Carol Johnson

Born: March 1, 1943
Lambertville, New Jersey


I had art class in elementary school in Lambertville and I liked it a lot. I always told my mother that I wanted to be an artist, but she told me there was no money in it. She wanted me to be a hairdresser because there were no black salons in Lambertville and I was very good at doing hair, but I had seven sisters and I always did their hair. I didn’t like it.

I put art in the back of my mind and forgot about it until the earthquake that happened in Haiti in 2009. My ex—husband is from Haiti and two of my children are half Haitian. My granddaughter’s father also lives in Haiti. His leg was broken in the earthquake. I felt a lot of love for the Haitian people and all people.

As a child, I wasn’t hugged a lot. I felt like I was the black sheep of the family. With my artwork, I feel loved. When people enjoy my work it gives me a good feeling, It’s like being loved. It’s overwhelming.

I like making people smile. It makes me feel appreciated and warm inside. Now that I’m on the A-TEAM, I can have that feeling all the time.