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Art, Entertainment & Lifestyle
Autumn - 2016

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Jayme H. Mansfield

“The sound of a passing car running throughout these
brought me back to the present, endeavors was always writing.
and I blinked away the tears. As
long as I lived, I would never forget Jayme says, “I never thought,
that terrible day and the surge of ‘I want to write a book and be
panic that hit me like a crashing a published author’ but I found
wave. Beginning at my toes, it ran out how much I loved writing
up my legs and into my stomach, after taking the classes and then
until it grabbed my heart. That’s it became this personal journey.”
when I gasped for air, grabbed my Traveling to the Provence
paintings, and went in search of my region of France inspired her
mother.” but the death of her father and
some troubles in her marriage
“But it was too late.” compelled her to pour out her
This is just one of the many arresting passages in Jayme feelings on the page. Although neither of these events are a
H. Mansfield’s debut novel, Chasing the Butterfly. The novel part of her book, Jayme says, “The feelings of loneliness and
is set in a vineyard in Roussillon, France, an area known isolation were what was happening at the time. I made a deal
for its magnificent high cliffs, ochre quarries and vivid blue with God. Help me finish this book and I will release my
Provencal skies so it’s no wonder that this artist-turned- feelings and be able to move forward.” The cathartic process
author was inspired by her travels there. caused her to burst into tears as she completed the final edits
I first met Jayme in her South Lakewood art studio, Piggy and her dog Gracie, her constant writing companion, died the
Toes Art Instruction after enjoying an art class with friends same night she sent the book to her editor.
in April. The studio is actually a charming cottage across the Her mentor, author DiAnn Mills, recognized a burgeoning
driveway from the beautiful home she shares with husband talent and a writer with a unique depth and devotion to her
James, her three sons: Ian, Adam and Graham and her playful characters. She knew that the story could inspire others too
Golden Retriever, Bella. As the evening was winding down, and that’s when doors began to fly open. After placing in the
I wandered over to the corner to look more closely at the top ten of a first novelists contest, she got an agent and then
beautiful painting that hung on the wall of a butterfly flitting the agent found a publisher. So what began as short vignettes
through a field of red-orange poppies in a writing class became, five years later, the book Chasing the
I soon learned that the painting, by Jayme’s long time artist Butterfly.
friend Kelly Berger, served as the cover of her new book. As an elementary and high school art teacher for twenty
Within our short conversation that night, I realized I had years, Jayme decided that the 2015-2016 school year would be
a lot in common with her. As an aspiring writer and artist her last. Her last teaching stint was three years at the private
myself, I wanted to know how she became an award-winning Aspen Academy in Greenwood Village where she taught both
published author. art and language arts. It was there she taught her students
Jayme said her journey as a writer began when she how to express themselves creatively both on the canvas and
was unexpectedly let go from a job. Years ago, when she the page.
moved to her current home in Lakewood, nearby Red Now as a retiree, Jayme shared with me that she will
Rocks Elementary said they were in desperate need of a continue to express herself on the page with two forthcoming
Kindergarten teacher. Jayme hadn’t really planned on books. One will be based on the fascinating true story of her
teaching that year but her son would be in her class so she great-great grandmother whose husband left her and a young
agreed. The day before school was to start she was decorating son in Missouri to find gold in the hills above Cripple Creek,
her classroom and was told that the attendance numbers had Colorado. Deciding that she couldn’t depend on such an
come in too low and they wouldn’t need her after all. “Last impulsive mate, she leaves her son temporarily with a relative
hired, first fired,” Jayme said. and sets out for Oklahoma, alone on horseback to stake a
Suddenly, she had time on her hands. With all three of claim on 160 acres during the land rush of 1893.
her boys now in school, she enrolled in a writing course The other book will be a novel, but based on a true story,
through the recently shuddered Christian Writer’s Guild in about how Jayme’s mother found love again through an
Colorado Springs. The four-year course taught her the basics online dating site after the death of her longtime husband.
of storytelling and character development. Prior to taking the In addition to writing, Jayme has plans to expand the
course, she received an undergraduate degree in Journalism, offerings at Piggy Toes. She’ll continue ladies art and wine
worked in advertising, got a teaching degree at DU, then nights and kids’ classes but says she’d like to offer couples’ art
a Creative Arts degree and realized the common thread instruction, open studio time for other artists and a place for

24 JeffCo Living • Autumn 2016 • www.JeffCoLiving.com

groups to knit or scrapbook too. She says, “As much as Piggy satisfying palette – life in motion-life as a verb. Come mix the
Toes has been about visual arts, really its purpose is where palette with me!”
people can come together to create.”
If you’d like to mix the palette with Jayme, visit her website
As Jayme’s website says, “Author. Educator. Artist. – Write. www.piggytoes.com to learn more about upcoming events at
Teach. Paint. I count myself fortunate to intimately know the studio and information about her forthcoming books
these nouns – three little words. But set them in motion, too. Chasing the Butterfly is available for purchase at
change them into verbs…write, teach, paint, then life is a Amazon.com. ­
— Lisa Langley

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