By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – The work of artist and storyteller Ashley Bryan is on display at the Joslyn Art Museum.
Communications Manager Amy Rummel says Bryan is one of the most award-winning children's book illustrators. She says Bryan is a scholar of African-American folklore, poetry and spirituals whose literary career began at an early age. Rummel says, "Bryan actually published his first book when he was in kindergarten. He did an alphabet book that he wrote, illustrated and then he bound and distributed the book."
She says he's not only an artist, but is also a writer, a storyteller and a scholar of African and African-American folklore, poetry and spirituals. Rummel says Bryan got into doing children's books with the intention of fulfilling what he saw as a gap in that style of literature.
Rhythms of the Heart: Illustrations of Ashley Bryan features 70 works from 21 of Bryan's books. The exhibit is on view in the Joslyn's Mind's Eye Gallery through October 3rd.