OTK Issue 05

ISSUE 05

Her Words. Her Journey. Her Story.

C L AUDIA CASAS Power in Positivity

Our mission is to

support empower and

women of all ages and any race through traditional

journalism, storytelling, illustrations and photography.

supports diversity, inclusion and equality for women This magazine

.

Our hope is that the stories in the magazine illustrate this through the telling details of our everyday women’s inspiring lives.

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OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

DID YOU MISS OUR LAST ISSUE?

FROM THE OWNER When people ask me why I

started a magazine, I usually start with my experience working for publications.

But then I always end up with my passion for storytelling. Ever since I was a kid, I remember being intrigued when someone in the family would talk about their past.

Learning what it was like when they grew up or even how they overcame a traumatic experience, it taught me lessons and inspired me.

2 Women of Fort Worth Who Inspire

Our Issue 05 cover woman Claudia Casas was no different, and I loved meeting her with her brother, Ray, and mom, Esmeralda, for a photo shoot. Reading her story for the first time was so inspiring. She has lived with the obstacles that come with cerebral palsy and still has such a positive outlook on life. There is a part in her story where her brother recalls people staring at his sister as she moved through the halls in school on a walker, but Claudia only remembers her fully abled classmates as supportive and kind. Even if she did notice the stares, she seemed to never let it get to her and would just smile.

Family means so much to me, so seeing them all together and supporting Claudia was so relatable. Instead of letting her disability be a weakness, she has used it as a strength. Trying to educate others and being an advocate for those like herself are so courageous. And at the photo shoot, we had her changing from outfit to outfit, walking from here to there, standing, sitting and not once did she complain, and the smile never left her face. I hope her story brings you some encouragement, because I know it did for me.

Another great story in this issue is “Dogs, Not Diamonds” by our editor, Jocelyn Tatum. I have had my Yorkie since 2008. Rocky was a graduation gift from college from my husband, Matt, but then boyfriend. I remember opening the door and seeing his arm behind his back. I immediately thought, aww, flowers, that’s sweet, but then his arm came around to the front and in his hand was this tiny, cute little puppy. Even though he’s up there in age, I am grateful for 14 years of puppy love and that my kids have had the chance to love on him as I have. After all, he was our first child. A diamond can easily be replaced but not my Rocky — he’s truly one of a kind.

Some of you may prefer diamonds, and that’s OK too. The Ponder section of this issue is a great example of how we all walk away seeing the same experience, image or story differently. This was a pandemic art project I did with my son, Eli. I had to use it because it’s exactly how I imagine One To Know being for all our readers — the stories that we share have a different impact on each person.

With gratitude,

ADRIENNE MARTINEZ

Founder + Owner

Either way, I wish this to be a resource for you to turn to when you need inspiration, motivation or just simply wanting to learn something new. Enjoy the camaraderie I hope these stories bring you.

CONTRIBUTORS Dogs or diamonds?

J e nni fe r Ca ss e d ay- B lair

S o nya Cis n e rosW ie rzow ie c k i

Amb er Davis

E lle Davis WRITER

WRITER

For 10 years, my Lucky dog has been by my side as a constant companion. I choose him, always.

Although I do love shiny things, my heart belongs to the animal kingdom.

Fur babies over diamonds all day.

I am not a dog or diamond type of woman.

I am terrified of dogs, and diamonds are often unethically mined. Books are this girl’s best friend.

Ja de Em e rs o n

S arah Lan ger

Cec il Lenzen

Angie M a r tinez

WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHER

WRITER

WRITER

I love dogs more because diamonds don’t wag their tails and make me happy cry.

I so badly just want to say neither… tacos!

Shilo Ur b a n

No overpriced and overrated sparkly rock can compare to the cold-nose puppy kisses awaiting me when I get home from work each day.

Why choose?

​​While I value the family diamonds I’ve inherited, I have to choose dog! I can’t imagine life without my fur babies!

Er i n Rat igan

E lizab et h S e hon

Az ul Sord o

WRITER

WRITER

PHOTOGRAPHER

WRITER

Diamonds are lovely, but they can’t love you back. I prefer love that is mutual.

Both! Dogs wearing diamonds should be trending soon.

Diamonds. If I were to adopt an animal, it’d be a pig named Oscar. He’d have a diamond-encrusted leather jacket.

“WHAT A RIP-OFF!” That’s exactly what I thought as a little girl when I learned that women got diamond besties versus dogs for men. ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON!!!

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I L LU ST R ATO R

WRITER

F E A T U R E S

One to Watch

36 Abby Olstrup Women of Fort Worth Who Inspire

4

Profile

38 Wandering Roots Markets Poetry

42 The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington

One to Know

26 CLAUDIA casas

Power in Positivity

Photo by Sarah Langer

• SARAH Angle • AMBER Bailey • • ASHLEY Barbee-Christman • LATONYA Copeland • • VICTORIA Deauman • VEIDA Dima • D.M. Goodman • • ANGELA Halbach • JANET Hernandez • LAURA Loftin • • MARY LOU Martinez • KAITLIN O’Connell-Owens • BECKY Scheffrahn • • MANYA Shorr • MARISSA Smith • CHERYL Sutterfield-Jones • • PJ Taylor • CARRIE Ward • MONIKA Worsley •

•

AURELIA Albers • JULIE Alvarez • CALLIE Anderson • AMANDA Arizola • AMY Arriaga • CYNTHIA Ayala • JULIE Baker • MARIA R Balandran • REBECCA Balcarcel • KYOKO Bass • ANDREA Bell • MARISA Bell • ROSA Berdeja • CHRISTINA Berger • JUANITA Bermejo • EVA Bermejo •

• •

MELINDA Bermejo • LATONYA Berry • VALERIE Bigler • JILL Black • LASHAUNN

DONNA Campbell • KRIS Canfield • KENYAIL Carr • VERA Casarez • CLAUDIA

•

ANGELA DeQuesada •

•

Casseday •

ALMA Castillo • TANISIA Castillo-Queppet •

•

VIRGINIA DiPierro • MELONDY Doddy-Munoz • CORRIE Donovan • MICHAEL Edwards • NICOLE

DAYNA Epley • CARI Feehan • ROBIN Fielding • LAUREN Findley • STEPHANIE Flores • LINDA Foster • DANIKA

Ellis •

MARY HELEN Enriquez •

Franks •

ROSANNA Frias •

REBECCA Galindo Castro • EDDYE Gallagher • STACEY Garcia • JUANITA Garcia • ALLYSSA Garcia • AMY Garland • MARIA Isabel Garza • IANINE Glassman •

CONNY Gonzalez • NANCY Gonzales • MYRIAM Gonzalez • ADRIENNE Grant • EDWARD Guerra • LAUREN Guerrero • DENNISSE Guerrero • GLADYS Guevara • FIGEN Gundogdu • MARIELL Guzman • LINDA Hailey • JENNIFER Hamrick • NICOLE Hawkins • JADE Hebbert • LEE Henderson • VANESSA Hernandez •

• •

JENNIFER

EVELYN Covington • LEILA Daniels • AMANDA Darden • LANESHA Davis • DIONNA Deardorff • FRANCES De Leon • PATRICIA DeLeon • DORA DeLeon • •

•

EVA Bonilla • LISA Botello • MARIA Burke • OLGA Buster •

LAUREN Castleberry • CONNIE Cervantez • BRIANNA Cervantez • VICKI Cisneros • SARAH Cohen • TONI Contreras • ALEJANDRA Contreras •

• •

Casas •

Bold

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u o k y n a Th

VICTORIA Herrera • SARA Herrera • LAURA High • ANNETTE Hill • FLO Hill • LEA Hobbs • KOBRIE Hodge • MARIA Huizar • JACLYN Justice • HEATHER Kauffman • •

SAMANTHA Keaton • LYNNETTE Kile • LINDSAY Kinzie • ANNE Kline • LOREE LaChance • BLAIZE LaFleur • KENDAL Lake • KELLY Lancarte • BENEDIKT Langer • •

ELVA Lopez • EMMA Lopez • LINDA Lopez • CYNTHIA M Lopez • GOOD THING Marketing • DONNA Martinez • ERIN Martinez • VERONICA Martinez •

•

ANGELA Martinez • NELLIE Martinez • LANETTE Martinez-Vidaurri • ELLIE •

CONNOR Mccourt • VICTORIA

MORIAH Mendez • MAGGIE Mercado • PEGGY Miller • ANAKA Mittal • DANA Moody • ANGELA •

•

Lasater •

Moore •

AMANDA

McLaughlin •

MARCIA Mederos •

Myers Brotherton •

LIZ Nelson •

ANNA Noyce • VALERIE Ochoa • BOB Of DFW • RACHELLE Ohlhaber • DIANA Oliveros • MARIA Orand • LUCINDA Ortega • ROSEMARY Ortez •

LINDA

Owens • •

ELSA Pais • SALLY

Palmer •

EMMA Patino • JULIE Patrick • KENDA

Pennington

JENNA Pinder • CARLA Prieto • BEATRICE Ramirez •

PAULINE Ramos • SKY Ramos • THERESA Ramos • LAUREN Reynolds • JAN Riggins • ROSIE Rios • CAROL Roark • KARINA Rodriguez •

•

BETTY Rodriguez • MARIA Rodriguez • DIANA Rodriquez • KAREN Rogers • DANIEL Rosales • SANDY

•

CIRO Sarmiento • LATOYA Savala • MONICA Savino • RACHEAL Scanlan-Ruiz • JUDY Schell • ALICIA Servin • SANDRA Sharp • DEBRA Sherman • •

Russell •

SUSAN Russell • JULIE

Sampson •

COLLEEN Shutt • NICOLE Sinclair • CHRISTY Smith • SUSAN Smith • ERICKA Solis • MERARI Solito • LINDA Soto • KATHLEEN •

AMANDA •

Stallcup •

CHRISTINE

Stivers •

DEVONNE

Tatum •

RACHEL

Taylor •

HERLINDA

Tijerina •

RUTH Tijerina • BECKY Tobin • JEAN Tocco • CRISTINA Toledo • CANDY Torres • TRISH Torres • BAILLIE Troskot • •

JOSIE Trujillo • ESTHER Turner • SHILO Urban • SHARON Urban • JODIE Utter • LAURA Valdez • ELISA Valdez • •

ERIN Varnon • CRYSTAL Vastine • VANESSA Villasenor • LORENA Waits • NAYA Walker • ANDREW Walker • •

F O R

TERRIE

Talbert •

Y O U R

CAROLYN Watson • SUSAN White • HAILEE Wood •

S U P P O R T

Soye •

CONTENTS ISSUE 05

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16

60

Women of Fort Worth Who Inspire

6

SPOTLIGHT 8 COMEDIAN ‘Funny for a Girl’

WORTH 12 READING

Reading Through Womanhood

14 TRYING

SUPPORT 16 BODEGA SOUTH MAIN

BE WELL 60 FITNESS

18 ANALY JEWELRY

64 COMBAT SPORT

22 BEE GOOD

66 MIND AND BODY

Cozy Food | Cozy Vibes Never Give Up

COLLECTIVE

Conscientious Collector

The Ugly Doll of Produce

LIFE 48 STEREOTYPES Dogs, Not Diamonds

54 QUIZ

Which Famous Flawed Female Is Your Kindred Spirit?

