Jolyean Creative: Our Story
Creating beauty from the ashes
l will forever love Bob Ross. I could sit for hours watching him paint his gentle little trees and seeing his hand softly brush puffy clouds into existence while he calmly speaks affirmations to me. He said one of my favorite quotes of all time:
“You need the dark in order to show the light.” - Bob Ross
And geez, was he right.
When I was 18, darkness entered my life in an all-consuming way and it would take me years to find the light again…
In his brief 44 years on earth, my dad absorbed more life than most people do in double that time. Being around him was a never-ending source of energy and possibility. 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.
However, his real success was the waves of light he spread to others.
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. I thought that I needed to rise from the ashes, make my mark, and help others who were hurting more than me. Yet the dark valley 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.
The light started to come back: 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.
At Jolyean Creative, everything we do is centered around the belief that creativity expands connection, possibility, and joy.
Life will always have the dark to amplify the light, but we will work to expand the light and help you create a life well-lived.
—Rhonda Jolyean Hale
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What Does Jolyean mean?
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.