Today, as part of our Black History Month celebrations, we explored the life and work of Alma Thomas. Alma Thomas was a teacher and artist who developed a powerful form of abstract painting. During the 1960s Alma Thomas emerged as an exuberant colorist, abstracting shapes and patterns from the trees and flowers around her. Thomas's style consisted of broad, mosaic-like patches of vibrant color applied in concentric circles or vertical stripes.

The children loved investigating her artwork and were quick to notice the circles and how all the colours of the rainbow were used. We learned that Alma loved to paint beautiful things for people to look at! We also learned that although her artworks look like mosaics, that she actually created this effect using small brush strokes.

The children were provided with play-dough which they rolled flat and lots of different rainbow shapes they could use to recreate Alma’s beautiful art works! They learned that a mosaic is a piece of art made by putting together many small pieces of material. Many of the children worked in circles, starting with one colour on the outside and slowly working their way in. Some of the children attempted to recreate the mountain sunset art work, using the mosaic pieces to slowly put together a picture. The children all did a fantastic job, well done everybody!

Throughout this activity we continued to have conversations about Alma Thomas, her beautiful art works and her artistic legacy. The children demonstrated wonderful observational skills and creativity. This hands-on activity not only helped with developing their fine motor skills and understanding of shape, form and texture, but also allowed them to appreciate the work of an inspirational Black artist and celebrate her lasting contribution to the art world!