56 DESIGN TIPS Hanging Out

2 Owner’s Letter 3 Contributors 24 Craft 80 Ponder

Defying Expectations at Any Age The Quiet Hum of Adrenaline Assertiveness

FOOD 70 ESSAY

Mind Over Platter

PHILANTHROPY 74 SHE SUPPLY

In high school she auditioned for the school’s improv group on a whim, and after her audition, the instructor gave her a backhanded compliment: that she was “funny for a girl.” She has since

turned that line into her professional calling card,

and the tagline “funny for a girl” is on her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

- Funny for a Girl, by Erin Ratigan, P 8 But later in life, working as a secretary in a school district, Analy wasn’t able to explore her creative interests. That changed

when her DACA permit expired nearly three years 7 ago. She got notice saying she had to resign.

Publisher & Owner Adrienne Martinez Editorial Inquiries editorial@onetoknowmagazine.com Advertising sales@onetoknowmagazine.com Design Adrienne Martinez, art director Editorial Jocelyn Foster Tatum, executive editor Contributors Editorial Jennifer Casseday-Blair, Sonya Cisneros-Wierzowiecki Elle Davis, Jade Emerson, Cecilia Lenzen, Angie Martinez, Erin Ratigan, Elizabeth Sehon, Shilo Urban Illustrators Amber Davis, Sharon Urban Photograhpy Johnathan Johnson, Sarah Langer, Azul Sordo Have an idea or see a mistake? Tell us about it: editorial@onetoknowmagazine.com One To Know Magazine is a bimonthly, subscription-based publication.

All rights reserved.

Views and comments expressed by individuals do not necessarily represent those of the publishers, and no legal responsibility can be accepted for the result of the use by readers of information or advice of whatever kind given in this publication, either in editorial or advertisements.

The atmosphere was grungy and low-key, a faint smell

of smoke and craft beer filling the rooms of Tulips FTW as patrons took respite from the evening chill. It was International Women’s Day, and the dive-y bar just south of downtown was filled with booths run by local female artists, business owners and activists.

- Wandering Roots, by Erin Ratigan, P 38 In 1860, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized an obscure folk hero of the American Revolution with his work “Paul Revere’s Ride.” The wildly popular poem transformed Revere into a national legend—but he wasn’t the only Patriot who risked everything to ride for freedom. A 15-year-old girl did too.

- The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington, by Shilo Urban, P 42 I can tell you that the whole cabrito I indulged in just a mere two weeks ago, although perhaps affecting my physical appearance, contributed to my mental well-being. It not only made me happy, but it created a core memory, a memory filled with beautiful faces, laughter, chatter, color, and a beautiful, smoky scent, and a memory that I can call on in times of sadness or loneliness.

- Mind over Platter, by Angie Martinez, P 70

No part of this publication may be reprinted or duplicated without the prior permission of One To Know Magazine LLC. FOLLOW AND LIKE US

@onetoknowmagazine VISIT US ONLINE onetoknowmagazine.com

People treat the disabled like they would a news article: scanning the headline and forming opinions without reading the whole story.

“I know that could be a generalization, … but I feel like we need to do a better job. And that includes me. We need to all do a

better job being more empathetic to people that we don’t know and people that are different from us.” Ray Casas - Power in Positivity, by Erin Ratigan, P 26

OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

- Analy Jewelry, by Jade Emerson, P 18

[S P OT LIGH T] C O M E D I A N

‘Funny for a Girl’

Stand-up Ruth Banks combines caring with comedy

By Erin Ratigan

Helping Others Through Laughter

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Photos by Azul Sordo

S

he is listed on the women-owned and -operated comedy showcase Claws Out’s website as its “resident bad bitch,” but Ruth Banks’ introduction to comedy didn’t start so fiercely. She’s been a reserved person since childhood, and it took effort to push herself onto the stage. But she says comedy allows her to overcome much and put herself out there — even if it’s just to “do it for the bit.”

“That’s kind of what I always say. ‘Even if this goes poorly, I’ll probably find some joke here that I’m able to tell.’ And I think that’s a very powerful skill — even if it’s not a silver lining — to find something that’s so absurd you can’t help but laugh about it,” she says. She regularly performs in and around Fort Worth as part of Claws Out Comedy, and she’s recording her first comedy album this year.

Comedy offered an escape from more than just shyness — Ruth has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a degenerative disorder that affects the connective tissue around the bones as well as blood vessels, skin and other organs. After having spinal surgery in 2015, Ruth was left bedridden with nothing to do but watch TV. She ended up binging stand-up specials and couldn’t get enough.

I promised myself I wanted to be that kind of escape for somebody else in the future.

-RUTH BANKS

That ultimately led her to become a stand-up comic. She wanted to help others forget about their troubles the way she did — offer a laugh when they otherwise wouldn’t. “I promised myself I wanted to be that kind of escape for somebody else in the future,” she says.

Ask anybody who’s met comedian Ruth about her set, and they’ll give you glowing reviews.

Her colleagues in the Fort Worth standup scene describe her as kind, supportive and hard-working, with a “biting wit” and authentic stage presence. She hosts Claws Out’s Tipsy Tuesday open mic nights at Funky Picnic Brewery and Café and has been doing stand-up for four years.

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OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

[S P OT LIGH T] C O M E D I A N

Helping Others Through Laughter

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But stand-up is a notoriously male-dominated field. In high school she auditioned for the school’s improv group on a whim, and after her audition, the instructor gave her a back-handed compliment: that she was “funny for a girl.” She has since turned that line into her professional calling card, and the tagline “funny for a girl” is on her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

She adjusts her set based on her audience, but among her lighter topics like dating, she often includes jokes about her mental and physical health. “A lot of people come up to me after my shows and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I deal with that too. It’s so nice hearing somebody joke about it,’” she says.

That sentiment is consistent with her colleagues’ descriptions of her. Fort Worth comic Monna says Ruth helped her through a hard time in her life, bringing her strawberries and a shoulder to lean on. “I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t met Ruth Banks. I would not be on this earth if it wasn’t for Ruth Banks … she literally is the reason I got through 2021,” she says.

Monna is the creator of Claws Out and met Ruth in 2018 at a Ladies’ Night show where they both performed. She said Ruth’s set struck her as not only hilarious, but meaningful. She says Ruth’s comedic style is as biting as it is relatable. “She really blew me away with her set, and I was like, ‘Where have you been all my life?’” Monna says.

She really blew me away with her set, and I was like, ‘Where have

-MONNA, Creator of Claws Out

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you been all my life?

She says this made Ruth a natural fit to help her run Claws Out, so she later brought Ruth on as a regular at her shows. Along with her wit and “highbrow” writing style, Monna says Ruth brings valuable commentary to every performance. “She really provides representation to a lot of people who do not currently have that voice in the industry we’re in. You don’t see a lot of representation for people with EDS [Ehlers-Damlos syndrome] … she is very bold and very, very impressive as a writer and as a stand-up comedian,” Monna says.

Stand-up comedian Michelle Miller has worked with Ruth for Claws Out and other shows since 2019 and says Ruth’s kindness extends to everyone Ruth meets. “She’s super kind, and she’s just considerate and genuine.

Those are rare qualities to find in someone,” she says.

Ruth’s bio on the Claws Out website says she is a comedian “equipped with a spine of steel (literally … there are 16 screws in there!),” and her work ethic that drives her to help others through laughs proves this to be true in more ways than one.

[WORTH] R E A D I N G

Reading Through Womanhood

T

OTHER BOOKS THAT TINA RECOMMENDS

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

By Elizabeth Sehon

Tina of Leaves Book and Tea Shop

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(some can be purchased in-store or online):

We Should All Be Feminists By

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference By

Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling By

Amy Chozick

ina Howard, owner of a local bookstore, can be spotted watering the several plants inside her store, and when she overhears a customer indecisive about the nearly 50 tea choices her business offers, Tina looks up after dousing her aloe vera plants and recommends her favorites. Sometimes she will even pair it with a book, like wine and cheese.

Tina and her husband, Todd, run the laid-back Leaves Book and Tea Shop in Fort Worth’s Near Southside and says that as a woman in business, her success and her embracing her empowerment were from knowing how to tap into her strengths — pushing into them without second-guessing herself or shying away from those qualities.

Tina also leans on other local business owners — women who have built and owned cafés, for encouragement through coffee meetups and group texts. “We meet up together and collaborate on a regular basis, and during the electrical shortages, we helped each other out as much as possible,” Tina says.

By

Henry Louis Gates

Rachel Ignotofsky

The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou By

By

Susan Ware

Things I’ve Been Silent about: Memories of a Prodigal Daughter By

Azar Nafisi

Maya Angelou

My Life on the Road By

Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote

Hollis Robbins &

Greta Thunberg

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World By

The Portable NineteenthCentury African American Women Writers

Gloria Steinem

Tina’s personal favorites of women overcoming (in no particular order):

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The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible

To the Greatest Heights: Facing Danger, Finding Humility, and Climbing a Mountain of Truth

by Vanessa O’Brien

Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear

by Kate Moore

Where’d You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

by Cheryl Strayed

OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

But besides the regular hiccups as a woman in business, Tina explains that being a woman in today’s society has its own pressures.

“There’s a measure of doing everything and being responsible for everything and carrying the weight of the world with your children and your job,” she says. “I definitely feel that this weight we carry is different from what many men carry.”

She also leans on women that she reads about in the books she loves.

Tina offered us her favorite list of books that she has personally read that are filled with harrowing stories of women overcoming life’s most difficult hurdles.

[WORTH] T R Y I N G

The Ugly Doll of Produce

Giving produce another opportunity — good doesn’t have to be pretty

By Elizabeth Sehon

Imperfect Foods

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F

ruits and veggies must undergo quite a bit of scrutiny before they land on grocery store aisles.

And for good reason: Produce is graded by the USDA to meet certain standards to keep consumers safe, healthy and free of bacteria that could cause illnesses.

However, these fruits and veggies must also pass a beauty standard, and many fruits that are still nutritious and safe to digest get thrown out to pasture.

But one company, California-based Imperfect Foods, found a way to upcycle discarded produce to help eliminate the never-ending battle of food waste — and even operate a local packaging facility to ship food quicker to DFW residents.

Since the company was founded in 2015, the Imperfect community has saved more than 139 million pounds of food from a lesser outcome since opening its doors. According to the company’s website, “saved from a lesser outcome” simply means that by buying its food, the company has prevented an outcome that would have been worse for the environment and/ or the people that grew it – such as going to a processor or juicer, ending up as animal feed, being composted, left in the field, or getting sent to landfill.

This impact has conserved 3.83 billion gallons of water and more than 35,000 tons of CO2e, its website claims.

The company is an online grocer that works directly with more than 350 U.S. farmers and nearly 1,200 producers to salvage and redistribute robust and healthy produce, and it can be delivered right to your doorstep, Clare Zenczak-Murray, a representative for Imperfect Foods, says.

Fort Worth resident and veggie lover, Kathryn Egger, understands the mission behind the environmentally conscious company to salvage foods and has even considered signing up herself for its services. Kathryn says that many people don’t want to purchase disfigured produce because “it doesn’t look pretty on their plates.”

In addition to helping protect the environment and eliminate waste, Imperfect Foods is also budget friendly.

For local residents, ordering customized groceries online with delivery is less expensive than a trip to a local grocery store, Clare says.

“My meals aren’t going to be photographed and put in a magazine,” Kathryn says. “At the end of the day, you’re going to chew it up and eat it, anyway.”

