Umm... Happy 2019!? (I'm a bit of a slacker.)

April 9, 2019 Teressa Jackson

Hey there!

Yep, it’s April 9, and I am just now writing my first blog post for 2019. Whoops!

Anyhoo, I’m doing it now. And that’s what counts, right? It’s not like I can go back in time…

One of the big themes for the first part of 2019 was SNOW. Say what?! Yes, that’s right, on rare occasions, even Tucson gets some of that fluffy white stuff. This year, the mountains got dusted, capped, and coated so many times that I lost count, starting on New Year’s Day itself. The highlight, though, was February 22, when even the city of Tucson itself saw white flakes falling from the sky. My friend Ursula and I made sure that this rarity didn’t go to waste, and had a wonderful time playing in the snow at Saguaro National Park East. I even built a snowman!

I continued to exhibit my artwork at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop. The first show of 2019, “Año Nuevo, Obras Nuevas,” displayed three of my larger landscapes I created in 2018. I sold “Cactus Cartel,” a scene from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, to a collector from Portland, Oregon. I have another set of paintings on display there currently in their “Common Ground” exhibition (a tribute to Cesar Chavez), and have reportedly sold "Tomato,” a piece featuring the architecture of tomato roots (see below in my art round-up for image). I’m very pleased with the response to my work through these opportunities, and so very grateful to this non-profit gallery for all of their hard work.

Aaron and I took a couple of trips these past few months. We stayed in Choya Bay outside of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, at the end of January, enjoying the sounds and the smells of the sea, as well as some beers and Mexican food at JJ’s Cantina up the road. In March, we visited a different body of water, spending a long weekend at Lake Havasu City, where the Colorado River is dammed to form a beautiful desert oasis.

Mom and me at the Desert Botanical Gardens

February and March both brought some familiar faces to Arizona. In February, we enjoyed a visit from my sweet mom, and I had a great time touring her around Tucson. It was fun to give her a more in-depth experience of the area, visiting several local eateries, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tubac, San Xavier del Bac, Desert Botanical Garden, Saguaro National Park, and part of the Tucson Gem Show. My dear friend Allison visited for about 48 hours in March, and a whirlwind tour of Mexican eateries, Saguaro National Park, and Ironwood Forest National Monument ensued.

The snow and plentiful rain did their job this year, and wildflowers have abounded this spring. For the past month and a half, swaths of the desert have been covered in yellow, pink, orange, and blue. They popped on the hills around Lake Havasu, ran down the slopes of Picacho Peak, and prettied up the route to Ironwood Forest National Monument. It’s a good thing that digital cameras exist, because I hate to know how many rolls of film I would have devoted to capturing their precious petals.

Ursula and I hiked in the Superstition Mountains mid-March. This trip turned out to be a foreshadowing of things to come, as the Superstitions are located just east of the Phoenix metro area. Two weeks after our beautiful hiking adventure, Aaron and I relocated to Tempe, which is immediately adjacent to the east of the city of Phoenix, so that Aaron could pursue a new career opportunity. I’m adjusting to a slightly faster pace of living, more traffic, abundant Indian restaurants (if you know me, you know this makes me HAPPY!), and slightly less amazing views. I’m excited to have a new place to explore, new opportunities, and a closer proximity to places like the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Lake Havasu, Sedona, and my friend Kalisha! I’ll certainly miss Tucson, but luckily it’s still only an hour-and-a-half drive down I-10.

Last but not least, I cranked out 28 paintings over the past 3 months, including several commissions. I also marked down all paintings created prior to 2019, and sale prices will remain in effect until those pieces find a new home. All of my January, February, and March 2019 creations are featured below, with availability at the time of this blog posting indicated.

I’ll try to do better with next month’s blog post! Cheers to 2019!

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“One Main Street, Bisbee, Arizona” For sale as of this blog posting 7x5” — “One Main Street, Bisbee, Arizona”
For sale as of this blog posting
7x5”

“Rowdy Crew” For sale as of this blog posting 10x8” — “Rowdy Crew”
For sale as of this blog posting
10x8”

“Echo” For sale as of this blog posting 10x8” — “Echo”
For sale as of this blog posting
10x8”

“Fraternal” For sale as of this blog posting 9x12” No original photo, as this was created in nature — “Fraternal”
For sale as of this blog posting
9x12”
*No original photo, as this was created in nature*

“Valen-Tine III” SOLD 5x7” — “Valen-Tine III”
SOLD
5x7”

“Valen-Tine I” For sale as of this blog posting 5x7” — “Valen-Tine I”
For sale as of this blog posting
5x7”

“Valen-Tine II” For sale as of this blog posting 5x7” — “Valen-Tine II”
For sale as of this blog posting
5x7”

“White-Striped Agave Study” For sale as of this blog posting 5x3.5” — “White-Striped Agave Study”
For sale as of this blog posting
5x3.5”

