X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
29 DECEMBER 29
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
My Mother created my birth announcement!
Note: my Mother’s expert hand: continuous paper cut out!!!!!
AWEmaZING!!!
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
My Mother lost most of her amniotic fluid
at 20 weeks in her pregnancy.
I was born full term.
I was born with congenital dysplasia of the hips, right knee, and feet
– as well as other joints.
My right leg was twisted around my neck.
Surgical reconstruction began at 6 months.
My body is a dynamic testament,
actualized visions,
the blooms,
of remarkable creative medical genius.
My life story has been a unique,
treasured story of collaboration
catalyzed by my
congenital complicated complex orthopedic equation
met with
the pioneering creative genius of orthopedic surgeons
and
physical therapists.
X
X
X
My story is an improvisational story
steeped in abiding trust;
tuning fork of recognition;
moral courage;
sacred listening;
mutual dedication;
the divinity of the brilliant light in creative genius;
and
RADICAL HOPE.
X
X
Please click on link below for further information:
HIP HAND HEART
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ALL of my toe joints were congenitally dislocated.
Yes, they looked like a lioness’ clawed paws.
X
X
On 27 December ,
TWO days ago,
Dr. Coetzee reconstructed each toe!
I was prepared to meet the post-operative pain
and
prevail through the 8 weeks of recovery.
X
My ensemble of friends are remarkable templates of character
– as are my selected orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists!
They all know I am a RISE UP action figure
– NOT a potato chip planted/stuck onto a sofa.
X
TEAM – GOO DNESS OF FIT!
X
Dr. J. Chris Coetzee
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Above: a close visual approximation of my right foot…
Note: look close at my baby 6 month foot!
ALL my toes were congenitally dislocated
– as were my hips, right knee. both feet and other joints.
X
X
X
Above: the visual reality of the post-op reconstruction of ALL ten toes!
ELEVATE!
ICE!
WHEELCHAIR!
KEEP POSITIVE
– NO DHA * welcomed!
* D rama H ysteria A ctors
– narcissists: the binary gaslighting/manipulative I am a victim ‘players’!
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Yes,
for my birthday
the AWEmaZING Dr. Coetzee
gifted me
with
NEW FUN /ctional
paws!!! !!
X
X
X
X
X
X
x
VIDEO
YES SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
x
x
Read Full Post »
Posted in CATHERINE L. JOHNSON / INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST , tagged #840 + ELEgancE #1 / #2 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + INFInity / ETERnity + Y/OUR brEath; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #841 + Winter SOL(soul) STICE + ELEgancE #3/ #4/ #5 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + Dedicated to the bountiful GRACE LUMINOSITY of HOLLY COTTOR on her birthday; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #843 + 29 DECEMBER + ELEgancE #6 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + BORN/NEW/BORN + "FOREVER YOUNG"; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #844 + ELEgancE #7 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + WONDER AWE 2019 + TREASURE HEART> GRACELOVE IS OPENDEEPWIDEIMPROVISATIONALSOARINGBRILLIANTRADICALHOPE UNFURLING COURAGE BLISS ACTION; CATHERINE L. JOH , #845 + ELEgancE #8 2019 Catherine L. Johnson + 15 JanUary 2019 + AWAKEN/WOKE/INGS + To make an end is to make a beginning - T.S Eliot. , #846 + ELEgancE #9 2019 Catherine L. Johnson + DARE to MOVE FORWARD + "...by ALL means KEEP MOVING." Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #848 + ELEgancE #10/ #11 2019 Catherine L. Johnson + Fantastic Negrito - Plastic Hamburgers + Stacey Abrams says 'We do NOT succeed alone'; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #849 + 12 February 2019 + Abraham Lincoln ENTERED the world + ELEgancE #12 2019 Catherine L. Johnson + Henry Threadgill's "CELEBRATION" ; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , Celebrating Henry - A Threadgill Festival; Catherine L. Johnson; , Dr. Mark B. Coventry MAYO CLINIC; Catherine L. Johnson; , Henry Threadgill and Anthony Cox; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , Henry Threadgill; Catherine L. Johnson; , Philip Bither + Henry Threadgill + Michelle Kinney; Catherine L. Johnson; on February 12, 2019|
Leave a Comment »
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE + FOR DETAIL
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #12 Catherine L. Johnson 2019
An improvisational performance of gold pencil on black paper.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
VIDEO
HENRY THREADGILL
X
X
X
Celebrating Henry:
A Threadgill Festival
15 February + 16 February 2019
@
WALKER ART CENTER
X
X
Walker Art Center McGuire Theater
15 February 2019
Henry Threadgill’s birthday
Philip Bither / Henry Threadgill / Michelle Kinney (CLJ)
X
Henry Threadgill / CLJ / Anthony Cox
X
Anthony Cox honoring Henry Threadgill on his birthday
acknowledging Threadgill’s improvisational gifts, inspiration and his legacy.
