Rainbow Soul

Deardra Shuler talks with artist & painter Bronxite Laura James.  As a child, Laura spent time at the Brooklyn Public Library where she explored her passion for literature, photography,& later painting. Her African and Caribbean-American heritage & love of stories, design, & color, are all elements in her work. Painting in sacred & secular styles, James exposes the sacrosanct and the ordinary. Her work is timeless.  She has created a diverse body of work of secular and sacred work; icons that expand the collection of stories traditionally painted in this style. James is pleased to help black people see themselves in their sacred texts of  African religions and Christianity, a place where racialized people have curiously been excluded in the west. James illustrated The Book of the Gospels lectionary, published by Liturgy Training Publications in 2001,  In its 2nd edition, the book is used worldwide by numerous Christian denominations. Her religious art is at the forefront of a more inclusiv