#886 + d e a R d e e r d e a R + knoWING + h e a r t

X
X
X

d e a R d e e r d e a R

knoWING

h e a r t

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X

X

PLEASE CLICK FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.mnartists.org/artwork/deerdear-1-23-4-5-6-7-8-9

X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

X
X

The DEER/DEAR series

#1/ #2/#3/ #4/ #5/ #6/ #7/ #8/ #9

Mixed Media on Board

Each painting measures approximately 18″H x 12″W

2016 – 2017

X

ALL of my work is an encounter.

Visceral.

Intimate dialogues.

Calling out the  viewer’s capacity to listen/attend to nuance.

To experience the work one must have a real encounter with the offering.

My work is how a photograph of a beloved cannot compare

to the actual presence of a beloved.

X

My work denies the camera’s eye.

X

A viewer’s actual encounter with my work

is the dynamic LIVE performance.

 

X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

I listen to my listening.

Listen. Listen. Listen wide open. 

Sacred listening.

Sacred/Sublime offerings.

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

For details of each painting, please click on the image

X

X
X
X
X
X

X

X

X

X

DEER / DEAR #1                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #2                                                                    Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #3                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #4                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #5                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #6                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #7                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #8                                                                         Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

DEER / DEAR #9                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X

X
X

For further information/revelations

on the

DEER/DEAR

series,

please click on the links below

(#1 provides multi-cultural significance/meanings of DEER):

1.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/700-luminous-deer-where-i-create-there-i-am-true-r-m-rilke-pine-tree-an-appeal-to-heaven-1998-catherine-l-johnson/

2.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/701-deer-male-deer-female-2016-palestarsrising-2016-catherine-l-johnson-december-2016/

3.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/703-29-december-2016-catherine-l-johnson-on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven-deer/

4.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/706-grace-energy-dear-cherished-deer-deer-honorrespect-wounded-deer-dear/

 

X
X
X

X

X

X

Read Full Post »

#875 + ‘Mother’s Water Writings: A’ Catherine L. Johnson 2019 + Palmer Method of Handwriting + ‘I listened…’

X
X
X

Mother’s Water Writing: A                                                             Catherine L. Johnson  2019

X
X
X
X
X

X

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

‘Mother’s Water Writing: A’

X

Catherine L. Johnson

X

2019

X

X

X

X

Improvisational drawing.

Measurements: 25″ H x 19″ W

HB graphite pencil and eraser on 100% rag paper.

X

Two drawings / performances

of my hand’s continuous motion.

x

The first drawing is performed

and

then erased to create

dimension, depth and volume.

The second drawing glides / performing

over the pentimento of the initial drawing

akin to

over-dubbing in sonic / music production.

 

X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

NOTE: last sentence! Ha!

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

The Palmer Method of penmanship instruction

was developed and promoted by Austin Palmer

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It was largely created as a simplified style of the “Spencerian Method”,

which had been the major standardized system

of handwriting since the 1840s.

The Palmer Method soon became the most popular

handwriting system in the United States.

Under the method,

students were taught to adopt a uniform system

of cursive writing with rhythmic motions.

X

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Method

 

X

X

X

X

X
X
X
X
X

My Mother and Daddy

were taught

The Palmer Method of Handwriting.

X

I would often receive postcards from them

while I was hospitalized

for the extent of my childhood.

I longed, longed, longed

for their touch,

the sound of their voices,

their scent

– for their actual presence.

X

I could not read.

The nurses would bring the postcards to my bed.

I could not read.

I would look at the color of my Mother’s and Daddy’s ink.

  My Mother’s ink was a blue sky color

and

my Daddy’s was a deep sea navy blue.

X

I could not read.

I looked at the rhythm of the blue ink of their handwriting

– their voices that I could ‘listen’ to.

Their handwriting were like waves of water with a rhythmic beat.

I could not read.

X

I listened to my Mother’s and Daddy’s handwriting

as songs,

  – rhythms –

as lullabies,

soothing me

and

telling me

they loved me

and

missed me

and

longed to hold me

and

longed to kiss me.

X

X

X

I could hear their music for me

in the rhythm of their handwriting.

X

X

X

X

Music.

X

X

X

X
X
X
X
X

 

The key

to enter my sphere / my inner sanctum/ my sanctuary: 

practice songs of kindness, respect, honor

and

a rhythm of positive offerings,

authentic encounters and experiences of truth.

