books that he has wrote and/or illustrated (or both). One of his many books, Between the Lines, caught my attention. Between the Lines, by Sandra Neil Wallace and illustrated by Bryan Collier focuses on an African American artist by the name of Ernie Barnes and how he went from the football field to becoming a famous artist.
First, click on the image of Mr. Collier to hear him briefly describe who Ernie Barnes was. Then click the image of the book to see Ernie Barnes' story through Mr. Collier's illustrations.
After reading the book, Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, I wanted to know more about the artist/illustrator, Bryan Collier. In doing so, I discovered a whole new world of books that he has wrote and/or illustrated (or both). One of his many books, Between the Lines, caught my attention. Between the Lines, by Sandra Neil Wallace and illustrated by Bryan Collier focuses on an African American artist by the name of Ernie Barnes and how he went from the football field to becoming a famous artist.
First, click on the image of Mr. Collier to hear him briefly describe who Ernie Barnes was. Then click the image of the book to see Ernie Barnes' story through Mr. Collier's illustrations.
This video from Sandra Neil Wallace website (https://sandraneilwallace.com/book/between-the-lines) .
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Read by Katie Menges.
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After hearing Mr. Collier say he first saw Ernie Barnes' artwork on a TV show called, "Good Times", I almost fell out of my chair. When I was your age (from 5 to 9 years old), I used to watch "Good Times" and I loved the main character called "J J" who wanted to be a painter. As a kid, I would walk around and say, "Dy-no-mite!". It was one of J J's favorite catch phrases.
They used Ernie Barnes' paintings on the show. Now I want to know more about this famous African American artists whom I saw his paintings as a kid like Mr. Collier. Check out this video labeled, "Good Times". |
This is a great summary of Ernie Barnes' career. Video is from CNN and October Gallery.
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Ernie Barnes: 1938 - 2009
To the right is Ernie Barnes Denver Broncos trading card. Image came from SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee.
Below are some of Ernie Barnes' amazing paintings. |
Band and Music
Art Project:
Mr. Barnes has a way of showing people in motion.
Below are a variety of "How to Draw" handouts of athletes doing a variety of sports and movement. Select your favorite sport or pose, follow the steps, and draw your own action scene like Ernie Barnes. Click on the video below and I will show you how to use the handouts (located below the video) to create an action picture. I created the handouts below using images from Drawing with Sports Illustrated Kids by Anthony Wacholtz, illustrated by Erwin Haya and Mike Ray and Draw Sports Figures by Daman J. Reinagle.
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Click the image to see a larger view. You can use the larger image on the screen to draw from. If you have access to a printer, click on the title to open a printable PDF file. Print, draw and create your own action drawing.
Some of my favorite action poses from the how to draw book, Drawing is Fun: Learn How to Draw Anything! from Arcturus Publishing.
My favorite cartoon action/sports poses from the book, Cartooning for Kids! Silly Sports by Dave Garbot.
February: Week 4
Hope you have enjoyed the month of celebrating amazing artists, learning their stories, and creating a variety of art projects.
This week, let us look at two more books illustrated by Bryan Collier, Trombone Shorty, and 5 O'Clock Band. Click on the images below and to hear the
This week, let us look at two more books illustrated by Bryan Collier, Trombone Shorty, and 5 O'Clock Band. Click on the images below and to hear the
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Looking back, I noticed a common theme. Bryan Collier, Ernie Barnes, and now Troy "Trombone Shorty" all had a dream of becoming an artist or musician when they grew up so they can inspire others.
Dave the potter, created large clay vessels and wrote poems on his art that is still inspiring people today (200 years later).
Bryan Collier, after making the connection to pictures books that had characters in their stories that look like him, a person of color, wanted to grow up and illustrate books about African Americans whose stories may go untold.
Ernie Barnes, while a young man in college asked when visiting an art museum, "where are all the paintings painted by black artists?" Mr. Barnes wanted to become an artists so and paint images of sports and African Americans' in their daily lives and have his paintings shown in museums for all to see.
Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, a kid in New Orleans who found a throwout music instrument had the dream of becoming a professional Jazz Musician. Through constant practicing and his love for music is now a famous Jazz Musician.
Art Project:
At home, you can use any paper. In class, I would give students a large white sheet of drawing paper. Students would fold the paper in half like a book.
What are you drawing?...
How will you change the world? What is your dream? What do you love to do? What are you passionate about? What would you like to be when you grow up?
If someone will illustrate a book about you, what would the front cover of you book look like?
I would love for you to draw the front cover for a book about you and how you are going to change the world through what you love or want to be when you grow up.
The front side of the folded paper will be the front cover. The back side will be the back cover and the inside could be used for your story. You may add additional pages or you can draw/illustrate your story on the inside.
Have fun, be creative, and know that you inspire me each day.
Roy Smith
Art Teacher
Dave the potter, created large clay vessels and wrote poems on his art that is still inspiring people today (200 years later).
Bryan Collier, after making the connection to pictures books that had characters in their stories that look like him, a person of color, wanted to grow up and illustrate books about African Americans whose stories may go untold.
Ernie Barnes, while a young man in college asked when visiting an art museum, "where are all the paintings painted by black artists?" Mr. Barnes wanted to become an artists so and paint images of sports and African Americans' in their daily lives and have his paintings shown in museums for all to see.
Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, a kid in New Orleans who found a throwout music instrument had the dream of becoming a professional Jazz Musician. Through constant practicing and his love for music is now a famous Jazz Musician.
Art Project:
At home, you can use any paper. In class, I would give students a large white sheet of drawing paper. Students would fold the paper in half like a book.
What are you drawing?...
How will you change the world? What is your dream? What do you love to do? What are you passionate about? What would you like to be when you grow up?
If someone will illustrate a book about you, what would the front cover of you book look like?
I would love for you to draw the front cover for a book about you and how you are going to change the world through what you love or want to be when you grow up.
The front side of the folded paper will be the front cover. The back side will be the back cover and the inside could be used for your story. You may add additional pages or you can draw/illustrate your story on the inside.
Have fun, be creative, and know that you inspire me each day.
Roy Smith
Art Teacher