Betty Blayton

Betty Blayton Taylor (AKA) Betty Blayton – (born July 10, 1937), an American Activist/Advocate, Artist, Arts Administrator/Educator, Lecturer and Social Entrepreneur. Betty Blayton the Artist (illustrator, painter, printmaker, sculptor) is best known for her works often described as Spiritual Abstractions. Betty Blayton-Taylor (Activist/Advocate, Arts Educator and Social Entrepreneur) is Co-founder and Founding Board Secretary of the Studio Museum in Harlem, Co-founder and Executive Director of Harlem Children's Art Carnival (CAC) and Co-founder of Harlem Textile Works. She has been an advisor, consultant and board member to a variety arts and community based service organizations and programs. Her artworks are displayed in a variety private art collections and museums. Since her retirement from CAC in 2004 she continues to talk, lecture and present on the arts and arts education and spends time creating and exhibiting new works.

Family & Early Life Born in Newport News, Va. at Whittaker Hospital, the second of the four children of and Alleyne Houser-Blayton and Dr. James Blaine "Jim" Blayton. Whittaker Hospital was the closest hospital for African Americans, 35 miles from the Blayton's home in James City County where Dr. Blayton was the community's leading Black Physician. His personal and professional experiences in these times of segregation influenced him to establish the first 14-bed Emergency and Maternity facility for African Americans and later on in 1961 opening of the first fully-integrated medical facility Williamsburg Community Hospital. Alleyne Houser-Blayton, Civil Rights - Community Activist/Advocate, Craftsperson, Educator and Entrepreneur was also a founding member of the National Black Child Development Institute in Williamsburg and the Williamsburg Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. From as early as Blayton can remember she has declared herself an artist and demonstrated this fact at the age of 4 by repeatedly crayoning murals up the steps in her home to the point that her mother declared to her father that she was convinced that they must have brought the wrong baby home from the Hospital. Before she was school age her mother would often do substitute teaching for first grade. There was an art and play activity area next to the regular classroom. She would park Betty there with paint and easel and know that she did not have to worry about her for hours. Her three siblings are sister Barbara ('Barbara Blayton Richardson) a PHD in Education, the oldest, brother James the 2nd (Jimmy) also an artist in Metal sculpture and restores Classic Corvettes for which he has won many awards. Oscar the youngest is a Lawyer.

Education

She attended Bruton Heights Public School from 1st through 7th grades. The Rockefellers, for Black Children, built this school during the years when John D. Rockefeller Jr. (check for 3rd).? was developing Colonial Williamsburg. To Recreate Colonial Williamsburg it was necessary to purchase a tremendous amount of property that was then in the hands of the local black population. For grades eighth through twelfth, she attended Palmer Memorial Institute, a boarding school in Sedalia N.C for Black Children, This school was initiated in 1901 and was closed in the 60's after the schools in the South were integrated. It is now a N.C. PMI (add link) historical sight sponsored by the state. The promise to the parents of its students by Dr. Charlotte Harkins Brown, the School's Founder and President, was that ”This school will insure your child's ability to be accepted in any school he/she wishes to attend”. It was advertised as “A little piece of New England in the South”. In most instances, this promise was kept.

There was never a question as to what she would major in when she finally reached college. She chose Syracuse University because it had one of the best Art schools in the Nation and they accepted her application. In 1955 when she entered Syracuse the State of Virginia was still segregated with its “Separate but Equal” law. There were no Black colleges in Virginia that had an accredited art program. Therefore, the State of Virginia paid her full tuition throughout her four years of college. She was able to attend the school of her choice for free.

She chose a double major in Painting and Illustration. Illustration put her mother’s mind somewhat at ease as to the potential of her daughter’s future ability to be self-sufficient. She graduated in 1959 with a BFA degree with honors.

Career and early works

After Graduation in the summer of 1959, she moved to Washington DC where she excepted a working scholarship at Howard University working with the head of the Art Department in exchange for a graduate degree program.

Upon meeting with The head of the Art Department, James A. Porter, in June she learned that a great deal of what she would be doing entailed organizing a huge number of slides that would more than likely take a full semester or two to complete, She determined that this was not something she wished to take on and turned down the scholarship. Within a short period of time she landed a job as an illustrator with the Federal Government’s GSA division as a GS #3 (very low) pay grade. After a few months in this position not only was she disenchanted with the job of drawing mostly screws and tools, she had become disenchanted with the job and the people she was interacting with. In early September an opportunity presented itself where she was offered a teaching position in St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands and she jumped at it. In the short period of time she was in D.C., she was able to take advantage of an opportunity to be included in her first Group show in a downtown gallery area.

Because she had not taken any courses in Education, she began researching all the books she could find on Art Education for Teenagers. She would be teaching grades 9th through 12th. The Book that spoke to her was “Creative Teaching in Art” written by Victor D’Amico.

From late September 1959 through June 1960 she taught art to teenagers at Charlotte Amalie High School. Much to her surprise, she delighted in teaching these youngsters. She also managed to mount a one Women Exhibition in Charlotte Amalie of works completed while she was there.