X

X

X

rhythm

[ rith–uhm ]

noun

movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Please click on image to enlarge and for detail.

Read Full Post »

#737 + GRACE #1/ #2/ #3/ #4/ #5/ #6/ #7/ #8 2017 Catherine L. Johnson + Pablo Neruda “Of everything I have seen…What am I to do, love, loved one?”

X
X
X

 

X

X

X
X
X

 

 

GRACE

#1/ #2/ #3/ #4/ #5/ #6/ #7/ #8

Because of, WITH and for AWC

X

X

2017

X

Catherine L. Johnson

X

X

X

Please click on link for further information on the GRACE 2017 series:

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/744-grace-8-you-are-my-grace-i-am-your-grace-40-h-x-26-w-catherine-l-johnson-anthony-coxs-dark-metals-charles-lloyds-modern-quartet/

X

X

TO ENLARGE + FOR DETAIL, PLEASE CLICK TWICE ON THE IMAGE

X

X

The color is blush pink and an orchid pink (the hum of lavender).

The color shifts depending on the ambient light and the position of the viewer.

An intimate and dynamic conversation.

A/live dance.

The color shifts to blush pink, to an orchid pink to a pale warm white.

A simpatico DANCE between the art and the attending viewer

– an encounter and an improvisational performance.

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

GRACE #1                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

GRACE #2                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

 

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

GRACE #3                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X
X

X

X

GRACE #4                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

GRACE #5                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

GRACE #6                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

GRACE #7                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

 

 

 

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

GRACE #8                                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2017

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

X

X
X
X
X

X

X

X

 

X
X
X
X
X

“Loving isn’t merging, surrendering, uniting with the other.

Rather, it’s a kind of solitude; of profound aloneness.

It induces you to mature and become whole

for the sake of your beloved

… to truly love another,

you must first wholly love yourself.

Love therefore exacts the most demanding claim of all;

it both chooses you and pursues you,

and reaches out,

as if over vast distances,

to call and draw you into your now

and

future self.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

X

X

X

Rainer Maria Rilke

X

X

X

Read Full Post »

#718 + DEER/DEAR #1/ #2/#3/ #4/ #5/ #6/ #7/ #8/ #9 2016 – 2017 Catherine L. Johnson + GRACE ENERGY

For URADIANTHOPEAWCGRACEENERGYU

X
X
X

X

X

PLEASE CLICK FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.mnartists.org/artwork/deerdear-1-23-4-5-6-7-8-9

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

 

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

The DEER/DEAR series

#1/ #2/#3/ #4/ #5/ #6/ #7/ #8/ #9

Mixed Media on Board

Each painting measures approximately 18″H x 12″W

2016 – 2017

X

ALL of my work is an encounter.

Visceral.

Intimate dialogues.

Calling out the  viewer’s capacity to listen/attend to nuance.

To experience the work one must have a real encounter with the offering.

My work is how a photograph of a beloved cannot compare

to the actual presence of a beloved.

X

My work denies the camera’s eye.

X

A viewer’s actual encounter with  my work is the dynamic LIVE performance.

 

X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

I listen to my listening. Listen. Listen. Listen wide open.  

Sacred/Sublime offerings.

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

For details of each painting, please click on the image

X

X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #1                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #2                                                                    Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #3                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #4                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #5                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #6                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #7                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #8                                                                         Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

DEER / DEAR #9                                                                        Catherine L. Johnson 2016

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X

 

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

 

X

X
X

For further information/revelations

on the DEER/DEAR series,

please click on the links below

(#1 provides multi-cultural significance/meanings of DEER):

1.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/700-luminous-deer-where-i-create-there-i-am-true-r-m-rilke-pine-tree-an-appeal-to-heaven-1998-catherine-l-johnson/

2.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/701-deer-male-deer-female-2016-palestarsrising-2016-catherine-l-johnson-december-2016/

3.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/703-29-december-2016-catherine-l-johnson-on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven-deer/

4.) https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/706-grace-energy-dear-cherished-deer-deer-honorrespect-wounded-deer-dear/

 

X
X
X

Read Full Post »

#712 + “‘Nevertheless, SHE Persisted” DAMN RIGHT! OF COURSE!! NOTHING LESS!!! + CATHERINE L. JOHNSON aka PAVARTI aka SARASWATI + “Shakers and Makers: Artists and Cultural Leaders” Portraits by CAROLINE MECKLIN

X

‘Nevertheless, SHE Persisted.’

