General & Miscellaneous Photography, Relationships - Friendship, African American Regional History - Southern States, South Carolina - State & Local History, Peoples & Nationalities in Art

Alfreda's World

Name: Alfreda's World
Author: Mary Whyte
ISBN: 9780941711678

by Mary Whyte

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Overview

Alfreda's World is the story of shared experiences and values that deepened the friendship between two remarkable women. It is told in the watercolors and drawings that artist Mary Whyte created over a ten-year period and is the personal narrative of an artist who encounters the Gullah culture and its remarkable people.

Mary Whyte, a Caucasian, moved to an island on the South Carolina coast and developed close friendships within the African-American community. Soon after her arrival, and quite by accident, she met Alfreda LaBoard and her intrepid group of senior citizens who gather weekly to make quilts and socialize in a small rural church. Long time residents of Johns Island and descendants of slaves, these women would change her life and her paintings in astonishing and unexpected ways.

Alfreda's World blends Mary's beautiful art works with her narrative of this unique relationship. It is a story that crosses racial and cultural borders and reaches straight to the heart.

About the Author, Mary Whyte

Mary Whyte is a graduate of The Tyler School of Art and is a nationally known watercolor artist, author, and teacher. She is a resident of Johns Island, South Carolina, where she finds many of her subjects among the Gullah people--descendants of the slave culture of the barrier islands of coastal Carolina. Her works have been exhibited at and collected by many art galleries and museums. She is the author of Alfreda's World and the illustrator of a number of children's books.