by Philokalia Jones
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Carolyn Ellis only moved to Texas in 1995 because her husband, Fred, accepted a new job in Dallas. Despite all her misgivings about the move, ho1wever, Carolyn was able to quickly adjust to Texas, mainly because of all its sunshine!
Within just days after relocating to Texas, it became clear to Carolyn that she had been suffering from a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder the whole time she had lived back East - no more however! Texas' cheaper real estate prices, super friendly people, and full acceptance of homeschooling for the Ellis' little flock of kids, sealed the deal! Carolyn could see that Texas was going to be great for the whole family!
In 2002, another move was on the horizon for the Ellis family! Fred and the children got it in their heads that they wanted to move to the country, specifically to a 26-acre property with a big house, lots of pastures, two ponds, a barn, numerous sheds, located outside a town of 1,000, 50 miles SE of Dallas in the Cedar Creek Lake area. This was back when land in that area was only $2,000/acre and gas was a $1 a gallon! Though Fred and the children were delighted about the new move, Carolyn (52) wasn't at all! She genuinely feared loneliness and isolation.
As thoroughly bummed as Carolyn had been about leaving the city, she couldn't help but notice that month after month she was finding herself more and more relaxed in her new setting. Over time, Carolyn concluded that the peace and quiet of rural life was relieving her of a lifetime of stress and tension brought on by the endless noise and overstimulation of urban life - something Caroly had never noticed at all back in the city because that was all she had ever known.
Big open horizon to horizon skies, surrounded by all manner of wildlife she had never seen - pelicans, cranes, herons, road runners, skunks, possum, snakes galore, snapping turtles ...- rural pastimes like farming, gardening, canning, fishing, hunting, gigging, square dancing, bowling, drag racing, country music...the list goes on - instead of moving to a house with a 26 acre "backyard," which is what Carolyn expected, it turns out that moving to the country meant changing cultures!
Since in the country it was 17 miles to Walmart and "civilization," Carolyn found herself staying home more than ever before, which led her to going within herself to recover talents and interests she had abandoned long ago because of the intensity of family life.
Eventually, in 2012, at 62, with only three of their six children still living at home, Carolyn decided to go back to abstract painting, something she hadn't done since she was in her twenties. Instead of painting being the pleasant hobby it had been decades before, something happened. Carolyn says this time painting turned into an explosive experience.
The new revelation that she was, in fact, an artist, changed Carolyn's life completely. A year later, in 2013, Carolyn rented her first studio, bought her first smartphone, designed a business card, and full on embraced social media. In other words, Carolyn forever left her small, sheltered family centered world and planted her feet in the 21st century to pursue painting with a passion that she didn't even know she had.
In 2018, after 16 years in the country, with all the children grown and on their own, Carolyn and Fred moved back to Dallas. Now working fom a spacious home studio, at 75, Carolyn is more creatively engaged than ever! Looking at her website - carolynellisart.com - you can see her creativity is exploding all over the place!
Carolyn's thoughts about aging and art are just as bold and powerful as her artwork:
- Getting older does not mean the end of exploring, discovering, experimenting, investigating - all code words in Carolyn's book for fun! Find what you love and keep doing it as long as you can!
- Success is having the courage to do what you love no matter what.
- Judging from the fact that we have cave art dating back over 40,000 years it's clear that rather than being a financial/cultural trophy for the wealthy, it turns out that art is actually central to who we are. To be human is to create!
Carolyn's parting thought: Every breath is a gift. Treasure it!
carolynellisart.com | Facebook: Carolyn Ellis Art, Art Haiku
Instagram: carolynellisart |
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