April 8th, 2026 @ approx. 1:30pm my beautiful mother Theresa Ann Johnson had her last inhale & exhale, concluding her battle against cancer. In my eyes, she was legendary, ethereal, all-knowing, and extremely kind to the point where a hug felt like medicine. Her words sat on your chest like Vick's. The way she pondered, the way she meditated felt otherworldly. And she maintained this for 70 years. She's my summer solstice.
In "Theresa's Spaceship", there is an excerpt from my mother's prayer journal. Within my mom's journal she sends a prayer to everybody she's ever interacted with. More than likely if we know each other, and I even mentioned your name, she included you in her journal. If you ever randomly felt like you got a good night's sleep, my mom prayed for you that day prior. Her love was just THAT powerful in my eyes.
Mom you are, without a doubt, the woman to EVER woman. You are every woman. To know there are people who've never had a singular interaction with you, of any kind, hurts my soul because I know the effects of your love are potent and lingering. I took a month to sit with this. I knew today would hurt like hell and I surprisingly still woke up this morning well rested. Grief is a crazy thing, I still feel like you're here with us and dawg.. that speaks volumes. I have you to thank for the artist I am today, and for the man I strive to become. So here's to you, leaving a legacy behind like this. I'ma sing your praises til my last breath, I will paint your gorgeous face til my hands fall off; I owe you that. It's the least I can do.ย
Being vulnerable: I'm not okay about this. I know I WILL be okay, but it hurts like a mf. But if there's one thing I learned from her is that ย nothin' makes you a realer nigga than being patient. So I'ma be patient with myself. We won't forget your teachings, we won't forget your voice, we won't forget your love. I promise you, we got it from here. You prepared me for this more than I knew. Hug y'all mommas extra hard for me today.
Love,
The youngest child๐
"Theresa's Spaceship"
Framed 18x24in acrylic on canvas
"Hey Momma"
8x8in acrylic on wood panel
"August '84"
8x8in acrylic on wood panel
To @betsabee_romero , @mattierhodescenter , & @consulmexkan y'all are family forever. Thank you for trusting us with such an important installation. From Nov. to Feb, Feb. to Apr. we locked completely in on this. Week to week with amazing artists I'd call off work a million times for these. Thank you ladies for teaching ya boy how to properly weave :)
I wanted this installation to be amazing so bad because community is important to me. I'm all about making ideas come to life, and Betsabee had a great one. This is my World Cup. I can't wait for what's to come.
We can say out loud that we worked on an International Project, and I think that's pretty cool ๐ฅ
(I'm missing some tags so please plug yaselves!)
Almost a year ago, we were outside for the FIRST "No Kings" protest. And here we are still dealing with a nasty, dirty neck, heathen.
Disgusting dawg.
#nokings
Back in February, I took the watercolor basics class with Barry Teghtmeyer. I gotta say, he level'd me up. These are my first full concept pieces ever made in watercolor and are showcasing @nelsonatkins Ford Learning Center!
Please check it out on your next visit! My classmates were amazing artists as well๐๐พ
"Gender Reveal"- Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
"Needles In Hay"- Watercolor on Watercolor Paper
#watercolor #nelsonatkins
