Do you have a space dedicated to creative work?

Indeed! My mobile home in New Mexico is all about my work. The living room is now an art studio; I also have a ‘packaging’ room for shipping art, and a writing room and office.

What keeps you motivated to create?

For me, creating art, fiction, poetry and crafts is simply second nature. I’ve been at it my entire, long life. Everything from quilting, sculpting, needlepoint, pottery, and jewelry creations. Motivation comes from a need within to let out the life force whether it be emotional or intellectual. That’s my go-to.

Give us some background on the pieces you contributed to this issue.

The painting, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” came out of a picture of Virginia Woolf that was given to me by the abstract artist, Joan Fullerton. I used it (see the right upper corner) as a piece of collage in the mixed media.

Normally my art work is inspired by and titled for jazz tunes. I love jazz and my art practice is named “Jackson’s Jazz.” Painting expresses my joy in life. I seldom paint from dark places.

The poem “To Be Water” like all my poetry came from emotional journeys in my life. Poetry succinctly captures feelings for me and comes from a different well than when I write prose or paint.

At the age of 86, I can look back on decades of creating experience. I can recall hanging poems and tiny paintings on trees of parks for people to find. In my two short marriages, I lived with an actor and then a painter/writer. I have moved all over the United States, spending most of my years in NYC and LA. My two volume memoir is called “Loose Fish” which is from Moby Dick. A whale without a harpoon sticking out of it is considered a ‘loose fish.’ A ‘fast fish’ is one that someone has already got dibs on, and other whalers cannot take it. I definitely swim free.

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