FRANKFORT ā Artist, speaker, and author, Dr. Synthia SAINT JAMES taught a three-day masterās class at Ā鶹ֱ²„ with the goal of achieving a mural encompassing the arts. The classes began Tuesday, March 21, and lasted through Thursday, March 23. This is SAINT JAMESā third visit to Ā鶹ֱ²„.
In October, SAINT JAMES came up with the idea to create a painting, and then have students create paintings of the same size with the intention of forming a collage of artworks. The painting she created is about four principles of the arts: drama, music, painting, and dance. She wanted students to paint something with the same theme of āthe arts.ā
SAINT JAMES said she hoped the students would draw inspiration from her work and create their own image of the arts.
The mural will be on the first floor of the Carl M. Hill Student Center. Her goal is to have students finish their paintings by April 7, so she could have it custom framed and hung before commencement in May.
Synthia SAINT JAMES is famous for numerous works of art. She created the first Kwanzaa Commemorative Stamp in 1997, as well as the Forever Kwanzaa stamp in 2016. She designed the cover art for āWaiting to Exhaleā by Terry McMillan and āActs of Faithā by Iyanla Vanzant. Her work has been featured internationally at United States Embassies. More recently, she has been creating paintings for private collectors, corporations, non-profit organizations, colleges, and universities.
āI would like to continue the relationship with the students here,ā SAINT JAMES said. āPeople already know I feel at home when Iām here. I feel very comfortable here.ā
She created the painting celebrating Ā鶹ֱ²„ās 130th Anniversary. It was unveiled on campus on May 18, 2016.
ā Shantel Booth