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[S U PP ORT] B O D E G A S O U T H M A I N

Cozy Food | Cozy Vibes A Multifarious Market and Menu

By Elle Davis

T

Photos by Azul Sordo

Feeds All Five Senses

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he historic South Main Village is known for its multifarious blend of locally owned restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, art galleries and entertainment venues. And one little market that offers the flair and convenience of an East Coastinspired mini-mart known as a bodega may be unfamiliar to those in Fort Worth used to the Texas-sized grocery stories and chain restaurants.

A little over a year ago, Tasha Monticure opened the doors to Bodega South Main, inviting locals to vibe out to the smooth tunes while they pick up necessities and grab a fresh-pressed panini or zucchini muffin from the deli.

A former corporate caterer who has been in the food and beverage industry since she was a teen, Tasha created a menu full of her favorite soups, quiche recipes, cakes, pies and sandwiches. “We bake everything inhouse,” Tasha says with a smile. Her love for preparing the food can be seen in her eyes and smelt throughout the bodega. This was also evident when she stayed open during the early February ice storm this year. She slept across the street at a friend’s place so she could stay open, staying up all night provide hot food for SoMa residents when everyone else was closed.

Using high-quality items and incorporating healthy ingredients into nearly every dish are her niche. The shelves are stocked with staple goods and hidden gems like truffle pasta sauce and Fly By Jing. Her kale Caesar salad is unbeatable with the finely trimmed tender kale leaves, croutons made in-house, and dressing packed full of flavor.

“People want high quality across the board whether they work down here or live here,” Tasha says. Along with an exceptional shopping experience, it is possible to catch a dance performance or art show on any given day. Bodega South Main provides the community of SoMA with the essentials that feed all five senses. “We are creating an environment that sounds good, feels good and tastes good. People come in, and it makes them happy,” she says.

We are creating an environment that sounds good, feels good and tastes good. People come in, and it makes them happy.

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[S U PP ORT] A N A L Y J E W E L R Y

Never Give Up

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

By Jade Emerson

Generational Love of Jewelry

18

A

naly Alvarado grew up playing with her mom’s jewelry. In high school, Analy brought her collection of statement earrings to show-and-tell. She wasn’t able to explore her creative interests around jewelry when she later worked as a secretary in a school district, but that changed when her DACA permit expired. This was nearly three years ago.

She got notice saying she had to resign but used that opportunity to return to her passion, letting her creativity flower. “I took it as the biggest opportunity to quit and find something else to do, something that I wanted,” Analy says.

While in limbo waiting to receive her green card, Analy began to research different hobbies to fill her time. Analy says that’s when she had a “light bulb” moment: She discovered polymer clay jewelry-making. Not only did she fall in love with making jewelry, but she began to see possibility in the craft. About eight months after she started making jewelry, Analy Jewelry was born.

Photos courtesy of Analy Alvarado

“My family is small-business oriented. My mom has cleaned homes for a long time. My dad has had his own business for a long time. All my family members in Mexico have their own businesses too. So, it was already in my DNA to want to do something,” Analy says.

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[S U PP ORT] A N A L Y J E W E L R Y

Generational Love of Jewelry

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Photos courtesy of Analy Alvarado

After eight months of trial and error and giving her creations as gifts, Analy started an Etsy shop. Analy’s mother, Gris, began to help with the business. She was the one who first encouraged Analy to use the intricate detailing which has now become the business’s staple.

Analy has married and moved out, but she transformed her childhood bedroom into her studio, meaning she could spend her working days with her mom.

“I was a little scared [that] after I got married, I wouldn’t see her as often. So, I was like, ‘What’s the best way I could see my mom?’”

Analy says.

With its innovative designs, Analy Jewelry stands out from other jewelry businesses as the only business to embed the ear post into the earring to prevent it from falling off. With Gris’ love of floral details and Analy’s love of modern, geometric shapes, Analy Jewelry offers elevated artistry.

Gris says her favorite part of working with her daughter is seeing how their ideas combine when they’re together. She loves finding inspiration from runway shows.

Jewelry-making has transformed both Analy’s and Gris’ lives. Now, the duo looks forward to working; they’ve found financial freedom, and most importantly, they get to spend each day creating together. Analy and Gris prove that when one door is closed, a better one can be made out of clay.

“I encourage anybody that ever wants to start something [that] it’s possible. We just have to endure. Trust yourself that you have something good and that you’re making it better,” Analy says.

Women Painting Women

May 15– S eptember 25

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth 3200 Darnell Street • Fort Worth, Texas 76107

www.themodern.org

Amy Sherald, A Midsummer Afternoon Dream, 2020 (detail). Oil on canvas.

106 × 101 inches. Private Collection. © Amy Sherald, Courtesy the Artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Joseph Hyde

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817. 625.1548 BrownFD.com

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Women Painting Women, organized by the Modern’s chief curator, Andrea Karnes, features 46 female artists who choose women as subject matter in their works. International in scope, this presentation includes portraits that span the late 1960s to the present. Women Painting Women recognizes female perspectives that have been underrepresented in the history of postwar figuration. The artists here all place women— their bodies, gestures, and individuality—at the forefront.

[S U PP ORT] B E E G O O D C O L L E C T I V E

The Hive’s Daily Mantra BEE Good Collective promises its customers that it will remain true to its mantra through every interaction:

BEE Kind

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“I promise to treat everyone

Earth Minded Shop

kindly, knowing I may not know their story, and my simple act of kindness may be all they need.”

BEE Happy “I promise to leave my negative thoughts and emotions out of the hive so that I can spread happiness to all that I encounter.”

Photos courtesy of Amber Tice Photography

BEE Authentic “I promise to be my true self and genuine in my conversations with all that I encounter.”

Conscientious Collector

Baillie Troskot, owner of BEE Good Collective, makes mindful purchasing a priority in her cozy Fort Worth shop.

By Jennifer Casseday-Blair

BEE the Best I Can BEE

“I promise that I will always be the best I can be, even if I can’t be .”

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B

EE Good Collective, formerly known to shoppers as The Green Queen B, is Baillie Troskot’s effort to bring more meaningful clothing and home design items to Fort Worth.

Troskot believes that consumers have an important choice in whom they will support with their purchases. By looking for products and services from conscious businesses, the local community can only benefit.

When deciding which brands she will carry in her store, Troskot says it’s an extensive process. “I really do my homework. I use wholesale platforms and connect with brands on Instagram and other social media outlets. I investigate a brand’s values and look for if they are doing social good, are eco-friendly or small batch, or give back in some way. I’ll even go to social media to see if they are living by their values,” she says.

Troskot said it was during the pandemic that she made a move toward being more mindful and less wasteful. “After months of being quarantined and accumulating more than 150 plants, I began blogging about products created by companies that were earth-minded and practicing social good,” Troskot says. Progressing from the digital page to a physical retail shop was a short leap for her, and she opened for business early last year.

Of her current inventory, Troskot says the bread warmers and Swedish washcloths are among her favorite items and make great gifts for homeowners. She says, “In my shop, you will find items that are unique and that you can actually feel good about buying … not just because of the quality but because they come from brands that are ethical with sustainable practices.”

[C RA F T] M I X E D - M E D I A

Storied Stones Crafting a Cover Story

By Jocelyn Tatum Photos by Amber Bailey

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Just a few days before she designed this cover, she was on a flight back to the U.S. when the wing started to break off of her commercial aircraft at 30,000 feet in the air not long after takeoff. This left artist Amber Bailey with a few extra unplanned days in Spain after an emergency landing. She found herself walking along the beach finding shells, rocks and other random objects as she often does when looking for inspiration. She found a wishing stone and dropped it in her pocket. She later covered it in her magic — some resin and yarn.

For Amber, these random objects tell a story.

They become conversation pieces, which then turn into shared experiences that bring people together, like the words of a story printed on this page. When people ask about the objects she finds and adds to with various materials, she hopes that through conversation people find commonalities and not differences. This is how they build community by emphasizing what unites, not what divides. Her art ventures have inspired her business name — The Storied Stone.

If you were to ask her about this wishing stone she found on borrowed time, she wouldn’t tell you a story of survival, but one of a serendipitous few days to slow down in paradise — a gift. She also remembers that an eerie silence fell over the entire interior of the plane as they watched the wing turn black and as pieces flew past Amber’s window in the very last aisle window seat. Nobody panicked. A peaceful shock hushed the airbus into silence — a story with a stone to go with it.

Childhood photo of Amber.

Each issue we ask a local artist to design our cover, and we write about what inspired her design here in the Craft section of OTK Magazine. If you are interested in designing one of our covers, email art@onetoknowmagazine.com.

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Known for her mixed-media art and yarn bombing installations on places like Crocket Row, Amber used a collection of meaningful storied objects she found that could illustrate Claudia Casas’ story. When Amber read the cover story about Claudia, she realized they were the same age. At 2:30 in the morning after she got home from Spain and France, she found a random picture of herself as a little girl in the late ’70s/early ’80s. She became nostalgic and felt connected to Claudia’s early story. Commonalities.

“I felt very bonded in a way just by creating this piece of art about her. I felt like ‘little me’ and Claudia could have been friends,” she says.

Amber taught in elementary school for many years and said she has a special place in her heart for those who teach kindergarten, which Claudia did for 20 years. But what really captured her heart was the way Claudia became an advocate for herself at such a young age — smiling, saying “hello” and sharing her disability to any curious gawkers — the same age as Amber was in that photo. “The way that Claudia’s mom taught her to smile back and engage a person in conversation and at such a young age, that stood out to me, more than anything else because that is how you become your own advocate just like the story says,” she says.

So the first image she had in her mind was a mouth like the ones she makes to photo bomb, saying “hello.”

Moving around the cover, you see nods to Claudia’s life, like the composition notebook, image of a teacher, which came from an old flashcard used to help children study time. For Amber, hexagons are a strong geometric shape symbolizing strength, so she created patterns out of hexagons and old children’s books that Claudia could have read to her kindergarten students. Pieces of fabric from old shirts dating to the late ’70s and early ’80s were added. The hands say, “Here I am,” which is a stamp she made by carving an eraser. When she was photographing the work on her roof, she saw some pebbles and found a pipe. These random objects became a part of that moment, the story of the creation of the cover art, so she included them. They became storied stones.

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POSITIVITY Claudia Casas teaches empathy, empowerment

By Erin Ratigan

In 1975, Esmeralda Kruse knew something was wrong. She was going into labor a month and a half early, and she’d had abnormal bleeding the month before. She underwent an emergency cesarean section, but her baby was born jaundiced and, at one point, had little oxygen reaching her brain. An hour after the delivery, her baby had a seizure and was moved into intensive care at another hospital. For three weeks, Esmeralda was separated from her baby, whom doctors said might not survive infancy.

“The first time that the doctors placed Claudia in my arms, I felt such joy and a relief to know that she would now be in my care,” Esmeralda says.

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27 OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05 Photo by Sarah Langer

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Her seizure ultimately left Claudia Casas with cerebral palsy. She started physical therapy within a week, and despite doctors’ initial concerns about her future motor skills, she started speaking in complete sentences before she was 2. While many people with cerebral palsy use wheelchairs (40% to 50%, according to the Cerebral Palsy Research Network), Claudia insisted that at 4 years old she get leg braces. She wore them for six years.

According to the CP Family Network, CP is the most common motor disability among children and affects one in every 345 children in the U.S. That’s higher than the global average, which ranges from one to four out of every 1,000 children. One in three people with CP can’t walk, and one in five can’t talk.