At the end of the school year, even though she was encouraged to stay, she moved to NY for the summer. She had been contracted to teach in England, but wanted to experience the Arts Students League first. In New York she experienced the World of the Arts. "My New York". it's museums, galleries, jazz clubs and many other artists from all over the world, Afro American, Japanese, Anglo, West Indians, East Indians, Africans & Italians.

She studied Painting and Drawing at the League with Charles Alston and Clay and Stone Sculpture with Arnold Prince.

Eventfully she found a job through the NY Department of Welfare, Recreational Educational Division at Callagie Hall, a shelter home for girl’s ages 4 through 18. She enrolled at City College and took some Education and Education Psychology courses. At Callagie Hall she was hired to teach Drama. They had an Art Teacher in Norma Anderson but they wanted me to join their team. We all worked well together creating spectacular events for all types of special occasions, using all members of the recreational staff especially, Norma, Delores Dixon for Dance and Mabel Mc Ewen for Music. We agreed to use an integrated Arts approach, creating plays, designing sets, choreographing dance, composing songs and creating poetry. This was a preamble to the Children’s Art Carnival's “Creative Reading through the Arts Program” that lasted for 22 years, Funded through the NYC's Central Board of Educations State Funding, an integrated approach to the use of the arts for teaching reading and eventually most other basic curricular areas. The Children’s Art Carnival’s (CAC) approach to education in general has influenced many in America’s world of Art in Education. (more about CAC later)

During her time at Callagie Hall she was approached by Julian Euell, who was working with Cyril Tyson and Kenneth Clark, the project’s key Social Psychologist & Educators to write the visual arts program for the Antipoverty Program entitled Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited, a blueprint for change. Once this was funded, she was given a job working with the teenagers in the Graphics and Plastic Department together with Norman Lewis and Jim Yeargens. They were considered major living Black Artists. As the low man on the totem pole and the only woman she took care of all of the necessary administrative details in addition to conducting classes five days a week. It was at Haryou Act that Blayton met her Husband, Rheet Anthony Taylor; He was in charge of the 18 piece teenage Band. They were married in July 1967.

This lead to interactions with members of MoMa’s Junior Council, interacting with extremely talented participating youths on Saturdays where they were able to explore the Museum’s collection. These activities lead to the exciting Idea of creating a Museum In Harlem. She worked with Frank Donnelly, Lynn Hoffer from MoMa and the teenagers to collect hundreds of signatures on petitions for the creation of a Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum in Harlem was born.

In 1968 after the opening of The Studio Museum, came the desire of MoMA’s members to do more in the area of community outreach. Lily Auchincloss, a Junior Council Member suggested that The CAC in Harlem be initiated. This was an Art Education and Environment project with specially designed art motivational equipment that had been created and presented to the world in Brussels at the Worlds Fair in 1958 on the suggestion of Jacqueline Kennedy. The equipment was in storage and still in good shape. The Board liked the Idea. Blayton was active with MoMa’s personnel and was asked to assist with the project. She was delighted to meet and work with Victor D’Amico.

Over the next two years they worked well together. She attended his Teacher and Parent training classes, met Muriel Silverstein, Jane Cooper Bland, Arlette Buchman and other Art Teachers while at the same time working with Blanchette Rockefeller and Charlie Hessie raising the initial funds for starting up the CAC in Harlem, visiting schools and community centers explaining the need to provide our youth with quality Art Education to teachers and Parents. Liz Shaw, Public Relations Director for MoMA also provided tremendous assistance.

The doors opened in March 1969 and Blayton was asked to take on the roll of Executive Director.

Solutions for maintaining on-going funding were critical. In the early 70’s, she was responsible for creating a program for youths reading one to two years below grade level for 3rd through 5th graders. This program consistently produced exceptional results for a period of 21 years. This was a Central Board of Education funded program entitled "Creative Reading Through the Arts".

In the 1980s a program entitled "Communications Arts Production Program" was created for youth ages 14 through 21 that was funded through the Federal Government. It was evaluated as exceptional and disseminated Nationally through the US Office of Education.

Her other educational collaborators, and other activities related to the current design of arts in education by the board of regents of NY and other dictators of educational approaches to Arts in Education were as follows:

In the 1970s and throughout the 1980s Dr. Gilbert Voyat was the CAC’s resident Child Physiologist. He was a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Education at City College and a protégé of Jean Piaget, the renowned Educational Psychologist who visited the CAC on the early 70’s. Lillian Webber and Martha Norris Gilbert both eminent authorities in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at City College and in England.

In 1978 she developed a handbook for Teachers and Adult entitled "Making Thoughts Become" which was published and used by the 'New York State Department of Art Education in the 1970s and at The Harvard School of Education "Project 0" as recently as 2003.

