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, 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!

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.

Lots of fun in Acrylic and Collage Class

The Acrylic and Collage class has come to an end but the students had lots of fun. Acrylic painting is a quick dry paint and perfect to use as a medium when doing a collage. Collages are fun to make but can be quite the serious art. If you were unable to make it to this class, keep an eye on the class calendar because it will be offered again after the holiday season. Check out what the students did in this class!

Acrylic and Collage Painting

Kerry Boutell is teaching an Acrylic and collage painting class at the studio and the students are having a lot of fun. Acrylic paint is a fast drying paint containing pigment suspended in acrylic polymer or plastic. Many of Kerry's paintings are Acrylic with collage and I think it is helpful to get to see the finished artwork of the teacher. There is no place better to paint than in a studio gallery with beautiful paintings. Check out the pictures of the class. The next class Kerry will teach will be a Day of the Dead, dia de muertos that begins in October.

Art Show

A Great time was had by all at the Sizzling Summer Art Show. We had a wonderful turnout and if you got to come, no doubt you got to enjoy the wonderful artwork from both our veteran and new artists. I think this is the best show yet. It was quite a spread with food provided by Sweet Basil, the artists and friends. Vanessa Helvey and David White kicked off the celebration with both cover songs and original songs written by Vanessa. The Boxcar Bandits then took the stage and performed an amazing set. Gotta love those Boxcar Bandits. A new addition to this opening was the opportunity to have your portrait done by Gregory Conlin and not only could you have your portrait done, but watch him in action. He will be back at our next First Friday in case you didn't get the opportunity to have your portrait sketched. Didn't get to come? Here are a few photos........Robin

Sizzling Summer Art Show

Wow, is all I have to say today about our Sizzling Summer Art Show. Yes, it is Sizzling somewhat outside. After all, it is Texas, but I have to admit our Summer Art Show is also a Sizzler. We are busy hanging our beautiful show and preparing for Saturday. Our artists have brought in beautiful works and we have added several new artists to our gallery since the last show and I think you will enjoy getting to see their work. Click HERE for a short article about our opening on Saturday. Since the information was given to the paper we have added several other new Artists. Crystal Nelson's beautiful collage works, the paintings of Mariko Frost who was featured in the Texas National, 2009, Jennifer Leigh Jones, who in 2009 was Awarded as being one of The New Dallas Nine Artist’s in D Magazine, and new artist Joshua Rackley. I am so looking forward to hearing Vanessa Helvey play and sing and tap my feet to the "have to love em " Boxcar Bandits.......Robin

First Friday May, 2010

I hope you got to stop by the studio to listen to Vanessa Helvey and David White last Friday. Performing many of her own songs, Vanessa "wowed" the group with her voice and guitar. David White plays an incredible guitar and mandolin and together the duo was definitely a crowd pleaser. If you didn't get to see them, they will be performing at Twilight tunes on the square tonight. We hope to have them back in the studio not too far in the future......Robin

Time and Nature

Last week the studio hosted the Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Exhibition by Greta Perea and Shannon Saxman. The front of the studio housed their beautiful works. Their show was a smashing success with great art, music and wonderful food. The show ran for three days and everyone that came in raved about their work! Missed it? Check out some of the pictures from the event....Robin

First Friday Denton, April, 2010

Each First Friday of the Month, our studio stays open late for those who would like to stop by for evening art viewing. This past Friday we had a wonderful evening of art with the sounds of Glen Farris in the studio. We had quite the crowd beginning around 6:00 pm and Glen began playing around 7:00. Glen plays the guitar, sings and plays the harmonica, and as his sounds filled the studio, smiles filled the faces of those listening. His music transcended the various ages of art and music lovers that were gathered and he even took requests.

