Dion Johnson
Dion Johnson has a unique blend of intelligence and creativity and has a passion for
innovation. With a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Morgan State
University, he has worked in numerous technology companies in the area and has also
started and operated a couple himself.
His creativity includes photography, graphic arts, magazine production, website
creation, freelance writing, and more. And aside from working through the company he cofounded called JayMedia Group, and he has shared this passion with his city by
voluntarily taking pictures for events held throughout the city, and producing local
programs for local tv.
And we are on to month two in my family's year round tree decoration project. This month has special significance in that the world celebrates love, in the general sense through the February 14th holiday known as none other than Valentine's Day. My family celebrates love more specifically during this month, however, through the birthdays of several family members, not least of which is my wife. And since my wife is also my valentine, this tree is largely dedicated to her.
The elements of the tree include red glitter heart-shaped ornaments, pink and red felt heart shaped ornaments, amethyst mini bottles, red flowers, red tinsel, stockings ornament, and a cross. The significance of each of these elements is described below.
Various Hearts
The hearts are pretty self explanatory. What would a Valentine's Day tree be without hearts?! In an effort to offer a little variety, however, different types and colored hearts are used. This includes glitter hearts and felt hearts, that sport the standard valentine colors: red and pink.
 |
 |
Amethyst Mini Bottles
This element is what especially makes this tree a celebration of my wife, and there is a lot of symbolism here to discuss. A message in a bottle is a whimsical means of communication in which some sort of information is sealed in a bottle and released into the ocean. What makes it whimsical is that it may float across an entire ocean in a direction out of the senders control, ultimately reaching the other side where some random person finds the bottle and receives the message in a poetic, almost meant-to-be fashion.
For this tree, the 'message in a bottle' theme is employed using mini bottles that are filled with small amethyst stones and amethyst colored sand. Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February. So the symbolism is that my wife floated across of sea of people here on earth to ultimately land on my shore, where I claimed her as my very own, and it was meant-to-be from the very start.
Tinsel & Red Lights
The red tinsel and lights wrap around the tree like it is giving the tree a big hug. Everybody loves hugs on Valentine's Day.
Red Flowers
The red flowers were a hold over from the January tree, but it holds a different significance this month. Flowers are often given out as gifts on the day set aside as a festival of love.
Stockings Ornament
This ornament has stockings for each of my family and represents us as a unit. This is also a hold over from the January tree, and will likely remain on the tree each month of this year as a representation of the consistent importance of family.
Cross
The final holdover from the previous month is the cross which is placed over the stockings ornament to symbolize God watching over my family.
See the other trees from this year by clicking the link(s) below:
One of the highlights of the Christmas season is erecting and decorating the tree. My wife, kids and I have done this yearly ritual together from the inception of our clan and it has really has turned into a cherished family tradition. Over the past couple of years we've toyed with the idea of leaving the tree up all year and decorating it differently during each holiday. It would give us an interesting project to work on, allow us to spread holiday cheer year round, and also save us from the task of taking down our artificial tree and returning it to the storage closet. Well, we've decided that this is the year to make that idea a reality, and perhaps even turn this into a new tradition.
For the first tree of the season, we've opted to go with what we're calling our "Let Freedom Ring Tree". Inspired by Dr Martin Luther King, this tree recognizes MLK day with elements associated with his public life and fight for equality. The elements of the tree include multi colored bells, state-shaped ornaments, white and red flowers, a white ribbon with red spots, stockings ornament, and a cross. The significance of each of these elements is described below.
Bells
A major element of this tree are the collective group of bells that symbolize Dr. Kings "I Have a Dream" speech refrain to let freedom ring. We put these different colored bells on the tree so that they may ring like King called for freedom to ring for people of all races and creeds.
State-shaped Ornaments
In the aforementioned "I Have a Dream" speech King mentions 8 mountainous states from which he wants freedom to ring: New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi. Thus, in addition to the bells, our tree has an ornament in the shape of each one of those states as well. The ornaments were created by using states from a jumbo puzzle and spray painting them with textured spray paint.
White & Red Flowers
|
|
 |
The white flowers in conjunction with the white bells symbolize peace which is a pillar of what Dr. King stood for. The red flowers in conjunction with the red bells represent the passion with which King railed against inequality, and the bloodshed that he ultimately resulted.
White Ribbon with Red Spot
The white color mixed with red spots of the ribbon that circles the tree, represents (along with the other white and red elements on the tree) how the fight for peace requires internal passion and is intermixed with bloodshed.
Stockings Ornament
This ornament has stockings for each of my family and represents us as a unit.
Cross
The cross represents the faith that King professed and is placed over the stockings ornament to symbolize God watching over my family.
See the other trees from this year by clicking the link(s) below:
A young man sees the people around him being changed by their mobile devices and quickly learns the depths of those changes and the conspiracy to hide them, as he witnesses a mysterious plague take over the human race. He now drifts alone through the empty cityscape looking for other immune survivors, and seeking a cure for the infected. The infected don’t want a cure, however, and are instead seeking to overtake him. Written and directed by Dion Johnson Sr, this first of two trailers stars Dion Johnson Jr, normally known for his skill behind the camera, now showcasing his skill and ability in front of the camera as he emotionally watches the plague take hold of humanity. Turning in stellar supporting roles are Donovan Price, Christine Johnson, Christione Johnson and Dion Johnson Sr. Editing and videography by Dion Johnson Jr and Dion Johnson Sr. Cover artwork by Dion Johnson Sr.
This trailer could serve as social commentary on our use of mobile devices, but more than anything it is simply an opportunity to artistically explore an interesting concept. The video is embedded, but you can also watch on YouTube.
