The Deep Ellum News

Welcome… to your newly renovated and most talked about dog park. This artistically beautified park will redefine your time in the grass with your own personal downtown Dallas backyard.

Deep Ellum’s latest and greatest beautification project:

On August 26th, 2011, The Deep Ellum Foundation unveiled the project that commissioned over 25 of Dallas’ most talented and amazing artists to muralize the pillars within our famous and most beloved dog park. The murals adorn all the TXDOT highway pillars within the dog park under I‐75 along Good Latimer Expressway, between Canton Street and Commerce Street. The mural images on the pillars are eleven feet high and represent the unique work of local mural artists. This addition to the ever growing permanent artwork collection within the Dallas community also includes a “memorial wall” adorned with a little piece of Dallas residents’ personal relationships with their four-legged friends. Over 25 Dallas dogs had loving owners that donated to the Bark Park project in order to have their portraits muralized on the brand new memorial wall, thus making their beloved animals a little piece of Dallas history.

The opening event featured the world famous Pam Martin with her trick performing and freestyle dancing pups, the ever-loved DJ Ez Eddie D, one of Circus Freaks most gifted light spinners, and many more. Hors d’oeuvres were catered by The Mad Hatter Café, drinks served by the fresh and fabulous Holy Kombucha, and desserts for both owners and their pups by the ever so decadent Candelaria’s Bakery.

“I feel so lucky to be part of Deep Ellum. The longer I live here, the more things that are happening. The pillars are looking great. Can’t wait to see the finished product,” said Richard Blackburn. Richard is just one of the 8,000+ fans on the Official Deep Ellum Facebook Page. Pillar Park, part of the Deep Ellum Beautification Project, is just one of the many ways that The Deep Ellum Foundation is working to leave its mark on the neighborhood.

A group effort

Working side-by-side with the City of Dallas and sponsored by Glidden Professional, The Deep Ellum Foundation plans to add murals to forty-eight of the TXDOT highway pillars under I‐75 along Good Latimer Expressway, Canton Street, and Commerce Street. Thirty of these pillars have already been completed to make up Pillar Park. The mural images on the pillars are eleven feet high and represent the unique work of local mural artists.

volunteers priming the pillars

Frank Campagna, owner of Kettle Art Gallery, was contracted to spearhead the project. Frank Campagna is a prominent name in the Deep Ellum community. Not only does he own Kettle Art, but he also is part of the Deep Ellum Community Association, as well as the Deep Ellum Enrichment Project, and he has painted an unrivaled number of murals throughout the neighborhood.

Richard Ross

Gathered at Kettle Art Gallery for an open call for artists, Frank finally cut down the list to eleven people, including himself. The plan was to paint twenty of the pillars to look like trees, and then each artist would receive a pillar to adopt as their own creation. On September 11th, all of the artists gathered to begin an assembly line for the tree murals, each artist adding their own personal touch. Throughout the week, the individual murals were completed.

Dallas Police Officer Cat Lafitte

A Dallas Police Officer that is also a mural artist? Yep. Cat Lafitte, our own neighborhood Dallas Police Officer is also a recognized local artist. The Dallas Police Department sponsored a pillar that welcomes drivers as they pass under the freeway and enter the Deep Ellum neighborhood.

Group Effort

“It’s incredible to see how this neighborhood really comes together whenever we have a new project. I couldn’t ask for better community involvement. I’m very pleased with the outcome of Pillar Park, and we’ve only just begun,” says Barry Annino, President of the Deep Ellum Foundation. Today one can drive or walk through Pillar Park and not be surrounded by overbearing cement columns, but be encompassed by the unique artwork that we all know and love about Deep Ellum.

Pillar Park Artists: Frank Campagna, Tyson Summers, Dan Colcer, Judith Lea Perkins, Clint Scism, Isaac Davies, Jerod Davies, Richard Ross, Jose Sparks Ramirez, Amber Campagna, and Cat Lafitte.

Sponsors
Deep Ellum Foundation
Glidden Professional Paint
Deep Ellum Community Association
Deep Ellum Enrichment Project

by Tressie Knowlton

“I never wanna leave this place!” exclaimed one young art student to his teacher.  He clung to his painting and the comics he had drawn as he walked out the door of the Deep Ellum Community Center on Friday.

About a hundred other students most likely made similar comments and had great memories to share, along with their new artwork, after the second-ever ArtLoveMagic Youth Workshop.  The Deep Ellum Foundation teamed up with ArtLoveMagic to offer a fun, interactive art experience to Dallas-area youth July 24th.