“Buckhorn Cholla Study” SOLD 5x3.5” — “Buckhorn Cholla Study”
SOLD
5x3.5”

“Valen-Tine IV” SOLD 5x7” — “Valen-Tine IV”
SOLD
5x7”

“Valen-Tine V” For sale as of this blog posting 5x7” — “Valen-Tine V”
For sale as of this blog posting
5x7”

“Valen-Tine VI” For sale as of this blog posting 5x7” — “Valen-Tine VI”
For sale as of this blog posting
5x7”

“Lemon” Available for purchase at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop from 3/2/19-4/20/19 8x10” — “Lemon”
Available for purchase at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop from 3/2/19-4/20/19
8x10”

“Tomato” 8x10” SOLD — “Tomato”
8x10”
SOLD

“Pecan” Available for purchase at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop from 3/2/19-4/20/19 8x10” — “Pecan”
Available for purchase at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop from 3/2/19-4/20/19
8x10”

“Twenty Dollar View” SOLD (Commission) 14x11” — “Twenty Dollar View”
SOLD (Commission)
14x11”

“Maggie May and Ginger Afield” SOLD (Commission) 14x11” — “Maggie May and Ginger Afield”
SOLD (Commission)
14x11”

Compilation of photos of these two pups!

“Havasu Spring” For sale as of this blog posting 10x13” — “Havasu Spring”
For sale as of this blog posting
10x13”

“Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona: 3/2/19, 15:34:54” SOLD 3x2” — “Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona: 3/2/19, 15:34:54”
SOLD
3x2”

“Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona: 3/3/19, 12:26:27” For sale as of this blog posting 3x2” — “Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona: 3/3/19, 12:26:27”
For sale as of this blog posting
3x2”

“Tucson, Arizona: 2/6/19, 18:03:55” For sale as of this blog posting 2x3” — “Tucson, Arizona: 2/6/19, 18:03:55”
For sale as of this blog posting
2x3”

“Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona: 3/2/19, 15:44:23” For sale as of this blog posting 2x3” — “Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona: 3/2/19, 15:44:23”
For sale as of this blog posting
2x3”

“Camp Jackson” Gift for my mother 3x2” — “Camp Jackson”
Gift for my mother
3x2”

“Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona: 3/6,19, 9:39:03” SOLD 3x2” — “Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona: 3/6,19, 9:39:03”
SOLD
3x2”

“Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona: 3/6,19, 9:06:01” SOLD 2x3” — “Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona: 3/6,19, 9:06:01”
SOLD
2x3”

“Tucson, Arizona: 3/7/19, 18:39:40” SOLD 3x2” — “Tucson, Arizona: 3/7/19, 18:39:40”
SOLD
3x2”

“Pearl of a Girl” SOLD (Commission) 5x7” — “Pearl of a Girl”
SOLD (Commission)
5x7”

“Layers” SOLD (Commission) 8x10” — “Layers”
SOLD (Commission)
8x10”

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From Ajo to Yuma, my Arizona Exit

January 26, 2017 Teressa Jackson

Monday, I awoke to a beautiful, sunny, mid-60's day in Tucson. It was a bit of a shame that my plans were to pack up and head west, but cruising down the highway with my sunroof open really isn't such a bad way to enjoy fantastic weather. In my opinion, non-interstate driving makes this even better, and that's exactly what I had planned.

I hopped onto the Ajo Highway and headed west. The scenery was beautiful, with plenty of saguaros and mountains to keep me company. I drove through the large swath of land that the Tohono O'odham Nation calls home, including their capitol of Sells, Arizona. I especially enjoyed listening to the Nation's radio station, which was eagerly promoting their upcoming rodeo festivities, encouraging their members to register to vote, and discussing other community events. They alternated between speaking in their language and English, and nearly every call for event participation seemed have the caveat of the Nation "not being legally responsible" in the event of some type of mishap, which I found to be a little amusing.

The blue skies and puffy white clouds gave way to wind, dense gray fog, and clouds, which added a mystique to the landscape that I rather enjoyed. I headed south at Why, Arizona, apparently named such because State Routes 85 and 86 originally intersected there in a Y-shaped intersection. At the time, Arizona law required city names to have at least three letters, so the town's founders named the town "Why" instead of "Y."

And now you know "Why." Ba-dum-dum.

My southbound trail quickly led me to my reason for visiting the area: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. I had not previously heard of this monument before, but when I saw it on the map, I just had to check it out. It's apparently been a national monument for over 40 years, as it was designated as such in 1976, the year of my birth.

The monument was shrouded in the same mist and fog I had journeyed in for the the past hour, and made for some intriguing scenery. The landscape there is dotted with saguaro and organ pipe cacti and interesting volcanic formations, making for some truly otherworldly scenes. The organ pipe cactus is a relative of the saguaro, a giant "bushy" shaped cactus that can grow to over 20 feet tall. These cacti are relatively common in Mexico, but only occur naturally in the U.S. in the area around the monument.

