Martin Luther King Jr.

       Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. His parents were Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King Sr. Throughout his entire life he was around discrimination and hatred just because of skin color. The interesting thing is that he used love instead of anger and violence to achieve equality. This Baptist Minister was an amazing leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement. Whites did not believe that African Americans were equal to them at this time. Even when the whites acted in violence, Martin preached against it saying “we must love our white brothers and sisters!” His determination all the way to the end of his life is what makes him one of the most memorable and historical heroes from the state of Georgia.

Children- Yolanda King, Dexter Scott King, Martin Luther King 3rd, and Bernice King
Spouse- Coretta Scott King

~ Shyann D., College Student

Thank you, Shyann for your awesome post!

MJ

Teacher Resource - Steffen Thomas Art Project

Stained Glass Mosaics inspired by Steffen Thomas

Materials needed:  8x10 sheets of multicolored acetate
 8x10 sheet of clear acetate (one for each student)
Clear glue such as Modge Podge  (or a white glue that dries clear)
Paint brushes
Scissors
Permanent markers
Samples of Steffen Thomas’ glass mosaics and paintings
8x10 frames.

Steffen Thomas produced a number of works in glass mosaics. After viewing several pieces of art works by Thomas including Women in a Red Hat Dressed to the Nines ca. 1985, Woman Wearing a Red Hat, 1984, Flowers in Vase 1982, and Steffen’s Desk-Mosaic in Glass, 1973 students will create a glass mosaic of their own of a figure wearing a hat.

1.   View images of Steffen Thomas’ paintings and glass mosaics.
2.   Students will create their own figure in a hat drawn with permanent marker on clear acetate 8x10 in size. The figure can be standing or seated and drawn from the waist up in the style of Thomas.

3.   Encourage students to use thick, flowing lines to emulate grout lines or leaded stained glass outlines.
4.  In the drawing,  break up background into simple shapes or designs.
5.  Cut multicolored sheets of colored acetate into small shapes (about ¼ inch wide squares or triangles.)

6.   With a clear glue product like Modge Podge glue various colored shapes into the drawn figure’s body, hat, face and background until all areas are filled in being careful not to cover up the thick black outline around the figure and shapes.

7.   Overlap different colored pieces of translucent colored acetate to achieve different tones and values of color in your mosaic.

8.   Allow the artwork to dry and place in an 8x10 frame and display.

~Nan D., Art/Art History Teacher

NEW!!!! Teacher Resources!

Teacher Resources are activities, worksheets and other student related projects for teachers to use to teach kids more about their state!
If there are any teachers out there who wish to contribute to this, please leave a comment below and I will get in contact with you as soon as possible! All activities most be related to Georgia and fun for the kids!
We accept all types of projects, all grade levels and types of aspects of history! Business in history, technology in history, sports in history, ANYTHING!!!
To find a Teacher Resource, find the title above in future posts.
Please join me in making this just plain, old awesome for these kids!

Thank you!

MJ

A Georgian Artist

Today's post is provided by Nan D., a art/ art history teacher on a German artist with big Georgia connections!

 Enjoy!

Lady in Red Hat dressed to the Nines ca. 1985 Stained glass mosaic

 Women Women Wearing Red Hat 1984

Flowers in Vase ca 1982 stained glass mosaic



"I am Welsh by ancestry, German by birth, an American by adoption, and Southern by choice."
-Steffen Thomas

Biography

1906

• Born Fürth, Bavaria, Germany

1920-1923

• Apprenticed as stone carver - sculptor

1924

• Completed courses in Drawing and Sculpture, School of Applied Arts, Nürnberg (Nuremberg), under the tutelage of Professors Widmer and Rumelin.

1925-1928

•    Studied Classical Sculpture, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, with Professors Herman Hahn, Joseph Wakerle, and Bernhard Bleeker.
•    Studied architecture at Munich Technical School and anatomy at University of Munich’s Medical School.
•    Awarded Master Student status and a Certificate of Recognition in 1927.
•    Exhibited regularly at the Glaspalast (Glass Palace) in Munich, where he won awards for sculpture and had his art displayed with works by Modern Art Masters, such as Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and Munch.

1928

•    Came to the USA to work as a sculptor on Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate of E. F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post. (Estate now owned by Donald Trump, who operates it as the Mar-a-Lago Club)

1929

•    Returned to Germany briefly, and then came back to USA to establish himself as a sculptor.
•    Completed several portrait commissions in Alabama

1930

•    Opened his first professional studio in Atlanta, GA, established himself as a sculptor, and began receiving commissions for public sculpture.

1933

•    Married Sara Douglass, a City of Atlanta school teacher.

1935

•    Became an American Citizen

1939-1941

•    National Youth Administration (NYA), art supervisor for Georgia, under the WPA.

