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COCA Spotlight: Artist Amos Lewis believed everyone had artistic abilities

The late Amos Lawrence Lewis Sr. worked deftly with his hands — hyper-focused and detail oriented no matter the medium with which he chose to express himself. He was an artist who loved capturing the…

The late Amos Lawrence Lewis Sr. worked deftly with his hands — hyper-focused and detail oriented no matter the medium with which he chose to express himself.

He was an artist who loved capturing the eye with bright, bold colors. In a series of collages he created, he rendered a self-portrait square by square with yellows, blues, blacks, and browns. 

Working from photographs of his children and wife, Maggie B. Lewis-Butler, he captured their likeness with precision and care. Lewis-Butler, a retired teacher, Leon County School Board member, and widow of Lewis, fondly recalls her late husband asking her to sit still for one of his sculptures.

While Lewis passed away in 1995, Lewis-Butler says his fervent commitment to his students and his legacy in art education lives on. 

“He thought it was important to expose Black students to art education,” says Lewis-Butler, who remembers Lewis giving her a pair of hand-crafted animal earrings to wear to her science class. “He was able to teach history, science, and math as a part of art education. He believed everyone had the ability to create art, and that everyone could be an artist. Through art education, you could discover your passions.” 

Read the rest of the story by visiting the Tallahassee Democrat

or read more by downloading the article here.