Bernadette Johnson first came to Arts at Star in 1991 and fell in love with the island and its beautiful people. She hasn't missed an Arts conference since. She first came to Arts for a poetry workshop. A writer, she has published two chapbooks, "Balloons Don't Fly in this Weather" and "Wild Geese Racing the Rain," and has had poems published in several literary magazines, in the U.S. and in
England. Although she came to Arts to write, over the years she has taken workshops in Spanish dancing, Shakespearean drama, Morris dancing ("One of my favorites"), photography and masks in addition to several writing workshops. "I never know what workshop I'm going to take until I get there (Arts)," she said.
The one adventure that always seemed to be just beyond her reach was visual arts in any shape or form. Never having taken an art lesson or delved in the arts, she admired them from
afar — that is, until the fall of 2001. That was when she decided it was time to pursue a dream, signed up for her first art class and found buried treasure. Immediately challenged by a dynamic teacher, Bernadette began drawing portraits from photographs. Last summer, she took her very first visual arts workshop at Star, watercolors with Jacquie Lotz. Currently, she is alternately experimenting with pastels, colored pencil, charcoal and pencil sketching.
A seven-year committee member, Bernadette is currently in her sixth year as treasurer for the Arts conference. On island, she is often found out on East Rock. On the mainland, she can be reached at
bjohnson@stararts.org.
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