Instagram story viewer> @catchrosa> Posts

Rosa Lee Timm

@catchrosa

27K

followers

1844

following

ASL Artist • Performer • Storyteller
Language • art • life between the beats
DASL | ASL Musicality | Becoming
↓ Explore my work

POSTS STORIES REELS

This viral Puerto Rico song by @saxboybilly18 got stuck in my head all week, so I redid my ASL version after realizing I signed “mi hijo” wrong the first time. 😭

Also, thank you to Zoe (@m00nst0ne_) for teaching me the sign name for Caguas. 🖤

Lyrics:
First time in San Juan, mi hijo
Capital of Puerto Rico
Immediately was enchanted
The whole plane clapped when we landed
Didn’t want to do just tourist stuff
So I took the bus to Caguas
It’s a wild place to vacation
Slot machines in the bus station
On my first time in Puerto Rico

Visual Description:
Rosa Lee performs an expressive ASL rendition of the viral Puerto Rico song against a dark backdrop. by @catchrosa

When things feel confusing, heavy, or even triggering, I’ve always turned to music. (Lately, I’ve been deep in that space again as I revamp my ASL musicality course.)

This week has been one of reflection, and I came across my “after” translation video—part of celebrating 20 years of sharing ASL song covers.

“Baby, Can I Hold You Tonight” by Tracy Chapman carries a lot for me. I had this song on constant replay during a (college) breakup—one of those seasons filled with guilt, sadness, and trying to make sense of it all. This song held me when I didn’t quite know how to hold myself.

There’s something about Tracy’s music—it always pulls me back from that edge, that quiet abyss of hopelessness.

And in my own way, through my work… I hope to do the same.

VD: Rosa Lee sits against a solid deep blue background, wearing a black cardigan over a graphic tee with an owl design. She has shoulder-length dark hair and a single long earring. by @catchrosa

My son’s always been full of questions.

At age 3: “Will I turn brown when I grow up?”
(Asked to my mom, with the most serious face.)

From that moment on, she’s been his go-to for answers, hugs, and wisdom.

Today, she turns 73—and one of my favorite things about her is the impact she’s had on my kids. They adore her. We all do.

Happy birthday, Mom. The world shines brighter with you in it. #birthdayshoutout🎉 (and yes I’m aware that the audio track is messed up. #deafproblem). by @catchrosa

When it comes to ASL musicality, phrasing is what I keep coming back to.

Where a thought begins, how long it stays, and how it lets go.

Two artists can use the same signs and create entirely different experiences. Not because of what they sign, but because of how they move through a phrase.

The pacing. The breath. The weight. The space between.

It’s these subtle choices that make ASL performance so beautifully layered.

Featuring Brandon Kazen-Maddox and Joey Antonio from Module 2 of Language Between the Beats - online course.

There’s so much more to explore.
Link in bio.

VD: Rosa Lee signs on a cream fur couch against a dark background, eyes soft and hands together. Text: “Phrasing changes everything.”

VD: Rosa Lee looks up mid-sign, hands open at her chest. Text: “Two artists can use the exact same signs…”

VD: Rosa Lee, lips pursed, raises both hands, fingers spread. Text: “…and leave us with completely different feelings.”

VD: Brandon Kazen-Maddox, in a purple sweater, signs in front of a brick wall and a spiral staircase strung with lights. His brows are drawn together. Text: “Not because the vocabulary changed.”

VD: Joey Antonio, in black glasses and a red patterned headwrap, grins mid-sign against a pale wall. Text: “But because the phrasing did.”

VD: Rosa Lee, calm and steady, holds up both index fingers. Text: “Meaning doesn’t live in signs alone.”

VD: Rosa Lee smiles with one eye half closed, pointing out to the side. Text: “It lives in the pacing. The breath. The weight.”

VD: Rosa Lee, lips rounded, lets her hands drift forward. Text: “In how we hold a thought… and how we let it go.”

VD: Rosa Lee leans in, pointing toward the viewer. Text: “Sometimes, the most powerful part of a phrase… is the space it leaves behind.”

VD: Rosa Lee looks straight ahead and lifts one finger. Text: “There is so much artistry in the details. Explore phrasing and more in Language Between the Beats. Link in bio.” by @catchrosa

Meet Rosa Lee Timm: Deaf artist, performer and Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL). Her one-woman show, The Rosa Lee Show, has toured since 2004.

On Halloween night she closes DBSS III with Wonder: curiosity, identity, transformation and our relationship with the unknown.

Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 7:30 PM. Lab Theatre II, Atlas Performing Arts Center. One night only.

Tickets at tinyurl.com/DBSSIII

#DBSSIII #WonderSoloShow #DeafBIPOCSoloShows #VOCA #DeafTheatre #ASL #DCTheatre by @catchrosa

Cannes Lions, a few months later. Still thinking about it.

