Melody Weintraub 

Family stories painted on wood.

My Aunt Sybil’s eclectic home in southern Louisiana was always lively with craft projects like crocheting, quilting, antique doll displays, woodworking, and painting. The large, bricked floor of her sunroom was spattered with the memories of painting gourds with her grandchildren.

A forgotten, distressed cupboard became her art supply cabinet. Every kind of brush filled slightly chipped coffee mugs and rusted coffee cans on the sideboard next to her wicker chair. This is where she also transformed cypress knees into holiday-themed art for local gift shops. Each year when I decorate my Christmas tree, I smile when I hang the Santa face she painted on an oyster half shell and signed simply “Nanny.”  

Clementine Hunter
Aunt Sybil could paint anything on anything. I guess thatʼs what first drew her to the work of African American artist Clementine Hunter, who grew up at Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches, Louisiana, until her gift for “making a mark on paper” was discovered by Francois Mignon.

Students realize that this lesson focuses more on the message and emotional expression than technical skills.

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