Mary Le Ravin facts for kids

Mary Le Ravin (born 1905, died 1992) was an amazing African American artist and a minister. She taught herself how to create art. Mary was famous for making sculptures, jewelry, and other cool items. She used animal bones, natural things, and objects she found. Her art is often called visionary art or Outsider Art.

Mary Le Ravin's Early Life

Mary Cooper was born in Natchez, Mississippi. She grew up in Jefferson County, Mississippi. From a very young age, Mary felt a strong connection to God. She often shared stories about special spiritual experiences. These moments guided her religious life and her work as a minister. Mary also started collecting bones when she was a child.

When she was 16, Mary met Louis Le Ravin. She was babysitting for a family in Monroe, Louisiana. Louis was 14 years older than Mary. They fell in love during their fishing trips together. Mary and Louis got married in 1927.

Becoming an Artist and Minister

Around 1936, Mary and Louis moved to Gary, Indiana. This move was part of the Great Migration. Many African Americans moved from the South to northern cities for new opportunities. Louis worked in the city's steel mills. Mary ran a boarding house and was very active in her church. She first joined Baptist churches. Later, she became a Jehovah's Witness. As a Jehovah's Witness, Mary traveled a lot. She shared her faith across the U.S. South and Midwest.

Mary had made small bone items since the 1940s. But she truly began creating art after a sad event. Her husband, Louis, died in a steel mill accident in 1956. Mary was very upset. She felt a stronger connection to the spirit world, especially through her dreams. One night, someone tried to break into her house. Mary prayed and felt God telling her to make "bone art." She believed this art would help keep bad things away.

Later Years and Community Work

In 1968, Mary moved to Los Angeles. She wanted to be closer to her sister, Sarah. By this time, Mary was an ordained minister. People called her Mother Mary. She got to use a storefront for free near the University of Southern California. This area had many black-owned businesses.

Mary turned the storefront into a thrift shop, art studio, and kitchen. She used the kitchen to feed people who were poor or homeless. This special place became known as a "storefront church." Because of her work, Mary earned the nickname "47th Street Mama."

Later, Mary felt God told her to focus more on preaching. In 1987, the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake damaged her storefront. Her health also started to decline. Mary had to leave her space. She left behind many unfinished sculptures and art supplies.

Mary often showed and sold her art at local events. These included the Los Angeles Street Scene and the annual Black Pride Parade. A very important art show happened near the end of her life. In 1991, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, showed over 150 of her artworks. This exhibit was called Religious Visionaries. The John Michael Kohler Arts Center still has some of Mary Le Ravin's art today.

Mary Le Ravin's Artistic Style

Mary Le Ravin's religious art showed her Christian faith. It also reflected her personal connection with the Holy Spirit and her dreams. She made many puppet dolls that could move. She said they moved like the Holy Ghost.

Mary used her special "God-given glue." This was a mix of Elmer's glue and sawdust. With it, she made sculptures and scenes. She used bones, beads, glitter, stones, shells, flowers, gum, and other natural and found objects. Mary said the Holy Spirit helped her see shapes and faces in bones. She often focused on religious topics like Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

However, most of her art showed African and African American famous people. These included Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Diana Ross, Joe Louis, Mr. T, Michael Jackson, and Flip Wilson. She also made characters like a "California Black Panther" and interracial couples. Some of her famous pieces were The Black Mona Lisa and The Zulu Girl with the Blue Hair. Her art also explored important topics like racism, homelessness, and challenges faced by women.

Mary called her art "African bone art." She explained why she used bones. For her, bones showed the sacred cycle of life, death, and new beginnings. Bones were also easy for her to find. She once said, "I imagine the Lord gave me bones to work with because I could easily get them from the food I ate."

Her art process came from her spiritual visions. She would boil and bleach bones. Then she would drill holes and run wire through them. Finally, she would arrange them to paint and decorate.

Some people accused Mary of practicing witchcraft. But she found reasons for using bones in the Book of Ezekiel (37:1-10) in the Bible. This part talks about dry bones coming back to life. She would tell critics, "There was nothing wrong with those bones when they had meat on them and you were chewing on them, and now I took those bones and cleaned them, so what could be wrong with them now?"

Art Exhibitions

• 1990 Cavin Morris Gallery, New York City, NY
• 1990 The African Marketplace, Rancho Cienega Park, Los Angeles, CA
• 1990 William Grant Still Community Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
• 1991 Religious Visionaries, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
• 1992 Religious Visionaries: Simon Sparrow/Mary Le Ravin. Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL