I Am 'Woman'
- vejay25
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 6
After the loss of my husband and best friend, Albert in 2022, I almost lost the desire and drive to create coiled basketry. I let that creativity sit idle inside of me for almost the entire 3 years after he passed away. I have also been "away" from the joy of living and creating for quite a while...locked in the pain of loss and grief. But thanks to the constant gentle nudges of inspiration that I received from my dear friend Lydia Stewart and from my daughter Veronica, I am allowing the beauty and joy of creativity to flow into my life, mind and heart again. So thankful.
Lydia Stewart, being the great Curator that she is and will always be, has always challenged and encouraged me to stay in the Vein of Creativity. She has been and continues to be a great source of inspiration to me…A Creative Driver. In the early days of my art career, she encouraged me to exhibit my work in public venues such as galleries, museums and art festivals. She believed in me, and my work was exhibited in one of the most important exhibits in my art career, an exhibit that she curated, the Through Our Eyes: African American Artistic Expressions exhibit that was held at the WJCT Gallery in Jacksonville, Florida in 1996. The Through Our Eyes Exhibit was later housed in the Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum in Jacksonville, where Lydia served as Curator until her retirement. I gained confidence and courage from that exposure and went on to exhibit in public venues in cities and states across the country (GA, MI, IN & IL), as well as having the honor of exhibiting in several of the Through Our Eyes exhibits during its run at the Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum in Jacksonville.
Over the years, I have witnessed Lydia push many artists out of the nest so that they could fly in the Sky of Creativity...Thanks for pushing me, dear friend!
My daughter, Veronica, is my Constant Audience…My Greatest Admirer. She has always supported my artistic endeavors and has been a Cheerleader for me throughout the years. She is one of the strongest women I know and has always had the ability to “see” what I see before a piece of work is even completed…as it was with the creation of my most recent work entitled, ‘WOMAN’. I sent images of different stages of progress of the piece to her as I was creating it, as we live in different states. And she was always excited and as hopeful for a beautiful outcome as I was. She cheered me on from across the country throughout the creation process.
It was probably divine destiny that my daughter was visiting me when I pulled the last stitch on this creation…she watched me as I made the final and most critical decisions of the design of this piece. And I saw the awe (and respect) in her expression as she watched me work, right up until that last stitch was pulled. She even shared my frustration when I couldn't find the fabric that I was sure would be the perfect fabric for finishing off the rim of the vessel. And when I couldn't find it, I "settled" on another fabric that I gleaned from tearing up an old caftan that I no longer wore. And we both laughed with JOY when the fabric of that caftan turned out to be the PERFECT finishing for the rim of 'WOMAN'! We were both astonished! And the joy of the completion of such a beautiful work of art was overwhelming...and we both felt it. And then I found the fabric that I had originally planned to use but could not find...and we just looked at each other. It was an awesome experience for both of us.
It was also my blessed fate to have my daughter drive me to Lydia’s home in Jacksonville, where the vessel would be held until it was presented to our dear friend, Debra Gittens, who was to receive it as a gift from me. Debra Gittens is a wonderful woman whose life work continues to be to make the lives of other Human Beings better…She is a Life Saver. I hope she will experience Joy each time she looks at her gift, and be reminded of her own strength, resilience and beauty.
The title of this latest creation came to me after I finished the piece and saw what I had done. And when I took a good long look at what I’d created, I knew that I had actually created a statement of Self-Realization…the realization that I am strong, yet soft; resilient, while being shaped and challenged by Life, and able to endure pain and grief, while allowing the joy of creativity to reinvent me…I am ‘WOMAN’. And this work is dedicated to so many extraordinary women I am fortunate to know and have known - first and foremost, to my mother, Martha Howard, who resides in my heart and watches over me, still. ‘WOMAN’ represents my reemergence, recognition and acknowledgement of my own resilience. It represents ALL of us who are strong, yet soft; resilient, yet still flexible in the wake of life’s challenges. And most of all, BEAUTIFUL and COLORFUL and EXCITING in all our varied perspectives, experiences and personalities. WE ARE…’WOMAN’.
This post is dedicated to my dear late husband, Albert Johnson, Jr., who was the first one to believe in my creativity and was the greatest supporter of all of my creative dreams, and helped me to become the 'WOMAN' I am today...Thank You, Dear Al.
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