The workshop started with the younger bunch. Sixty 6-12 year olds showed up full of energy and ready to be entertained.  Yikes!  But, we were ready.  At the pottery station, Conner Muldoon had the wheel spinning and enough “mud” to get all of the kids nice and dirty.  The hands-on experience molding the clay had them all screaming with delight.

Mike and I welcoming kids to the workshop

Mike Lagocki acted as host and tour guide while the groups of children flowed through the workshop stations learning art techniques and creating side-by-side ArtLoveMagic’s professional mentors.  Graffiti art with Isaac Davies and Deep Ellum muralist icon, Frank Campagna, received rave reviews from the youngsters!  Deb Driscoll and Melody Hay introduced mixed-media artwork through Melody’s signature subject: trees.

Melody and a volunteer teaching painting

“Thank you.  Thank you so much,” said Monica as she shook my hand.  She had come to pick up her son.  He isn’t a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas or Arlington’s SafeHaven, like the other kids who enjoyed the workshop.  Juan is a 9-year-old local boy looking for art opportunities.  Monica, a single working mom, had heard about the workshop and asked if there was any way her son could join in, because “he loves art”.  So, of course, I replied “Absolutely!  That’s what this workshop is all about.”

With art education disappearing from public school curriculum as fast as independent coffee shops did at the birth of Starbucks, there is a greater need than ever to encourage our youth to participate in the arts.  The best way we could think to make that happen was to connect students with people who were kids just like them, and are now…well…artists!

Samax Amen and Khalid Robertson sat at a table with 12 teenagers during the afternoon session.  Many of them drew in silence while Samax shared stories about his comics and his journey to becoming a professional artist.

Khalid Robertson teaching cartooning

“I don’t have any expectations,” Samax laughed after I’d asked him if he’d seen some nice artwork develop from the group he was working with.  ”I remember being nervous drawing in front of people when I was a teenager.  You finally get over that, but I don’t want any of them to feel that way today.”

The forty teens who participated in the afternoon session had the chance to free the right side of their brains through sketches, brushes, and spray paint.  The graffiti art station taught the basics of creating large-scale artwork, like the murals on walls all over Deep Ellum. Many students jumped at the chance to “tag” their names on the stone board.

“If ‘Baby Bricks’ starts showing up on walls in Deep Ellum, I’m going to know just who to blame,” laughed Campagna as he pointed to the words tagged on one of the boards.

Deep Ellum Muralist Frank Campagna and Students

For those who missed the workshop, Nicole Rodriguez and her camera lens captured the entire enchanting experience.  The magic of the day was obvious to all who stopped by - especially Susan Reese, one of the workshop’s major sponsors.

“This is great!” she smiled.  ”I’ve been watching the activity all day.  How can I help keep this program going?” she asked, and offered some excellent suggestions.

The combination of students aching to learn, artists excited to share, volunteers giving their time, and sponsors supporting the cause showed me that there is still a lot of good out there.  We just have to live outside ourselves for a while.  Days like Friday make me think that if we would all request what we need, give what we can, and receive with gratitude the world would be a lot brighter, ya know?

Special Thanks to our sponsors:

Jeanne Blanton - Don Blanton Art Endowment Fund

Susan Reese - Madison Partners, LLC

Randy Redmond - 2616 Commerce, Deep Ellum Foundation

Thanks to all of the great volunteers!  You are appreciated!

The Adam Hats building began its life in 1914 as a Ford Motor Company assembly plant for the Model T. In 1925, the factory moved to a new location, but the building remained a Ford showroom until 1955. After the show room closed, Adam Hats were manufactured here until 1986. In 1997, the building gained landmark status and began its conversion into 90 lofts.

True to it’s Deep Ellum roots, the modern renovation of the Adam Hats Building retains its rugged factory look. It’s rooftop water tower is the communities’ most prominent landmark. The spectacular atrium through the building features a one-of-a-kind statuesque art piece, which was actually a chute used to transport parts in the Ford assembly line!

The Adam Hats Lofts offers an incomparable experience in downtown living. Each unit is unique because each unit is different from the next. Although each unit retains its originality, every loft at Adam Hats offers wide-open spaces and breathtaking views of downtown Dallas. The Lofts sit at the top of the Deep Ellum, within walking distance to several clubs, bars, art galleries and restaurants. The modern Adam Hats Building is a shining example of Deep Ellum’s ability to evolve and thrive in an ever-changing environment.