Marla Jensen is a singer/songwriter, and hairstylist. She recently opened Red Boutique Salon and Spa on Main Street in Elgin. Her first love may have been music but she has a real talent for making women look and feel beautiful.
Full disclosure, she my favorite hair stylist of all time.
1. Why did you move to Elgin?
I moved to Elgin to be near my former husband’s family, and because we found a neighborhood and home we could afford.
2. What compels you to spend time creating?
I love creating music. It allows me to express my deepest feelings that are difficult to speak. I love writing music that others can identify with or feel moved by. Inspiring others moves me the most.
3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.
1. I am much stronger and smarter than I ever thought and am putting those virtues to use.
2. I am in control of my life.
3. Love is alive and here by me.
4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?
I am currently studying the mysteries of promoting myself on social media, specifically regarding Instagram. I listen to podcasts by Rachel Hollis, who interviews entrepreneurs constantly, and Jasmine Star who is an Instagram genius.
5. Cake or Pie?
Lemon Meringue Pie (from Lucy’s) and Chocolate Cake… so both! Haha
Brooke Vega is a stained glass artist and recently launched her brand Home Again Glassworks. Her colorful work includes the vibrant spectrum of the natural world, and also her penchant for music from the Seventies.
1. Why did you move to Elgin?
Being from Taylor, TX, I never thought I’d be living near “home”. I grew up coming to Elgin all the time when I was a girl with my grandma ‘Cha-Cha’, who was a hairdresser at “Jerry’s Salon” which is where the Tattered Shutter is now. Over my summer breaks I would come with my grandma to work while she’d watch me. There wasn’t a lot going on in Elgin back then; I’d run around dollar general, paint my nails or find something to do in the salon. Well, here I am living in Elgin, my partner and I moved here a little over a year ago. We had friends living in town, and I also wanted to be closer to my family. Thinking back to when I was in college, if someone where to ask me where I’d picture myself living in my mid-twenties, Elgin probably wouldn’t have been on my list. Life is funny. I love being here and living the small town life.
2. What compels you to spend time creating?
I work the typical 8-5 job, sitting at a desk all day makes me really antsy so I can’t wait to get home to resume my projects. But in general, creating really eases my mind and gives me something to look forward to. I have to keep my hands busy which is why I have a ton of projects I’m working on; if I think of something I’d like to do, I’ll usually start on it or at least put it on pen and paper so I don’t forget
3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.
If it won’t matter in a week, a year, etc. is it worth being mad or upset over it?
GO FOR IT! Nobody is stopping you from doing what you want.
Being a Pisces I’ve always been pretty intuitive, I’ve learned to stick with my gut feelings and be more true to myself.
4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?
I have several stained glass projects I’m working on right now, to name a few: restoring an antique window, a big ol butterfly, an Allman Brothers suncatcher, a swag-light lantern and a mushroom series. I’ve been watching Seinfeld, The Brady Bunch and Anne with an E (which I am completely obsessed with and highly recommend). I listen to music from the 60s and 70s, I love finding out about bands that weren’t very well known. Lately I have been listening to a lot of Carole King, George Harrison and Jefferson Airplane.
5. Cake or Pie?
Can I say neither? I am more of a gummy/sour candy kind of gal. Don’t take me to a candy shop…
Margie Crisp is an artist and writer. Her love of birds, rivers, and conservation our evident in her work which includes painting, printmaking and books about Texas Rivers.
She earned a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband, artist William B. Montgomery, live in Elgin.
Cardinal with Turquoise Watercolor
1. Why did you move to Elgin?
Bill and I moved to Elgin in 1992. We were in Austin living and working in a duplex and we both needed more studio space. We naturally gravitated towards Bastrop County since I had family out here (my sister Frances Sharp has Youngs’ Prairie Dairy, a Grade A raw goat milk dairy) and Bill is from east Texas and I’m from Louisiana. We were driving back from Arizona and made a list of everything we wanted: 15+ acres, big trees, ponds, barn, bathtub big enough for two, house that didn’t need remodeling, screen porch, and a big black dog. We were driving near my sister’s house a couple weeks later and saw a for sale sign. I called and the realtor read off a list that included nearly everything on our list. The first time we visited the house, a big black dog came running up to greet us—T-dog belonged to the tenants and ended up staying with us when we bought the house. So we got everything we’d dreamed of (except a screen porch).
Punk Kingfisher (Belted) Mixed media on panel
2. What compels you to spend time creating?
Mental health. Really, if I don’t create—whether it is painting, drawing, cooking, or writing—I get a little wacko and depressed. It keeps me sane. It isn’t always easy, I believe that creativity comes from a place of honesty and self-awareness. If I’m working on something that brings up grief or a sense of loss, I have to balance it with work that brings joy and hope.
Indigo Bunting and Beauty Berry Egg Tempera with 24k gold leaf on panel
3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.
Three things? Okay, I’ve learned that most of us have more in common than we realize and if we can reach those common issues, the rest can fall away. The second thing I’ve learned is that farmers and ranchers hold the future of conservation. The lands and ecosystems we need to conserve to save migratory birds, pollinators, and other creatures is privately owned. If we don’t find a way to collaborate and find common ground, we will all lose out.
And if this pandemic has taught me one thing, it is that my friends are the most important thing in the world. Even more so than chocolate.
Oh, and John James Audubon loved to eat birds (every kind of bird from sparrows to whooping cranes), bragged about shooting birds, and was, in addition to being a fantastic artist and naturalist, kind of a jerk.
Edge of the World Hand colored linocut
4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?
I’m reading a series by a Texas author Miles Arceneaux who is actually three guys writing together. The mysteries all take place on the Texas coast and are entirely enjoyable escapism. For serious stuff I spend my days reading reports, studies, and historical information about migratory birds for a book I’m working on. While I’m writing I listen to a lot of Baroque chamber music. When I’m making art, my go-to is modern bluegrass and folk music.
Aransas I & II Hand colored Linocut
5. Cake or Pie?
Cake or pie? Do I have to choose? Can I have a little slice of both? Please?
Bean & Noodle 