Art for little people: captivated by drawing as a child, Synthia Saint James nourishes that love in young people.Synthia Saint James Saint James, uninc. town (1990 pop. 12,800), Suffolk co., SE N.Y., on Long Island, in a farm and resort area. It is residential. , whose work conveys family, harmony and unity, is an internationally acclaimed artist with dozens of commissions and projects in the works. Her paintings hang in the collections of such high-profile people as Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Danny Glover and Terry McMillan
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951[1], in Port Huron, Michigan) is an African-American author. . It was her work for the cover of McMillan's Waiting to Exhale exhale /ex·hale/ (eks´hal) to breathe out. ex·hale v. 1. To breathe out. 2. To emit a gas, vapor, or odor. (1992) that helped launch Saint James commercially. At this point in her life, she says she has attained what must be every artist's dream, "to actually be able to support myself with my art within my lifetime." While her prints and posters begin at $40, her original works sell for as much as 825,000. She creates all of her work in her studio at home in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Saint James is also the illustrator and creator of more than a dozen books for children including No Mirrors in My Nana's House, Girls Together and It's Kwanzaa Time. (See BIBR's selected list, facing page.) Her latest children's book is Enduring Wisdom: Sayings From Native Americans, selected by Virginia Driving Hawk (Holiday House, March 2003). Saint James's work can also be seen this November as the cover image of Africana Woman: Her Story Through Time, a volume that celebrates women of color, by Cynthia Jacobs Carter and published by National Geographic. Saint James is a self-taught artist. "I have always felt that I was blessed with a gift from the creator, and the responsibility to share it," she told BIBR BIBR Bay Islands Beach Resort (Roatan, Honduras) BIBR Backward Indicator Bit Received in a recent telephone interview. She was an artistic child who loved to draw and color, and says she knew at the age of five that she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. She adds that there were "some gene things happening, too" that led her talent. Her father, William James, liked to draw, but did so more as a hobby and stopped in his early twenties. Her father had a trucking business and her mother, Henrietta, was a housewife. While her parents didn't discourage her, they also tried to persuade her to get some "real" job skills and schooling. "My mother, my biggest supporter, suggested a few alternatives when I was a teenager," she recalls. "Like 'Why not go to college and become a teacher and paint in the summers?' But that didn't work for me. In college, I was taking liberal arts and at a point decided to get a regular job. That's where I learned accounting as the 'real' job and at the same time started selling nay art to fellow workers." Saint James attended Los Angeles Valley College LAVC redirects here. For the software library, see libavcodec. The university is adjacent to Grant High School. Often called "Valley College" or simply "Valley" by those who frequent the campus, it opened its doors to the public on September 12, 1949, at which time the campus was in Van Nuys, California, and Dutchess Community College One-third of all Dutchess County high school graduates attend Dutchess Community College. Of the more than 25,000 DCC alumni, the majority make their home in the Hudson Valley and many of them have become civic and community leaders in their towns, villages and counties. in Poughkeepsie, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Although Saint James has never taught art in a school, she conducts art-marketing seminars and is a keynote speaker for major corporations, organizations and schools. After her career was established, Saint James found herself receiving offers to work on picture books for children. "What I enjoy most is getting to the actual paintings and seeing them form on my corkboards as characters mad stories that I've gotten to imagine and create," she says. "I also enjoy giving words and stories a visual life." Naturally, she emphasizes that young artists should be encouraged by their families. In her words: "I believe that whatever talent is seen in our children should be nourished, I also believe that it is important to expose them to as many museums, exhibits, cultural events and book signings as possible, especially when it relates to and celebrates people of color Noun 1. people of color - a race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks) people of colour, colour, color race - people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock; "some biologists doubt that there are important . And if there's a work shop or art class that they can be a part of, gel them there." Saint James, who is single and has no children, enjoys visiting her young fans. "I feel that when I am invited to schools to speak and do book signings for nay children's books, I am inspiring children," she adds. Many things stimulate the creative energy of Synthia Saint James. "Travel is very important to me and has inspired so many of my paintings," she explains. "But oftentimes it may be just a walk down the street, being with nature, an idea from a book I've read, a song that I've heard, or something that I've seen on video, film or television. I'm kind of like a sponge, creatively." Her influences include French Impressionists, primarily Van Gogh and Monet. Her favorite contemporary artists and peers are Ernie Barnes, Charles Bibbs, Larry "Poncho" Brown and Varnette Honeywood. Saint James's own art is not restricted to the canvas. Her use of vibrant colors can be seen on the U.S. Postal Service's Kwanzaa stamp that she created in 1997. She has also designed a ceramic the mural for the Ontario International Airport and elevator doors for Capitol Area East End Complex in Sacramento, California. Her upcoming projects include designing stained-glass windows for an historic Carnegie library in Tampa, Florida. "This will be the first in many stained glass designs that I envision myself doing," says Saint James. "I'd also like to work with more interior designers and architects." Her work will be on display at the Museum of African American Art African American art is a broad term describing the visual arts of the American black community. Influenced by various cultural traditions, including those of Africa, Europe and the Americas, traditional African American art forms include the range of plastic arts, from in Los Angeles, California, in November and December 2003. She is also working on an art-related autobiography and is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a publisher. With such a blessed life, Saint James says for this holiday she is most thankful "for life, for health, treasured family and friends, and the opportunity to live so many of my dreams, and to be told so often how my life work has lifted and inspired so many people worldwide." Suzanne Rust is the editor of BIBR's CHILDREN'S BOOKSHLF. See Her Work "The Creative World of Synthia Saint James" The Museum African American Art 4005 Crenshaw cren·shaw also cran·shaw n. A variety of winter melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) having a greenish-yellow rind and sweet, usually salmon-pink flesh. [Origin unknown.] Blvd. 3rd Floor Robinsons/May, Los Angeles, CA, 90008. Telephone: 323-294-7071 Museum Hours: Thursday-Saturday 11a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday: Noon-5 p.m. Admission: Free Art by Saint James will also been on sale at the museum. Her works can also be purchased through her Web site: www.synthiasaintjames.com. A Saint James Sampler Here is a select list: It's Kwanzaa Time: A Lift-the-Flap Story Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. Children's Books October 2001 $5.99, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-689-84163-0 Girls Together Written by Sherley Anne Williams Sherley Anne Williams (August 25, 1944—July 6, 1999) was born in Bakersfield, California and was an African-American poets. Many of her works tell stories about her life in the African-American community. When she was little her family picked cotton in order to get money. Harcourt, March 1999 $16.00, ISBN 0-152-30982-9 No Mirrors in My Nana's House Written by Ysaye M. Barnwell Harcourt, August 1998 $18.00, ISBN 0-152-01825-5 |
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