Zebedee Armstrong facts for kids

Zebedee B. Armstrong (born October 11, 1911 – died 1993) was a special kind of artist. He was known as an outsider artist. This means he learned art on his own, not in a school. He became famous for making unique wooden sculptures. People called these his 'doomsday calendars'.

Zebedee Armstrong's Early Life

Zebedee Armstrong was born in McDuffie County, Georgia. This area is close to a town called Thomson, Georgia. He went to school until the eighth grade. After that, he started working in the cotton fields nearby.

In 1929, he married Ulamay Demmons. They had two daughters together. For most of his life, Zebedee worked picking cotton on a local farm. He also earned money by building furniture for people in his community.

Building Skills and Community Help

Zebedee was very good at building things. He was especially skilled at making strong wooden and concrete vaults. These were like big, secure boxes. People in rural areas often bought these vaults. They used them to keep their important things safe at home.

These vaults often had many different kinds of locks, handles, and wheels. After his wife passed away in 1969, Zebedee started working at the Thomson Box Factory. He worked there until 1982.

Religion was a very important part of Zebedee Armstrong's life. He was a member of a group called The Solomon Hodges Burial Society. This group helped poor families pay for proper burials when someone died.

How Zebedee Armstrong Became an Artist

In 1972, something important happened to Zebedee Armstrong. He said he had a special vision. He felt he was warned that "Our time has gone to waste...Judgement day will come." After this, he became more private. He started thinking a lot about the idea of time coming to an end.

Creating the Doomsday Calendars

After his vision, Zebedee began to make his unique calendars. These were not flat paper calendars. They were three-dimensional wooden sculptures. He hoped these sculptures would help him understand when a special day, called Judgement Day, might happen.

He would draw grids on these wooden calendars. He used black, red, and blue permanent markers. Zebedee called this process "taping with time." He also wrote dates and Bible verses on the calendars. He believed these writings would help him figure out the exact date.

Zebedee Armstrong made almost 1,500 of these box calendars. His goal was to try and find the exact date of the approaching doomsday.

Zebedee's Workspace

Zebedee built his calendars in his own two-room home. One room was where he lived. The other room was his special workspace. In this room, he kept his calendars and all the materials he used to build them. He also kept many other things he had made himself.

A big part of his workspace was a large box on his mantelpiece. This box held cards that Zebedee used. He would use these cards to help him decide which dates to put on his calendars.

Where to See Zebedee Armstrong's Art

Zebedee Armstrong's artwork has been shown in many places. The first place to display his work was a local store called The Corner Cupboard. This helped his art become more known.

His work has been part of several art shows since then. Roger Manley used Armstrong's art as an idea for his exhibition called The End is Near. This show was at the American Visionary Art Museum. One of Zebedee Armstrong's pieces, called "Future Predictor Array," was also shown. It was part of the Farfetched: Mad Science, Fringe Architecture, and Visionary Engineering exhibition in 2013. This show was at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design.

Art Collections Featuring Zebedee Armstrong

You can find Zebedee Armstrong's art in these museum collections:

• Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas
• Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia