Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson is an artist and storyteller born in 1940 in Columbus, Ohio. She was taught to draw and make books from a young age by her father. Using materials like mud, clay, and found objects, she creates sculptures and rag paintings depicting her family, community, and notable civil rights leaders. Robinson continues to research and illustrate the lives of important figures in her artwork.

1. Aminah Brenda
Lynn Robinson
Artist and storyteller

2. Aminah Brenda
Lynn Robinson
was born in
Columbus,
Ohio, in 1940.

3. When she was a little girl, her father taught
her how to draw and how to make books
from homemade paper.
• He taught her how
to "hogmawg," a
collection of mud,
clay, twigs, leaves,
lime, animal grease,
and glue, to create
art.

4. Life in Sellsville
(1871-1900), 1987
Wood, hogmawg,
mud, and found
objects
Aminah
creates
sculptures,

5. Mt. Vernon Avenue, South Side of Street, 1900-1957/Page Three: Memory
Map, 1989-92
RagGanon: paint on cloth with thread and buttons
rag paintings on cloth,

7. Poindexter Village
Quilt, 1966-1984
RagGonNon with
buttons, beads,
cowrie shells, thread,
wool, rags, and cloth
Many of her
paintings are
about her
family and
community.

8. Poindexter Village-First Families in 1940, 1995, Paint on cloth
Some are the stories she has been told by
her elders.

9. Unwritten Love Letter: Fighter for Women's Rights; Sojourner Truth, 1988
Pen and ink, thread and found objects on hand-dyed envelope
She also
researches
the lives of
civil rights
leaders,

10. John T. Ward Transporting Fugitives in Columbus, Ohio to Freedom,
1800s, 1982
Wood, hogmawg, and found objects
abolitionists, musicians, and writers

11. One Day in 1307 AD: King Abubakari II, 1985-92
Button Beaded RagGonNon Music Box Pop-Up BoOK: cloth, thread, buttons, beads,
paper, paint, graphite and music boxes
and depicts them in her art.

12. Life Along Water Street, 2000-2007
Rag painting: cloth, buttons, thread, pen and ink, pencil, and paint on paper

13. Walking up 125th Street, 1989-91 (from New York Stories)
Paint on cloth

14. Rocks Dance in the Light, 2004
Gouache, acrylic, and ink on heavy stock

16. "I began drawing at
the age of three. My
father would give me
wood to paint on and
paint in little enamel
tins. My studio was
under my bed...I
never had any doubt
in my mind about
being an artist."
--Amina Robinson