Anyone Can Fly

 

Faith Ringgold's painting of Cassie and her brother Be Be

“Anyone can fly.” These words of wisdom come from an eight-year-old girl in Faith Ringgold’s book Tar Beach. My art students have been learning about Faith Ringgold because February is Black History Month, and Ms. Ringgold is a famous Black artist, very much alive and kicking at ninety years old.

Faith Ringgold is best known for her story quilts. As a child, Ms. Ringgold learned quilting from her grandmother. Quilting was a connection to the African tradition of weaving, as well as to the freedom journey by escaped slaves in America in the mid-1800s. During the Underground Railroad, quilts were draped over rooftops as symbols of safety to freedom seekers.

All this month my students have been making art inspired by three of Ms. Ringgold’s paintings. The younger students copied a painting from Ringgold’s book Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky. In the book, a little girl dreams she is flying near a train that is zooming through the clouds. The train represents the Underground Railroad network that Harriet Tubman created to help freedom seekers find a new life. 

The five drawings below were done by Kindergarteners, and I am very impressed by their art:

Next, here are four drawings by first graders. I love their gusto.

My older students copied a different scene from the same book. A separate blog post with these drawings is coming up next month. The drawings are detailed and they are taking longer than I expected and so you will see them once the students finish.

The third painting that my students copied is from Ringgold’s book Tar Beach. This painting shows Cassie, an eight-year-old girl, flying above the city. Cassie is flying triumphantly above her city, claiming it as her own. In the book, Cassie dreams that she is flying above the George Washington Bridge and her own neighborhood, including her apartment building. The roof of her building is nicknamed “Tar Beach” by her family, as they go there to relax, get some sun and enjoy fresh air.

Ms. Ringgold' painting from her book Tar Beach.

fourth grade

The next five drawings were done by fifth graders. 

The following drawings were done by seventh graders. It fascinates me how they each put their own stamp on the assignment. I told them they did not have to copy Cassie's dress but some of them really wanted to make their drawings as similar as possible to Ms. Ringgold's.

In the book, Cassie says, “Anyone can fly,” a reassuring message from a young girl to people around the world. With a child’s innocence and bravery, she encourages us to shed our doubts and dream big.

Ms. Ringgold is no stranger to dreaming big. Her passion led to involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement. In 1950 Ms. Ringgold wanted to major in art at City College of New York, but women were not allowed to pursue that major then. She decided to major in art education instead, and got her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. When she first pursued writing her autobiography, no publisher would accept it. Undeterred, Ms. Ringgold decided that her art quilts would be her visual autobiography, a way to share her stories. She is known as a painter, sculptor and performance artist, but she is most famous for her art quilts, which combine painting, quilting and storytelling. Trips to West Africa and Europe influenced Ms. Ringgold’s art. A 1980 trip to South Asia, where she saw local art, influenced her to add fabric borders to her paintings. Eventually, publishers saw the light and offered to publish Ms. Ringgold’s stories. She has written seventeen children’s books and has received many awards for her books and art. For her perseverance and belief in herself, she is an ideal person to learn about during Black History Month.  

I hope you enjoyed reading about Faith Ringgold and seeing the wonderful art my students made. Stick around because I will be back soon with another chapter of Sarah’s Amazing Art Students!