Aminah Johnson grew up in a family of artists. Her cousin is a silkscreen artist who designs his own t-shirts. Her mother was a seamstress. Her husband is a musician who works with Young Audiences of WNY. And Aminah has been creating art since she was a teenager – sculpting, painting, and making jewelry. She took jewelry classes in college and learned to sculpt in a variety of mediums, from glass to copper, brass and clay. “It’s in my blood,” she said. “It was always part of the way of life in our family.”
After growing up in the East Side’s Lovejoy neighborhood, Aminah moved to the West Side where she made a life with her family. In her free time at her home studio on Plymouth Avenue, she creates unique jewelry using glass, carefully selected stones, and various metals. “Usually I encase a stone in a metal wrap or I’ll use a torch to heat up and fuse it with glass,” she said.
Aminah’s art and jewelry will be featured at the Allentown Art Festival at El Buen Amigo and also at Global Chic on Grant Street. Aminah’s spot is easy to find at the festival – she’ll be sitting right next to the lot where her husband’s band, Ismail and Co. will be playing jazz, blues, reggae and world beat music. She’ll be selling her jewelry and essential oils, which she bottles herself with no additives, alcohol or dilution. Aminah also handwrites all the labels for her work and the oils. “I think it’s more nostalgic that way, more personal,” she said.
Like most artists, Aminah has a day job, and her resume is as diverse as her artwork. “I used to work for lawyers, and also at Children’s Hospital as a child life aid. I really enjoyed it, just to keep the kids happy during their stay and keep them occupied.” Now she works as the community outreach coordinator for PUSH Buffalo, a job she’s held since the organization first got off the ground.
“I saw Aaron Bartley and Eric Walker canvassing right around the corner from my house one day and asked them what they were doing. We got to talking and the next thing I knew I was volunteering. I can say I’m proud to be the first PUSH employee.” Now she spends her daytime hours providing resources for West Side residents. “I’ve helped people from soup to nuts. Sometime it’s direct services, sometimes as an information resource. I’m trying to make people more aware by advocating for people who live in blight.”
Aminah is an artist, an advocate, and even a storyteller. You’ll find her at The Foundry on the third Thursday of the month reciting spoken word. She’s also writing a column called “Fix the City” which appears every other month in the Criterion. And if you happen to stop by her booth at Allentown, the longtime artist and activist will likely have stories to share with you.
After the festival, Aminah’s jewelry can be found at Global Chic, located at 242 Grant Street. For more information, contact Aminah at (716) 948-4844 or aminahjohnson@gmail.com..