Fire Threatens Local Art Gallery 
and STUDIO

It's been a while since I have blogged but over the past few months the studio has been undergoing a metamorphosis.  Actually, I guess it could be compared to a Phoenix rising out of the ashes......literally.  Most people who have visited the studio and gallery know that we have an apartment above us.  On March 15th, 2015, the apartment above A Creative Art STUDIO had a kitchen fire.  No one was home that day but I was told that the electric burner had been left on and a fire broke out in the kitchen.  We were lucky in so many ways in that we were open and were able to discover the fire, the fire department arrived very quickly and our damage was limited to some smoke, soot and water from the hoses.  All the water came down the middle of the building instead of down the walls which were covered with Denton's beautiful artwork.  In the beginning it was thought that we would only be closed a few days for repairs. but now a few days have turned into a few months.  My son was able to put together this video taken on the day of the fire.  Check it out.
Video:  Fire Threatens to destroy part of the Historic Denton Downtown area

We are extremely grateful to our wonderful Denton Fire Department and their quick response and measures that saved our art.

First Friday Denton "Girl Power"

July brought a fantastic First Friday Denton.  One of my favorite artist, Mick Burson, was the featured artist of the month.  His work is fresh and clean with a focus on the home.  Many of his works are done on wood panels with paint and stain and often looks like wood inlay.  Most of the work on exhibit is from his series "I should have stayed Home".   Our "Girl Power" Music was provided by Cassie Kidder and Julia Runge.  This was the first time they had performed at the studio.  Singer/songwriters are soulful performers and the crowd was not disappointed.  For our community art project we took to the sidewalks for chalk art.  Music, art and friends make a great combination for a Friday evening.

Music and Art Collide

On March 9th, 2013 we had an "On the Shoulders of 35", a music happening featuring the incredible music of local Denton.  Fritz Schwalm, leader of the group Uver, led the way creating a wonderful day of music and art.  We had nine bands play at the studio.  Did you miss this event?  Check out our photos of the fun evening.

Wassailfest and Holiday Lighting Festival, 2012

In Denton, Texas the holiday season is kicked off by the Holiday Lighting Festival which is held in the Downtown area.  The studio is located just off the square on Oak Street and nothing is more fun than to  deck the halls in the studio, make a large vat of Wassail and celebrate the season.  At this festival we featured the Denton High School orchestra  Ensemble.  Music filled the Gallery with the sound of the holidays and delicious Wassail was had by all.  What's my secret ingredient in my Wassail?  I'm not telling.

 

First Friday Denton, July 6th, 2012

July 4th was a very busy holiday week.  After a very special July 4th and Twilight Tunes community art project on July 5th on the historic downtown square, we had a wonderful First Friday event at A Creative Art STUDIO.   Music was kicked off by Unon Y Mous, a local guitar duo that features Will Frenkel and Andrew Wahlert.  Following Will and Andrew, Kylee Pannel, singer-songwriter, impressed the crowd with her beautiful voice.  Richard Haskins sung from the heart and wowed the crowd.  We had several artists demonstrating art techniques that they will be teaching in upcoming classes.  Ava Dunlap showed studio visitors how versatile hand built clay techniques could be.  Tina Alvarez, who is a trained touch drawing facilitor, demonstrated the technique that she will be teaching in August and Crystal Nelson took gelatin and showed how you could use it to make beautiful prints.  I love Volkswagons and so to continue the VW community painting theme, we painted a VW van using acrylic paints and sponges.  Both the bug painting and VW van painting will be used for the Main Street event, Arts, Autos and Antiques which is held on the Denton square in September.  Check out our photos!

A Creative Art STUDIO at Twilight Tunes, July 5, 2012 , Denton Texas

 Last Thursday Denton had the final Twilight Tunes performance on the square for the season.  This evening Lisa Markley, UNT graduate student, performed for the crowd.  We were asked to set up a community art project for the event so I decided since I love Volkswagens so much, the community painting would have a VW theme.  I drew the bug on some recycled plastic material and stretched it on cardboard and everyone used sponges to apply the paint.  The Denton Community Market was also set up with their wares along with other community minded businesses.  This was just a great event and lots of fun meeting new people.  Denton is one of six cities that has been nominated for the most fun city in the USA and I think it is events like this that make Denton so special.

