About

Self-portrait by CLEO

The Artist Cleo is a celebrated visual artist who creates in multiple mediums. A frequent collaborator with George S. Corey, her socially conscious art can be seen in the books Presidential Conversations, Presidential Conversations for Kids, The Mardi Gras Mystery, The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, The Missing Maid of Orléans, and and the upcoming jazz trilogy Kiddos Save Jazz: Books One, Two, and Three. Cleo is co-creator of the award-winning podcast series The Social Contract. A former pupil of President Jimmy Carter, she is committed to inspiring and nurturing tomorrow’s leaders.

CLEO takes the Proust Questionnaire.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Moving forward, being positive, trying new things (parachuting, elephant ranch, white water, bungee)

What is your greatest fear?
Not being happy, not trying new things, being static in mind and body

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself/others?
It’s terrible to deplore something in yourself; work with what you got. In others, what I deplore is hypocrisy, being two-faced; that’s evil.

Which living person do you most admire?
Someone strong, someone that gets it done, day in and day out

What is your greatest extravagance?
An expensive husband

What is your current state of mind?
I’m happy at this moment, but that can change moment to moment.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Good manners if put on display only to act superior (good manners should only be a way to show respect to others and respect for yourself)

On what occasion do you lie?
Not to hurt others

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I’d like to “appear” thinner.

Which living person do you most despise?
The evil people behind the scenes, the puppet masters egging on racism

What is the quality you most like in a man?
Honesty and cooking

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Honesty

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Conflate

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I love my friends equally.

When and where were you happiest?
There’s no one time and place, it’s when I am happy enough to dance.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I’m happy with my talents.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d be taller (can’t be too rich, thin or blond).

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
It’s not one single achievement or moment, it’s being resilient moment to moment

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I’d want to be able to be reincarnated again and again, coming back different each time, but still remember each serial life.

Where would you most like to live?
There’s no one place, it’s a place of being

What is your most treasured possession?
Being me bc I’m fun and daring

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Being disappointed by someone I trust

What is your favorite occupation?
No one occupation, just learning and loving it

What is your most marked characteristic?
Strength and fairness

What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty and being themselves

Who are your favorite writers?
Biographic historians, like Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham

Who is your hero of fiction?
I don’t read fiction.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I don’t. I am unique.

Who are your heroes in real life?
It’s a category of people, not any specific individual; people who keep fighting against all odds.

What are your favorite names?
Cleo and GiGi (French nicknames)

What is it that you most dislike?
Ungrateful people and hypocrites

What is your greatest regret?
I don’t believe in regrets.

How would you like to die?
Quickly

What is your motto?
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

THE CLEO CAPITOL PROJECT