X
Anthony’s arrangement of Threadgill’s ‘Paper Toilet’.
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
My maternal Grandfather,
Emil Cottor,
gifted me
Abraham Lincoln
bookends
when I was 7 years old.
X
A gift before my next scheduled
reconstructive orthopedic surgery.
X
My
beloved
Dr. Mark B. Coventry,
Mayo Clinic,
provided me
the life template of Abraham Lincoln
as a blueprint of living
a life of honor, respect, grace and vision
navigating
a life of adversity.
X
The evening before surgery was always a time of me entering a sacred space.
X
Grandpa Cottor,
after THE ceremonious “pre-surgery” dinner
my Mother prepared
attended by my sister and brothers,
Lynne, Bill Blake,
presented me
a wrapped box with satin ribbons.
X
I was a wide-eyed child:
everything was wonder and awe and fear and courage.
The box was very, very, very heavy.
I opened it slowly and carefully,
rapt with anticipation,
and
when I saw
the busts of Abraham Lincoln,
I was overwhelmed with joy.
I burst out crying an ocean of joy!
Crying was not easy for me – living in body casts stifled crying.
X
Grandpa Cottor KNEW Abraham Lincoln
was a signal,
a secret code,
a dynamic symbol to me.
The fact of my Grandpa’s knowing
rushed
the feelings of being seen and loved
throughout
my body.
X
On 12th February,
when I was home from the hospital,
my Mother, Doris Cottor Johnson Omlie,
always had a birthday cake
celebrating
the life of my childhood hero.
X
X
X
X
GRACE LOVE.
AWE LOVE.
WONDER LOVE.
DIGNITY.
RADICAL HOPE.
VISIONARY.
INTEGRITY.
COMPASSION.
COURAGE.
Cœur .
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Catherine Louise Johnson
X
Catherine – meaning “pure, clear”.
I was named in honor of my maternal grandmother:
Edna Catherine Strand Cottor.
My Grandma Cottor was an elegant and extraordinary force of life.
She was confined to bed at 53 y/o with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Her body was frozen in the space of her bed.
Grandma Cottor’s remarkable creative intelligence
explored/ traveled the world and beyond.
Her body was frail and her presence radiated colossal.
X
Louise – meaning “famous warrior, renowned fighter”.
I was named in honor of my paternal grandmother:
Florence Louise Knoblach Johnson.
X
Johnson – I kept my Daddy’s last name in honor of him,
Richard Harold Johnson,
who fought for me and my rights to thrive while living in hospitals
My Daddy was killed in a car accident when he was 32.
I kept the last name Johnson in honor of my Daddy’s brother,
William Henry Johnson,
a WWII pilot, who was killed at 23 y/o in his B-17
– safely returning his crew in his heavily damaged plane,
flying over the cliffs of Dover from a bombing mission.
He ordered his remarkable crew to bail out.
Uncle Bill’s faltering plane was heading toward a farmhouse
with a family waving their arms.
