Born in Los Angeles, California on December 27, 1950, Varnette P. Honeywood’s close-knit family greatly influenced her life and work. Her parents, Lovie and Stepney Honeywood, were elementary school teachers who had moved to Los Angeles from Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. Their daughters, Stephanie Paula and Varnette Patricia Honeywood, knew of their difficult lives under Jim Crow laws of the South and their victimization by the Ku Klux Klan as well as the racial harassment they experienced upon moving into a mixed-raced Los Angeles neighborhood. Attending Los Angeles High School, Varnette experienced her share of race-related social injustices.
Varnette and her older sister Stephanie tested out the art projects that their parents devised for their classrooms. At the age of 12, Varnette began studying at the Chouinard Art Institute. She created art for 47 years. Varnette was a creative artist who had a passion for art that compelled her to constantly create art. Her early work was inspired by her grandparents’ surrounding in Magnolia, Mississippi. The young artist painted the lemon and orange trees of Southern California within landscapes of rural Mississippi and Louisiana.
At Spelman College, an historically Black women’s college in Atlanta, Georgia, Honeywood planned to major in history and become a teacher; however, under the influence of her drawing instructor Joe Ross and the community of students and artists at Spelman, Honeywood switched her major to art. She began to develop her use of brilliant colors and complex designs. Kofi Bailey, a figurative artist whose work was infused with social consciousness, was a major influence at Spelman. Honeywood’s participation in the Civil Rights Movement and other protests led her to realize the importance of visual arts in the struggle for human rights.
Honeywood earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art from Spelman in 1972, her Master of Science degree in Education, and her teaching credentials from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1974. She earned an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Spelman College in 2005. As a graduate student, she taught art at the Los Angeles Central Juvenile Hall. Following graduation, Honeywood began teaching art and designing multicultural arts-and-crafts programs. Creating positive visual images for Black children became one of her major goals.
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