Synthia Saint James, award winning artist, designer of the first United States Postal Stamp for the Kwanzaa holiday
Program Titles
- The Business of Art: SAINT JAMES also conducts workshops on art marketing.
- Reinventing Yourself
- Living Your Dreams
- Book Cover Artist
Synthia Saint James Self-taught Artist, is an internationally recognized fine artist. She’ll work on over 60 book covers (including books by Alice Walker, Terry Mc Millan, Iyanla Vanzant, and Julia Boyd) and several licensed products.
She has completed over 50 commissions for significant organizations, corporations, and individual collectors, including The House of Seagram, Brigitte Matteuzzi’s School of Modern Jazz Ballet (Geneva, Switzerland), the Mark Taper Forum, The Los Angeles Women’s Foundation, Kayser-Roth/Maybelline, Essence Magazine’s 25th Anniversary, The American Library Association, UNICEF, Dance Africa, The Girl Scouts of the USA’s 85th Anniversary, Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., and The United States Postal Service, who commissioned her to create the first Kwanzaa Stamp, made available on October 22, 1997 with the first issue day ceremony at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. The Kwanzaa Stamp has been reissued as a 37 cents stamp. She has also completed commissions for Coca-Cola for “The Lady of Soul Awards.” for the American Dance Legacy Institute in honor of Donald Mc Kayle’s Ballet “Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder.” the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, in honor of the late Congressman Julian Dixon, Children’s Institute International, Crystal Stairs, Maryland’s Human Resource Department, the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, in tribute to the 12 Black Fire lost in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and for many other non-profit organizations.
She has 13 Children’s picture books currently on the market. She received a 1997 Coretta Scott King Honor for her illustrations in “Neeny Coming, Neeny Going” and four activity books.
SAINT JAMES’s architectural designs include a 2’8″ x 150-foot tile mural for Ontario International Airport, six elevator doors for the East End Complex in Sacramento, CA, three stained glass windows for the West Tampa Library, Tampa, FL, and a 4×7 foot tile mural for Cowan Elementary School. She also created an original 3×6 foot painting for Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, CA.
She has received numerous awards for her outstanding contributions to children’s books and other humanitarian activities.
Synthia SAINT JAMES, now a highly sought keynote speaker and presenter, would be a welcome addition to your conferences or other events.
Recent Awards
Parents Choice Silver Honor for Children’s Book: “Sunday”
YWCA Silver Achievement Award in the Creative Arts
Treasure of Los Angeles Award
AT&T Entrepreneur of the Year
(NAACP Legal Defense Fund & Black Women of Achievement Committee),
Coretta Scott King Honor for illustrating Children’s Books: “Neeny Coming… Neeny Going”,
BEMO Collection Women’s History Month Achievement Honor
Black Women Lawyers, Inc. Women of Vision Award
African American Advocate Visions and Words
NAPPA Award for the song “Happy Happy Kwanzaa.”
Oppenheim Gold Award for the book “To Dinner, For Dinner”
Woman of the Year in Education from the Los Angeles County Commission for Women
Exhibitions (Partial List)
International Small Graphic Art, Stockholm, Sweden
Musee Des Duncans, Paris, France
Cosmopolitan Artists, Seoul, Korea
The Chicago Art Institute
The Walters Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Salon Internationale, Quebec, Canada
Natural History Museum, Los Angeles, CA
National Museum Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.
The Society of Illustrators Museum, New York, NY
Museum of African American Art, Los Angeles, CA
Afro. American Cultural Center, Charlotte, NC
Diggs Gallery, Winston.Salem State University, NC
Hayti Heritage Center, St. Joseph’s Foundation, Durham, NC
Disney Studios
University of Utah
Inner City Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
Savacou Gallery, New York, NY
Cinque Gallery, New York, NY
Los Angeles City Hall
Commissions and Posters (Partial Listing)
Ontario International Airport
Glendale Memorial Hospital
Coca Cola USA
American Dance Legacy Institute
United States Postal Service
UNICEF
The Girl Scouts of the USA
Dance Africa America
American Library Association
Essence Magazine
Kayser Roth / Maybelline
The National Bar Association
The House of Seagram
The Mark Taper Forum
Collectors (Partial List)
Coca-Cola U.S.A., Essence Communications, The House of Seagram, Alice Walker, Carl Gordon, Glynn Turman, Charles Fuller, Richard Pryor, Danny Glover, Jenifer Lewis, Museum African American Art, Tampa Fl, Monterey Bay Blues Festival, Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., Fran Bennett, Charnele Brown, Art Evans, Paula Kelly, Ysaye Barnwell, Tavis Smiley, Yolanda King, The Riordan Foundation and The Law Firm of Gibson, Dunn, Crutcher LLP.
Periodical Interviews (Partial):
About Time Magazine
Celebrity Home
Los Angeles Times “Kids Reading Corner”
Los Angeles Times Valley Edition
National Parenting Publications
Los Angeles Times Magazine
Tampa Tribune
Los Angeles Times Metro
Contemporary Black Biographies
Los Angeles Times, Life & Style
Upscale Magazine
Essence Magazine
U.S. Art Magazine
American Visions Magazine
Television Interviews (Partial)
The Kwanzaa Story
Fox TV News
ABC TV News
KTLA News
BET Shop
Screen Scene
Life & Times (KCET)
KTLA’s Making It
The Tavis Smiley Show
Art In Embassies
Caracas, Venezuela
Gagnoa, Ghana
Panel
J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts
Synthia SAINT JAMES, international award-winning artist, designer of the first United States Postal Stamp for the Kwanzaa holiday, illustrator, and award-winning children’s book author/illustrator. Motivation, inspiration, and encouragement are all topics covered by Saint James. As a self-taught artist, SAINT JAMES is intimately familiar with how intention, goal setting, mental attitude, and spiritual nurturance facilitate self-actualization. By taking the audience through her journey, Synthia encourages groups of all ages to go confidently in the direction of their dreams and live the life they have imagined.
Books by Synthia Saint James
- The Gifts of Kwanzaa
- Sunday: A Parents Choice Silver Honor Book
- It’s Kwanzaa Time
- Girlfriends: poetry and prose
- Can I Touch You: Love Poems and Affirmations
- Creative Fixings from the Kitchen: a multi-cultural cookbook
Book Synthia Saint James for your Event!