The painting, called “For the Woman’s House,” had been housed at Rikers Island since 1971 but was nearly thrown away after being whitewashed at the orders of prison officials. The painting was based on interviews by Ringgold of female inmates and was the first of Ringgold’s public commissions.
Today let’s tap into sharing the power within and the power without. Nurture it. Invite someone for tea or coffee and pass on some feminine wisdom. Listen carefully, and let them pass on some wisdom to you as well.
Talented young artist, Rajwi, teaches me so much.
SHARE THE PROCESS; SHARE THE ART
Faith Ringgold's "The Sunflowers Quilting Bee at Arles" 1991
I can fly- yes, fly. Me, Cassie Louise Lightfoot, only eight years old and in the third grade, and I can fly. That means I am free to go wherever I want for the rest of my life.
Listen to Ruby Dee read to Faith Ringgold‘s TAR BEACH and see Faith’s incredible illustrations on Reading Rainbow. Also watch the entire episode to learn about the George Washington Bridge and life on rooftops:
What are the lessons you draw from this delightful piece of art? What words come to mind? Fill a page with those words.
Ask the children if they believe Cassie really could fly over the city. Tell the children that when Cassie says she can fly, the author is making use of figurative language. Have children look on a map to locate New York City, Harlem and the George Washington Bridge. If possible, show the class photographs of these places. Inform the class that the author is writing about the rooftop of a neighboring apartment building she sees from the roof of her Harlem apartment. (When the author was a child, her family often spent hot summer nights up on the roofthe adults played cards and the children stayed up late, lying on mattresses.)
What would it feel like to fly?
Grid out a quilt on your page.
Draw/write your flying feelings in your quilt grid.
Color it.
Look for a place where your imagination is free to fly. Where you can dream. And believe that those dreams will come true. – Levar Burton
This post is dedicated to my daughter, Anna, as she flies tonight to fulfill her destiny!
We will get into TAR BEACH and more of Faith’s work this week. Her work is about bridges. Bridging:
ART–CRAFT
WOMEN–MEN
ADULT–CHILD
TRADITION–MODERN
PRACTICAL–ARTISAN
IMAGINATION–REALITY
Faith Ringgold, began her artistic career more than 35 years ago as a painter. Today, she is best known for her painted story quilts — art that combines painting, quilted fabric and storytelling. She has exhibited in major museums in the USA, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. She is in the permanent collection of many museums including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Museum of Modern Art. Her first book, Tar Beach was a Caldecott Honor Book and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, among numerous other honors. She has written and illustrated eleven children’s books. She has received more than 75 awards, fellowships, citations and honors, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Fellowship for painting, two National Endowment for the Arts Awards and seventeen honorary doctorates, one of which is from her alma mater The City College of New York. [source]
Research Faith online and sketch/write what resonates with you:
