You know those people in life you love being around whose energy spreads like wildfire, leaving a mark on anyone they meet? The ones who, just being around them makes you feel like anything is possible? For me, that was my dad.

In his brief 44 years on earth, he absorbed more life than most people do in double that time. However, his real success was the waves of light he spread to others.

He was the most creative, fun, engaging person I’ve ever known. He was the ultimate dreamer and the embodiment of celebration. A life well-lived.

I wanted nothing more than to be like him and to make meaning out of my time on earth, time that he wasn’t given. Yet the shadow of grief is long and for years I struggled with chronic pain and mental health issues as I tried to suppress my sadness. Desperate to find ways to “be happy” and elevate the lives of those around me, I embarked on a quest.

Admist darkness and light, I sought solace in music, art, crafting, and other enrichment experiences. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realized these creative pursuits had always served as a source of innovative inspiration, self-reflection, and joy. I had learned to find renewal and energy in creativity from my dad, having shared some of our most cherished moments solving jigsaw puzzles, spinning vinyl records, and dancing to our favorite tunes.

Jolyean was the creation of my father’s imagination. His first born couldn’t have just any middle name. Naturally, it had to be the title of a song to go along with “Rhonda”, but with a family twist. He wove together parts of the middle names of three beautiful women in his life- my grandmother, Jo, my mother, Ly(nne), and my other grandmother (J)ean.

At Jolyean Creative, everything we do is centered around the belief that creativity expands connection, possibility, and joy. Come create with us— everyone deserves to design their own “life well-lived”.

—Rhonda Jolyean