Tad Jones

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The Edge of Creativity | Creative of the Month | Aiken Bella Magazine

The Edge of Creativity | Creative of the Month | July

“Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” ~ Pablo Picasso The theme of this month’s issue of Bella is youth, so this month I wanted to focus on young creatives as well as those creatives who are focusing on, working with, or inspiring the youth. As I prepared for this month’s story I came to an uncomfortable realization that there are not a lot of young creatives in my world. Sure there are a lot of young people in my life who are creative, but none that I know of that are considered “creatives” and certainly not a whole lot making a

From the Kitchen of… The Publishers

For me nothing says summer like being outside ‘grillin.’ We thought we would take the recipe page just once more time before we hand it over to a sponsor, so we could share these great recipes we have been experimenting with. Let me be the first to admit I am very biased about some aspects of grilling. I am not a fan of propane. For me, if you ain’t using large chunk natural charcoal you are just using a stove outside. Also, let me be clear that when I say charcoal I DO NOT mean those preform chemical chunks you get in a bag that typically have some sort of

Palmetto Bella: Letter from the Publisher

There is a scene in the 1981 Burt Reynolds movie Paternity in which he talks about watching a certain kid ride a bike along the top of a fence without ever falling. When will he fall? When he learns about gravity, and when some schmuck tells him he can’t ride on top of the fence without falling. I was only 11 when this movie came out, but I remember being struck by the truth of that statement even then. One of my favorite books discusses the domestication of humans, how we usher children into adulthood by teaching them all the things they cannot do, should not do, as adults. I

Publisher’s Letter

“Home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.” Cecelia Ahern The theme of this month’s Bella is expansion. You can find my partner’s editorial and perspective on the idea of expanding from Aiken to the surrounding area on page 3. My perspective on all this is different and in many ways opposite. My story and experience is one more of contraction than expansion. In my entire life I have never lived in any one location more than four years. I was born in southern Georgia and raised, for the most part, in central North Carolina. I was an Army brat and then spent 20 years in the Army. I have