Living the life in the mountains

Provided.

Jessica Jones is happily living in Tehachapi with her partner and two dogs.

Tehachapi tends to enchant visitors and inspire them to call this mountain town home.

For Jessica Jones and her family, Tehachapi ignited a passion that has burned for more than three decades. Jessica's grandparents, Don and Carrol Jones, built a ranch in 1989 on Jack Springs Road and lovingly dubbed it "Old Fart Ranch." Don stayed busy constructing buildings in Tehachapi, such as Mountain Bible Church. Jessica spent her childhood tending to horses, chasing hogs and picking apples. Some of her fondest memories are of attending Mountain Festival and Tehachapi rodeos. While her parents didn't live in Tehachapi, they would visit often, always making sure to enjoy the slower pace of mountain living.

Jessica has always had an artistic eye and talent for creating with acrylic paints, watercolors or Prismacolor pens and pencils. Whenever there has been a contest, she has entered. With every contest, she has learned more about her craft. Out of high school, she learned that she also enjoyed event planning and all aspects of design, including interior, floral and event design. Life carried her further from Tehachapi, but she made a point to visit as often as she could.

In 2012, Don Jones passed away. While Jessica still visited and brought her friends up, it wasn't until 2023 when she and her partner Adam, along with their two dogs, Sallie and Lee Roy, decided to make Tehachapi home. She immediately immersed herself in the community and began working for the Tehachapi Flower Shop, using her skills to create beautiful bouquets and helping people plan their celebrations. She began making goals to raise chickens and collect fresh eggs each day, and pull out her works of art and build on her collection.

Be sure to look for this year's winning artwork on Mountain Festival merchandise.

It was a snowy winter day when Jessica saw an invitation to submit artwork for the 2024 Mountain Festival theme contest. Jessica was inspired to pay homage to her grandfather and their shared love for Tehachapi by including a horseshoe and apple blossoms in the work. She was also inspired by vintage stamps that seemed to capture the essence of a destination in a single miniature scene. Jessica got to work crafting her own vintage stamp representation of the Tehachapi she grew up with and its iconic festival.

Among the many beautiful works that were submitted during the contest, Jessica's piece was chosen. She was elated. Look for her work printed on 2024 Mountain Festival Merchandise, available in the coming weeks. Jessica will have multiple works available to view at the Philip Marx Central Park gazebo during the Mountain Festival on Aug. 17 and 18.

Clare Scotti is the Executive Director of the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce.