7 Feb: Arts and Crafts

This was such a fun list to create! I sourced Black authored fictional books with arts or crafts as a central part of the story and non fictional books that teach crafting. I found non fiction books for young readers about arts and Black artists. Is this my favorite list of the month? Maybe! What’s yours?

Black Queer and Untold: A New Archive of Designers Artists and Trailblazers by Jon Key. 2024 
Growing up in Seale, Alabama as a Black Queer kid, then attending the Rhode Island School of Design as an undergraduate, Jon Key hungered to see himself in the fields of Art and Design. But in lectures, critiques, and in the books he read, he struggled to see and learn about people who intersected with his identity or who GOT him. So he started asking himself questions:

What did it mean to be a graphic designer with his point of view? What did it mean to be a Black graphic designer? A Queer graphic designer? Someone from the South? Could his identity be communicated through a poster or a book? How could identity be archived in a design canon that has consistently erased contributions by designers who were not white, straight, and male?In Black, Queer, & Untold, acclaimed designer and artist Jon Key answers these questions and manifests the book he and so many others wish they had when they were coming up. He pays tribute to the incredible designers, artists, and people who came before and provides them an enduring, reverential stage – and in so doing, gifts us a book that takes its place among the creative arts canon.

The Stitch Clique series by Tina Wells
Meet the Stitch Clique (2023), five stylish girls who share a passion for fashion: Ava, Gracie, Lily, Maya and Sophia. The girls meet in the first book of the series when they walk into sewing class for beginners not knowing each other or what to expect. But as they talk about their favorite fashion looks and trade stories about their families, something just clicks. They discover they have a lot in common–in fact, their differences only make each other more interesting! Everything seems to be going well until a hurricane hits Maya’s old hometown, leaving it in devastation. Determined to help, the girls come up with an idea: they can raise money for the town’s recovery by putting on a charity benefit… plus a fashion show! They just need to contact the vendors, get the word out, design and sew all the clothes… Will the girls be able to pull it off in time? Other titles in the series include Sophia’s Struggle (2024) and Gracie Opens Shop  (2024). 

How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson. 2014
Looking back on her childhood in the 1950s, Newbery Honor winner and National Book Award finalist Marilyn Nelson tells the story of her development as an artist and young woman through fifty eye-opening poems. Readers are given an intimate portrait of her growing self-awareness and artistic inspiration along with a larger view of the world around her: racial tensions, the Cold War era, and the first stirrings of the feminist movement.

This is What I know About Art by Kimberly Drew. 2020
In this powerful and hopeful account, arts writer, curator, and activist Kimberly Drew reminds us that the art world has space not just for the elite, but for everyone.

Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols; illustrated by Diana Dagadita, Molly Mendoza, Olivia Twist, Saddo, and Diego Becas. 2021 From the psychedelic typography used in “Make Love Not War” posters of the ’60s to the solitary raised fist, some of the most memorable and striking protest artwork from across the world and throughout history deserves a long, hard look. Readers can explore each piece of art to understand how color, symbolism, technique, and typography play an important role in communication. Guided by activist, lecturer, and speaker De Nichols’s powerful narrative and stunningly illustrated by a collaboration of young artists, this volume also has plenty of tips and ideas for creating your own revolutionary designs. This is a fully comprehensive look at the art of protest.

Omari McQueen’s Best Bites Cookbook by Omar McQueen. 2022
Learn how to make over 35 plant-based recipes, from pizza to pasta, snacks to smoothies. This easy-to-use cookbook is filled to the brim with delicious natural treats created by the award-winning chef! In this book, Omari shares his favorite plant-based dishes in this fun and accessible recipe guide designed to encourage the next generation of vegan cooks.

Represent! Embroidery: Stitch 10 Colorful Projects & 100+ Designs Featuring a Full Range of Shapes, Skin Tones & Hair Textures by Bianca Springer. 2022
Representation matters, and it’s finally time for an embroidery book that looks like you! Celebrate diversity with more than 50 embroidery motifs of people in a wide array of skin colors, body shapes, and natural hairstyles. No need for painstaking design alterations–you can simply jump right in and start stitching. Create 10 useful and stylish projects, from accessories to home decor. These inclusive embroidery projects represent every kind of beauty. Expand your embroidery and sewing skills while increasing your appreciation of others!

Brick x Brick: How to Build Amazing Things with 100-ish Bricks or Fewer by Adam Ward. 2020 
Looking for something a little more exciting than your average LEGO® guide? You’re in luck! Not only does this spectacular book offer step-by-step instructions for fun builds and crafts, it also includes intriguing trivia, micro challenges, and advice to boost your creative confidence. You’ll also learn all about the author, Adam Ward, a professional artist who hosts the popular YouTube series Brick x Brick–and who wants you to become the best builder you can be. With a difficulty rating provided for each build, this is the perfect pick for LEGO® lovers of every skill-level. Get ready to make a masterpiece!

Beasts from Bricks: Amazing LEGO® Designs for Animals from Around the World by Ekow Nimako. 2017
LEGO® bricks have fueled the imaginations of aspiring designers and builders for generations. Now it’s time for something complete new from Beasts from Bricks, recreating some of the world’s rarest and most beautiful animals! This guide book presents illustrated, step-by-step instructions for building 15 animals from around the world: Africa, Europe, Asia, the Arctic, Oceania, Central/South America, the Caribbean, and North America.

Not only does each project show you how to build your favorite animals in awesome detail, but each set of instructions also includes entertaining and educational information about the animal’s characteristics and habitat. For example, did you know that the name “rhinoceros” actually means “nose horn”? 

You will also get a bonus gallery of the author, Nimako’s, most complex, largest scale animal designs. Will you be able to recreate them someday? There’s only one way to find out!

Art Club by Rashad Doucet. 2024
Dale Donavan has heard the same lecture over and over again: Art will get you nowhere in life. A kid with a creative streak, Dale wants nothing more than to doodle, play video games, and create comics forever–maybe even as a full-time job one day. But between his grandfather pushing him to focus on his studies and a school with zero interest in funding arts programs, Dale feels like his future has already been decided for him.

That is, until he comes up with the perfect plan: What if he starts an after-school art club, gathers a team of creative students like himself, and proves all the naysayers–his stubborn vice principal in particular–wrong.

This might just work, but if the club isn’t financially successful by the end of the semester, the school with shut them down. This may be Dale’s only chance to show the adults in his life that a career as an artist is not just a dream but a possibility! 
Graphic novel

Turning Point by Paula Chase. 2021
Best friends Rasheeda and Monique are both good girls. For Sheeda, that means keeping her friends close and following her deeply religious and strict aunt’s every rule. For Mo, that means not making waves in the prestigious and mostly White ballet intensive she’s been accepted to.

But what happens when Sheeda catches the eye of Mo’s older brother, and the invisible racial barriers to Mo’s success as a ballerina turn out to be not so invisible? What happens when you discover that being yourself isn’t good enough? How do you fight back?

Black Artists Shaping the World by Jackson, Sharna; Dr. Zoé Whitley, consultant; Marily Esther Chi, illustrator (2024)
Featuring full-color reproductions of fourteen artworks and illustrations of the artists at work, this picture book is an ideal introduction to contemporary art for young children, and a fantastic tool for teachers wishing to decolonize and diversify their classroom.

Sharna Jackson’s experience as a children’s author who has worked for over a decade in the cultural sector, both at Tate in London and at Site Gallery in Sheffield, is combined here with the curatorial expertise of Dr. Zoé Whitley, Director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery and co-curator of the landmark Tate exhibition “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power.” Their book features artists working in a variety of media from painting and sculpture to ceramics and installation. The result is a refreshingly contemporary global celebration of Black artists at work today that will serve as inspiration to a new generation of aspiring young artists

Filed under: Book List