First Friday with Lisa Markley and Bruce Balmer, May, 2012

 


First Friday Denton began in February, 2010.  On the first Friday of each month, A Creative Art STUDIO sponsors a free music and art evening for the community.  In May, 2012 songstress Lisa Markley and singer/songwriter and amazing guitarist, Bruce Balmer performed at the studio.  The weather was great so they performed out of doors in the back.  As the sun set, an incredible golden light filled the sky which did make for some interesting photos.  Storms surrounded the area and the crowd was able to see quite a light show from the lightning during the performance.  The great evening was  filled with art, nature, music and friends.

Jazzfest, Denton, Texas

Jazzfest is the big festival in Denton, Texas. Each year it is held in Quakertown Park the last weekend of April and brings incredible musicians to the city. (Of course, Denton is filled with many incredible musicians and I am lucky to have many of them play at the studio). They have several stages including the UNT stage which features the ever so talented University of North Texas students and the famous One o'clock jazz band. This year A Creative Art STUDIO decided to have a booth at the Jazzfest. Great music, nice weather and lots of art prevailed. I was located just outside the Civic Center and I am hoping I will get the same spot next year. Check out my booth pictures.

Beautiful Gift to the City of Denton

Last January we finally got to get a mural on the side of our building. Since opening the studio in 2009, I have always wanted a public piece of art that all could enjoy. Mick Burson, UNT student, artist and general all round wonderful person was the person to do it. With lots of paint, a very tall scaffold and nerves of steel for heights, Mick carefully primed, laid out the design and painted this incredible piece of art. His friend, Chris, wanted to learn from Mick about painting murals and was a great help through the whole project. The mural took three days to complete. (Did I mention that I thought that it would take a few weeks?). Watching Mick and Chris paint the mural was like watching dancers on the wall. As the colors unfolded I knew that this would be a gift to the City of Denton that many people would enjoy. Thank you Mick, Chris, Bill, Ann, Gi Gi and all who helped this dream become a reality.

Arts, Antiques and Auto Show, 2011

This past fall Denton Main Street hosted the Denton Arts, Antiques and Auto Show on the Square in Denton, Texas. Trophies were offered for the winners of certain classes of cars and I was asked to paint hubcaps as the trophies. This project at first was somewhat daunting but once I got started it was really a lot of fun. One of my favorite cars is a mustang so on one trophy I painted a classic red mustang and then on the other hubcap I painted an old model of an Olds. A Creative Art STUDIO also had a small booth on the Courthouse lawn and we set up a children's art station. We had a table where kids could make their own stamps and stamp art and work on a community painting. Even people's pets wanted to paint. Check out our pictures.

Painting on Yupo or "Going with the flow"

I love watercolor. Coming from a stained glass background and working with hard pieces of glass, I find so much satisfaction painting with watercolors and watching the colors flow. Like glass, I love the intensity of the colors when painting on Yupo paper. Yupo paper is a synthetic water-resistant paper that is made from recycled polypropylene pellets. That means that when used with watercolor, your paint will dry only by evaporation and there will be no absorption by your paper (as would be with regular watercolor paper). Painting on Yupo you can get some of the most intense colors and there is sometimes a feeling that the paint is really in control. In the recent watercolor class at the studio, the students painted on Yupo. Check out the pictures of the students and their paintings in progress. Lots of fun!

Creativity with Glass

Tiffany stained glass is a type of stained glass assembly that uses an adhesive copper foil and tin and lead solder. This July the Tiffany stained glass class met twice a week for three weeks. The first class the students made a small hummingbird suncatcher and the second class began their larger project of their choice. When the projects are complete, I will post photos of their beautiful work. Here a peek at the class and their projects in progress.

Bead Class

Recently I taught a class on basic beading at the studio. I have always loved beads and their beautiful bright colors remind me of stained glass. One great advantage of working with beads is that you have something portable to take with you where ever you go. In the first class of basic beading the students learned some basic wirework and beading techniques and made some beautiful beaded necklaces and earrings. Pictured are some of the students modeling their creations. In the second class students learned to make a bracelet using a basic wirework technique and a bracelet using stretchy cord. The secret in using stretchy cord is to tie a good knot and use a dot of glue on the knotted cord. The last class in the series involves making a pendant using collage and stained glass techniques. First the students created a small collage using paint and images, then sandwiched their creation between two pieces of glass using lead free solder. The pendants are reversable with an image on both sides. Lots of fun to make and wear.....Robin