Dezso-Jones knew early-on she was an artist

Apr. 20—Ell Dezso-Jones recalls growing up knowing she'd be an artist.

"I enjoyed art," she said. "I started doing commissions in elementary school for milk money, little drawings of Pokemon or animals for quarters, it was a lucrative business."

She said she plied her trade at schools in Hawaii and Texas.

"I had military parents," Dezso-Jones said. "I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Then we moved to Hawaii, then lived in barracks on Oahu for a while, then lived in Converse, Texas, which is near San Antonio."

While attending Fort Gibson High, she studied graphic art at Indian Capital Technology Center. That helped land her a job at Advantage Controls.

"I do ad designs, and a lot is documentation, manuals and data sheets," Dezso-Jones said. "If someone can provide the information, I can present it in a way that's legible but also pretty. Lots of diagrams, wiring. I usually have engineers provide the drawing. I enjoy it because it's my day job."

She said she enjoys doing logos for people.

"It's something I can hyper-focus on," she said. "It's relaxing."

She keeps up with her art when she gets home. She and her husband have painted banners for Muskogee Azalea Festival, Symphony in the Park and the Eastern Oklahoma Spelling Bee.

Dezso-Jones said she began running in 2021, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I went through a burnout with art," she said. "Art had been my therapy, I was really burnt out on it. I worked out but I never thought about running."

She said she began running with her mother, who had been running since junior high. Dezso-Jones worked her way up to doing half-marathons, but really likes trail running.

She also has plants to tend to at home — more than 30 potted plants inside and on her porch.

Dezso-Jones and her husband live along a greenbelt near Elliott Park.

"We've seen some deer," she said. "Coyotes. We don't see them, but we hear them all the time, Anytime there is a siren, which is often, the coyotes go crazy. Squirrels, some woodchucks that live probably under the shed.

Varied genres inspire artwork

Ell Dezso-Jones delves into a variety of subjects with her art.

Photographs are one inspiration. She did a painting from a photo of five grazing deer.

"I kind of embellished it with the flowers and everything," she said.

Another, featuring a flock of blackface sheep with glowing eyes, sold at a recent Muskogee Art Guild event. She said a German photographer took the original.

She painted a friend's to-go mug.

"I asked what she wanted, and she said 'whatever you want,' and that's like the worst thing to tell me," Dezso-Jones said. "So I painted a bunch of rats. If you spin it, it kind looks like they're dancing."

Dezso-Jones also draws with pen and ink.

"One of my favorite things to do each year is an art prompt called Inktober," she said. "Each year they give you 31 words prompts, one for each day."

Some of her art was inspired by Lord of the Rings. One was inspired by Aesop's fables.

"The Fox, the Crow and the Cheese," she said. "But I made it with cookies, because I thought it would be more fun to draw," she said. "I'm a big sci-fi fan, so I love 'Dune.'"

Potted plants take up time

Dezso-Jones has dozens of potted plants inside and outside.

"I counted, I'd say it's in the 40s," she said. "Every other weekend, I'll spend an hour or two upkeeping them, watering them."

She got many, including a palm plant and a mandevilla, through the group Muskogee Plant Moms.

"Usually in March, they'll have plant swaps ," she said. "I actually brought a lot of my clippings of my stuff. My succulents and cacti had children and I was trying to pawn them off."

A large pineapple plant came from the grocery store.

"I just went to the grocery store and bought a pineapple," she said. "We ate the fruit and cut off the top and we've had it for three years."

One plant yields jalapeño peppers, another pepper plant is more challenging.

Dezso-Jones also has a pear tree in her yard.

"When it starts producing in the fall, all the critters come, and we get crows, squirrels, woodchucks," she said, adding that the tree yields delicious pears.

"We have to give them away because there's so many," she said.

Running improves mind and body

Dezso-Jones said running is good for her mental health.

"While I'm running, it kind of stinks," she said. "But the accomplishment you feel when you finish, just the endorphins are good for you."

She has worked up to doing half-marathons. She also has done duathlons, which involve running and cycling, and triathlons, which involved running, cycling and swimming. Medals from her events hang on a wall.

Dezso Jones also likes trail running.

"It's a lot more scenic and you get into nature," she said. "The downside is that there are a lot more trip hazards. It makes things go faster because you are so absorbed in not falling on your face."

She said her mother also runs long distances.

"I'll usually meet up with my mom because she's my running buddy and we'll run three-ish miles twice a week," she said. "Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll go and meet her after work."

Dezso Jones said they have run the Chouteau trail near Fort Gibson and the Three Forks Trail along the Arkansas River.

"On weekends, we'll do longer runs, six and 10 miles on the weekends," she said.

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"Job, friends, community. We go to church here, the Art Guild is here. That's our primary area. We like being with the art guild, doing stuff in town."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"I think it has a neat history. It's really interesting knowing that history. There are a lot of neat community things. I like parades. There's a whole bunch of things in April. Todd and I both did banners for the Azalea Festival. The Parks and Rec does a lot of stuff — runs and a lot of art stuff."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"There's a lot of division in the community, and I would like to see less of that. I think that's why I like events, where people of different walks of life come together."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"I appreciate my graphic design teacher at vo-tech, Cheryl Miller. I wouldn't have the job I have without her. I really enjoyed having her. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have the job I've had for seven years. and David Holden, he's my office mate at Advantage. If I were to be stuck in an office for eight hours a day, I couldn't ask for a better coworker."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"My husband and I got married in the back yard. The mayor, Marlon Coleman, officiated us. We built an arbor. There is a greenbelt and a road back there. It was really wonderful."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I like to do some painting. I have a lot on the walls. Our weekends are either running, or working on something."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"There's a lot of neat history and there's a lot of tradition."