DAMN RIGHT!  OF COURSE!!  NOTHING LESS!!!

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/nevertheless-she-persisted-and-the-age-of-the-weaponized-meme/516012/

X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

CATHERINE L. JOHNSON    aka    PARVATI    aka    SARASWATI

X

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraswati

http://www.ancient.eu/Sarasvati/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parvati

http://saintpaulmag.com/gallery-lowertown-artists

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/about/

http://www.mnartists.org/catherine-l-johnson

X
X
PHOTO CREDIT: SELFIE!

X
X
X
X
X
X

Shakers and Makers:
Artists and Cultural Leaders 

X

X

X

X

Portraits by Caroline Mecklin

X
X
X

Opening Reception:
Friday, 10 February 2017
6-10pm

X

X

Exhibition of the

preparatory drawings + the completed portraits.

X
The actual “Shakers and Makers” will be present!

X

Beer tasting courtesy of 12welve Eyes Brewing
Wine and food courtesy of St.Paul Federal Credit Union
Guitar Music by Mike Ziegahn

X

X

X
Lowertown Underground Artists Gallery
308 Prince Street / Northern Warehouse

X

X

10 February – 5 March 2017

X

X

Closing Reception:
Friday, 3 March 2017
6 – 9 pm

X
X
X

+

X
X
X

The North Gallery / Landmark Center
75 West Fifth Street, St. Paul

X
X

23 May 23 – 11 June 2017

X
X

Opening Reception:
Tuesday, 23 May 2017
5:30 – 7:30 pm

X

Exhibition of the

preparatory drawings and the completed portraits.

X
The actual “Shakers and Makers” will be present!

X
X
X

X
X
X

To view the entire

Shakers and Makers: Artists and Cultural Leaders

catalog,

please click on link below!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Fdp8F77QyDaUV0c1o0ellwa2c/view?usp=sharing

X

PHOTO CREDIT: Deborah Tulloch McGee

PIPPI ARDENIA       CATHERINE L. JOHNSON       CAROLINE MECKLIN

X

OPENING NIGHT!!!

X

PHOTO CREDIT: Michele Jansen

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X

‘Nevertheless, SHE Persisted.’

DAMN RIGHT!  OF COURSE!!  NOTHING LESS!!!

X
X
X
X
X

There are many ways that American culture

tells women to be quiet

—many ways they are reminded

that they would really be SO MUCH MORE pleasing

IF they would just smile a little more,

or talk a little less,

or work a little harder to be

PLIANT

and

AGREEABLE.

X
X

Women are,

in general,

extremely ATTUNED to these messages;

we have,

after all,

heard them

ALL

OUR

LIVES.

X
X
X
X
X

There

is a

Native American parable

about a ELDER who says:

 “I feel as if I have

two wolves

fighting

in my heart.

X
X

One wolf is the

vengeful, angry one.

The other wolf is the

loving, compassionate one.”

X

X

 When asked which wolf

will win the fight in their heart,

the ELDER replies: 

“The one I feed.”

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

LOOK ON-LINE!

Several VENDORS  are DONATING ALL $$ to Planned Parenthood or ACLU!

Read Full Post »

#707 + 20 JANUARY 2017 + MY NOW “DIS-UNITED” STATES OF AMERICA’S INAUGURATION DAY + SOS + SEPTEMBER GALLERY’S “POST-ELECTION” – WOMEN ARTISTS’ RESISTANCE / DEDICATION FOR ALL HUMANITY

Fact-checking President Trump’s inaugural address

Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/20/fact-checking-president-trumps-inaugural-address/?utm_term=.97050ee5c977

X
X
X

WE LIVE IN TROUBLED TIMES / GREEN DAY

Rock band Green Day dropped a NEW music video

on

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

that

references the CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER / ICON

and

blasts POTUS  Donald Trump, though not by name.

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

YES, I AM MARCHING. YES, ABSOLUTELY!!

X
X

X

X

MY HANDMADE SIGN: HEAL/THY + HEALTHY WOMEN = HEALTHY NATION

X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X

X
SEPTEMBER  GALLERY

is PROUD to present:

Post–Election

– an exhibition of over 150 artists!!!

