IT’S PERSONAL

Some people express themselves through music or dance. Others use words to tell the world who they are.

Pearl Fryar uses a hedge trimmer.

In 1984, Fryar moved to a mostly white section of Bishopville, South Carolina. Some of his neighbors didn’t want him around. Black people, they said, didn’t keep up their yards. In 1984, Fryar moved to a mostly white section of Bishopville, South Carolina. Some of his neighbors didn’t want him around. Black people, they said, didn’t keep up their yards.

Fryar quickly shattered that stereotype. He didn’t know a thing about gardening. But he learned fast.

Today, Fryar’s garden is considered a work of art. Museums display his plant sculptures. Now he’s the pride of Bishopville.

“Not knowing ahead of time that something is supposed to be impossible often makes it possible to achieve.” Pearl Fryar

The women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, use a needle and thread to create art.

For more than 100 years, they’ve been working together to make quilts from old clothes and scraps of fabric. The craft has been passed down from their ancestors, who were slaves in the area.

To the quilters, the real miracle is the work itself. Eventually, the outside world discovered the quilters of Gee’s Bend. Art critics called their quilts “visual jazz” and “miraculous works of modern art.”

“I get my needle and thread and thimble, and all my problems just vanish. We are blessed.” China Pettway

Zac Freeman uses junk to make art.

He collects buttons, bottle caps, plastic toys, and other everyday objects.

Then he glues them onto a wooden board to make portraits like this.

“It takes several pieces of junk to create any meaning. One fragment, like a bottle top, means nothing until objects are placed around it.”

Each of these artists has a unique way of seeing the world. And they’ve all found a way to express themselves.

SELF- EXPRESSION Artists have their own way of seeing— and depicting—the world.

Why does personal expression matter?

How do you express yourself? run rap write What do you get out of it? poetry painting planting Are athletes artists? skate sculpt ski What could a basketball star and an amazing musician have in common? dance DJ disco Who’s your favorite artist? Why? fiction nonfiction fantasy movies TV videos What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do? Why haven’t you done it? When will you begin? debate orate fabricate Why does personal expression matter? poetry slam slam dunk How do you express yourself? run rap write What do you get out of it? poetry painting planting Are athletes artists? skate sculpt ski What could a basketball star and an amazing musician have in common? dance DJ disco Who’s your favorite artist? Why? fiction nonfiction fantasy movies TV videos What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do? Why haven’t you done it? When will you begin? debate orate fabricate Why does personal expression matter? poetry slam slam dunk How do you express yourself? run rap write What do you get out of it? poetry painting planting Are athletes artists? skate sculpt ski What could a basketball star and an amazing musician have in common? dance DJ disco Who’s your favorite artist? Why? fiction nonfiction fantasy movies TV videos What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do? Why haven’t you done it? When will you begin? debate orate fabricate Why does personal expression matter? poetry slam slam dunk put your voice on record RAWWRITE Why does personal expression matter?