A Gene Pearson sculpture near the hilltop pool at Strawberry Hill in the Jamaican Blue Mountains, March 7, 2009. Photo by Nicholas Laughlin, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Jamaican ceramicist and sculptor Gene Pearson created iconic Nubian heads. Author Garfield Ellis wrote poignant novels depicting Jamaican life. Within a few days, both creative Jamaicans passed away, leaving shock and sadness in their wake and a huge wave of online tributes. Pearson died on March 15 in Jamaica and Ellis died on March 16, 2018 in Canada. A celebrity in the Jamaican art world, fans admired and regarded Pearson as one of the best artists in Jamaica. His works appeared in public places, galleries, on tourism posters and in Jamaican homes. Famous collectors of his work include musician Stevie Wonder, former United States president Bill Clinton, author Maya Angelou, and former South African president Nelson Mandela. Pearson received numerous awards, including the Musgrave Medal (Silver) in 2010. He was also honoured in the National Gallery of Jamaica's 2010 Biennial and received a National Honour Order of Distinction in 2001 which was then upgraded to ‘Commander Class’ in 2015. Born in rural Wood Hall, St. Catherine Parish in southeast Jamaica in 1946, he was a graduate of the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts (then the Jamaica School of Art), where he later taught. Legendary teachers include master potter Cecil Baugh. Working primarily in ceramics, Pearson also created bronze pieces and was a master of the ancient Raku pottery technique. Pearson's work resonated with Jamaicans from many walks of life. National Gallery of Jamaica noted in 2010: Pearson’s ceramic and bronze sculptural work celebrates black beauty and dignity, which accounts for the popularity of his work in Jamaica and the African Diaspora cultural sphere. His style and subject matter are inspired by the arts of ancient Nubia, Benin and Rastafarian culture and emerged in dialogue with the visual language of contemporaries, such as Christopher Gonzalez. His style is however firmly distinguished from the latter’s moody expressionism by the silent, introverted monumentality of his sculptural and ceramic forms and is arguably among the most distinctive and recognizable of the artists of his generation. A dedicated artist, Pearson's output was considerable: Jamaican ceramic artist Gene Pearson, who died yesterday, once said: “I never stop. I just keep working. I continue to grow like the trees in the mountain.” In memory of the man and his monumental contribution to Jamaican art, here are 10 facts about him: https://t.co/YkG5WlJ2wb pic.twitter.com/KnINLeqPM2 — diGJamaica (@diGJamaica) March 16, 2018 Pearson's death was officially recognised by the Jamaican government. The Jamaican Senate paid tribute to him the day after his death, and Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, shared: In 2016 I was honoured to shake the talented hands of #GenePearson.The Senate paid tribute to him this morning.#RIP pic.twitter.com/zE0bRHMHLd — Hon. Kamina J Smith (@kaminajsmith) March 16, 2018 Both Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Culture Minister Olivia Grange paid tribute to Pearson. Art lovers, collectors, and artists honoured Pearson with photographs of their favorite sculptures. The artist died suddenly on March 15, just two days after the passing of his ex-wife Jacquelyne Hussey-Pearson, who had been struggling with cancer for several years. They have a fourteen-year-old son. Human rights advocate Carol Narcisse shared: Saluting Gene and Jacqueline Pearson. They have left so much to be cherished, protected and cared for. we must not fail them. — Carol Narcisse (@CarolNarcisse) March 16, 2018 Garfield Ellis, affectionately known as “Jiggs”, was one of several distinguished writers from the diaspora who made regular visits to his native Jamaica. On Ellis's homepage, he spoke to the challenges of making it as a writer in Jamaica: It is a very difficult thing to want to be a writer in Jamaica; especially if you want to be great. It seems pretentious and ambitiously ambitious, ridiculously vain, a head-in the-air, pie-in-the-sky type of folly. Writing is not for poor people to do. It is for those of a lighter cast, white people, rich people, foreign people, but not people like me- ordinary people- for whom just growing up is a struggle. Besides, it is not something that you share with your friends. I knew no writers. There was no one to discuss it with. There was no precedent in my community, not for writing, not for any kind of success. Those who succeed, leave. Canada-based Jamaican writer Pamela Mordecai tweeted: Shocked to hear that Garfield Ellis, that warm man and wonderful writer, has died… Finding it very hard to believe! RIP Garfield.