X

X
X
X

Exhibition Co-Organized by: Kristen Dodge and Kate Gilmore

X
Opening:  Saturday, 28 January 2017

Event programming begins at 2pm

X

Opening Day Co-Organized by:

Lauren Barnes and Shanekia McIntosh

X
X
X

X
Exhibition Dates:

28 January  –  5 March 2017

X
X

Gallery hours:

Friday-Sunday, noon-6pm and by appointment.

X

THE GENESIS:

This exhibition was conceived in conversation between Kristen and Kate a few days after the U.S. Presidential Election. With the intention of providing a reason, space, and context for artists to respond to the current circumstance, they agreed to set a show in motion, and allow the call to take on a life of its own. Word spread between artists and within a short time, the number of participants rose from 50 to 150. The current list of participating artists is included below.

X

X
THE SHOUT OUT:

“If you choose to make a work that addresses things internal, or external, or some state in-between, that is up to you. Make what you need to make in whatever form, and at whatever pitch you choose.”

(Excerpt from the call to participate.)

X

If we stop to comprehend the “unrealistic” endeavors that we pursue, we would never do them. This show has been a leap of faith and a truly collaborative endeavor.

X

X

Lauren Barnes and Shanekia McIntosh are organizing the opening day of performances, talks, and events. Carrie Schneider is managing new media submissions. Courtney Childress, Sheree Hovespain, Eleanor King, Gina Magid, Carleen Sheehan, Elise Siegel, and Ana Wolovick are providing drop-off locations for participating artists. Lilah Friedland is managing the collection of works in collaboration with our staff. Many participating artists have personally shipped their work to the gallery and offered their time and resources.

X

X

A portion of all sales will be donated to the local factions of

Planned Parenthood and Black Lives Matter.

X

X

ARTISTS/ WOMEN / ARTISTS/ PARTICIPATING/EXHIBITING:

Diana Al-Hadid, Jennifer Amadeo-Holl, Polly Apfelbaum, Colleen Asper, Lauren Barnes, Hannah Barrett, Kate Beck, Susan Bee, Andrea Belag, Anne Beresford, Iris Bernblum, Annie Bielski, Hannah Black, Nancy Bowen, Dawn Breeze, Kelsey Brod, Jacinta Bunnell, Beth Campbell, Alicia Casillio, Rebecca Chamberlain, Lenora Champagne, Patty Chang, Nicole Cherubini, Jennifer Paige Cohen, Courtney Childress, Beninga Chilla, Christen Clifford, Liz Collins, Moira Connelly, Jennifer Dalton, Nancy Davidson, Jen Dawson, Donna Dennis*, Shoshana Dentz, Melissa Auf der Maur, Leah Devun, Katherine Mitchell DiRico, Leah Dixon, Angelina Dreem, Jenny Dubnau, Sharona Eliassaf, Michelle Elzay, Julie Evans, Heide Fasnacht, Jean Feinberg, Rochelle Feinstein, Ashlee Ferlito, Alison Fox, Dana Frankfort, Lilah Friedland, Sarah Fuhrman, Sheila Gallagher, Chitra Ganesh, Mariah Garnett, Christy Gast, Tamara Gayer, Kate Gilmore, Jen Gilmore, Joanne Greenbaum, Catherine Hall, Ellen Harvey, Maren Hassinger, Paula Hayes, Clarity Haynes, Karen Heagle, Susana Heller, Elana Herzog, Jane Fox Hipple, Sheree Hovsepian, Nene Humphrey, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Jamie Isenstein, Alia S. Jackson, Catherine L. Johnson*, Deborah Kass, Nina Katchadourian, Lisa Kereszi, Eleanor King, Chelsea Knight, Autumn Knight, Amalia Korczowski, Julia Kunin, Marcia, Kure, Cal Lane, Karen Lee, Miranda Lichtenstein, Cynthia Lin, Kimberly Lin, Anne Lindberg, Meg Lipke, Jen Liu, Patte Loper, Marie Lorenz, Rebecca Loyche, Gina Magid, Dana Majana, Georgette Maniatis, Natasha Mayers, Suzanne McClelland, Francine Hunter McGivern, Shannekia McIntosh, Tess Middlebrook, Ander Mikalson, Marilyn Minter, Carrie Moyer, Donna Moylan, Laurel, Nakadate, Maureen Nollette, Rachel Owens, Ruby Palmer, Alix Pearlstein, Sheila Pepe, Carla Perez-Gallardo, Tessa Perutz, Janine Polak, Kristine Potter, Sara Rafferty, Corinna Ripps, Kenya Robinson, Heather Rowe, Brie Ruais, Adelaide Ruff, Kathy Ruttenberg, Jackie Saccoccio, Naomi Safran-Hon, Jennifer Salomon, Lisa Sanditz, Carrie Schneider, Mira Schor, Lauren Seiden, Becky Sellinger, Beverly Semmes, Nancy Shaver, Carleen Sheehan, Elise Siegel, Xaviera Simmons, Slinko, Barb Smith, Alexandria Smith, Shinique Smith, Jamie Sneider, Agathe Snow, Sarah Sole, Laurel Sparks, Meredyth Sparks, Allyson Strafella, Odessa Straub, Kianja Strobert, Maya Suess, Julianne Swartz, Jane Swavely, Monika Sziladi, Dannielle Tegeder, Constance Tenvik, Dorothea Van Camp Michalene Thomas, Sam Vernon, Stefanie Victor, Nicole Vidor, Jennifer Viola, Marianne Vitale, Wendy White, Jess Whittam, Lorna Williams, Karen Lee Williams, Martha Wilson, Ana Wolovick, Lachell Workman, Sun You