1941-1972

•    Moved from Atlanta to Stone Mountain, GA, raised four children, built large studio, house and sculpture garden
•    Completed many public sculptures, several on monumental scale
•    By mid 1950’s began devoting himself to creative art, working in many media

1973-1989

•    Moved with his wife Sara back to Atlanta •    Continued to work on a smaller scale in sculpture, painting, drawing and printmaking

1990

•    Died on January 27, 1990

1997

•    Sara Douglass Thomas, Steffen Thomas' widow, established the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, a nonprofit museum dedicated to Steffen Thomas' life and art.
Public Collections, Exhibitions, and Awards

1920s

Glaspalast (Glass Palace), Munich, invited to exhibit his sculpture many times
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Award of Excellence for Laboré, a sculpture of a mother and children

1930s

Berry College Museum Collection, Rome, GA, marble bust of Martha Berry
Georgia State Capitol Rotunda, Atlanta, marble bust of Moina Michael, the Poppy Lady
Tuskegee Institute, bronze bust of George Washington Carver (now at the Carver Museum, Tuskegee University)
Piedmont Park Collection, Atlanta, Pioneer Women, bronze plaque
High Museum, Atlanta, exhibition

1940s

National Youth Administration, Georgia, Plow Boy and Youth, monumental plaster sculptures
Georgia State College for Women, bust of Chief Justice Richard B. Russell
State Capitol Building, Atlanta, US Senator Hoke Smith, bronze plaque
University of Georgia, Chancellor Charles M. Snelling, bronze bust
University of Georgia, Sanford Stadium, Chancellor S. V. Sanford, bronze bust
Scottish Rite Hospital, Decatur, GA, Dr. Michael Hoke, bronze plaque
State Capitol Building, Atlanta, Charles H. Herty, bronze bust
Atlanta University, Atlanta, Dr. John Hope, bronze bust
State Capitol Grounds, Atlanta, GA, Eugene Tallmadge Memorial, colossal bronze on granite base
Young Harris College, North Georgia, Dr. Joseph A. Sharp, bronze bust

1950s

Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, MS, Alabama Memorial
Courthouse, Vienna, GA, bust Senator Walter F. George
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, exhibited
High Museum, Atlanta, Southeastern Art Show, exhibited
Sculptor’s Society, NYC, exhibited
Fulton National Bank Lobby, Atlanta, Robert Fulton, Fulton Steamboat, and Atlanta City Hall, cast aluminum murals
West Point Military Academy Collection, West Point, NY, Class of 1915 Monument
State Capitol Building, Atlanta, bust Governor John M. Slaton

1960s

Emory University, Atlanta, exhibition
Jens Rison, Decorative Arts Center, Atlanta, exhibition
High Museum of Art Permanent Collection, Atlanta, St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, bronze

1970s

Lord and Taylor Art Gallery, Atlanta, exhibition
Agnes Scott College Permanent Collection, Decatur, GA, Mother and Child, over life size marble, selection of small sculptures and paintings
Fulton County Collection (Roswell Library Grounds), Atlanta, Reclining Madonna and Child, marble
Callanwolde Arts Center Permanent Collection, Atlanta, Bird of Prey, limestone carving; Girl on a Motorcycle, limestone carving; and selected paintings
Dodd Art Center Permanent Collection, LaGrange College, LaGrange, GA, selected paintings, drawings, and prints
Ty Cobb Museum Permanent Collection, Royston, GA, Ty Cobb, drawing
Museum of Arts and Science Collection, Macon, GA, selected sculptures, paintings and drawings
City of Atlanta Collection and Urban Design Award, Trilon, welded copper fountain sculpture
Warm Springs Hospital Campus, Warm Springs, GA, FDR, monumental concrete head
Museum of the City of Mobile Permanent Collection, Mobile, AL, Alabama Memorial, plaster model
St. Johns Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC, exhibition

1980s

St. Johns Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC, Freedom of the Figure, traveling exhibition
Bryant Galleries, New Orleans and Jackson, MS, exhibitions
St. Johns Museum of Art Permanent Collection (now Cameron Art Museum), Wilmington, NC, selected works
Albany Museum of Art Permanent Collection, Albany, GA, Sowing the Seeds, painting
Southern Company, selected as feature artist for a national ad campaign
Gwinnett Council for the Arts Permanent Collection (now Hudgens Center for the Arts), Duluth, GA, selected sculpture and paintings
Georgia Governor’s Award in the Arts, for lifetime achievement in the arts

1990s

Publication of Art of Steffen Thomas, by Alan Aiches and Anthony Janson, catalogue for traveling exhibition.
Broome Street Gallery, NYC, Art of Steffen Thomas, exhibition
Lauren Rodgers Museum, Laurel, MS, Art of Steffen Thomas, exhibition
Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, GA, exhibition
SCAD, Savannah, GA, exhibition
Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, GA, exhibition

Steffen’s Desk Mosaic in glass ca. 1973

~Nan D. Art/Art History Teacher

Steffen Thomas in his Atlanta Studio


Thanks for reading! And thank you, Nan, for this awesome post!