One of Ajo's two lovely Spanish colonial churches

After an afternoon winding around the monument's scenic loop, I pointed my car northward toward Ajo, a tiny town with a cute little Spanish colonial town center. The woman who checked me into the cabin where I was staying was about the sweetest person I've ever met, and informed me she'd lived there her whole life. Ajo was home to just three restaurants, and the grocery store was a combination IGA and Ace Hardware. As I picked up some groceries, I imagined that everyone knew everyone else in the store but me.

I spent Tuesday hiking the monument in sunshine, and it looked equally beautiful but completely different than it had the day before. I had intended to do a couple of the trails. However, my hike of the Arch Canyon Trail ended up being more than I bargained for when I unknowingly kept going on a steep, rocky, unimproved trail cut by hikers to the top of the mountain overlooking the "arch" in the rock. It was extremely challenging (and a little bit scary at times), but I did it, and the views were spectacularly rewarding.

I could have stayed in Ajo at least another day, but my reservations had me moving on, so I headed further west to Yuma, Arizona on Wednesday. Yuma is essentially located at the intersection of Arizona, California, and Mexico, and has the distinction of being both the hottest populated locale in the U.S. and the place with the most sunshine in the world. Yuma also grows a tremendous amount of the fresh vegetables you enjoy during the winter, so you can thank them if you enjoyed a salad, broccoli, or cauliflower today (I definitely spotted fields of all of those).

I strolled Yuma's cute historic downtown, enjoyed a craft beer sampler at one of its breweries, and visited a date farm where I slurped down a date milkshake in the sunshine. Yuma has the wonderful effect of making me feel vibrantly youthful, as it is obviously an extremely popular retirement destination. I think my hair might be the (naturally) brownest for miles around!

Yuma has been a good place to relax, as my battery was running a little low from moving around so much and my difficult hike. I can't say I've found anything to absolutely love about it, but I certainly haven't found much to dislike about it either. You'll never hear me complaining about the sunniest place in the world. Sunshine makes me very, very happy.

And tomorrow, it's westward ho again!

View of the arch from where I hiked to, way up in the canyon

Announcing Upcoming Tour Dates!

January 14, 2017 Teressa Jackson

It's hard to believe that the first two weeks of 2017 are already a wrap. In a week, I will bid farewell to my Bisbee home. I'm going to take a little break from my schedule of one location per month and take the opportunity to visit a few locales on my "must see" list.

An Organ Pipe Cactus. Photo Credit: Robb Hannawacker

1. Ajo, Arizona

After spending a few days in Tucson, I'll head to the area around Ajo, Arizona, where I will visit Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. I had never heard of either of these places before beginning my travels, but was intrigued enough after learning of them to put them on the itinerary.

2. Yuma, Arizona

Next, I'll spend a bit of time in Yuma, Arizona, located at the intersection of Arizona, Mexico, and California. I love sunshine, and I should find plenty of it there, as the sun is said to shine during about 90% of Yuma's daylight hours, making it the sunniest place in the world. Per Wikipedia, Yuma is the "driest, the sunniest, and the least humid, has the lowest frequency of precipitation and has the highest number of days per year (175) with a daily maximum temperature of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher." I definitely wouldn't want to be there in July or August, when average high temperatures exceed 106 degrees.

3. Salvation Mountain & Salton Sea

After Yuma, I'm making a stop to see Salvation Mountain and the Salton Sea, California's largest body of water. The Salton Sea has an interesting history and has always intrigued me. I'm looking forward to some unique photography opportunities there. This video probably explains the sea better than I really could.

4. Fallbrook, California

Joshua Tree National Park. Photo Credit: Joshua Tree National Park

My next home, Fallbrook, California, is known as the "Avocado Capitol of the World." I am spending a couple of weeks on a small ranch that is home to an alpaca, mini horses, pig, goats, and chickens (I love farm animals!). I will also be relatively close to the beach and other outdoor adventuring locales.

5. Twentynine Palms, California

From Fallbrook, I'll spend a week in Twentynine Palms, California. Twentynine Palms will serve as home base while I visit Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve.

Badwater Basin Sunset, Death Valley National Park, California. Photo Credit: Nagaraju Hanchanahal — Badwater Basin Sunset, Death Valley National Park, California. Photo Credit: Nagaraju Hanchanahal

6. Death Valley, California

Last, I will round out February in one of the places I've longed to see the most - Death Valley National Park. I will have a week there to explore its otherworldly scenery with the benefit of February's non-deadly temperatures.

As time ticks on (which it does at the same speed when I was home and working full-time, sadly), I will determine where March will find me. Until then, I don't think I will be at risk of boredom!

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