Claudia remembers her childhood fondly — she was a quiet little girl who liked dogs, country music, books and horseback riding. She also loved school and smiles when she recalls her early school years at Bruce Shulkey Elementary School in Fort Worth. Initially, the school didn’t have a program for physically disabled students, so Claudia’s father (and several other parents) requested the school board create a class for handicapped children. Their request was granted, and over 30 years later, Claudia still has friends from that program.

“I absolutely loved that class because I felt like everyone understood. The teachers understood my plight and my difficulty with walking and getting around.

They were very understanding and very supportive,” she says.

Above Left: Claudia Michelle at 2 years old.

Above Right: Claudia Michelle is sporting her body cast at 5 years old. And still smiling!

Photos courtesy of Claudia Casas

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-ESMERALDA KRUSE

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define cerebral palsy [CP] as disorders affecting one’s posture and ability to move and balance. There is no known cure for CP and symptoms vary, according to the CDC website. Many with CP also experience intellectual disability; seizures; impaired vision, hearing or speech; or joint issues. Claudia’s case is purely physical and does not include intellectual disability.

She was shy and introverted, never wanting to “bother anyone,” so when she was mainstreamed into nonhandicapped classes in fourth grade, her mother began emphasizing the importance of advocating for herself — of asking for help when she needed it, and not being embarrassed that she walked a bit slower than other kids. Self-advocacy was a skill she’d been learning at 3, when Esmeralda first sat her down and taught her how to respond when people stared at her. Her mother explained that many people simply didn’t understand CP, so the best thing to do if they stared was to smile back. By the time Claudia was 4, she was introducing herself to strangers and sharing information about her CP. Usually, this started with her asking, “Would you like to know a little bit about me?

Above Left: Family vacation in Hawaii.

Above Right: Claudia is crowned Queen for the Day at her 40th birthday party.

Photos courtesy of Claudia Casas

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“The first time that the doctors placed Claudia in my arms, I felt such joy and a relief to know that she would now be in my care.”

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As she got older and learned more about CP, she was able to teach people more about her disability.

She says being able to tell others about herself this way not only helped others by spreading awareness, but it helped her find her life’s purpose.

“My disability does not define who I am, but it’s helped me realize the kind of person I want to continue to be. To help others so that they can understand — no matter what they go through in life, they can have a voice of their own to advocate for themselves,” she says.

Smiling at staring strangers might sound daunting, but Claudia says it came naturally to her.

She’s been a cheerful person since infancy, greeting her mother from her crib each morning with a wide smile. Ultimately, she says her mother’s instruction wasn’t just about being friendly to strangers; it was about not letting them break her spirit. She says that lesson became a powerful force in her life as it helped motivate her to speak up for herself and others.

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“That’s why, when people say, ‘Don’t you have bad days?’ and ‘Are you upset or sad about it?’ I will say, ‘Everyone has bad days. … it’s just how you deal with it and how you learn from it and move forward,’” she says.

The way she says this is striking. For even when alluding to having bad days, she did so with a smile.

She can discuss her chronic hip, ankle, knee and back pain, but points out that it’s something she’s “learned to deal with” by staying efficient to spend less time on her feet. When the pain is worse, she distracts herself with music or watches something lighthearted on TV. Esmeralda says that’s how Claudia has always been — ending even their toughest conversations on a hopeful note. They sometimes discussed her challenges at school, but then Claudia would compassionately shift the attention toward others whom she felt were in greater need. “She would say, ‘Mom, can you imagine the kids who don’t have what I have? And you and brother and Dad?’” Esmeralda says.

The Texas Rangers was a big part of Claudia’s childhood. The games on TV brought them together in the living room. Going to games at the stadium was also special. “At the end of the day, baseball is a kid’s game, and even though I wasn’t able to play as a child, the Rangers always made me feel apart of the team,” Claudia says.

Photos by Sarah Langer

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Claudia’s brother, Ray Casas, describes his sister as the epitome of resilience and strength of character.

“She is proof that regardless of physical or mental ability, anyone can accomplish anything you want if you want it badly enough,” he says.

He and Claudia attended elementary school together and remembers walking with her to class.

Claudia describes her fully abled classmates as supportive and kind, but Ray remembers seeing

other kids staring at her as she navigated the halls with her walker. Like many brothers, Ray was protective of his sister and says the staring always angered him. Usually, he would stare back at them or (on bad days) confront them. But Claudia barely seemed to notice and would keep walking as though nothing had happened. “She never wavered. She never cried; she never got upset. We would talk about the stares, but she’s built like a rock,” he says.

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Photo by Sarah Langer

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He recalls one occasion when her spirit faltered. That was the summer of 1980 when Texas was under a record-breaking heat wave, and 5-year-old Claudia was stuck in a full-body cast. She had just had a major surgery where doctors planted a steel rod into her hip to help align her legs. That summer featured 69 days of at least 100-degree heat, and Claudia was bedridden, unable to play with her brother. “I would go out, of course, and play and sweat and sunburn and everything. But when I would come back in, she was so down because she couldn’t go outside,” he remembers.

So, every night when the temperatures dropped a bit at 9 p.m., Ray and Esmeralda would lift Claudia from her bed and place her in her little red play wagon so he could wheel her around the yard. “I took being outside for granted, where she was just overcome with joy just to be outside and be in the wagon.

Couldn’t walk, couldn’t feel the grass on her feet, but just to breathe the night air — that was something that I’ll never forget,” he says.

That memory highlights one of the lessons Ray says his sister has taught him: to appreciate the little things. Ray is older than Claudia but says he’s always looked up to Claudia and tried to follow her example. In the process, he says she’s taught him patience, love, grace and empathy. “Timewise, she may be younger, but I’ve always felt like the younger brother because I’ve always looked up to Claudia,” he says.

Ray says his sister’s kind nature is accompanied by fierce determination. The latter is a recurring theme throughout her life story, from her refusal to use a wheelchair to her decision to leave home and live independently during her first few years of college. Esmeralda says her daughter’s university years saw her confidence blossom and helped solidify her ability to speak up for herself. “College was a major factor … I think that she just grew her wings,” Esmeralda says.

Claudia’s passion for helping others encouraged her love of education.

Esmeralda was a first-grade teacher, and when Claudia had days off from middle school, she would go watch her mother teach. It was always a bonding experience for her and her mother, and that was when she knew she wanted to be a teacher. “She learned that love of teaching, and then when she thought about it some more, she said, ‘Mom, I’d love to help special ed kids to know that they have a place in life if they work hard,’” Esmeralda says.

She made her dreams real when, after earning her bachelor’s in elementary education and teaching from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in 2001, Claudia began teaching at Worth Heights Elementary School in Fort Worth.

She taught second grade, special education, and pre-K Montessori classes there for six years. “I really felt like it was the right place for me at the time because I felt like I could really impart my knowledge to them and really motivate them to be the very best they could be,” Claudia says.

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Above: Her favorite book to read to the elementary school kids was Todd Parr’s It’s Okay to Be Different.

Photos by Sarah Langer

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This began a 20-year teaching career, which later included teaching kindergarteners for Fort Worth Independent School District and special education at Tanglewood Elementary School where her mother taught for many years. She says she enjoyed helping children grow and gain confidence — regardless of their physical or mental abilities — and that working with special education children allowed her to teach from her own experience. Her favorite book to read to the elementary school kids was Todd Parr’s It’s Okay to Be Different.

“I felt like I could impart my knowledge to my students because I knew where they were in their educational journey, and I knew how it felt to be in their shoes. So, I really felt like it was the right place for me at the time,” she says.

The work was rewarding, but while she loved working with children, she says she wanted to eventually go into counseling and advising college students. In 2009, she enrolled in an online master’s program from Grand Canyon University. For the next two years, she was a teacher during the day and a student at night.

No matter what Claudia set out to do, her family has encouraged and supported her at every turn. Esmeralda believes her daughter’s drive and ambition stem from the love she’s received throughout her life. “She’s never showed a defeatist attitude. She’s never said, ‘Well, I don’t think I want to do this, so I’m just going to stay home and not do it.’ There’s always been ‘But, what if?’” she says.

Claudia began working at UTA this January. She is now 46 and is an accessibility specialist for the University of Texas at Arlington. Her work entails assessing UTA’s accessibility for disabled students, ensuring the school meets federal requirements, and promoting students’ equal access to disability resources. Ray says his sister’s experience with CP gives her insight to the needs of disabled students, making her a perfect fit for her job as an accessibility specialist. He describes her as a “great listener” who knows how to help others and says it will make her the perfect ally for students.

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message to them is simple: “If they can’t at first, I will advocate for them.”

“I felt like I could impart my knowledge to my students because I knew where they were in their educational journey, and I knew how it felt to be in their shoes. So, I really felt like it was the right place for me at the time,” -CLAUDIA CASAS

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“I always tell her, ‘You’re the one that not only knows what they’ve gone through but also knows what their needs are,’” he says.

In an age of uncivil social discourse, Ray says empathy is more important than ever. He says people treat the disabled like they would a news article: scanning the headline and forming opinions without reading the whole story. “I know that could be a generalization, … but I feel like we need to do a better job. And that includes me. We need to all do a better job being more empathetic to people that we don’t know and people that are different from us,” he says.

Claudia says her approach to her new job is to do what her mother did for her — to help young people find their voices and develop confidence in their abilities.

“I want to make sure that I can give back to the community, to UTA, to anyone that I encounter, because I’ve been so privileged to be surrounded by amazing mentors and amazing teachers and professors,” she says.

Many people spend their whole lives struggling to speak up for themselves. Her

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ABBY OLSTRUP Artistic Inspiration: Paying It Forward

By Cecilia Lenzen Photo by Azul Sordo

Artistic Inspiration

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Art has been a part of Abby Olstrup’s life since she was 3 years old. One of her first memories of art is of bonding with her father as he drew cartoons for her to color in, which unintentionally awakened a passion for creativity in the now 18-year-old watercolor painter, and it awakened her desire to pay that forward.

Now, Abby has the chance to inspire a love of art in others. This semester, the high school senior is assistant teaching a voluntary, after-school art class for students from about 5 to 13 years old at the school she attends, Midcities Montessori.

Abby says she never considered teaching, but this job provided her the opportunity to do something she loves in a unique environment. Before becoming a teacher, she taught a few private art classes for family friends and sometimes took commissions for her paintings. Teaching young children is an especially fun challenge, she says, because she gets to impart her knowledge of something she loves to an excited, eager audience.

As their teacher, she draws cartoons for her students to color in during “free time” just like her father did for her. Being able to pay forward the joy she experienced through art as a child means the world to her, she says.

“They can know that they always have art — even if they don’t want to go into an artistic field when they grow up,” Abby says. “If they ever just feel like they need to get something out on paper, they have the opportunity to do it and know that they can create whatever they want to create, and art doesn’t have to look a certain way.”

They can know that they always have art — even if they don’t want to go into an artistic field when they grow up.”

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many young artists like her struggled to find motivation or inspiration for their art, Abby says. Teaching has helped her rediscover her artistic vision and passion while also providing a creative outlet for young students who may not have had one for the last two years. “I hope to give these kids a chance to express themselves through art and be inspired to create,” Abby says.

Although she’s technically still a senior in high school, Abby has enough credits to be considered a junior in college, thanks to the dual credit classes she’s been taking at Tarrant County College. Once she graduates from Midcities Montessori, she plans to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, a private art college in Georgia, to pursue her career goal of working in fashion and beauty. Until then, she plans to continue providing a creative outlet for her students.

“It’s really fun to be around these kids because it makes me realize how similar I was to them when I was younger,” Abby says. “I’ve been in art my whole life, so I feel connected to these kids knowing that I was doing art classes when I was their age, and now I’m able to provide that for them.”

