I began making cloth figures in 1980. All of them are designed and made by myself in my rural Lonoke Co. Arkansas studio. My inspirations come from the colorful life of my garden and from the fairy tales and mythology which I read in childhood. These figures have appeared in numerous newspaper articles, magazines and on the White House Christmas tree. Recently, I have begun using the transforming power of paint to enhance cloth with color and light. Wire armatures enable the figures to be shaped into life-like poses.

DeRue Johnson