Albany moms share passion for female artists
Creative collaboration teaches children history, diversity and inclusion
Melanie Labarge and Caroline Corrigan bonded over coffee, motherhood and art. One day, while discussing their mutual love for painter Helen Frankenthaler, the idea came to them.
“We randomly said we should make a children’s book about women artists,” said Labarge, a writer.
So they did. Early this year, “Women Artists A to Z” was 5. IF IT BLEEDS, by Stephen King. Four novellas: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and “If It
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9. ALL ADULTS HERE, by Emma Straub. A repressed memory triggers published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a Penguin imprint. The book features 26 artists for each letter in the alphabet. Labarge wrote the blurbs on the artists, while Corrigan illustrated the book.
Labarge and Corrigan, who live in Albany and are mothers of one child each, believed they first met at the Fort Orange General Store, which Corrigan formerly coowned. They became closer when
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Corrigan became pregnant. “Our friendship kind of blossomed from there,” Corrigan said.
While their book was released right before the lockdowns began for a lot of people, it’s become an integral tool to some who are teaching their children or students at home, especially if they want to teach diversity and inclusion in a field long dominated by white males.
“It sort of came out of a whim and it just went from there, ”Labarge said. While the book is marketed as a kids’ book, adult art lovers can benefit and enjoy the stunning illustrations and learn about 4. THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE, by Erik Larson. An examination of the leadership of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
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some obscure artists.
There were no shortages of subjects, the pair said.
“We definitely could’ve gone beyond the 26 letters of the alphabet,” said Corrigan, a graphic designer and illustrator. “Once you start digging, there are just tons of incredible women out there just in history and working today.”
What they did struggle with at first was assigning each artist’s name to each letter, but then a friend suggested they use techniques and details to convey each artist. So “C is for Color” describes Frankenthaler, along with a short description of her large color field paintings. “D is for Dots” illuminates Yayoi Kusama’s obsession. And “F is for Flower” brings us Georgia O’keeffe with her paintings that changed the way we see flowers.
The book is a colorful entry into art history for young readers, and broadens awareness of women who aren’t household names, like Jaune Quick-to-see Smith (H is for Horse) and Judith Leyster (J is for Jolly).
“Jaune’s art confronts the mistreatment of Indigenous people and land in the United States.
She often includes horses as both a personal symbol — her father was a horse trader — and a political one: reminding us of the ties between humans and nature,” the text reads along with an illustration of the artist petting a horse surrounded by her work.
Leyster was a painter working in the 1600s, and whose paintings were thought to have been done by a man.
In the back of the book, there are more details about the artists and creative prompts that seem to be resonating with the pandemic home-schooling crowd.
A search on Instagram, via the hashtag #womenartistsatoz, showed that the book is being used by teachers and parents. Another teacher was posting a page a day. One Instagram user displayed paintings by a child prompted by Leyster’s work. Another used tactile objects working off the “K is for Kitchen” page that highlights artist Leonora Carrington sitting at a kitchen table mixing eggs and pigment to make tempera to paint her mythical creatures.
Corrigan said it was challenging portraying the artists’ distinct style. So it became a matter of “how can I pay respect to the works of these women while show their work in a somewhat of an accurate representation but still make it feel like my own work?” she said.
As for their own favorite artists, they didn’t make the cut: Labarge is a fan of Yoko Ono and Corrigan admires Corita Kent.
Donna Liquori is a frequent contributor to the Times Union, and writes the Bibliofiles books column in Unwind