X
X
X
For further information:

Please contact

kristen@septembergallery.com

or

visit the gallery website: 

http://septembergallery.com/

X
X
X

Copyright © SEPTEMBER, All rights reserved.

 

Our mailing address is:

SEPTEMBER
449 Warren Street #3
Hudson, NY 12534

X

X

X

X
X

X

*Donna Dennis

http://www.donnadennisart.com/

X

X

X

INAUGURATION DAY 2017                                                                    Donna Dennis  2017

X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X

*Catherine L. Johnson

http://www.mnartists.org/catherine-l-johnson

X

X

“I was contacted by Kristen and Kate within a week after the Presidential Election.

Artist Donna Dennis championed my art.

(Donna’s work will be on exhibition as well. SEE ABOVE )

I am the ONLY artist outside of NYC to be in  POST–ELECTION.”

X

X

X

“ARTISTS are HURRICANE LAMPS / PINE TREES / CRUCIBLES

of telling TRUTH;

naming BEAUTY;

envisioning FIELDS/BLOOMS/WILDERNESS of FREEDOM

and

the persevering upholders LOVELIGHTGRACE.

X

X

ARTISTS call out the “Better Angels in our Nature”.

ARTISTS are FREEDOM fighters.

It is remarkably imperative to march our lives

to the rhythm of FREEDOM + CREATIVITY

+ HONOR/ RESPECT FOR/TO ALL.

Oracles.
Shamans.”

X

X

Catherine L. Johnson

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

 

BREATHE                                                                          Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X

X

BREATHE is my contributing force for our nation

and

to POST–ELECTION @ SEPTEMBER GALLERY.

X

Please click on image to enlarge.

X

X

X

PLEASE CLICK ON LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.mnartists.org/artwork/breathe-2016-american-presidential-election

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/about/

http://www.mnartists.org/catherine-l-johnson

http://saintpaulmag.com/gallery-lowertown-artists

 

X

X

X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

YES WE CAN! 

YES WE DID!

YES WE WILL!

X

X

X

THANK YOU

to our nation’s

HONORABLE / INSPIRING/ COMPASSIONATE/ COURAGEOUS

Former

POTUS/FLOTUS

Barack + Michelle Obama.

X

X

X
X

X

2007 PRIMARIES > ELECTION DAY 2008 > OBAMA WINS!

I created OBAMA t-shirts using bleach pens on black t-shirts.

Michelle Obama was given TWO of my t-shirts at the Macalester College rally during the primaries.

 

 

 

 

THE OBAMA SQUAD!

The day after SENATOR OBAMA  was ELECTED POTUS BARACK OBAMA.

MOVING FORWARD – Dismantling the 924 Selby Ave., St. Paul,  Obama’s MN satellite campaign office.

Read Full Post »

#706 + GRACE ENERGY + DEAR / CHERISHED DEER / DEER + HONOR/RESPECT + WOUNDED DEER / DEAR

X
X
X

There

is a

Native American parable

about an ELDER who says:

 “I feel as if I have

two wolves

fighting

in my heart.