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Retail Therapy

Wandering Roots Markets

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How one small, women-owned business lifts up others needing the same support

By Erin Ratigan Photos by Azul Sordo

The atmosphere was grungy and low-key, a faint smell of smoke and craft beer filling the rooms of Tulips FTW as patrons took respite from the evening chill. It was International Women’s Day, and the dive-y bar just south of downtown was filled with booths run by local female artists, business owners and activists.

As the room filled with chatter and the clinking of glasses, artist Hailie Loomis stood beside her booth of abstract acrylic paintings, hands clasped as she explained that most of her paintings are elemental in theme — vibrant burning reds, cool aqua blues, earthy greens. On one end of her table was a painting of a woman, but her face was out of frame, suggesting Hailie’s inspiration was not one individual, but femininity itself.

The event was hosted and made possible by Wandering Roots Markets, a market coordinating business co-owned and run by entrepreneurs Maria Arriaga and Shea Dardis. Hailie has vended at multiple Wandering Roots events, and says Maria and Shea consistently draw a large crowd of shoppers and are more organized than other event coordinators she’s worked with. This allows small businesses, startups and local artisans to get a leg in and some eyes on their work. “They’re really great women … They’re very welcoming and encouraging,” she says.

Each Wandering Roots market follows different themes and supports different organizations with each market. As a result, they’ve hosted events in a variety of settings, from bars and breweries to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Perhaps one of their most memorable events was the Big #KindnessDuck Party in Trinity Park last October, where they partnered with the Kindness Duck Project and hosted over 200 vendors. That event included an appearance from the world’s largest rubber duck, which (inflated to an impressive 6-stories tall) was sent afloat along Trinity River to bring awareness around the importance of, well, kindness.

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(left) Maria Arriago and (right) Shea Dardis

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In 2021 they hosted 32 markets, and by March this year, they had already filled their vendors’ list for the rest of 2022. Prospective vendors are now joining a waiting list in hopes of catching last-minute openings. One of Shea and Maria’s favorite events was the 2021 Pride Crawl market, which saw more than 50 markets spread across three blocks in the Historic South Main (SoMa) District.

The event included a march, which Shea says started small but soon had over 200 people marching by the time they reached the end of their route. There’s footage of the march on their Instagram page.

“If I watch the video, I get emotional,” Maria says.

Shea and Maria met at a market in 2019 when they were both running booths for their small businesses. When the pandemic hit and public events were shut down in 2020, they grew concerned for the other local businesses that relied on such events for exposure and sales. They started Wandering Roots that October, organizing their first event once the city permitted public gatherings to resume. They only intended to operate until December, but their vendors were enthusiastic and encouraged them to do more events. So, they continued. “The vendors were extremely grateful that there was something to do — some outlet for them to sell their stuff, ’cause that was like their full-time job,” Shea says.

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Shea says the recent popularity of markets and pop-ups likely stems from a wider consumer shift toward supporting small, local businesses over chain retailers like Walmart or online marketplaces like Amazon. This trend is prevalent among younger consumers, who increasingly favor ethical sourcing and responsible business practices. “I feel like the Fort Worth community is huge on shopping local and supporting local and small businesses,” Shea says.

A 2019 dataset from the statistics research website Statista examined the reasons why shoppers 18 and older shopped at pop-ups. Fifty-five percent of the shoppers surveyed cite the unique shopping experience or exclusive products as their primary interest in pop-up shopping, and 47% say they want to support local or independent businesses.

What they love most about their work is the opportunity to make new friends and be part of a close-knit artistic community. “I love being around the community of the small businesses. We’ve gotten to know each other over time, and just building on relationships. And also having the flexibility for our families at home to be there for them when they need us,” Maria says.

Their success and love of their community led them to open their own office location January 2022. The 670-square-foot is also a space for artisans to host classes and workshops, where they can continue to nurture their new friendships and community of small businesses in Fort Worth.

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The Midnight Ride of

A Bonafide Hero of the American Revolution

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Sybil Ludington

By Shilo Urban Illustrations by Sharon Urban

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In 1860, the poet Henry Wadsworth Long fellow immortalized an obscure folk hero of the American Revolution with his work “Paul Revere’s Ride.” The wildly popular poem transformed Revere into a national legend—but he wasn’t the only Patriot who risked everything to ride for freedom. A 15-year-old girl did too.

[Best read aloud while wearing colonial dress and wielding a stick.]

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Her name doesn’t rhyme.

Her tale is not known, She had no PR dude named H. Longfellow Who penned Revere’s catchphrase We all know to be: “One if by land,” and, “two if by sea.”

Yet Sybil’s heroics deserve to stand tall, She rode 40 miles (versus 20 by Paul, Who was nabbed by the Brits Before reaching the end Of his route, which was Concord— And he traveled with friends.

This is not to throw shade on Mr. Revere, His contribution to our country is clear; The tea-dumping silversmith’s rightly held dear).

But Sybil raced on from twilight to dawn, On her faithful horse Star—and she did it alone, She finished her mission and made it back home.

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Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of a midnight ride—not Paul Revere’s, But a longer, stormier, lonelier run By a brave teenage girl with a stick for a gun.

Remember her name: Sybil Ludington, A bonafide hero of the American Revolution… …Well, as you can see—

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So listen, my children, and you shall hear Of a girl more hardcore than Mr. Revere: On the 26 of April, 1777, A horseman brought news of British aggression To young Sybil’s farm from the Danbury store, (She had just turned 16 but a few days before).

Her dad led the militia in that part of New York, And they both listened close to the rider’s report: “The Redcoats are coming!

The Redcoats are here!

They march on Danbury— The danger is clear!

The town holds a stockpile of army essentials, Food, ammo, and guns for our own Continentals.

They’ll take the supplies, destroy every house, Then they’ll burn the whole city right down to the ground!”

He capped off his news with a vehement yelp: “They’re attacking us now—Please sir, you must help!”

Sybil knew the militia would have to be raised, But her pa couldn’t go—he needed to stay To sort out the troops as they massed at his farm, And the rider was too tired to sound the alarm— He knew not the land, and his horse was run down.

So who would step up and go spread the word ‘round?

“I’ll do it,” said Sybil. “I’ll rally the men, I’ll wake them and tell them it’s time to fall in.

I know where each lives, and I know all the roads,” Her dad didn’t like it—but who else could go?

“Be careful,” he urged, “these are perilous times, This county is crawling with Loyalist spies, Hoodlums and outlaws who’ll kill you for fun.

Take this stick for protection—it’s better than none.”

She saddled up Star and she dashed off the farm Into the squall of a thunderous storm, Down narrow dirt roads She rode, and she rode, Alone in the dark, So gutsy and bold.

Through forests and fields and mud inches thick, She reached every house, and she roused the men quick

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By banging on shutters with her trusty stick.

And so through the night went her fierce call to arms To every Dutchess County village and farm, By daybreak the rain had soaked down to her bones; Her duty completed, she turned and went home.

And there at her house in the pale morning light The entire militia stood ready to fight!

They marched into battle to meet the army And harried the Redcoats right back to the sea.

News of these skirmishes soon was the talk In all of the pubs and on every walk.

The Brits burned the stockpile— But we won the day, For they never invaded in quite the same way.

They stuck to their ships, and they stayed to the coast, While Patriots flocked to the army in droves, Men in the thousands came down to enroll.

They stood up for freedom, like brave Sybil had— And a scrappy young country was born in this land.

You’ve listened, my children, and now you can share The tale of this dauntless teenager who dared To ride through the danger, the rainstorm, the cold, Her name still doesn’t rhyme— But her feat you now know.

Let’s remember her well, as we all should have done, Don’t forget the teen hero: Sybil Ludington.

[ P O E T R Y ]

47 OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

[L I F E] S T E R E O T Y P E S

Dogs, Not Diamonds Woman’s Best Friend

By Jocelyn Tatum Photos by Azul Sordo

Unconditional Love

48

Stereotypes, clichés and sweeping generalizations annoy most people no matter their age, race or gender. Few like being put in a box. So when people say things like, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and dogs are a man’s best friend,” I wince a little. I don’t wear much jewelry at all. My ears aren’t even pierced. But my golden retriever, Peanut, is definitely my best friend. The truth is, she does more for me than I can fit onto this page. As I am sure is true for everyone if they were asked to share what their dogs mean to them.

For me, it’s when I look into Peanut’s eyes, I like to think about how she sees the world. It’s simple. I’m pretty sure the only word she knows is “LOVE.” Maybe she knows the word “shoe,” too. And sit. OK, you get the point. Recently, my sweet boyfriend, who knows I have a tendency to overthink, had me do this as an exercise when I was stuck on the tarmac at DFW Airport inside an airplane for nearly four hours as an ice storm eased into North Texas. I still had a four-hour flight to New York ahead of me, and I lost the battle to a panic attack right before they were preparing for takeoff.

He said, “What would Peanut do in this situation?” It immediately hushed the spiriling thoughts, and I was able to calm down. Thank you, Ciro.

See, she has no self-awareness or self-consciousness. I wonder at this in awe daily. “Peanut, what are you thinking right now?” I ask her. “I love you,” her wagging tail and silly grin say. She gets told she’s beautiful all the time, and she is the most stunning golden retriever I’ve seen, but I love looking into her big, happy cinnamon eyes knowing she has no idea how pretty she is. Nor does it matter to her. She is going to wag her tail and love on the world no matter how she looks. She never apologizes when she enters a room saying, “Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to put on makeup today.” She’s pretty confident she belongs there with her paw in your paw.

And if she were stuck on that plane, she would be in heaven with all of those grumpy people to say hello to. If only I could be more like Peanut.

So we decided to talk to a few women about how their dogs, not diamonds, are their best friends.

Vickie Moody:

Linda Hailey: Some say diamonds are perfect. My dog is not perfect. She has issues. But who doesn’t?

When I rescued her, she was literally afraid of her own shadow—and birds flying over — and people. Now she does for me what I did for her. She comforts me when I’m sad or scared. She is energized when I am upbeat and excited. She plays. She makes me laugh.

We nurture each other. In other words, we are “girls” together. She is a gift.

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All my life I have had a dog that enhanced my life in so many ways. At this point in time, I am in my 80s, widowed and on my own. My dog, Henry, has given me more than I could ever have imagined.

He not only helps keep me stay physically healthy, thanks to our walks three times a day, but equally important he has helped keep me emotionally and mentally “healthy.” Being an extremely social dog, he has become my social enabler, insisting that we stop and visit both children and adults in our neighborhood, be they the landscapers or the city workers or the neighbors, we interact with virtually everyone. I have met so many people that I wouldn’t have without Henry. He, of course, has always given me his unconditional love, listens to me without judgment, encourages me to play, is very affectionate — he’s my companion always.

[L I F E] S T E R E O T Y P E S

Monica Moszowicz-Simms: Unconditional Love

50

I would take dogs over diamonds every time. My two four-legged friends – Frylock (longhaired dachshund) and Pearl (Chiweenie) are truly the “center stones” of my life.

My heart-dog, Pearl, was the first dog I ever adopted. If there were a “5 Cs” of Dogdom (similar to the “5 Cs of buying diamonds”), hers would be “Cute, Calm, Cuddly, Clever and Companion.” She is the sweetest girl, and all she ever wants to do is love and be loved. When I’ve had a rough day, she’s there to curl up next to me and without saying a word, eases my mind as only a warm, snuggly pup can do. The trust and love I see in her eyes when she looks up at me are priceless and unlike jewelry, beyond any sort of monetary appraisal.

