The first illustrated Anansi storybook was by Pamela Coleman Smith, published in 1899. It was titled "Annancy Stories". She was born in London, England to an American merchant, Charles Edward Smith from Brooklyn, NY and a Jamaican mother, Corinne Coleman. The family moved to |
Jamaica where her father was employed by the colonial government to help to build the island's railroad. This is where she became more acquainted with her island's strong tradition of Anansi storytelling. Pamela heard Anansi stories from her Jamaican nurse, often one of a local child's earliest confidants. She attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York from 1893 to 1897 where she honed her skills as an illustrator. A socially connected artist, she is best known for designing the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of divinatory tarot cards for Arthur Edward Waite. In the early 1920's American folklorist Martha Warren Beckwith collected and published an impressive number of similar Anansi stories told to her by various informants from many locations in the island. These stories are printed in the variety of Jamaican vernacular of that period. |
Print this and... DRAW ANANSI'S PORTRAIT IN 9 EASY STEPS (For all ages) [Materials: Paper, #2 pencil, black (fine or medium) marker, color markers (or crayons, or color pencils), and a mirror.] However, before drawing Anansi you may first need a WARM-UP EXERCISE. |
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Drawing Anansi |
For centuries artists have drawn images of Anansi the Spider. There are as many versions of the spider-man as there are books about him. There is even a traditional Anansi Ghanaian hair style that his wife Aso wears. |
Aso (in her Anansi hair style)with their son Intikuma |