Local Artists A Visit With
Drive up the hill from Chico, through the pine trees lining Highway 32, and you arrive at Forest Ranch; a quiet community that fosters the perfect setting for artists to craft their trade. Sitting down in writer Josh Shelton’s den with he and illustrator Sam Pullenza, you can’t help but be drawn into their amicably shared story. Can’t wait to hear more about how they met and reconnected, how their eerily linked creative process works, how they hope their books set a ripple of change passing from one child to the next. Sam’s colorful creative space spreads across the floor, finished illustrations, paintings in flux surrounded by paints, brushes, and watercolor pencils as their story begins to unfold. Josh was born in Chico and has a deep history in the area. His Great Great Grandma was a Native American of the Wintu tribe so his roots 16
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His childhood love of drawing recently gave way to painting, employing all types of media from watercolors to oil paints. Because it’s his love, Sam says, “Painting never seems like work, it’s play.” It has taken off since he reintroduced himself two years here are deep. He moved to Forest Ranch ago with these books as well as shows at twelve years ago where he lives with his OM restaurant and Ellis Art in downtown wife Amanda, his daughter Ashley, and son Chico. When he isn’t painting, he’s playing Caden. In addition to his writing, Josh is a guitar or spending time with his son, Mason. talented craftsman and builder who works Sam and Josh graduated from the same in Paradise aiding in the reconstruction. His high school together, but Sam left the area wood pieces are scattered throughout his and moved to Arizona and then on to Idaho. home, bookshelves sporting a sign for their After a time, he realized he was lacking any website along with a beautiful five foot oak true connections and decided to come back tree he uses at schools throughout the area. home to the place and people he knew. Josh feels he learns more from his kids Upon returning to Chico, Sam was looking than they could ever learn from him and for serenity, someway to help clear the enjoys their time together. He says their life “mind chatter” that kept him awake at night. is “centered on the real, the outdoors, and He and Josh reconnected after a decade the arts.” He’s always enjoyed writing and apart and Josh introduced him to meditation credits his Martin guitar, his best non-human as a way to calm and re-center himself. “A friend growing up, with motivating him to mountain of synchronicities landed [them] in continue writing throughout his life, in songs, this book journey together.” prose, and now in books. In his first book, Hey Tree, What Should I Sam grew up in Southern California and Be?, a child poses a question about what moved to Chico in the seventh grade. he wants to be when he grows up. The