She is truly one-of-a-kind, and she fills my heart in a way no pressurized piece of coal ever could.

Frylock is my goofy boy. A rescue, he was deceptively calm when we first adopted him. His “5 Cs” are “Curious, Confident, Crafty, Carefree and Charming.” One of the breed standards for dachshunds is “courage to the point of rashness.” And that definitely describes our Frylock. He is my shadow and always wants to be by my side. He does NOT like people (or dogs) to be separated — he wants everyone together in one room, a constant reminder that we are truly better together. His playfulness always entertains, and his energy seems boundless. When he senses I’m upset, he is quick to flop down and roll on his back, begging for belly rubs and taking my mind off of whatever troubles me. His happy-go-lucky attitude might not be as refined as a diamond, but his passion for life and desire to love emit a sparkle brighter than any gem.

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[L I F E] S T E R E O T Y P E S

Kila Rennekar:

Unconditional Love

52

I know I’ve lost a dog and I’ve lost a diamond, and the feeling inside is totally different.

Well, let me just start by saying, I absolutely LOVE diamonds, but. . . as the saying goes, something like “You are not rich until you have something money can’t buy,” and that’s where a dog comes in — you can buy diamonds, but you can’t buy loyalty, unconditional love or friendship. Two dogs in particular who have touched my heart and life in ways nothing else has. The first is my Daisy. Someone once told me when I had children that I didn’t need a babysitter, I just needed a Great Dane. I took their advice when I became a single mother and my children were 5, 7 and 9 years old.

Daisy indeed helped me raise my family and was there for me every step of the way. We could always count on her for love and comfort, and when we had challenging days, she brought us joy by always making us laugh. She lived 11 years, which is long for a Great Dane, but she kept her promise. My heart broke in a million pieces when she died, and honestly, there will always be a small hole in my heart missing her.

My other dog was the opposite. With Daisy, I “wanted” her, and I “chose” her. With Kipper, not so much. With Daisy, I was the one who was broken and needed her, but with Kipper, she was the one broken and needed me. When she showed up at my house, she had no life in her, and I really didn’t want her to live with us. She was old, smelly and grouchy. But my children worked on me, and frankly, she did too. I don’t think anyone ever tried harder to win my heart than Kipper.

She wanted to live with us, and I think she knew I was the one she had to convince. One night as I got in bed, she got the courage to try and

“My bed is quite tall, and with her short Jack Russell legs, she jumped and was barely hanging on to the side. All I could see were the tips of her paws and the tip of her long nose. I just ignored her knowing full well she would give up in time and go away. But she didn’t.”

They say a diamond is a stone that lasts forever, but I disagree — diamonds are given but can be taken away through breakups, or they get lost or broken. But with dogs, they fix or fill our hearts in such a way that in being lost, we are found; that in being broken, we are fixed; and then we realize that we are never alone. Through our best dog companions, we get to experience what unconditional love feels like. We get to know what complete loyalty feels like. We get to know the true meaning of friendship. This is something nothing material, and for sure not a diamond, can ever do for us.

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jump up there with me. Up to this point, she had never even set foot in my room, and I never allowed dogs there. My bed is quite tall, and with her short Jack Russell legs, she jumped and was barely hanging on to the side. All I could see were the tips of her paws and the tip of her long nose. I just ignored her knowing full well she would give up in time and go away. But she didn’t.

She was determined, and she hung on for what seemed like an hour. Finally, something happened inside her, and she crawled to the top and curled up by my feet. The rest is history. I have had a loyal companion ever since. She ended up being my lifesaver as now my children are grown, and I am an empty nester. She goes with me everywhere, running errands, practicing yoga, in the pasture with my horses, Bible study every morning, watching TV or movies and at my feet when I am working in my home office.

[L I F E] Q U I Z

Which Famous Flawed Female Is Your Kindred Spirit?

Created by Shilo Urban

Well-behaved women rarely make history — and perfect women never do.

Complex and often contradictory, the world’s most influential females have

Your Favorite Flaw

54

succeeded, not despite their “flaws” but because of them. Which

history-

making woman shares your favorite flaw?

1. You meet your girlfriends for dinner, but you can’t get a table at the restaurant — they’re closing early due to staffing issues. You…

A.

… make a scene.

B.

… push through the door and go inside anyway.

C.

… feel secretly relieved. Now you can go home and get back to the project you were working on.

D.

… catch the eye of one of the servers and try to flirt your way in.

E.

This would never happen. You confirmed your table before you left home.

2. What would your friends say about you?

A.

“There’s never a dull moment when she’s around.”

B.

“She gets what she wants.”

C.

“I wish I saw her more often.”

D.

“She’s a free spirit.”

E.

“She always has a plan.”

3. How would you describe your style (or the style you’d like to have)?

Trendy and beautiful

B.

Casual and practical

C.

Minimalist and modern

D.

Bold and unconventional

E.

Smart and put-together

55

4. Your friend promised to give you a ride to an important interview,

I freak out.

B.

My friends know better than to pull that sh*t with me.

C.

What? I have an interview today?

D.

No big deal; I’ll just have to crank up the charm when I get there.

E.

I’ve already called an Uber.

Injustice

C.

Laziness

D.

Rules

E.

Uncertainty

AN SW ERS

B.

T HE

Boredom

P EE K .

A.

D ON’ T

5. You have little patience for…

A R E

ON

PAGE

5 9

A.

Take the quiz first and see which history-making woman shares your favorite flaw.

but she just texted to say that she’ll be 30 minutes late. How do you react?

OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

A.

[L I F E] D E S I G N T I P S

Hanging Out

With Alden Williams at Gallery One Frames

By Sonya Cisneros Wierzowiecki Photos by Johnathan Johnson

Let’s Hang

56

Hanging artwork takes equal parts of being fed up and inspired to get it from the floor to the wall. I was reassured that even a professional framer might allow artwork to collect dust for years before finally hanging it. The chore feels so daunting and so sweet when it’s done.

Since joining Gallery One Frames in 2014, Alden Williams brings to framing the skill set afforded by a BFA in Studio Art Sculpture. Her education in art history and the artmaking process help inform the way she approaches each unique design project.

Gallery One Frames 4935 Byers Ave. | Fort Worth, Texas 76107 817-737-9571 | williamcampbellcontemporaryart.com/framing/

Swap a paper mat for fabric.

You can add an element of texture and dimension by using a fabric mat. There are many prefabricated fabric mats on the market now with different types of fabric textures and colors to choose from.

57 OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

Try a raised float mount.

Mats or foam board lift your artwork off the backing board, which pronounces the paper edge to create depth and a more dynamic aesthetic.

[L I F E] D E S I G N T I P S

Height matters.

Let’s Hang

58

For variety, add a fillet.

A fillet or slip is a small, decorative element that can provide an interesting detail to your frame or window mat. Think of a fillet as framing a picture within a picture to create continuity and dimension.

Depending on whether you have low or high ceilings, a good rule of thumb is to hang artwork 58 to 60 inches from the floor to the center of the piece.

One thing to watch for is hanging wire without plastic coating since it can unravel over time. Alden suggests braided metal wire since it holds onto itself easier.

Choose an 8-ply window mat.

If you want to have a mat on top of an image, choose an 8-ply mat, which is thicker than a standard 4-ply mat. This gives the window cut out more presence, which helps draw the viewer’s eye into the image.

A NSWERS

FROM

QUIZ

ON

PAGE

5 4

A N D

5 5 .

MOSTLY A’s: DRAMA QUEEN much? Like the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra, you love being the center of attention — and you certainly know how to make an entrance. To introduce herself to Julius Caesar, Cleopatra had herself wrapped inside a carpet and smuggled into his palace — unrolling in full royal garb at the Roman general’s feet. She dressed up like Aphrodite to cruise around on her golden barge (with purple sails), and she hosted elaborate feasts and pranks with her drinking club “Inimitable Livers.” And she had the ultimate party trick: dissolving a priceless pearl in wine and drinking it. Cleopatra’s razzle-dazzle may seem superfluous, but she hugely influenced Roman politics at the Empire’s peak while running her own extensive queendom.

MOSTLY C’s: You’re a bit of a WORKAHOLIC who knows how to get things done — like Marie Curie, the brilliant Nobel Prize-winning scientist whose groundbreaking discoveries shaped the modern world. But she would never get a medal for work-life balance. She attended classes by day and tutored at night, often fainting from hunger because her busy schedule left no time to eat (only to get right back up and continue working). Driven and determined, Curie’s dedication to her work competed with her role as a mother, and she frequently relied on others for child care. But her compulsion paid off. Curie’s inventions saved the lives of a million soldiers in World War I alone, and her work led directly to the development of nuclear energy and radiotherapy as a cancer treatment — preventing pain and death for countless humans still today.

MOSTLY D’s: Your wildest days may be behind you, but at heart you’re still kind of a BAD GIRL — and you’re perfectly good at it. So was Empress Theodora, the ferociously powerful wife of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Born into poverty but refusing to stay there, she became famous on stage for her daring and provocative acts. But it was her spirited nature that charmed Justinian, who changed the law so he could marry the actress. Theodora became a driving political force, pushing through women’s rights legislation and holding court with foreign ambassadors in her opulent bedchamber. And her penchant for risk-taking behavior even saved her husband’s throne. After a citywide riot broke out and an armed mob called for his head, Justinian prepared to flee — but Theodora was NOT having it. She convinced him to turn around and fight, and he successfully quelled the uprising and saved his empire.

MOSTLY E’s: Ah, the sweet feeling of CONTROL. You’re a perfectionist who thinks you know the best way to do everything, and you usually do — just like England’s Queen Elizabeth I, another clever woman who liked a tight control of everything from Parliament to her wardrobe and portraiture. She hid her flaws (physical and otherwise) with immaculate precision and kept her emotions under wrap, except for the occasional angry outburst. But Elizabeth I also ushered in a Golden Age of literature, exploration and national pride that transformed England into a dominant world power. After all, no one defeats the Spanish Armada by playing it loosey-goosey.

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MOSTLY B’s: No one would ever call you PUSHY (to your face). You’re tough, stubborn and defiant, just like Harriet Tubman. Far from the quiet, grandmotherly image many of us have of her, Tubman was a total badass — a fierce warrior woman whose militancy made slaves into free men and women. She did what it took to survive, and she did it on her terms. On the Underground Railroad, she threatened to kill anyone who wanted to turn back and endanger the group (and she carried a pistol to do it). She drugged babies to shut them up and knocked out her own tooth (with the gun) when an infection threatened her rescue mission. The strong-willed woman also worked as a spy for the Union Army, led armed military raids — and pushed her way right into the history books.

[BE W EL L] F I T N E S S

Defying Expectations at Any Age Strengthen Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

60

By Erin Ratigan Illustrations by Amber Davis

To the untrained eye, a ballerina’s movements seem effortless, their bodies exertion. In reality, ballet is profoundly taxing on the body, both aerobically and muscularly.

Just standing still at the barre involves muscles most people never use.

The demanding and rigorous nature of ballet training makes it a popular form of exercise for women. Kathleen Cluchey, 36, a student at Wonderfully Made Studio in Fort Worth, says taking ballet classes began as a way to give back to her body after having children.

“After that third kid, my body was pretty worn out,” Kathleen says. “I think it depleted from all the pregnancies and labors and nursing. So, I really, at that point, needed something to do for me.”

