Sister Gertrude Morgan Folk Art Fun

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Make your Own Creature of the Sea!



UM Museum Inspiration: Sister Gertrude Morgan The Beast From the Sea


Born in 1900 in Lafayette, Alabama, Sister Gertrude Morgan, was a self-taught African American musician, preacher, poet, and folk artist. Raised as an active member of the Southern Baptist Church, it is no surprise that religion plays a central role throughout her life and is at the very core of her art. Morgan moved to New Orleans in the late 1930s to further spread His word through prayer and song. It was here that she adopted the title "Sister" after becoming associated with two other street missionaries. It was at age 56 that she received two new divine revelations--one instructing her to paint, and another telling her that she was the chosen Bride of Christ.

Morgan's body of work combines mediums such as acrylic paint, watercolor, wax crayons, ballpoint pens, etc. on anything from paper fans to cardboard window shades--essentially, whatever was readily available when the "spirit" moved her. Her paintings and painted objects depict Biblical scenes of heaven, hell, and New Jerusalem, as well as apocalyptic scenes from the Book of Revelations in a colorful, almost child-like manner, As Morgan's work gained momentum and notoriety in the art world, she implored others to "give all that fame to some other artist," because before anything, she was a missionary of Christ. 

Check out Sister Gertrude Morgan's work of art from the UM Museum's collection above: The Beast From the Sea. 

Practice Close-Looking: Get your kiddos talking about this piece of art! Challenge your child to examine The Beast From the Sea for a full minute without talking. After a minute ask these questions and have your child describe their answers in full detail:

What do we see?

What more can we find?

What do we think is happening?

How does this piece make us feel?

What do we want to know?


Visual Arts Project: Create a Creature of the Sea 

1. As a folk artist, Sister Gertrude Morgan would create art on anything she could get her hands on.
2. First, find your canvas! Be creative and think outside of the box. You can use a piece of cardboard, an old book, the back side of a cereal box, anything!


3. Next, find your medium. Like Morgan, she would use anything she had available. Paint, markers, crayons, whatever you have around your home! 


4. Now it is time to sketch your design. Inspired by Sister Gertrude Morgan's The Beast from the Sea, design your own sea creature. Use your imagination! Will your creature have legs? Fins? Horns? A big tongue?! Using a pencil draw your creature on your canvas.



5. Now grab a pen or a black marker to outline your sketch!



6. For the final step, bring color to your sketch using your chosen medium. We used paint!



7. If needed, give your work of art some time to dry and then display your masterpiece!


Take a photo of your finished work of art and tag us on Instagram @ummuseum


Take it a step further:

Go exploring! Head to Lamar Park's Lake Patsy, Sardis Lake, or any body of water near you in search of a sea creature!

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