Welcome!

Today I’m sharing the results of my March CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet. Did you come up with characters too?

Let’s kick things off by taking a look at the awesome Activity sheets I received this month.

If you stopped by in February, you met Evan and his mom, Barb. They shared their designs for March too, and I was amazed at how Evan created a scene with his characters! Notice the mini characters at the top. He used the row of shapes as character hats! How clever!

His mom’s designs are fun too! They all look water-inspired. Can you spot “Sea Creatch” coming in from the top edge of the sheet? Thank you Evan and Barb for participating in this month’s activity! It looks like you had fun drawing together!

And here’s another set of characters sent to me by a dear friend (who loves finding hearts).

Isn’t pig-with-hat-on-a-scooter terrific? Maybe he’s off to a picnic where he’ll find this colorful fruit-filled basket…

Thank you Marnie for giving the CREATE A CHARACTER Activity a try! These are incredible!

It’s time to reveal this month’s inspiration. Did you wonder where shapes came from?

I collected them from Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester. We visited this National Historic Landmark one Sunday last month. This was my third visit.

It was the perfect place to kick off Women’s History Month because of who resided here decades ago: Matilda Wilson (and her second husband Alfred). When I first learned about Matilda, I was amazed by her resiliency and strength. She faced a few terrible family tragedies. You can learn more about her life here.

When it came time to build a CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet, it was tough selecting only four shapes from this stunning mansion. There were so many thoughtful details to gaze at. Here is what my eyes rested on…

The top left image is the carved plaster ceiling on the 2nd floor. Can you spot the two cottage roses in the shape?

The second shape came from the ceramic art tile from Alfred’s bathroom (yes - they had separate bedrooms and bathrooms). Can you spot it?

The third shape came from the fabric wrapped around Matilda’s left arm in this elegant 1927 portrait painted by Louis Betts. I found this work of art especially striking for two reasons. 1) She is the same age as me in this portrait and 2) We can spot clues about her character. Learn why storm clouds are behind her, if this dress truly existed (or if it was really just a scrap of fabric) and what the jewelry-less look reveals about her here.

The last shape came from the wood trimmed ceiling on the 1st floor.

Let’s start with my pencil sketches…

I went into sketches knowing historical women characters would come to life. The drawing you see on the right was not my first attempt! There were many sketches before this one and when I was happy with designs, they were added to my page.

After characters were locked in, I did a pen drawing…

The first shape reminded me of a double silhouette when I looked at it upside down. I saw a pair of sisters. A google search led me to Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell (1821-1910, 1826-1910). They were the first women to receive their medical degrees in the United States.

Elizabeth was the first and Emily was the third. They lived during the 19th century and founded the first hospital to be run by women in 1857 called the NY Infirmary for Women and Children. You can learn about Elizabeth here and Emily here.

Scroll below to see their transformation…

The next shape looked sculptural to me. And I wondered what historical women sculptors I could discover. After more research, I chose African-American sculptor Augusta Savage (1892-1962). She was a teacher, activist and the first African-American artist to be elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. In 1939, she was commissioned to make a sculpture for the NY World’s Fair. She was also the only black artist to participate.

The nearly 16-foot sculpture she created was titled “The Harp”. It is remarkable and radiant. Please check it out here.

Scroll to see the transformation…

I probably spent the most amount of time on the third shape. It looked like it could be the back of a small animal. Do you see it too? I spent some time learning about zoologists but my composition was just not working. I also couldn’t find an animal that matched that shape. It wasn’t until I gave my Activity sheet a spin when I noticed a covered table staring back at me. I immediately thought of chefs! Research led me to Cristeta Comerford, the White House Executive Chef.

Not only is Cristeta the first woman executive chef, but she is also the first Asian-American to hold that coveted position. I tried to find some recipes Cristeta wrote and came across this one! A Filipino dessert called Halo-Halo.

My last shape was the first character I created. It reminded me of a giant architectural model. After researching women architects from history, I discovered Sophia Hayden (1868-1953). She was the first woman admitted to the architecture program at MIT in 1886.

After graduation, she won a competition for the design of the Woman’s Building. Her Italian Renaissance styled structure was built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The building would display items that were produced and invented by women. This structure was her first and last constructed design. You can learn about her life here.

What did you think of these relentless women? I hope you feel inspired to find your own “first”!

Since there was so much research involved this month, I did not get to color all of my characters. If I revisit them in the future, I’ll be sure to update this post.

Thank you for stopping by! A new CREATE A CHARACTER sheet will be posted on Monday, April 5th.