X

One wolf is the

vengeful, angry one.

The other wolf is the

loving, compassionate one.”

X

X

 When asked which wolf

will win the fight in his heart,

the ELDER replies: 

“The one I feed.”

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X

X

My INTRINSIC values, my ART of LIVING:

GRACE 

ENERGY

GRACE

CHERISH

GRACE

CARESS

GRACE

VULNERABILITY

GRACE

HOPE

GRACE

WHISPER

GRACE

COURAGE

GRACE

COMPASSION

GRACE

TRANSCENDENCE

GRACE

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

GRACE

HUMILITY

GRACE

RESPECT

GRACE

INTEGRITY

GRACE

GOD’S WILL

GRACE

HONOR

GRACE

TRUTH-TELLING

GRACE

DIVINE

GRACE

REVELATIONS

GRACE

DEVOTION

GRACE

COLLABORATION

GRACE

CALL + RESPONSE

GRACE

MOVING FORWARD

GRACE

VIBRATION

GRACE

HAPPINESS

GRACE

LIGHT

GRACE

KISS

GRACE

SUBLIME

GRACE

TENDERNESS

GRACE

RESOLVE

GRACE

TRANSFORM

GRACE

HARBINGER

GRACE

SACRED

GRACE

BEGINNINGS

GRACE

CLOSURES

GRACE

FORGIVE

GRACE

DEDICATION

GRACE

KINDNESS

GRACE

STILLNESS

GRACE

INTIMACY

GRACE

TRUTH

GRACE

SPIRITUAL AWAKENINGS

GRACE

EMPATHY

GRACE

CHARACTER

GRACE

STRENGTH

GRACE

DIGNITY

GRACE

REFUGE

GRACE

TOUCH

GRACE

AMENDS

GRACE

IMAGINATION

GRACE

TRUST

GRACE

SHELTER

GRACE

DEVOTION

GRACE

CONDUIT

GRACE

EPIPHANIES

GRACE  

BALM

GRACE

FAITH

GRACE

INSPIRATION

GRACE

HONESTY

GRACE

MAVERICK

GRACE

PERSEVERANCE

GRACE

VISION

GRACE

AUTHENTIC

GRACE

IMPROVISATION

GRACE

SWEET

GRACE

LOVE

GRACE

BLOOMS

GRACE

LULLABY

GRACE

ELEGANCE

GRACE

BREATH

GRACE

RHYTHM

GRACE

SENSUAL

GRACE

SINCERITY 

GRACE

JOY

GRACE

BEAUTY

GRACE

SYNERGY

GRACE

LIVING A/LIVE

GRACE

ENERGY

GRACE

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

La Venadita (Little Deer)                                                    Frida Kahlo                 1946

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

DEER / DEAR #2                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson 2016

X
X
X
X
X

Life energy FLOWS through us like a swift stream

when there is nothing to obstruct it.

X

X

X

Though the channels

THROUGH which this energy FLOWS

are OPEN systems

and

influenced by factors

OUTSIDE

of our control,

one ultimately

chooses what impact

these  factors

will have in one’s lives.

X
X
X

It is up to one to identify

and

CLEAR blockages in the energy field

to ensure that FLOW is maintained.

X

X

X

Life energy FLOWS through each of  us

like a swift stream

when there is nothing to obstruct it.

X
X
X

Yet,

various forces such as

trauma;

the spiraling downbeat vibrations of others;

deceit and betrayal

and

unresolved grief of

past heart-breaks, irreversible losses and terrible disappointments

can and/or will

act like pebbles to stones to boulders

to mountains to earthquakes

that

impede/ BLOCK

the flow+ current.

X

X

X

If one allows/chooses

obstructions

to accumulate

without conscious clearing,

one’s life energy is thrown off its course

or

cataclysmically blocked entirely,

causing illness;

emotional/spiritual/psychological duress + distress

restlessness,

and

will,

ultimately,

STEAL

the vitality

of one’s

sacred/LUMINOUS life FORCE.

X
X
X

If one values the

sacred unrepeatable jewel

of one’s life,

  one will take the time to clear

these forces away

and

seize their power to impact

one’s lives.

