BY DR. REBEKAH MCCLOUD, GUEST WRITER TO THE TIMES
CASSELBERRY — Linda Mills Alexander is the artist who created the anchor piece (I Am Still Puzzled) for the Puzzled Peace Initiative. Initiative founder Valada Flewellyn gave Alexander the poem Puzzled to inspire a piece that would artistically express her puzzlement over the community’s concern about why teaching African American history has been removed from the public-school curriculum in Florida.
“When I thought about commissioning a piece for the Puzzled Peace Initiative, I called Dr. Renee Simpson, a member of the Hannibal Square Quilters. She told me her sister, Linda Alexander, was the right one for the task. I then called Linda, and she jumped on the idea. It was right down her alley,” said Flewellyn.
“I read the poem, I had an idea in my head, and just did it,” says Alexander about her mixed media art piece. The piece included Flewellyn’s poem and newspaper articles about her 1965 fight to keep Negro history in the school system in Cleveland, Ohio. “I was more than pleased with the outcome. I was humbled that she would include my story in the quilt. I was thrilled; it is something I can show to my grandkids,” Flewellyn concluded.
Alexander did not begin creating art until after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. “Cancer changed my life. I’m glad God let me stay here,” says Alexander. “Art was a gift God gave me to bring people to Him. It gives me a sense of peace and calmness.” During her recovery, Alexander said, “Painting calmed my mind and kept me busy.”
A self-taught artist, Alexander started to paint after watching artist Bob Ross on television. “Before that, the only painting I had done was a room in my mom’s house,” says Alexander. She began painting landscapes with oil, then went to acrylic. “I did landscapes to help people see what I see and to be thankful.” Through her art, Alexander shares her renewed discovery of the value and beauty of life and the richness in her surroundings. She observes life closely; her art depicts her discoveries. Her intense storytelling calls attention to people and things that might otherwise go unseen.
Alexander likes doing mixed media art. Her mother was a seamstress who taught her to sew. She utilizes this skill to create story art. She incorporates a variety of fabrics, textiles, and art forms to create one-of-a-kind pieces that focus primarily on family and things she does not like in politics. Many of her pieces include eyes, Bible passages, and poetry. Her piece, “I See Only Through My Eyes,” incorporates a poem she wrote in 1979. An excerpt from the poem says,
“There are some people who think like me, that care about
others, that would go out of their way to do. I take my time,
giving is not hard. We all need to try harder, not always
taking, destroying, and hurting.
I see no future for people that do not care. I see a
slow death, pity, pain that no one cares. Just give a
little that is all that is needed.
Feel love, care because,
I see only through my eyes.”
Alexander said as her legacy, “I want to leave all this art to my children so they can tell how I felt. I want people to see the thoughts people have when they are sick. Also, I want them to see what enlightened me and to know I love, love the Lord.”
“I Am Still Puzzled,” her piece for the Puzzled Peace Initiative, is currently on display at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center.
