October 7, 2016

 

Frieda Isbell was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She attended art school, married and began traveling to many different places. She lived in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, as well as Louisiana and many places in Texas, including San Antonio, Rosenberg, and Bryan/College Station. Her first husband attended medical school first in Mexico, then in Texas. They had two children.

 

In 1992, her husband died, and she was left to raise her young children and support her family. She went back to school and became an art teacher. She met and married Mike Isbell who she says is her best friend.

 

After receiving her teaching degree, Frieda taught for 11 years. Frieda loved teaching and really enjoyed the kids. She taught high school for six years, and then switched to elementary school for five years before she retired.

 

Don’t think for a minute that Frieda has been sitting at home twiddling her thumbs since retirement. No, she has been busier than ever. She creates gorgeous oil paintings. Some she has used as the subject of her earring line that she created by reducing the paintings to a small size. She is embarking on a new angel-themed portfolio.

 

And not only does Frieda draw, paint and create other works of art, she also writes! She is the author of a novel, titled Ice Angels. She is planning a sequel soon.

 

Frieda’s family likes to say she is crazy, of course in a fond way. She says she is the crazy artist aunt of her family. Her kids appreciate her cooking talents. She is an avid watcher of the TV show “Chopped,” and loves to throw unexpected ingredients together to create a new, delicious dish. She never cooks the same thing twice, loving the thrill of experimentation.

 

Frieda and Mike have been members of the church for four years. She remembers being most warmly welcomed by Vesta Ryan who brought cookies to her house when she first joined. Frieda likes best about Taylor FUMC, she replies emphatically, “The people.” She says that everyone has been really sweet to her and Mike.

 

Frieda wasn’t always Methodist. In fact, for many years, she was atheist. Her first mother-in-law, whom Frieda dearly loved, kept praying that Frieda would know God. One day, suddenly, Frieda had an experience she could only describe as an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. After that, she never doubted the presence of Jesus. She went to lots of churches, and looked for ones that matched Jesus’s teachings, one that was a refuge from the world, where everyone would accept each other as sisters and brothers. Her favorite hymn is “In the Garden” and she has a beautiful voice to match.

 

Despite the hard times in the past, Frieda has had a lot of fun in life. “Mike and I do a lot of laughing,” she says. They love to ride motorcycles, go with their family to Matagorda Bay, go snorkeling and horseback riding and have gone on several cruises to such places as Cancun, Cozumel and Hawaii. She still would like to go to Jamaica on a cruise, but on their Hawaii cruise, they got so sick that it is hard to get up the nerve to go on another cruise.

 

When you next see Frieda, be sure to ask her about her paintings and her book. There is sure to be a sequel coming out soon!

 

Written by Robin McKinley