In 2001 after 32 years under the Direction of Blayton, the CAC was able to report the following :

Sample Exhibitions 2005-1989

2010 African American Abstract Masters, Traveling Group Exhibition, NY, NY, and Albany NY 2010 Burgess Fine Arts, 10 Barclay Street, New York 2010 The Mackey Twins Gallery, Mount Vernon, New York 2009 Strivers Gallery 135th Street, New York 2009 Canvas Paper and Stone, New York 2009 Essie Green Gallery, New York 2009 Artcurian – Artists Speaking for the Spirits, Exhibition, Brooklyn New York, Group Show 2006 Norfolk State University 2/06, VA 2005 Smithfield Cultural Center, Smithfield, VA 2005 "Master Print Makers" Synchronicity Fine Arts Gallery, NYC 2004 "Something to Look Forward To" PhillipsMuseum@Franklin&Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 2004 Smithsonian - The Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Traveling Show 2004 Parsons Aronson Galleries—African-American Women Artists, NY 2001 2003 - UFA Gallery, NY 2001 NCA's International Conference Exhibition at the National Museum, Accra Ghana 2001 NCA, Masters Exhibition, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NY 2000 '98 & '97 Cinque Gallery, NY 1994 Pace College, NY / One Woman 1993 Syracuse University's Luben House Gallery, NYC 1990 Isabel Neal Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, One Woman 1989 Bedford Stuyvesant Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, One Woman

Sample Publications and Media Representation

2005 Creating Their Own Image, Lisa E. Farrington, Oxford Press 2004 Something to Look Forward To" Exhibit Catalog, Franklin & Marshall College 1998 Artist and Influence, vol. XVII, Hatch-Billops Collection 1998 Collecting African American Art, Halima Taha 1996 African American Art, The Long Struggle, Crystal Britton 1981 Forever Free, University of Illinois Press 1980 Go Tell It, Nationally syndicated television program 1979 You Gotta Have Art , National Broadcasting Company 1978 Making Thoughts Become, Betty Blayton-Taylor 1973 The Children's Art Carnival, 15-minute videotape (Free Europe, Germany TV, WLIB, WNYC, WWRL, among others.) 1973 Betty Blayton, “Artist", Contact Magazine article 1973 Kids are Her Medium, Syracuse Alumna News 1972 People Who Make, Art Gallery Guide 1972 Five Black Artists, Daily Close Up, The New York Post 1972 Atlanta University Book on Art 1970 Like It Is, Ruth Bowman on The Arts , WNYC Radio 1971 Five Black Artists, Film -Romare Bearden, Betty Blayton, Barbara Chase, Richard Hunt, Charles White

Advocacy Activist and Social Entrepreneur

1968-1970 The Children's Art Carnival in Harlem, NY Founding Member with Victor D'Amico & The Museum of Modern Art. 1968-3/3/97 Board Member/Executive Directors, The Children's Art Carnival 1997-2004 Founder/Special Projects Coordinator, The Children's Art Carnival/Harlem 1978-1998 Member of the Board, The Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop 1997 Advisor, The Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop 1993–Present Member of the Board, Harlem Textile Works 1992-1994 NYS Education's Arts & Humanities Curriculum Development Committee (It was on this committee that many of the CAC’S strategic approaches to the arts and the integrated curriculum were officially adopted into the Arts and Education curriculum design for the state.) 1990 Training in Arts in Education, The National Arts in Education Award 1983-1993 Founder, Harlem Textile Works/ CAC Project 1984-85 served on The David Rockefeller, Jr. Art in Education Research Committee 1993 Founding Board Member, Harlem Textile Works Inc. 1983-1985 Member, David Rockefeller Art in Education Research Committee 1979-1988 Member, New York City Commission for Cultural Affairs 1978-1998 Member of the Board, The Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop 1975-1996 Member of the Board, The Arts & Business Council 1968-1998 Board Member/Executive Director, The Children's Art Carnival 1968-1994 Consultant, Board of Education of the City of New York 1965-1977 Secretary of the Board, The Studio Museum of Harlem 1965 Founding Member, The Studio Museum in Harlem

Published Works

“Making thoughts Become” A Handbook for Teachers and Adults, 1978, Published by CAC publication “SNAP“ Studies of Nations, Art and Peoples, Art Education Materials Packet, CAC published by CAC Unit I: The Harlem Renaissance, Augusta Savage, Horace Pippin, James Van Der Zee Unit II: The Great Depression, Elizabeth Catlett, Aron Douglas and Jacob.Lawrence Unit IV: Ancient African Empires Theme I: Kemet ( Ancient Egypt)

Recognition, Awards and Honors

2011 The Dedicators Award, Brooklyn 2010 The Darfur Humanitarian Award 2008 Nubian Woman’s Art Circle, Inc., 11th Annual “Circle of Art Award” 2005 Woman's Caucus for the Arts "Lifetime Achievement Award" 1995 CBS Martin Luther King, Jr. Fulfilling Dream Award 1990 The National Arts Education Association's Eugene Grisby Award for Excellent Contributions in Art Education 1989 The Governor's Art Award 1988 Black Women in the Arts Award 1985 Who's Who in American Art 1984 Empire State Woman of the Year in the Arts 1982 Apple Polisher Award 1980 National Council of Negro Women of New York 1980 City of New Orleans Honorary Citizen/ Teacher Training/ Arts in Education

References

Bibliography Children’s Art Carnival Jesse B. Blayton, Sr. Spiritual Abstractionist The Studio Museum