Join us May 7th for First Friday Denton. We have a wonderful duo lined up to perform at the studio....Robin

Art Opening

Saturday we had our second art Opening. The studio looked beautiful and the new photography room was completed although I have to admit that paint was still being applied the night before. So many friends and patrons came out to support the studio. The music was great and we were so lucky to have such talented musicians perform as the Dana Isaac Trio along with Deke and Dana's daughter Tess. The Boxcar Bandits were outstanding as usual and you might notice in the picture that there is a Boxcar Bandit want-to-be. This art show exhibited the art of 24 artists and there was such a variety we are hoping that there was something of interest for everyone. If you didn't get to make it to the exhibit, stop by anytime between 12 and 6 pm Monday through Saturday and check out what we have been doing.......Robin

We are looking so forward to our art opening on Saturday. Today in the Denton Times a short article came out in the paper about the opening and our classes. On the internet site they did not post the pictures that were included in the Hard copy of the article so I will post them here. Life is good......Robin

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/entertainment/dentontime/stories/DRC_Art-spring_0325.1e152e9a9.html

Birthday Art Party Bash

We had lots of fun on Sunday in the Studio. A wonderful celebration for a very special young lady who turned 4 years old. We started the party off with drawing on cardstock and everyone created a drawing for the birthday girl. Lin led the party to the pile of pillows where birthday stories were read and then back to the table for painting on T shirts. Shirts weren't the only thing painted as you can see in the pictures. Carolyn did a great job with the facepainting. Bright colored cupcakes, pin the tail on the donkey..... who couldn't have a wonderful time. - Robin

Music Coming to A Creative Art STUDIO

On Saturday, March 13th, music makes it way to A Creative Art STUDIO. 4 acoustic groups will perform in the studio starting around 12 noon. This is a part of the NX35 conferette but we are not an official sponsor venue. I have gone to Myspace to check out those who are scheduled to perform and really liked what I heard. If you want a preview, you can check out the following:

Clint Niosi - http://www.myspace.com/clintniosi
Lalagray - http://www.myspace.com/ashleymyrick
Early Birds - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Early-Birds/266060173685?ref=ts
Wheeler Sparks - http://www.myspace.com/wheelersparks

Stop by if you can. From what I understand you will not need a wristband. We are getting ready for a very busy and exciting time next week. Hope to see you there.

Austin Artist

Today I thought I would feature one of our Artists, Robin Lind. Robin currently lives in Austin and and makes the most beautiful jewelry. Many designs have an ethnic flair which reflects her love for travel and other cultures. Robin works with both silver and gold and many of her designs use unusual stones such as fossilized coral or dinosaur bone as well as semi precious and precious stones. I think I will let the pictures of her work speak for themselves.........Robin H.

It's Snow Shoveling Time!

What a wonderful snow. I had to post some pictures of the studio in the snow and share this story. Needing to shovel snow in Texas is quite the rare occasion and after borrowing a shovel and broom I headed up to the studio to clear the sidewalk. Brrrrr. I was making pretty poor progress when a very nice wandering minstrel stopped by and said that he would be able to help me. No sooner than he spoke another guy rode up on his bike and said that he would shovel because he had grown up in Minnesota and this snow was no big deal. The younger man began shoveling like crazy, the minstrel retrieved the guitar on his back and proceeded to belt out a variety of tunes to entertain us as we worked. Singing, shoveling, and sweeping the snow away from the sidewalk, we got the job done. Passerbys waved and laughed as they saw us. It was one of those spontaneous moments that happens rarely but beautifully. It was a good day.........Robin

Valentine Gifts

I was looking around the studio today and realized that we would be a great place to look for that one of a kind valentine gift. Original artwork, jewelry, pottery or a gift certificate for an art class could be the perfect gift for your valentine. A few weeks ago I took the Watercolor Batik class and made some beautiful original batiks. These were used to make the printed valentines that you see one of the pictures along with some handmade jewelry and pottery. The second picture shows a pair of earrings made by Robin Lind which I thought would be especially beautiful as a gift. How could you go wrong with handcrafted sterling silver heart earrings? ...... Robin