X
X
X

When I practice:

RADICAL HOPE;

living my intrinsic values,

my ART of LIVING,

with honor and respect

for myself and others;

breath meditations – tending to my mind and body;

MOVING FORWARD

with FAITH + fearless improvisational creation/creativity;

RUN/PLAY with my selected + cherished DEARS /DEERS

and

fiercely shield myself

from negativity/bitterness/dishonesty/toxic energy,

I preserve my  

WILDERNESS/INTEGRITY/AUTHENTICITY

and

the JOYOUS flowing OCEANIC FIELD

of 

GRACE ENERGY’S

 LOVE/sacred LIGHT/BEAUTY

within

me.

X

X

X

I

WELCOME

call and response

relationships

that

HONOR + RESPECT

who I am

and

they have the capacity to state: 

“I SEE YOU!”

X

X

 Those same cherished beloveds

KNOW

that my response is:

“I SEE YOU!”

X

X

X

GRACE ENERGY

X
X
XX
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
XX
DXX
X
X
X
X
X

PORTRAIT OF ME

SEEN/EXPERIENCED

 THROUGH the eyes/ life/ real experience of my then 7 year old friend CHAD

X

=

X

TRUTHWOWTRUTH!!!!!

X
X
XX
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

CHOICES – ENERGY LIFE MAPS /

one’s CHOICE of  internal VIBRATIONS

– like attracts like:

LOVING COMPASSION

VENGEFUL ANGER

JOYOUS HAPPINESS

SEETHING BITTERNESS

MOVING FAITH/HOPE FORWARD

FROZEN FEAR / NO MOVEMENT

CREATIVE IMPROVISATION

PRESCRIBED SOCIAL SCRIPTS

FREEDOM / HONORING THE DIVINITY WITHIN

HOSTAGE / ALLOWING FEAR TO SEIZE / STEAL

OXYGEN BREATH- INHALE/EXHALE

NO OXYGEN- I CAN’T BREATHE

COURAGE LIGHT

COWARD DARKNESS

X

X

X

 EVERY DAY WE CREATE THE STORIES OF OUR LIVES.

THE STORIES OF OUR LIVES BECOME OUR LIVES.

X

X

LIFE IS AN IMPROVISATION

OF

DIFFICULT + BEAUTIFUL.

X

X

Rhythm. Rhythm. Rhythm. Rhythm. Rhythm.

X

X

COURAGE IS LOVE / LOVE IS COURAGE

X

X

CREATING HAPPINESS IS HOPE

 HOPE IS LIVING HAPPINESS

X

X

CREATING/CREATE/CHOOSE

A

SACRED JOYOUS LUMINOUS SOUND

FOR Y/OUR WORLD.

YES.

DO.

PLEASE.

YES.

DO.

X

X

X

There

is a

Native American parable

about an ELDER who says:

“I feel as if I have

two wolves

fighting

in my heart.

X

X

One wolf is the

vengeful, angry one.

The other wolf is the

loving, compassionate one.”

X

X

When asked which wolf

will win the fight in his heart,

the ELDER replies:

“The one I feed!”

X
X
X

Read Full Post »

THE INNER SKY: Rilke’s INTENSITY and INTENSITY of his world is a HYMN + HEALING/ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE + STRANGE FRUIT

X
X
X

I love the writings of Rainer Maria Rilke.

X

The  beauty of his introspective lines are the lines of Bach-

 erotic, restrained and expressed

with total  sensuous abandon.

I am in communion with his sensuality

 and his poetic genius.

X

 

My  dear friend Justin lent me THE INNER SKY

http://www.godine.com/isbn.asp?isbn=9781567923889

a  new edition of Rilke’s

 diaries, fragments, essays and poems.

I cannot put it down!

Rilke’s writings revives my wan coal into spirals of fire

with their clear blue flame of passion.

X

Rilke’s intensity and intimacy of his world is a hymn.

 

X

I attended  my friend Adam’s play, Generations, this afternoon.

The play was a moving account of domestic violence and childhood abuse.

Emotional and physical.

I held my hands.

X

Adam  and his company composed the tragedy

 stating the stories of the invisible scars

and

the imprinted relational wounds,

with directness and simplicity.

X

Healing is in the NAMING

–  confronting the truth,  

telling the truth

– shattering denial

and, finally,

sluicing out the shame.

REAL IS REAL.

