Ann Miller Woodford is a visual artist, author, and speaker. Now in her 70s, she has dedicated the rest of her life to painting and drawing the spirit she feels and treasures around her, while uplifting young people and adults.<\/span><\/p>\n Usually painting with oils, she calls her works representational, mostly Southern genre, however, she is also skilled at drawing in pencil, charcoal, and ink. She says, <\/span>\u201cI am motivated by people, animals, clouds, trees, rocks \u2026 Inspiration never ends!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n As a child in the segregated, one-room Andrews Colored\/Negro Elementary School in the small town of Andrews, North Carolina, Ann\u2019s talents were discovered and encouraged by her favorite grade school teacher, Ms. Ida Mae Logan. Though Black teachers made very little money, Ms. Logan sent Ann\u2019s artworks, at her own expense to the Scholastic Art Awards competitions, state and county fairs, and other places from which Ann won gold keys and blue ribbons. Ann reminisces, <\/span>\u201cHer caring ways were largely responsible for helping me to build self-esteem as an artist and led me to become an imaginative, creative adult.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Still Life with Corn, Melons, and Apples | Charcoal on Manilla drawing paper<\/span><\/p>\n <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n A school nurse provided a set of used oils, some brushes, a palette, and a <\/span>Walter Foster How to Draw and Paint Seascapes<\/span><\/i> instruction book that opened the door to her love of oil painting. The early Saturday morning Jon Nagy <\/span>Learn to Draw <\/span><\/i>programs gave her initial skills in drawing while she was encouraged by her family and baby sister, Nina, who often marveled at what Ann would leave on the canvas or paper.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Making Friends | Oil on drywall panel<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Having traveled and worked across the United States, Ann built an exciting career in business and art in Los Angeles and then returned to western North Carolina where she founded One Dozen Who Care, the area\u2019s first 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, established by Black women. Intent on nurturing seeds of change, Ann has always had a personal goal to improve understanding between races, religions, youth, and adults. She makes PowerPoint presentations on regional African American history to build self-worth in young people and uplift the elders.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Finding a need to strengthen African American heritage in far western North Carolina, Ann researched and documented the powerful, personal stories of the lives of the seemingly invisible African American people of the region, culminating in her book, <\/span>When All God\u2019s Children Get Together: A Celebration of the Lives and Music of African-American People in Far Western North Carolina<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Ann inspires crowds with her art, shown in local and traveling exhibits, and her motivating art classes. Her moving portraits of people and animals reveal her love for humanity and all of God\u2019s creation in its myriad forms and moods. She is pleased to uplift people with her discussions, speeches, and presentations of historical photos as she encourages others to save their family and community histories.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Our Story Section” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#efe9e4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”0deg” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”0″ make_equal=”on” admin_label=”Our Story Area” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#1e1d1c” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” make_fullwidth=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Title” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”Lato|300|||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” background_layout=”dark” max_width=”750px” animation_style=”fold” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_fold=”10%” animation_starting_opacity=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#fdb467″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”3px” _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”50px” animation_style=”slide” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” animation_starting_opacity=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”Lato|300|||||||” text_text_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.7)” text_letter_spacing=”1px” text_line_height=”1.8em” max_width=”750px” custom_margin=”25px|||” animation_style=”fold” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_fold=”10%” animation_starting_opacity=”100%” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u201cI tell visual stories of my people, who deserve to be recognized, with passion, determination, and natural curiosity by interpreting the history and culture that has determined my life in the far western mountains of North Carolina. I bring my unique perspective as an African American woman to an area where we are guided by other people\u2019s views that make us seem to be invisible. As an experienced artist, skilled in drawing and painting, I dispel the stereotype that there are no qualified Black artists in our region by painting personal stories. My work, expressed on canvas, in different mediums can enlighten viewers about the power that comes from the spirit of my people.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cBorn in the mountains of North Carolina where there is an extremely small population of people of color and no well-known artists of color, I am dedicated to honoring the lives of my ancestors as I show who we have been and who we are today. I will leave a legacy in my representational style of painting in oils, pastels, and acrylics, and drawings with paint, colored pencils, charcoal, and graphite. My vision is to bring out African American and rural histories in far western North Carolina through my artistic skills as I<\/span><\/i> \u2018Make the Invisible Visible.<\/i><\/b>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/annstree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/15-He-high-resolution-1-scaled.jpg” alt=”He” title_text=”He” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_margin=”-47px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”0px|||” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_padding=”47px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”Newsletter Section” _builder_version=”4.16″ 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