Be sure to check out her teacher resource art project for kids of all ages and grades!

MJ

Steffen Thomas Museum -

4200 Bethany Rd
Buckhead, GA
30625

John Wesley In Georgia

Today we have a special post from Carolyn M., a United Methodist Revered, who has answered questions on Methodism and it's credited founder, John Wesley, and there connections with Georgia.

Enjoy!

John Wesley, Georgia, and Methodism Interview

Who is John Wesley?

John Wesley is known as the father of Methodism.  He was the son of a priest in the Church of England, one of 19 children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley in the early 1700s.  Wesley grew up to become a pastor in the Church of England himself.  In his years as a student at Oxford, he became part of a group of men who devoted themselves to spiritual disciplines as a way of deepening their relationship with God.  Others who watched from a distance found this group to be rigidly religious, so dubbed them “Methodists” as a derogatory term.  The name stuck, and as Wesley became impassioned about the work of spiritually reviving the Church of England, traveling from church to church to wake the people in the pews, the term “Methodist” traveled with him. 

 

Why did John Wesley pick Georgia?

As young college graduates, John and his brother Charles enlisted as missionaries with an organization called The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.  It was his response to a call to greater commitment and surrender to God.  The organization sent them to Georgia.  Their travel over was the best of times and the worst of times.  The voyage took two months and was fraught with dangers.  But it was on that voyage that he first encountered a group called the Moravians — German pietists — who were to impact him deeply.  In them, he saw a level of spiritual depth and intimacy he’d not encountered in his experience in England.  He longed for their experience of the Holy Spirit and especially for the joy with which they worshiped.  After landing in Georgia, he remained in touch with their leader and wrestled mightily with the character of his own faith in and expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

What impact did it have on Georgia?

Wesley’s intent for his missionary journey to Georgia was to minister to the colonists who lived there and convert Native Americans to Christianity.  He also hoped to gain a deeper assurance that he was indeed loved and accepted by God. 

 

His mission to Georgia lasted less than two years.  He spent time as the pastor of a church, but found the parishioners less than enthusiastic about his ministry.  He fell in love with a member of his congregation (a woman named Sophy Hopkey) and when it fell through he was profoundly wounded and became bitter toward her — a response that did not endear him to Sophie’s family and friends (he was actually charged with misconduct because of his behavior toward her!).  He had no significant contact with Native Americans. 

 

Returning to England with his tail between his legs — discouraged and doubtful — Wesley set about to understand his own faith.  He remained in contact with his Moravian friends who continued to be an influence. 

 

Wesley’s influence over Georgia, England and the world is not the result of one major event or one profound idea.  It happened over decades of faithful, passionate, obedient service to God, as Wesley wrote a systematic theology and a system of discipleship that filtered out across a spiritually hungry England and America.  His partners in ministry rode literally hundreds of thousands of miles on horseback (Francis Asbury is said to have ridden more than 300,000 miles on horseback, to every developed town in America). 

 

Did any Methodist come over with James Oglethorpe? If not, when did the first Methodist come to America?

John and Charles were the first “Methodists” to travel to Georgia, and we’ve already heard of their experience here.  Francis Asbury crossed over into Georgia at Augusta on March 1, 1790.  He preached for 16 days throughout eastern Georgia on this first trip here.  He was accompanied by several other preachers, including  a Mr. Whatcoat.

 

Where was the first Methodist church, in England and America?

John Wesley himself never professed to be anything other than a priest in the Church of England.  However, his movement, not to be contained or controlled, spread far beyond him even within his lifetime.  He traveled more than 250,000 miles over 50 years of ministry, preaching the gospel largely in England.  The Foundry, an old factory in London, was his home base.  He made it into a chapel from which most of his social reform programs and gospel initiatives proceeded.

 

Methodism spread in America after the Revolution, with Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury as key leaders.  The movement officially became an organization during a meeting at Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore in 1784.

 

What impact did Methodism have on the Christian way of thinking?

The greatest contribution of the “Methodist Way” is our practical and systematic approach to discipleship.  In two words, that theology can be described as grace and holiness.  Wesley wanted to see folks “grow in grace.”  He was hungry to see nominal Christians find a living and effective faith that worked itself out in acts of piety.  To that end, his theology was practical.  He is credited with saying, “There is no such thing as social holiness without personal holiness, or personal holiness without social holiness.”  That concept of connecting the inner journey with the outward journey of faith is what most attracts me to Methodism as a way of following Jesus.  I thank God for Wesley’s example and influence.  The spread of Methodism is surely the fruit of a life obediently lived in pursuit of the deeper things of God.

~ Carolyn M. United Methodist Revered

 

Thank you for this post!

 

Thank you for reading!

 

 

MJ