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How I Became a Ghost
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From: Lee Byrd <leebyrd_at_cincopuntos.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:05:49 -0700
It has been very interesting to me to read the comments about illustrators and their ethnicity. There's so much to learn.
Every book that we've ever published has taken us on a new journey. When the book is finished, we are in awe of the collaborative nature of the whole event. It's miraculous. We make our choices about what book to publish and who will illustrate it and then we wait to discover (with lots of sweat and tears and wringing of hands) what will come forth.
I wanted to share here the artist statement from Jeanne Rorex Bridges, the illustrator for *Crossing Bok Chitto,* Tim's first picture book. It's an artist statement that we never would have known to ask for except that during the year that *Crossing Bok Chitto* came out, the Caldecott Committee, or at least one member of that committee, was curious enough about what Jeanne had done with *Crossing Bok Chitto* to call her up and inquire about her style. And this was her response. I think it gives a window into her immediate understanding of what Tim had written and her shared and continuous curiosity about the relationship between Native and African Americans.
*Artist's Statement *: *Jeanne Rorex Bridges *
I am of Cherokee Indian descent and have been a professional artist for 25 years. I am best known by collectors of Native American art. Most of my awards were in Native American art competitions.
My art education began at age 28 when I attended Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, a private junior college known as the Indian College. My classes included courses in Indian art. This flat style of painting, originated by the Kiowa Five (see below) was immediately natural for me. To produce Indian art, you should understand the human anatomy, the tradition and history of Indian people, and be able to portray your feelings in the work. Indian Art is not just a "pretty picture."
In the Oklahoma Flat Style, you apply solid color in the shape of what you're drawing. Think, for example, of a woman in a blanket. To create that initial shape, you must understand the position of her shoulders, her arms and back under the blanket. Pure Indian art would only allow fine lines of another color and/or gradual changes of flat colors to "shade" the blanket. Over the years, I have developed my own style by keeping the basic Flat Style while adding background work and shading. I have always mixed my own colors from tube paints because I like lots of color but muted, softer colors.
Tim Tingle's *Crossing Bok Chitto *was inspiring to portray. The relationships of kindness and protection, the strength of the women, the shared history of Native and African Americans, and faith were all in this story. (Please refer to my website http://rorex-art.com and see my five paintings of Native and African American women together.) When Tim approached me with *Crossing Bok Chitto, *I had already been thinking and painting the shared history of Native and African Americans for a long time.
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:05:49 -0700
It has been very interesting to me to read the comments about illustrators and their ethnicity. There's so much to learn.
Every book that we've ever published has taken us on a new journey. When the book is finished, we are in awe of the collaborative nature of the whole event. It's miraculous. We make our choices about what book to publish and who will illustrate it and then we wait to discover (with lots of sweat and tears and wringing of hands) what will come forth.
I wanted to share here the artist statement from Jeanne Rorex Bridges, the illustrator for *Crossing Bok Chitto,* Tim's first picture book. It's an artist statement that we never would have known to ask for except that during the year that *Crossing Bok Chitto* came out, the Caldecott Committee, or at least one member of that committee, was curious enough about what Jeanne had done with *Crossing Bok Chitto* to call her up and inquire about her style. And this was her response. I think it gives a window into her immediate understanding of what Tim had written and her shared and continuous curiosity about the relationship between Native and African Americans.
*Artist's Statement *: *Jeanne Rorex Bridges *
I am of Cherokee Indian descent and have been a professional artist for 25 years. I am best known by collectors of Native American art. Most of my awards were in Native American art competitions.
My art education began at age 28 when I attended Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, a private junior college known as the Indian College. My classes included courses in Indian art. This flat style of painting, originated by the Kiowa Five (see below) was immediately natural for me. To produce Indian art, you should understand the human anatomy, the tradition and history of Indian people, and be able to portray your feelings in the work. Indian Art is not just a "pretty picture."
In the Oklahoma Flat Style, you apply solid color in the shape of what you're drawing. Think, for example, of a woman in a blanket. To create that initial shape, you must understand the position of her shoulders, her arms and back under the blanket. Pure Indian art would only allow fine lines of another color and/or gradual changes of flat colors to "shade" the blanket. Over the years, I have developed my own style by keeping the basic Flat Style while adding background work and shading. I have always mixed my own colors from tube paints because I like lots of color but muted, softer colors.
Tim Tingle's *Crossing Bok Chitto *was inspiring to portray. The relationships of kindness and protection, the strength of the women, the shared history of Native and African Americans, and faith were all in this story. (Please refer to my website http://rorex-art.com and see my five paintings of Native and African American women together.) When Tim approached me with *Crossing Bok Chitto, *I had already been thinking and painting the shared history of Native and African Americans for a long time.
--
Lee Byrd
*Cinco Puntos Press *
---
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Received on Thu 20 Feb 2014 01:06:58 PM CST