Uncle Bill, at 23 years old. made the decision to avert the farmhouse
and
he went down with his plane.
I was told, multiple times,
by my Daddy’s family how they were
PROUD
that I kept the name
JOHNSON
with fortitude, grace, honor and respect
of those before me
who lived their lives known
by the name
JOHNSON.
X
My beloved
– Johnson side –
cousin “sister”
and
niece to my Daddy,
Connie Cates Shella,
lived, persevered and endured
with
grace, love and valor.
X
X
X
I am aware,
at my age now,
I could be my Daddy’s parent
and
I could be my Uncle Bill’s aunt.
Yet, they are forever monumental to me.
X
I can only hope
I live the life
that echoes the names I was given
and
amplify the templates
I was provided as a blueprint,
a vision,
to rise
in my own life.
X
X
NAMING
“Words are things.
You must be careful, careful about calling people
out of their names,
using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance.
Don’t do that.
Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words.
I think they are things.
They get on the walls.
They get in your wallpaper.
They get in your rugs,
in your upholstery,
and
your clothes,
and
finally in to
you.”
Maya Angelou
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
WEARELOVEAWCCLJROLLEDDINMUDROLLEDINGOLDOVERANDOVERBEAUTIFUL
X
X
X
Read Full Post »
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE + FOR DETAIL
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #10 Catherine L. Johnson 2019
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #10 (detail *) Catherine L. Johnson 2019
*The iridescence in the graphite/black lead reflects the light and presents a luminous silver.
Graphite pencils – HB/ 2B/ 4B on black paper.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #11 Catherine L. Johnson 2019
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
VIDEO
Fantastic Negrito – Plastic Hamburgers
VIDEO
Fantastic Negrito says
‘I am Fantastic Negrito, but I did NOT get here alone…’
VIDEO
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
VIDEO
Stacey Abrams says ‘We do NOT succeed alone’
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
=RAFNEGOTIATORNEW BREEDLEADER=AWC =SONICGENIUSAWE MANRRMANWONDERCOLLABORATOR
X
X
X
Read Full Post »
Posted in CATHERINE L. JOHNSON / INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST , tagged #794 + THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING , #840 + ELEgancE #1 / #2 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + INFInity / ETERnity + Y/OUR brEath; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #841 + Winter SOL(soul) STICE + ELEgancE #3/ #4/ #5 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + Dedicated to the bountiful GRACE LUMINOSITY of HOLLY COTTOR on her birthday; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #843 + 29 DECEMBER + ELEgancE #6 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + BORN/NEW/BORN + "FOREVER YOUNG"; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , #844 + ELEgancE #7 2018 Catherine L. Johnson + WONDER AWE 2019 + TREASURE HEART> GRACELOVE IS OPENDEEPWIDEIMPROVISATIONALSOARINGBRILLIANTRADICALHOPE UNFURLING COURAGE BLISS ACTION; CATHERINE L. JOH , #845 + ELEgancE #8 2019 Catherine L. Johnson + 15 JanUary 2019 + AWAKEN/WOKE/INGS + To make an end is to make a beginning - T.S Eliot. , #846 + ELEgancE #9 2019 Catherine L. Johnson + DARE to MOVE FORWARD + "...by ALL means KEEP MOVING." Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , HARRIS WOFFORD + POLITICO: "What I Saw at Selma" ; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; , Senator Harris Wofford + Suzanne Wofford + Dan Wofford + Dan Wofford; CATHERINE L. JOHNSON; on January 21, 2019|
Leave a Comment »
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE + FOR DETAIL
X
X
X
ELEgancE #9
Graphite pencil on Kraft paper.
An improvisation.
The drawn graphite lines
shift
from rich black lead color
to
luminous silver
with the interplay
of
the ambient light
and
the position of the viewer
– all in relation
to the contemporaneous variables.
Dynamic.
Intimate.
Dialectical.
Performance.
Attending.
Change is constant.
Movement in stillness.
X
X
X
Life is not static nor fixed.
