Artist features talents as illustrator in new book

SAPULPA, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges never thought that she would be a storybook illustrator. <br/><br/>That is, until she was presented with a project that spoke to her on an artistic,

Saturday, May 6th 2006, 10:43 am

By: News On 6

SAPULPA, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma artist Jeanne Rorex Bridges never thought that she would be a storybook illustrator.

That is, until she was presented with a project that spoke to her on an artistic, historical and personal level.

``I always said I'd never do illustration,'' Rorex Bridges said. ``I didn't think I could paint in the style that I thought the books needed.

``But this was such a great story, and really hit my fancy. I decided not to pass it up.''

The story that inspired Rorex Bridges is the written interpretation of a Choctaw folk tale by Oklahoma native and award-winning writer and folklorist Tim Tingle called ``Crossing Bok Chitto.''

``Crossing Bok Chitto'' is a tale about the little-known historical relationship between the Choctaw Nation and the slaves who lived in Mississippi in the time before the Civil War.

The story revolves around the friendship of a Choctaw girl named Martha Tom and a family of slaves that live on the other side of the Bok Chitto River.

On the west side of the river, the Choctaw nation lived in freedom. On the east side of the river, plantation owners ruled the land and kept slaves.

But the law of the time was that if a slave could cross the wide Bok Chitto river, they were free.

In ``Crossing Bok Chitto,'' the Choctaws had built a secret stone path through the river, just below the surface of the water.

It is this secret bridge that connects Martha Tom with her friend Little Mo and his family and becomes part of a daring plan to escape after Little Mo's mother is sold to a plantation in New Orleans.

What spoke to Rorex Bridges about this story was the connection between the Choctaw Nation and the African slaves, a subject matter that she frequently explores in her art.

``I have many paintings that deal with the relationship between the native people and the freedmen. There are so many mixed blood people out there, but often times they feel like they aren't allowed to claim the other half of their heritage.

``I've had an overwhelming response from people about my paintings of native people and former slaves working and living together. They often don't see their heritage in artwork.''

Roex Bridges traces her own family ancestry back to the Cherokee tribe and has always felt a deep connection to Native American art.

She currently resides in the hills of rural northeastern Oklahoma on part of the land on which she was raised, where she runs a successful art business with her husband, James Bridges.

Rorex Bridges has made a name for herself nationally with her Native American-inspired artwork and many of her pieces can be found in museums and private art collections nationwide.

And while the subject of the story lent itself perfectly to Rorex Bridge's style of art, she was also was also drawn to the themes within ``Crossing Bok Chitto.''

``I love to paint about human relationships and emotions, and it was those things about the story that drew me to it,'' Rorex Bridges said. ``The story also has a universal message about friendship, and the protection that a parent feels for their child that anyone can understand.''

Rorex Bridges' signature portrait style of artwork with strong lines and rich earth tones perfectly complement Tingle's story, which is written in the style of native storytelling, complete with traditional Choctaw songs.