by Amber Barbee Pickens
January 11, 2021
98 pages
Genre: Dance, Black & African American History, Coloring Books for Grown-Ups
Blooming in Motion is a coloring book celebrating Black history through the performing art of dance. The original illustrations by Amber Barbee Pickens honor trailblazing dance legends by paying tribute to the sacrifice, perseverance, fearlessness, discipline and eternal resilience demonstrated throughout their life journeys.
Dance and flowers are creatively combined to express motion and demonstrate a complete picture of celebration.
"I feel free when I dance, it's an escape and a way of praise — I dance as a testimony of God’s grace — it's my release,”
Amber Barbee Pickens is a dancer, choreographer, director, actress, author, illustrator, and designer. Raised in Dallas, Texas, Amber attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where she was honored by the Texas Commission on the Arts as a Young Master of the Arts. She also studied dance at Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles and Alvin Ailey School in New York. At an early age, Amber was encouraged by her teachers to always give homage to the ones that paved the way. As a student at The Juilliard School, she sought more representation and spent many hours at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts learning more about legendary dancers such as Alvin Ailey, Eartha Kitt, the Nicholas Brothers and Josephine Baker. Amber was inspired and dedicated her career to uplifting and preserving the heritage of African Americans/Blacks in the arts.
Throughout the quarantine, Amber has focused on creating her coloring book, Blooming in Motion, that celebrates black history in the arts, while also promoting creativity. It features twenty historic black dancers in original illustrations by Amber along with short bios. Amber was very inspired by the saying, “Give those you admire flowers while you can" so each trailblazer is accompanied by unique illustrations of flowers. Her goal is to also uplift black culture and representation in the arts. Since her early years in dance, Amber always yearned for more knowledge about black history in the dance world. Blooming in Motion Coloring Book provides the services of education, and a portion of art therapy, along with other health benefits. Please visit www.bloominginmotion.com to learn more and pre-order your copy. Blooming in Motion's release date is February 2,2021.
GIVEAWAY
Publishers Weekly is holding a giveaway for a print copy of Blooming in Motion.
*You can also find printable pages.
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