My Life & Artwork - June 2018

July 4, 2018 Teressa Jackson

It's definitely summer in the desert! I'm pretty sure that every day of June was over 100 degrees. And while people here in Tucson seem to relish complaining about it as much as people universally love to gripe about weather, I actually haven't minded it too terribly much.

My desert wildlife sightings have most certainly continued this month, and I got to check some previously empty boxes. New sightings included two bears (YES, BEARS) while hiking at Chiricahua National Monument, wild horses while tubing the Salt River, and two bobcats at my apartment. I've also spotted plenty more rabbits, lizards, and a javelina. I have still not seen a scorpion or a gila monster in the wild, but perhaps they're next. Oh, and before you lecture me about being cautious (which I am), I promise you that all of these critters were more afraid of me than I was of them, something that so many people seem to just not understand.

After a couple of months of saguaro cactus blooms (and some are actually still blooming!!), my giant prickly friends began to produce fruit this month. The fruit is green on the outside, but eventually bursts open to look almost like a red flower with its pulp showing. The birds have been seen delighting in this sticky, seed-filled treat, and the local Tohono O'Odham Nation has been harvesting it for their traditional uses. The saguaro fruit harvest and the arrival of the summer rains signal what their culture considers to be the beginning of a new year.

The monsoon season officially began on June 15, better known as my 42nd birthday. Unfortunately, we were in Phoenix that weekend, and while Tucson got a hefty storm, we got mostly sprinkles. I hear that we may get rain again next week, though. ((fingers crossed!))

We finally made plans to visit "Arizona's beach" this month. Indeed, there is ((almost)) oceanfront property in Arizona. Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, is located just over 4 hours from Tucson in Mexico, at the northernmost tip of the Sea of Cortez. Also known as the Gulf of California, the Sea of Cortez was clear, blue, and very warm. The landscape there is still very much the desert, with rocky mountains and dusty sparse landscape surrounding the water's edge. Aaron and I drove to Puerto Peñasco and felt completely safe driving through Mexico and while on our little getaway. It's so nice to be so close to the sea - we'll definitely be back!

My last little treat in June was the realization that Kate, one of my closest friends who lives in southern Indiana, was going to be in Sedona. I couldn't resist making plans to see her, and I spent a fantastic day with her and her family at Slide Rock State Park, where there are natural water slides carved into the rock.

And yes - despite all this traveling and activity - I was much more productive with my artwork this month! Hooray! I changed some things up and have listed my drawings for sale on my website as well as some options for framed art. I'm still deciding if it's 100% finished, but I'm pretty sure I have completed the first painting from my watercolor class with instructor Larry Wollam (also my drawing teacher), and I'm very pleased with how much I've learned in just a couple of months. I haven't listed it for sale yet, as I am considering entering it into an upcoming juried exhibition in town. Wish me luck!

Some of the pieces I made this month are sold, but several are still available, too. So if one tickles your fancy, you'll sure make my day if you shop now ›

**Armory Park, Tucson, Arizona: 5/19/18, 14:59:51 (available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting)**

Denver, Colorado: 5/30/18, 18:24:21 (available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting) — Denver, Colorado: 5/30/18, 18:24:21 **(available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting)**

Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado: 5/28/18, 9:01:36 (available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting) — Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado: 5/28/18, 9:01:36 **(available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting)**

Duck Statue Still Life (available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting) — Duck Statue Still Life **(available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting)**

Denver, Colorado: 5/31/18, 9:46:28 (SOLD)

Denver, Colorado: 5/31/18, 9:11:12 (available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting) — Denver, Colorado: 5/31/18, 9:11:12 **(available for purchase as of the date of this blog posting)**

This piece is not yet titled nor for sale. This is the first painting I completed in my watercolor class.

Shop now ›

My Artwork - August 2017

August 31, 2017 Teressa Jackson

I spent the first week of August in Belize on the small, laid-back island of Caye Caulker. We then took a water taxi and car to Tulum, Mexico, where we weathered Tropical Storm Franklin. Mid-August, we headed up to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and then to the French half of the island of Saint-Martin.