X

When a concealed wound to the soul is  slowly

 set out under a vast blue sky

with tenderness and soft light,

the darkness and the dried blood lifts away

and, only after this courageous and witnessed process,

a NEW sound, breath, dance, life can  rise 

and a life can move forward.

X

The healing is relational- creating new neural pathways

 that receives the energy of stable, consistent love.

Love that upholds one’s unrepeatable essence

from which respect and trust is the foundation

and is the transport, the portal

in moving forward to a new life.

X

Later I biked alongside the Mississippi River

with Jaspar running beside me.

A beautiful autumn day.

The steady winds today 

 unfastened the remainder of the tree’s leaves.

 

X

And, today was the last day of Daylight Savings.

The wind muttered winter’s upcoming chill.

X

I went out for dinner with friends at one my favorite restaurants,

 Shish  (http://shishcafe.net/), which serves the best hummus,

 babaganoush, and chicken shawarma!

X

At our feast we discussed celebrity,

“reality” v real experiences  and

how critical it is for artists to live  love and experience 

a sincere, authentic life to create songs/psalms

that calls out true beauty and true ugliness-

the light and darkness of breath

and humanity.

X

How important it is for the artist to not become a product.

Artists are the light towers, beacons, crucibles.

We cannot be contained and merchandized as commodities.

We must tell the truth, truth which is not an economic unit, an appraisal of value.

Truth is the currency of illumination.

X

 Rainer Maria Rilke  laying down on my Persian rug (I wish!). 

X

Notes on the Melody of Thing

I to XXXX

 

*

VII. There are, in fact, moments

when a person stands out

from his grandeur in clarity and silence before you.

These are rare festive pleasures you never forget.

You love this person from then on.

In other words, you work to retrace

with your own tender hands

the outlines of the personality

 that you came

to know in this hour.

*

VIII. Art does the same thing.

For art is a farther reaching,

more immodest love.

 It is God’s love.

It cannot stop with an individual,

who is only the portal of life itself:

it must move through that individual.

It cannot tire.

To fulfill its destiny,

it has to appear where everyone is- a someone.

 Then it bestows its gifts on this someone,

and boundless riches come over everyone.

page 47

 

*

XXXVI. It has an almost important religious importance,

this seeing this recognition that the moment

you have found the melody of the

background you are no longer helpless

in your words and

vague in your decisions.

There is a security, without worries,

in the simple conviction that you are part of a melody,

 that you rightfully possess a certain place

and have a certain duty to a broad,

general work in which the smallest part is worth

just as much as the greatest.

 Not to be superfluous- that is the first

prerequisite for a calm and conscious unfolding.

page 61

*

XXXX. It is precisely the most solitary people who have the

greatest share of commonality.

I said earlier that one person

perceives more, another, less,

of the general melody of life;

each person is assigned a correspondingly smaller

or narrower task in the greater orchestra.

The one who could perceive the whole

melody would be most solitary

and most in the community at once.

He would hear what no one hears,

 and only because he

understands, in his completion,

what the others overhear

vaguely and full of gaps.

page 63

 

X

Note on Birds

I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before

-how all creation transposes itself

out of the world deeper

and deeper into our inner world,

and why birds cast such a spell

on this path into us.

The bird’s nest is, in effect, an outer womb

given by nature, the bird only furnishes it

 and covers it rather

than containing

the whole thing inside itself.

As a result, birds

are the animals whose feelings have a very special, intimate

familiarity with the outer world;

they know that they share

with nature their innermost mystery.

That is why the bird sings

its song into the world as though

it were singing into its inner

self, that’s why we take birdsong

into our inner selves so

easily, it seems to us that we translate it fully,

 with no

remainder, into our feelings;

a bird song can even, for a moment,

 make the world into a sky within us,

because we feel

that that the bird does not distinguish

between its heart and the world’s.

page 117

 

*

What birds hurtle through is not the familiar sky

that raises form and shape within you.

(Out in the open, out there, you are denied

to yourself and fade, fade farther, forever.)

Sky grabs from us and translates things:

that you might reach a tree in all its being

fling inner sky around it, from that sky

that abides in us. Ring it with measure.

It will not edge itself. Only the pressure

in your renouncing makes it truly tree.

page 153

X
X
X

Billie Holiday/ Nina Simone- Strange Fruit

NAMING the wound

X

X

Read Full Post »