She was 32 and had never danced before – even as a child – which she says made ballet intimidating. After meeting the owner of the studio, she was invited to join the class, and with some coaxing decided to take a chance. What she found was not only a way to get in shape, but to challenge herself. In the four years since she started dancing, she said her strength, flexibility and posture have all improved significantly.

61 OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

practically floating freely without pain or

“Learning about posture helped my muscles feel better, it helped my core strengthen. Even just the stretching component … the simplest way to put it is it just makes my body feel better,” she says.

The comradery and inclusivity of her classmates also gives Kathleen a safe space to de-stress at the end of the day. As a teacher and mother, she said she finds her time in the studio invaluable to her mental health.

“I’ve noticed it has the same effect on me as meditation in that it just clears my mind of literally everything else,” she says. “Mostly because you can’t think about a blessed thing while you’re trying to remember how to hold your arms, and remember where to put your feet, and how to turn your feet out, and which muscles to be engaging.”

Kathy Mitchell, also a teacher, just started classes at Artistry in Motion in August. Kathy says ballet training is not only good physical exercise but is also good for her cognitive health.

Since she is new to dance, Kathy says when she’s dancing she is constantly relying on her memory and using new information.

“It is freeing, and you have to not think about what else is going on or else you miss the instruction … so you can’t worry about what’s going on in the outside world,” she says.

[BE W EL L] F I T N E S S

Strengthen Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

62

Ballet challenges her to be brave and try new things. Standing in front of the studio mirrors means there’s nowhere to hide during class, which makes dance difficult for women struggling with body confidence. So ballet forces her to confront her self-consciousness – and gives her a means to overcome it.

Ballet-inspired workouts are commonplace in the fitness industry, from instructional videos (including a series produced by the New York City Ballet), to exercise programs, studios and specialized gym equipment. According to the statistics aggregate Statista, barre workouts have become increasingly popular, with 3.58 million Americans reporting that they participated in barre exercises in 2020.

“Nothing about ballet so far has felt like exercise ... it’s just a beautiful thing I get to do in my mind, and the body gets to come along.”

- S U Z Y

C U R L E Y

Adult ballet classes draw in dancers from all age groups. At 75-years-old, Suzy Curley defies expectations. She takes ballet three times a week at Margo Dean and wants to add a fourth.

When she visits her son in New York City, she takes classes there, taking advantage of every opportunity she gets to don her leotard and step up to the barre. She is one of the oldest students in her class, but that doesn’t stop her.

“There is a confidence that comes from being a master of yourself,” Suzy says.

Suzy has danced at Margo Dean for almost four years and says when she dances, she feels beautiful. Like Kathleen and Kathy, Suzy was not a dancer originally, but her love of dance performance inspired her to take classes.

Almost immediately after starting classes, she began feeling healthier, building abdominal strength and improved flexibility. A few months in, while walking in a parking garage, Suzy lost her footing – but instead of falling, she quickly corrected her posture and regained control. She credits this to her muscle memory from ballet class.

“Nothing about ballet so far has felt like exercise … it’s just a beautiful thing I get to do in my mind, and the body gets to come along,” she says.

While soreness and occasional injuries are just as likely with ballet training as other forms of exercise, Suzy pushes through such obstacles, and it strengthens her spirit.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” she says. “You’re going to accomplish the impossible.”

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[BE W EL L] C O M B A T S P O R T

The Quiet Hum of Adrenaline Developing Confidence

64

By Erin Ratigan

Her teammates call her “The Butcher” for her dominance on the mat.

She doesn’t keep track of how many medals she’s won in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but she knows there’s a box of them somewhere. Instead of focusing on past wins, Sarah Pyles says she prefers to focus on the future. “When I’m competing, that’s it.

There’s nothing else,” she says. “When I’m on the mats, that’s my sanctuary.”

For Sarah, competing is a “nice quiet hum” of adrenaline. She trains at Genesis Jiu Jitsu in Burleson and tries to compete as often as possible – which usually means she has between one and three tournaments a month. Even after having brain and back surgery in December, she couldn’t stay away from training and returned to class 11 days later.

She began training almost five years ago. She was a bartender in New York City and was going through a difficult time in her relationship. She decided to take a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) class to help relieve stress. She enjoyed it so much she signed up for daily classes. Now she not only competes and trains, she also coaches a women’s class.

BJJ is a male-dominated sport, which she said can be intimidating for women. It is common for women to give up jiu-jitsu after only a few months of training. Kristine Felts, a second-degree black belt and coach at Peak Performance Martial Arts, says there is a “bro culture” within the sport that she had to get past early on in her training. But mentality is slowly changing, and gyms are starting to encourage women to study BJJ, be it through hiring female instructors or offering women’s classes. She says if women see other women on the mats, they’re more likely to try jiu-jitsu and stick with it.

To get to that point, Kristine says women must allow themselves to be aggressive. She says the word “aggressive” has an unnecessary negative connotation and that sparring forces women to let go of the social pressure to be demure and accommodating. “To me, [the word] ‘aggressive’ is such a beautiful thing,” she says. “It’s stating what you want and putting the actions behind it to get it.”

Brown belt Kari Summers loves competing and fought in 13 BJJ tournaments last year.

She sees tournaments as extra training time – an opportunity to learn while encouraging

65 OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

discipline. “For me it’s a good push and a good goal, and what I like about competing is the feedback from it,” she says.

Some of her best moves that she often uses came out of mistakes she says she made when competing, and she says BJJ can help women develop confidence while learning to think under pressure. “When you do it and you get to learn and you get to challenge your body, it’s something where you can feel proud of yourself,” she says.

While combat sports aren’t for everyone, Sarah says it’s important for women to find something they are passionate about, which helps them see who they are when challenged.

“Mine just happens to be hurting adult men.

That’s what brings me joy,” she says.

Clockwise starting with top Left: photo courtesy of Kyu Lee; photo courtesy of Alexis Eggleston; photo courtesy of Jordan Huynh

[BE W EL L] M I N D A N D B O D Y

Assertiveness

Finding a Home Between Aggressive and Passiveness

By Jocelyn Tatum Illustrations by Amber Davis

Assertiveness Is Important For Healthy Living

66

One afternoon I was sharing with our magazine founder and owner, Adrienne Martinez, that in therapy I learned the importance of assertiveness and why it is essential to living a successful life. She said, “That’s a story” as she often does during our conversations. So here we are, spilling onto the page with research, years of recovery and experience how assertiveness is important for healthy living.

A couple of years ago, I was handed The Assertiveness Workbook: How to Express Your Ideas and Stand Up for Yourself at Work and in Relationships, written by Randy J. Paterson, Ph.D. I had never realized before sitting in my therapist’s office that day that I tended to swing from a passive people-pleasing state to an aggressive and demanding state, and then sometimes hovering somewhere in the unhealthy middle, being passive-aggressive. So, what does passive-aggressive look like, you may ask.

Sure, (I say with a smile) I will take on that project for you even though I don’t have time, but I will most likely give you the silent treatment for a week and talk about it to others in the office because you are always putting too much on my plate. So there, wah.

Oh, how many times I have done that. As a girl growing up in an old Fort Worth family, manners were important, and I understood (maybe mistakenly) that a smile, coupled with the perfect outfit, was praised. Smiling prettily through the hard parts of life made me virtuous, especially if I had the right dress on. But in my rebellious spirit, I would start to “stick up for myself.” Little did I know, there was a better way than getting in that mechanic’s face when I was 16 years old after he told me I needed a new transmission.

“Bull! It’s the starter, you jerk. Don’t think you can fool this strawberry blonde, blue-eyed teen with no grownups here to fact-check you.”

Gah. What an exhausting existence. But I kept that up for many, many years. Smile and look pretty. Hold a grudge. Push away anyone who gets too close.

So, what does passive-aggressive look like, you may ask.

Sure, (I say with a smile) I will take on that project for you even though I OneToKnowMagazine.com | ISSUE 05

67 don’t have time, but I will most likely

give you the silent treatment for a week and talk about it to others in the office because you are always putting too much on my plate. So there, wah.

[BE W EL L] M I N D A N D B O D Y

Assertiveness Is Important For Healthy Living

68

Paterson writes that passive behavior is people-pleasing, which is another way of saying others are more important than you, and your needs don’t matter. But what I failed to realize is that it also doesn’t mean that my needs get to push others out of the way or scare them as an alternative to people-pleasing.

There is space for both of us to be in the same room. He also writes that passivity leads to helplessness and resentments. We think these feelings are the other’s fault, but really, we are at fault for not owning our power and asserting our needs. He writes that helplessness can lead to depression, and resentment to anger.

While passivity can look like kindness, and aggressiveness can look like confidence, he writes that both passive behavior and aggressiveness come from low self-esteem and an imbalance of self. While aggressive and passive-aggressive behaviors may look like you have control over the situation, really these are angry souls who are just trying to “get back” at the other person — they are the ones being controlled by a slew of negative emotions, feeling victimized and helpless, hence the depression and anxiety.

Jocelyn, can you volunteer for this all-day event next Saturday? It helps raise money for children with intellectual disabilities.

Walking away from these immature extremes and embracing assertiveness allowed me to be in a relationship with another without denying them or myself of our needs. It takes away the assumption that others can read our minds. We are in control of our needs, wants and desires. This does not mean we become inconsiderate or unkind. This does not mean I can say anything and end with the comment: “I was just being honest.”

What does an example of this look like?

Friend: Jocelyn, can you volunteer for this allday event next Saturday? It helps raise money for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Now when I worked 40 hours a week in an office, tackled a commute daily, had laundry piled up and a then 9-year-old son and a needy golden retriever at home, this would not be a smart “yes.” Me: No, Ruth Anne, this is not something I can commit to at this time.

Please remember me next time though. That’s it. No excuses or explanations needed. I don’t owe anyone that. Now if I said yes, then noshowed because I had anxiety from the pain that results in people-pleasing, then I would

from joy deep within. I couldn’t do that before. I either hid, stuffed it deep down, or I screamed back at the wrong time, like two years later. That must have been confusing to everyone. Geez.

I also learned in recovery that when I am reacting in an aggressive or helpless way, I am reacting to my views of that situation. I am making it personal. There are no boundaries between me and the seeming “perpetrator,” so I overreact. When I react in an objective, calm and assertive way, I am simply reacting to the situation in front of me and leaving my personal views out of it. Paterson quotes the ancient philosopher Epictetus here: “People are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them.” See folks, this quote is from 2,000-plus years ago. Human nature hasn’t changed. So, let’s be kind to ourselves and others by kindly asserting our way through the beautiful life we are meant to enjoy and live. As the expression goes — Say what you mean and mean what you say.

No, Ruth Anne, this is not something I can commit to at this time. Remember me next time though.

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owe an explanation and an apology. Or maybe just: I was wrong.

So how did this attempt at assertiveness play out in my own life? Well, my former boss was unfamiliar with this new me and disliked it, but he could no longer tool me around, but he also stopped being as friendly as if it were a condition on my willingness to please. And I think he thought I lost my mind like Kathy Bate’s character in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes.” But my friends often know what to expect and appreciate it. I said “often” because it’s not perfect. I’m a work in progress.

