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Jessica Laskey

Journalist

About This Author

Jessica Laskey is a freelance writer and professional actress who has lived and worked in Sacramento, San Francisco, Dallas, New York City and Paris. She is also the co-founder of Theater Galatea and Indomita Press.

Articles by this author

Experience Counts

A close-up of musician Nina Simone is captured in blue, black, gray and white acrylic paint. Her face is surrounded by a large black letter “N.” Etched into the glass frame is “WORD.”

Artist Michael Stevenson created this piece for his 2015 exhibition “Civil Rights Civil Wrongs” at University of Texas. Personal experiences were the inspiration.

“My nephews were throwing the N word around very casually,” says Stevenson, a graphic designer raised in Nashville. “It’s a hip thing to do, but once you’re starting to have kids, you think about the history of the word and how hurtful and demeaning it is. So, I took on the N word. Nina Simone fought so hard to eliminate this word. Now my N word is Nina.”

Out And About March 2025

Find out what is going on in Sacramento during the month of March!

Late Bloomer

David Sobon, who founded Wide Open Walls mural festival, has something special on his own walls.

“As I gaze at two of my Norma Roos paintings in my living room, I see something different every time I spend time with them,” Sobon says. “The passion, emotion and skill that she has in her abstract work just boggles my mind.”

Sobon is not alone. Roos, 88, is having commercial succcess with art that’s lived in her soul since childhood. Her abstract paintings sold fast in two solo shows at Twisted Track Gallery on R Street.

Air Born

Kat Boston loves to defy gravity. The high-flying athlete has been an aerialist since 2012 when she sought a new way to stay fit. Her sport involves yoga-style movements in the air, using silks, hoops, hammocks or ropes.

“I have a background in Olympic weightlifting and Crossfit, but I kept getting injured,” Boston says. “I needed something different for my body and I was looking for a creative outlet. I stumbled on an aerial class and was instantly hooked.”

Boston is always up for a challenge, which is why she loves aerial performance and the fire service. She became a firefighter in 2006.

Treasure Hunter

If you’ve ever lost something on the American River, Karl Bly can help find it.

The kayaker and founder of American River Lost & Found made it his mission to reunite owners with items lost in the currents. It’s his obsession.

“My dad introduced me to the river,” Bly says. “He would go out diving and I would kayak or canoe above him and follow his bubbles around. By the time I was 6 or 7 years old, I could paddle a boat.