Maryetta Jacques
Maryetta was born in Palo Alto, CA
Maryetta Jacques grew up in Palo Alto, California where her Mom and Dad met when they were 15 and 17 years old, respectively.
Her parents moved to Ashland, OR when she was very young.
They wanted to lead a calmer life that included a house and garden.
Shortly after Maryetta was born, however, her parents moved the family up to Ashland, Oregon to start a quieter life. There, her family built their house and started a wonderful garden. Gardening would be a constant theme in Maryetta's life.
She has one sister, Emily, who is a country singer.
She has a sister, Emily, who is a country singer that traveled to Nashville and was a finalist in a contest to open for Kenny Chesney back in Portland.
Mom teaches special education.
Dad is a longer story but in short, an artist.
Her mother was a special education teacher and her father an artist. Eventually her parents would separate.
Maryetta went to Portland State University when she was 18 years old.
Her undergraduate studies were in Sociology and Psychology and art classes.
When she was 18 Maryetta went to Portland State with a good-sized chunk of scholarship money. At school she studied psychology and sociology. She graduated with her bachelors, but would eventually go back in 2006 and get her MFA.
Maryetta got a MFA at Portland State University in 2006.
Her concentration is painting, but has been drawn to sculpture. Sculpture articulates her ideas better, sometimes. She feels that she took a lot out of Graduate school. She also feels that Graduate school took some of her joy and enthusiasm out of her creating. She wants to get back in making more art.
She met her husband Matt in a Painting class at PSU.
She dressed in uncomfortable clothes to get his attention.
During her time at Portland State she met her future husband, Matt. They met in a painting class and it was love at first sight. Maryetta recalls wearing some pretty uncomfortable clothes to their three hour studio class just to catch his attention.
She told her friend she was going to marry him before they ever dated.
It took four years for them to finally go on a date together.
She even commented to a friend that she'd met the man she was going to marry. Their paths crossed over the next four years until eventually a friend set them up.
They moved to Seattle after they finished undergraduate school.
They had an apartment near Pike Place Market.
Getting fresh food at the market everyday got her interested in growing food.
Maryetta moved up to Seattle, where Matt was going to graduate school, in order to be with him. She loved the fresh start and big city life, it was a chance for her to explore and learn. Living in close proximity to Pike Place Market, getting fresh produce daily, and just seeing the level of community involvement and interaction renewed Maryetta's interest in gardening. The experience was something she would take with her back to Portland after Matt went to Mexico briefly to finish up his grad work.
Maryetta moved back to Portland.
The house they live in now, on NE 15th, Matt had already bought when they met.
She was grossed out by it and wanted him to sell.
She is happy they didn’t.
Matt had been fixing up the place they live in now in NE Portland since they had met, and they decided to move there after their stint Seattle. The house was definitely a fixer-upper, but after some persistence and hard work she and Matt turned into their own nest.
Maryetta and Matt have a lovely garden and backyard.
It is in constant evolution.
It used to be covered in blackberry bushes.
They did everything themselves.
They have four chickens.
The legal limit of chickens in the city is three.
A man peed his name on the sidewalk once when she was hosting a dinner.
The neighborhood, however, initially left much to be desired. Maryetta once even saw a man walking down the street peeing his name on the sidewalk.
The empty lot next door used to belong to the neighbors.
Maryetta started a community garden and art gathering space there.
As fortune would have it, eventually a vacant lot right next to their house fell into their possession. They purchased it from a couple who needed help with medical expenses for their son. Maryetta and Matt incorporated it into their property and soon she she turned the garden into a community art space and growing space.
Maryetta and Matt have a daughter named Sophia.
Maryetta feels that she appreciates life a lot more because of Sophia.
She and Matt's life would change again with the addition of their daughter, Sophia. Having a child, she says, opened her eyes again. Her daughter has really made her appreciate life.
She likes to ride her bike with Sophia on the back.
People drive too fast down 15th Ave.
Her cat got out and was run over.
Raising a child in the Alberta neighborhood is great, she says, because there are plenty of parks and places she can bike Sophia to. Her one complaint, however, is that the neighborhood can be on the noisy side at times, and people drive too fast.
They started a business.
Matt started his own company, QuarterTwenty, where he does design build work. Maryetta gets to use her gardening and landscape designs. Maryetta is thrilled to see her husband follow his dreams and make strides toward his goals. She admits that at times it's been hard financially, but to her it's alright as long as they're happy.
Once she saved people from a house fire.
She broke down the door of the house next door.
She had to wake up her neighbors because they passed out from smoke inhalation.
One of her most harrowing ordeals in the neighborhood involved the house next door to them catching on fire. At the time, her husband was on the coast working on a project and their daughter was only three weeks old. She was awake, luckily, late that night (or early that morning if you like) nursing her daughter. Suddenly she thought she smelled smoke. Looking out the window, she saw flames coming out the back of the neighbor's house. Tucking in Sophia into bed, she called 911 and ran over to the house. She got no response, so she kicked down the door and managed to get everyone out to safety. Heading back home she shut all of her windows and stayed with Sophia in the basement to escape the fumes of the fire. The news called her a “hero mom�? and did a story on her.
Since her daughter is growing, she wants to concentrate on her personal endeavors as an artist.
She hopes that people in the Alberta neighborhood will continue to take risks.
She wants to see a community garden space again.
She likes to look out her window and see something beautiful.
Maryetta would like to get back to her art and start focusing on herself again, now that her daughter is getting older and more independent. She says she would like to see another community gardening and gather space again, a place where the community can interact. She also wants the area to maintain its diversity and beauty.
All Drawings by Alison Lutz
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Maryetta and her pride and joy, Sohpia.
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Maryetta, her husband Matt, and daughter Sophia.
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Chickens!
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The lovely garden Maryetta created using the vacant lot.