HABITS of perception / REACTING.
Conditioned optics shaped by arbitrary convention
and
hard-wired by continuous, repetitive practice
without questioning or awareness .
X
A / LIVE
VISION /ary.
RADICAL hope .
SACRED listening.
X
X
X
X
X
DARE to DREAM .
DARE to ACT .
DARE to MOVE FORWARD .
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #9 Catherine L. Johnson 2019
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #9 (detail *) Catherine L. Johnson 2019
*The iridescence in the graphite/black lead reflects the light and presents a luminous silver.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
NEW BREED LEADERS keep MOVING FORWARD!
They MUST –
for it is the responsibility / meaning / life force
of their
DIVINE gifts.
Red Sea crossings.
EXODU S .
X
X
X
EXODUSIMFREEATLASTIAINTGOINGBACKIMFREE CATHERINE L. JOHNSON 2013
X
X
THE HUMANITY PORTFOLIO 2013
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Harris L. Wofford
9 April 1926 – 21 January 2019
X
Blessings of luminous grace and love to our cousins:
his daughter, Susanne Wofford;
his son, Dan Wofford;
his son, David Wofford;
his husband, Matthew Charlton;
his beloved family;
to
ALL
social justice / civil rights
visionaries / activists
and
to his dedicated colleagues / collaborators,
past and present,
who
RISE FOR HUMANITY.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
NEWBREEDLEADERAWCYOUMOVEFORWARDBECAUSEYOUMUSTYOURLIFEISTORISEANDTOBESEENLOVED
Read Full Post »
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE + FOR DETAIL
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #8 Catherine L. Johnson 2019
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Nature’s offering outside my loft. My sacred listening to Nature’s offerings. Private RHYTHM.
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
15 January 1997.
The last evening of my Mother’s life.
Doris Eileen Cottor Johnson Omlie.
She spoke to me with a quiet and searing lullaby/hymn voice.
I listened to the sonics of her voice
its intonation, pause, lift, emphasis, rhythm
– the delivery of a score, a choreography,
her annunciation for me.
Her words were illuminations
instantly etched/embedded forever
into my heartsoul
– becoming my blueprint,
my light in darkness and my mantra.
X
The following morning 16 January at 9 am,
I found my Mother’s warm lifeless body
– her robin’s egg blue eyes open,
her head tilted toward the window,
her artist’s right arm lying
on top of her bed sheets
and
her hand palm up, open.
Her dogs were asleep,
breathing heavily in deep dreams,
at the end of her bed.
X
There was a low,
rich vibrating energy,
a golden presence
that drew me to her.
I listened to its sound.
I discovered her end.
I prayed for strength and grace
to guide me in my new beginning.
X
X
X
X
X
Thank YOU Mom for y/our
EXODUS song
for me
– my gospel song to
enter the Wilderness
of uncharted territories
adapting, improvising, overcoming
with
FAITH
+
OPEN HEART
+
RADICAL HOPE
+
GRACE LOVE.
X
X
X
Read Full Post »
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE + FOR DETAIL
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
ELEgancE #6 Catherine L. Johnson 2018
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
VIDEO
X
X
X
“FOREVER YOUNG” will be MY birthday song on 29 December!
May God’s bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay
May you stay forever young
Forever young
Forever young
May you stay
Stay forever young
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay
May you stay forever young
Forever young
Forever young
May you stay
Stay forever young
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay
May you stay forever young
Forever young
Forever young
May you stay
May you stay forever young
Bob Dylan
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
BIRTHday GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRL ! 29 December!
X
My Mom, an artist, created my birth announcement – all by her hand.
My Mom was my mentor.
She shaped/trained/ refined my eye, sensibilities and hand into creative WINGS!
I am so GR8ful and appreciative to FLY/SOAR in the skies my Mom opened to/for me!
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
AWCU/MEAREFOREVERYOUNG YESABSOLUTELYLOVE
X
X
X
Read Full Post »