FIVE SPECIAL LETTERS TO TELL YOU WHY I WRITE BY ALIX JO RYAN

A letter to a new penpal, stuffed with thought in picture and script.

A dormant friendship re-awakened!

A letter from my cousin, sent to my university dorm.

She was 11, I was 17.

Now, 11 years later, I write to her at her university apartment.

She is 22, I am 28. Together we grow.

A letter from my grandma,

who lives across a state border,

a national border,

a mountain range

and a valley.

She wrote in the shape of the quilt she was figuring out, to help her think in blocks of color.

A letter from my friend Jade.

Abstracted, blown up, and framed, it hangs on the wall above my secretary where I write letters. An invitation.

A letter from my dear Beetle, who keeps me young and curious, and is full of good questions, bright ideas and a seemingly endless amount of love.

Alix Jo Ryan is an artist living in Portland, Or

View more of her letter writing, collage, and painting practice @alixjoryan and www.alixryan.com