ONE CHEVERLY BLACK HISTORY MONTH FEATURE: Mr. Jeffrey Felton Green
ONE CHEVERLY BLACK HISTORY MONTH FEATURE:
Mr. Jeffrey Felton Green
Written By: Brieanna Boswell
Interviewed By: Brieanna Boswell & Jennifer Kone
February, 2019
For our first Black History Month Feature, One Cheverly (represented by myself, Brieanna Boswell and Jennifer Kone) had the honor of speaking with a 23-year resident of Cheverly, Mr. Jeffrey Felten-Green. Jeffrey lives in Ward 2 and works as a State Policy Advisor for the Department of Justice by day, where he has worked for over 20 years with such projects as the “Tribal Court Assistance Program.” By night, weekend, and even on his lunch break, Jeffrey gets to pursue his passion. He paints with bright colors, telling stories, and evoking humor through paintings ranging from folk art to political pieces, nature to fantasy, and even flowers and fairies, which cover every wall in his Cheverly home.
Jeffrey shared that he got his start as an artist early in life, in the “inner city” of Hartford, Connecticut. As a child he would draw on “whatever he could get his hands on,” including paper bags and the backs of discarded white pieces of paper. His passion was supported by his mother, who although was not of great means, would buy him supplies when she could. He was also encouraged later by his high school sweetheart, turned wife, Daphne Felten-Green. Daphne encouraged Jeffrey to study art and art education while attending Eastern and Central Connecticut State Universities. He later went on to earn a degree in Communication from Loyola University, in Chicago.
Jeffrey creates from his own inspiration, as his imagination and mood lead him, disliking being “pinned down by labels and styles”. He states that “Art is like gardening. It is never done,” and he is always thinking about the next composition. At the same time, Jeffrey emphasized the importance of completing a project. He states, “I see my paintings as my children. They are done. They are finished. The next step is to release them out into the world.”
We had the honor of hearing part of the story and history that went into one of his beautiful pieces, titled “Swept Away.” This painting is brightly colored and depicts women in headwraps and dresses holding brooms, while standing on a dirt path. Jeffrey shared that this piece portrays what he referred to as the “swept earth technique” of keeping a clean and neat yard. He shared that the sweeping of dirt yards originated in West Africa and the tradition was brought over to the states by enslaved Africans. This tradition became common practice in the Deep South for generations. “Swept Away” also represents personal family memories of the tradition, from his roots in North Carolina.
Jeffrey enjoys sharing his work with others through local art shows and through his online gallery at https://idomythang.com/ . He is a member of Hyattsville art group, Hyattsville Community Arts Alliance and also recently founded a Facebook group here in Cheverly to bring other Artists together, Cheverly Artists Collective. His work is sold to individual and organizational art collectors, including the Prince George’s County Montpellier Arts Center, and he is available to create commissioned pieces upon request.
Thank you to Jeffrey Felten-Green for allowing us to speak with you. It was truly an honor to learn about the work of our talented neighbor. We look forward to seeing more of his art in the future and will share opportunities to support and check out more of his work as they arise. You can view and purchase his work, at https://idomythang.com/ .
To learn more about the organizations and topics mentioned, please see below:
Hyattsville Community Arts Alliance
Cheverly Artists Collective
Sweeping Yards
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