I realized niceness is not a virtue. Kindness is. And I started to trust myself to take care of myself, something more valuable than anything a pretty smile, pantyhose and the perfect dress could bring. Here’s the thing: I think my smile got prettier when I began to honor my wants and needs and trust myself to assert those. I now know that I have the strength, courage and esteem to walk away from abuse, whether it’s verbal, a form of neglect, or even physical. I can stay calm and ask them to stop with a real smile originating

[FO ODD] E S S A Y

Mind Over Platter Healing Through Food

By Angie Martinez

Connective and Impactful

70

There’s a link between food and mental health that you may only discuss once a year at your annual checkup. The focus is usually on eating fruits and vegetables, along with foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can positively affect your physical health as well as your mental health and well-being. Well, I can tell you that the whole cabrito I indulged in just a mere two weeks ago, although perhaps affecting my physical appearance, contributed to my mental well-being. It not only made me happy, but it created a core memory, a memory filled with beautiful faces, laughter, chatter, color, and a beautiful, smoky scent, and a memory that I can call on in times of sadness or loneliness. I can then revel in the times that I’ve spent with loved ones over a platter of delicious foods.

It’s cold outside as I write this, and we are entering another day at home due to inclement weather and icy roads in Texas. All I want are some tacos. I can’t have tacos though because the Jeep in my driveway isn’t four-wheel drive, and I, a Fort Worth native, am not equipped with the proper drifting maneuvers to safely drive my car to and from my mother’s house or a restaurant. Even if I could, nothing is open. So, in the name of safety and warmth, I settle. I settled for box-mix pancakes and leftovers. We didn’t prepare to be iced in, so I settled. But the icy mood had foodies all over Fort Worth craving something for the soul.

Photo courtesy of Eden Williams Photography

It’s a way to connect with people — connection is one of the hallmarks of mental wellness.”

-J O S I E S I N G L E T O N , of the blog Eat This Fort Worth

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“Today, I’m craving Pho,” shared Fort Worth’s food experience expert Josie Singleton of the blog Eat This Fort Worth. “The biggest bowl of broth and noodles! I called Pho Hung today to see if they were open!” Alas, they were not open.

“I love a good Pho on a cold day,” Josie says.

This Vietnamese soup was so unknown to me growing up but quickly became a household favorite in our Mexican family because it reminds me of family caldos that healed me when I was sick. It had miraculous properties that kept us warm on a cold day.

An influx of serotonin immediately disperses throughout my body with the thought of a mother caring for her child — “chicken noodle soup for the soul” type of care. But instead of chicken, it’s oxtail soaking up the clearest bone broth with rice noodles and a hint of basil and jalapeño for spark. It’s happiness in a beautifully crafted bowl.

For Josie it’s ultimately the memories that food brings back. “I see it two ways: Food, as it’s related to mental health — you can seek out foods to bring you comfort and remind you of your childhood, remind you of special memories — but I also find that being in the kitchen with my kids, I’ve inadvertently created new memories,” Josie says.

Core memories. Memories that one can call on at any given point in time or that call upon you like déjà vu. Memories that are so intricately mixed with beans simmering in a clay pot every Sunday morning in the kitchen when Josie was a child. And now, incorporated into the cranberry white-chocolate cookies her 20-year-old son asks to make with her every holiday season.

“Are we still doing that?” Josie laughs.

“It’s a way to connect with people — connection is one of the hallmarks of mental wellness,” Josie says. Engaging with those traditions not only connects her to her loved ones but also gives her something to look forward to and indulge in.

“Memory making, it’s what we all want,” she says.

Photo courtesy of Josie Singleton

[FO ODD] E S S A Y

Connective and Impactful

72

Comfort food is a term we all know but means something different to each of us. Texas comfort food comes in the form of a chicken-fried steak, biscuits in gravy, a decadent macaroni and cheese or even a simple grilled cheese sandwich.

For self-proclaimed foodie and curator of @fortworthfavs on Instagram, Kali Messer, it’s a Mississippi Pot Roast.

Throughout college, Kali worked at coffee shops and restaurants that quickly became her gateway to making new friends and building community. Social skills acquired during that time would have come in handy when she and her now husband relocated to the South Main District in Fort Worth, but it was at the beginning of the pandemic. “I needed friends out here, but with everything closed, it made it very difficult to be social,” Kali says.

Kali quickly found community in her SoMa surroundings through connections she made with patrons alike looking for a social hour. Bars and restaurants slowly and safely began to open to help feed the community and ease people during one of the biggest health and mental health crises this generation has seen. Breaking bread with strangers became the cornerstone for Kali to get to know her new surroundings and helped curate a life full of people that initially started out as unknown patrons and quickly became lifelong friends.

“There’s one man, he’s German, I don’t want to peg his age, [and] never in a million years should I have been friends with this man, but he is the sweetest guy ever — he brings me coffee from Germany once a month,” Kali laughs.

During a year where life was lonely and so much was unknown, the friendly faces that quickly welcomed two new out-of-towners is exactly why I preach an open table policy. There’s so much to gain when we all come together at the table and do life together, finding joy in shared meals. It’s why scenes with meals in the great works of literature and films often symbolize communion, which means “the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.”

“A Mississippi Pot Roast — a lightly seared chuck roast, slow cooked in a crock pot with pepperoncinis, au jus and ranch mix packets — a salty, vinegar, savory dish — that’s my comfort,” Kali says.

The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.

-K A L I M E S S E R , curator of @fortworthfavs

“I love the process. It makes me feel like a little kid,” Kali reminisces. “It’s like coloring a page just to color or making a friendship bracelet.” Kali compares her process of preparing this meal to the sweet creative process of a child and building memories that feel like home. “I don’t have a specific skill [for cooking], but I’ve built a home through this recipe, sharing it with friends and family alike and passing that joy unto others.”

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I don’t have a specific skill [for cooking], but I’ve built a home through this recipe, sharing it with friends and family alike and passing that joy unto others.”

-K A L I M E S S E R

Food has that characteristic to be personal and emotional, but it doesn’t always have to be. For some, mental wellness as it pertains to food may just be a successful meal prep week.

Giving the satisfying illusion of “having your shit together.” It could also look like just what the doctor ordered, an apple a day. We all have these quirks that give us peace of mind and allow us to carry on throughout our days and weeks, feeling accomplished and put together. That’s OK. That method, too, is right. Food has the power to be connective and impactful in the most beautiful of ways, and what’s even more beautiful is just how a dish can be altered to suit its creator, the memory attached to it also shares a unique genetic code specific to its curator.

Photo courtesy of Kali Messer

[PHI L A NTH ROPY] S H E S U P P L Y

Providing The Most Basic Female Necessities

74

Working to Restore Dignity, One Feminine Hygiene Product at a Time

By Jade Emerson

Lisa Pierce-Johnson’s, founder and vice chair of She Supply, daughter was working in her mother’s psychiatry office. One day in the office bathroom a young woman asked her for a tampon. She had recently been displaced. She couldn’t pay for her college. She couldn’t pay for her appointment. She couldn’t even pay for gas to get home, let alone a box of tampons. Lisa’s daughter, who always had her own small bag of period products with her, gave the young woman what she had and later told her mom about the experience.

“It started a conversation with my daughter, who knew about period poverty,” Lisa says. “I think that one moment made me more curious, and I always go back to that whenever I tell people about my passion for this.”

She Suppy packaging event.

Photo Courtesy of She Supply

Lisa began to learn more about the lack of access to menstrual products and education. Soon after, she met with a group of women over lunch to talk about doing something more than a one-time drive to help period poverty locally. Five years and over 800,000 product donations later, She Supply is the fruition of that initial conversation, working as a nonprofit to support women in North Texas communities.

Lisa, who is now the vice chair of She Supply, says they partner with 15 different agencies in Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Dallas counties who work with women in need, providing them with pads, tampons, bras and underwear to distribute. Often, these products aren’t donated to food banks, creating a gap in access.

“When you’re looking at the whole person and you’re really trying to affect their physical health, their mental health, their financial health, it kind of all works in a continuous cycle. And eventually the goal by ending period poverty is that you lift people out of poverty, missing school and work, and out of some of the other barriers that also equate with period poverty,” She Supply program director Denise Angarola-Fernandez says.

Denise says she never experienced period poverty herself, but she heard stories from her mother about growing up in a household of seven girls in a very frail environment.

“Oftentimes there was not any disposable income. [They would be] sharing a bed, and then as they got older, trying to figure out how my mother and her sisters would really manage throughout the month. And it was often things like washcloths or a sock, whatever they could use that was reusable because they didn’t have the funds to buy products all the time,” she says.

For Denise, being able to give back to the community has been a gratifying process. After discovering the connection between free and reduced school lunches and period poverty, She Supply began to look at how they could help the one in five girls who miss school because of a lack of access to period products.

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She Supply board meeting.

Photo Courtesy of She Supply

[PHI L A NTH ROPY] S H E S U P P L Y

Providing The Most Basic Female Necessities

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She Supply teen donation bag.

Photo Courtesy of She Supply

“And eventually the goal by ending period poverty is that you lift people out of poverty, missing school and work, and out of some of the other barriers that also equate with period poverty.”

- DE N I S E AN G ARO L A- F ER N AN DE Z ,

SHE SUPPLY PROGRAM DI RECTOR

Working with the R.L. Turner High School, a Title I school where many students come from multigenerational homes, Denise says they sent each girl home with a summer’s amount of pads for her family when they left for summer break. She Supply also outfitted their locker room with pads and tampons, gave them underwear and made a volume purchase of sports bras for the girls.

‘That was the first time for most of the girls they’d ever worn something like that,” Denise says. “It’s pretty amazing when you know that you can have that impact.”

Similarly, when schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, girls who normally received period products from the school nurse no longer had access. Denise remembers the calls She Supply would get from families who were having to go months without period products.

During a donation drive hosted by She Supply, the community rallied. Cars began lining up at 5 a.m., donating thousands of products that could then be given to the families in need.

“That was a really powerful moment for me and what we had built up to. How we were able to really just rise to that moment and support the community. And maybe go a bit deeper than we had in the past and serve new requests that previously we hadn’t,” Denise says.

Moving ahead, Lisa and Denise hope to reach their millionth product donation. With the next Texas legislative session beginning on Jan. 11, 2023, Lisa and the team at She Supply are also writing letters, and working with people and organizations in Austin to expand their activism efforts and end the luxury tax that Texas still has on period products. “It’s a more orchestrated, concerted effort, and it’s a priority for us and other organizations this year, probably more so than it’s ever been,” Lisa says.

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She Supply at a community event.

Photo Courtesy of She Supply

[PHI L A NTH ROPY] S H E S U P P L Y

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The tax only amplifies the cost of necessary supplies for the 25% of women who are unable to purchase period products. “If you’re on a strict budget, especially if you’re in a multi-generational home, that’s $10 that could pay for gas to get you to a job. It can pay for a DART pass. It could pay for dinner,” Denise says.

Freedom from worrying about a lack of access to period products begins the process of change in a person’s life. For the young woman who asked for a tampon in Lisa’s office, having access to period products was just the first step in her new journey. Now, five years later, she is working on her Ph.D. “Maybe the sweetest piece of this story is this girl really turned things around. She ended up going to the same college that my daughter went to.

They still never have to this day figured out that they met each other in that bathroom,” Lisa says.

One in every four women struggles to purchase period products, but She Supply is working to rewrite the narrative. By working on ways to reduce the friction and barriers between young women and their feminine hygiene, they can be unapologetically female. “And give them that dignity and grace back,” Denise says.

She Supply packaging event total.

Photo Courtesy of She Supply

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“My disability does not define who I am, but it’s helped me realize the kind of person I want to continue to be. To help others so that they can understand — no matter what they go through in life, they can have a voice of their own to advocate for themselves.”

– C L A U D I A

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