Artistic face masks support Las Vegas’ Juneteenth Foundation

For Las Vegans who still want to stay safe but are ready to retire their generic light blue face coverings, artist Synthia Saint James has designed fabric face masks that bear the vibrant and colorful designs of her paintings.

One face mask features artwork from her painting called “Juneteenth.” It depicts a celebration in honor of the day that news of President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 finally reached slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20th annual Las Vegas June9teenth Celebration has been canceled. But, in a fundraising effort, the foundation has partnered with Saint James to sell the face coverings online.

Saint James is best-known for the first Kwanzaa Commemorative Stamp she designed for the U.S. Postal Service in 1997, of which 318 million stamps were printed.

“I thought it would be a wonderful idea,” Saint James said of designing face masks. “I wanted to help to brighten all our days and uplift spirits with the now necessary face masks.”

Through Pixels.com, the artist positioned her paintings, such as “We the People One” and “Zebra Butterfly” onto the masks.

The masks, including the one depicting “Juneteenth,” are available at june19lv.com.

“I was inspired to create the painting (“Juneteenth”) by an overwhelming desire to bring attention to the often overlooked yet monumental holiday, Juneteenth,” the artist says. “And to emphasize its importance in Black and American history. It should be observed as a national holiday.”

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.ocm. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.