I diverged a little from my art of the past year to do some whimsical "reverse mermaid" paintings. I enjoyed envisioning these fish men just out of reach of water, and the freedom they gave me to use wild colors and fun patterns. I completed a series of six, and consider myself finished with the concept for now - but of course I reserve the right to imagine more of these guys in the future. :-)

It was a good month with a lot of relocating and eleven paintings completed. It's often difficult to maintain my momentum when I'm having to pack and unpack so much, but I overcame in this instance.

I will return to the U.S. on September 3, visiting Tucson, Arizona. My online shop will reopen for business on September 1. I hope to be shipping a lot of packages out on September 4!

Gran Cenote, Tulum, Mexico: 8/11/17, 14:08:21

La Isla Bonita

July 31, 2017 Teressa Jackson

View from the plane as we crossed from Belize City to Ambergris Caye

From Punta Gorda, Aaron and I took off in a tiny 12-passenger Maya Island Air plane. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the airport, which was around the size of a small one-car detached garage back home. I sarcastically said that I bet they had wifi... but they actually did. The place was a one-man show, but that man was doing a great job running all facets of the operation. No security, moving sidewalks, baggage handlers, bars, restaurants, shops, or other amenities here. I will say, though, that it seemed far more efficient in many ways than the larger configurations in the U.S.

Our flight was due to leave at 11:40 a.m., and around that time, the plane landed, we boarded, and were off in a matter of minutes. We made a quick stop in Dangriga, where we picked up some more passengers, dropped some people off at Belize City International Airport, and had a short layover at Belize City Municipal Airport.

We boarded our second plane, returned to Belize City International to pick up some more passengers, and took off across the clear turquoise Caribbean waters. A few minutes later, we landed at San Pedro Airport and rode a taxi to our new abode on La Isla Bonita.

Yes, that's right. When Madonna sang, "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro..." in La Isla Bonita, she was referring to this place. They embrace the moniker, and it appears all over San Pedro town on businesses, hotels, and even trash cans.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the town of San Pedro. I knew it was the tourism mecca of Belize, where most everyone goes who visits this tiny country. That had given me the impression that it would be more polished and less authentic. I was pleasantly surprised to find that to be far from the case. After nearly a week on the island, the only familiar company name I've seen was far north of the town, at a Wyndham development.

While there are full-sized cars on San Pedro and Ambergris Caye (the name of the island that the town inhabits), the primary method of transport for most passengers is golf carts. Constant traffic, gasoline fumes, and noise result from these little carriages. I don't know what the hurry is, but everyone certainly seems to be in one, and I'm surprised I didn't see any accidents from this giant bumper-car experiment.

San Pedro Cemetery at sunset - not a bad view for eternity

Ambergris Caye is a short distance from the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world and probably Belize's biggest claim to fame. On the island's east side, you can see waves breaking on the reef a ways out from shore, across the beautiful blue-green water.

We had been warned that San Pedro was pricey, but we found if you worked at it a bit, you could manage pretty reasonably. Aaron and I continued our diet of mostly beans and rice, and enjoyed a couple times out at restaurants, too. However, it had the most expensive Banana Factor to date, at a cost of 5 bananas for $1 Belize.

Snorkeling turned out to be far less expensive from San Pedro than we had been seeing on the mainland, and we booked a trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley for less than $40US per person. We've snorkeled a few other places in the Caribbean, but this was definitely the most impressive variety of sea life I've seen.

I got a huge blister from my flip flops a few days in, which meant it must be time to rent our own golf cart. We found a reasonable place to rent one and found it to be a great way to see more of the island than we would have seen otherwise, including a long and bumpy ride out to Secret Beach, which was a beautiful calm expanse of clear, shallow, blue water. Aaron nearly lost a shoe when it vibrated out of the cart on the way back, but thankfully we back-tracked and located it.

We had heard that theft was a big problem before leaving for Belize. Until San Pedro, we hadn't been the victim of theft or any other crime, or even an unkind word. One afternoon, we stopped at an El Salvadoran pupuseria for some amazing pupusas. When we got back, we were one beach towel lighter. As they belonged to our Airbnb, we ended up paying $15US for this incident. I think we'll live. :-)

Our next destination is Caye Caulker, a smaller island south of Ambergris Caye. The locals in San Pedro all say that Caye Caulker is what San Pedro was like twenty years ago, with sandy unpaved streets and a slower pace.

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