Jessie Lavon

Jessie Lavon

Artist Jessie Lavon speaks of herself as a sharecropper’s daughter. She remembers that very sharecropper, her mother, as the best friend she ever had. She remembers a lot about the old days when she was a child on the farm in southern Alabama. She remembers details about the old ways of getting things done back then, and she remembers the simple pleasures that brought joy to her as a child.

But she hasn’t always remembered. In 1989 a cerebral hemorrhage left her with a huge gap in her memory. She recognized her mother, and started to recall her childhood. She began to paint what she remembered, and as she painted, she remembered more and more.

Her young childhood had been spent surrounded by relatives. The family raised, prepared, and preserved all their own food, relying on even the smallest members to do their part. There was a mysterious ritual passed down from her Native American ancestors to assure the rain would come when the crops were dry. The Snake Tree Ceremony involved a hollow tree, the killing of a snake, and secret incantations.

When farm work, housework, and schoolwork were done Jessie and the other children had fun catching lightning bugs, picking dandelions, and fishing. One of the relatives ran a general store where they spent their pennies on candy. Jessie’s little dog Augie was a part of all her adventures and so he usually makes an appearance in her paintings. Eventually Jessie relearned some basic skills that she had lost - reading, writing, arithmetic - but not at her prior level.

Now, years later, she no longer has a shortage of stories and she continues to paint every day. A cheerful grandmother of many, she spends her time gardening, canning, painting, and enjoying life.

Jessie tells us that her highest honor as an artist was being a part of the annual Kentuck Festival for many years alongside great folk artists like Charlie Lucas, Woodie Long, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, and Mose Tolliver. She misses the fellowship of these old friends. Though the other three have since passed away, Charlie Lucas stays in contact and usually makes an appearance at the annual art show that Jessie organizes in her neighborhood.

Jessie Lavon shares some of her stories and her line drawings in her recently published book “Of Time n’ Places: The Story of a Sharecropper’s Daughter.”

Greensboro, AL

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"LITTLE DITTIES"

acrylic paintings on metal

canning jar lids

each with a tiny hole for hanger, nail, or pin

3.25" diameter

$45 each

($27 when you purchase a shingle painting)

Cotton Boll

Jackass

Watermelon

Alabama Angel

Penny Candy

Marshmallows

June Bugs

Dandelions

Wash Day

Ice Cream

Frog

Flamingo

Blue Fish

Sunday Dinner

photo courtesy Todd A. Price

SOLD

Historic Alexander Dickson House

Hillsborough Visitors Center

150 E. King St

Hillsborough, NC 27278

A SHARECROPPER'S DAUGHTER: FOLK ART by JESSIE LAVON

daily 10:00 am to 4:00 pm