Almost every room talked about AI. But underneath it, people kept coming back to the same thing: being human is turning into the premium. Vintage, nostalgia, handmade, things with fingerprints on them. People want proof that someone was actually there.

What stayed with me most was this. Speaker after speaker talked about presence, attention, reading the room, showing up fully in your body. Somewhere in the middle of it, I realized they were describing a way of moving through the world I’ve known most of my life. As a Deaf person, none of that is new to me. It’s home.

So here’s the honest part: the photos are mine, but AI helped me shape the words and design this carousel. The tools keep getting faster and better. But the people behind the story? That part is only getting more valuable.

Swipe for what stuck with me (and where my suitcase ended up). 😄

VD: Ten slides from Cannes Lions: me at the Pinterest beach sign, Janelle Monáe and ASL interpreters at stage sessions, friends at a night event, and my suitcase finally back from Paris.

Mirror selfie in a shop, wearing a festival badge. Text: “Quick backstory: my luggage spent two days in Paris while I was in Cannes. Borrowed clothes, new clothes, still showed up.”

An ASL interpreter on stage beside a big screen showing Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Text: “Room after room, the same idea kept coming up. Speed and sameness are wearing the work thin. What fixes it is people: their voice, their particular way of seeing.”

An ASL interpreter on stage in front of a slide reading “The journey got messy.” Text: “Too much politeness flattens ideas. A little friction is where the good stuff comes from.”

Janelle Monáe seated on a beach stage, with an ASL interpreter standing nearby. Text: “People choose what they pay attention to. Interrupting them isn’t the way in.”

Selfie at a night party, with gold glitter around my eye. Text: “Speaker after speaker talked about presence, attention, reading the room. As a Deaf person, none of that is new to me. It’s home.”

Max Klymenko’s “Career Ladder Live: I’ll Guess Your Job” session, with two people at a ladder on stage and by @catchrosa

Life lately, behind the scenes.

Trials, tribulations, and plenty of “let’s try that again.” A little glimpse of my work as a performer, sign model, instructor, and DASL, across stage and film.

I’ve been thinking about how things grow with time: the work, the ideas, and me. Every attempt teaches me something, even when it doesn’t turn out the way I pictured.

There’s value in trying. In giving something time. In caring enough to keep at it.

VD: A montage of outtakes and behind-the-scenes clips from stage and film work, with repeated takes, practice moments, and notes. by @catchrosa

Ever watched an ASL song and found yourself thinking about one little part afterward?

A handshape. A movement. A translation style. Something you want to see again.

I love going back to those moments. Sometimes I notice something I missed. Sometimes I just want to feel that part again.

Sharing a little of that curiosity here. What’s an ASL song you keep coming back to?

More inside Language Between the Beats. Link in bio. (VD in comments). by @catchrosa

A special message from Rosa Lee Timm, our Mistress of Ceremonies for IAD's 140th Anniversary Gala! ✨ Buy your tickets at gala.iadhoosiers.org or click the link on our bio! #IAD140 #IADStrong #gala #Indiana #Deaf
.
.
.
Transcript: Hello! I am Rosa Lee (name sign 'RL'). I am your mistress of ceremonies for the upcoming 140th Anniversary Gala hosted by Indiana Association of the Deaf on December 5 here at the Indiana Historical Society. I am excited and looking forward to it. Come and buy your tickets now! by @catchrosa

Some days I just sit with my coffee and check in.

Am I okay? What do I need? Is this enough?

Not to fix anything. Just to notice what’s there.

What question is sitting with you today?

[VD: RL’s hand holds a white mug that says “love you” in black script. The mug rests on a knee in soft grey pants, with an amber bead bracelet on the wrist. Behind it are a shaded porch and green trees in sunlight. Cream text at the top of each slide reads: 1. Some days, life doesn’t make much sense. 2. So we pause. Take stock of what we know. And get curious about what we need. 3. Am I okay? What do I need right now? 4. Is this enough? What matters most to me? 5. What more can I do? Or do I need to give myself room to rest? 6. How can I love myself a little better right where I am? 7. The answers may change. So do we. 8. What question is sitting with you today?] by @catchrosa

Presence begins in stillness.

In the moments where you let something land. Where your gaze settles. Where you give a phrase enough space to breathe before moving into the next.

Those moments may be quiet, but they carry so much of the music.

In Language Between the Beats, I explore presence more deeply, along with rhythm, phrasing, space, and the artistic choices that shape how music lives in ASL.

Come explore with me.
Language Between the Beats
Online course in ASL musicality · Link in bio

VD: Rosa Lee, wearing black, sits against a dark background and tan throw blanket. Tracy Chapman vinyl can be seen behind her along with candlesticks. by @catchrosa

Jumping on the mother/daughter half-face bandwagon. Me at 50, Nuria at 14. I can’t get over how much we look alike. 🥹 Makes my heart warm.

VD: Black-and-white portrait made from the left half of my face and the right half of Nuria’s, lined up to look like one face. by @catchrosa