The Deep Ellum News

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.

For more than ten years, Downtown Dallas and its neighbors Deep Ellum and Uptown have been undergoing a transformation of spirit and people. For years, hundreds of thousands of office workers only saw the downtown as a place to drive to in the morning, get the job done and return to their surburban homes as quickly as possible. But farsighted developers have brought Downtown Dallas back to life and opened it up to a new style of urban pioneers… people who want to live and work in an exciting urban environment.

Of course, as people move into the downtown area, they are bringing along all their valuable belongings, and of course, dogs. Lots and lots of dogs. There were few places for residents to walk their dogs on downtown streets, and even fewer places for them to exercise and play rough. It was important that these new urban residents have a place for exercising their dogs, enjoying the weather, and just having fun. With the nearest big city park nearly three miles away, location was extremely important. The Deep Ellum Dog Park came to the rescue. This is a safe and pet-friendly urban oasis for dogs and their owners with lots of grass, lots of space, and lots of parking. This park fills a growing need from residents and folks working in Deep Ellum and proves the community can evolve to better serve the people that love it.

The original Deep Ellum industrial area was built on the railroad lines built right though the community. In 2009, the railways will return, this time brining new residents, workers an people from all over the metroplex looking for an easy way to get tot he Deep Ellum nightlife. The southbound Dart Green line will open its first 4 stops in September of next year. 3 of the stops are located in the Deep Ellum area. The expansion allows the neighborhood to be connected to the Dallas area like never before.

First stop: Deep Ellum Station
Deep Ellum Station at Good-Latimer  and Gaston Ave. will allow visitors easy walking access to the Latino Cultural Center and the main Deep Ellum arts and entertainment district. People who live and work in the West side of Deep Ellum will now be walking distance away from access to Downtown, South Dallas, Cityplace, Mockingbird Station, North Dallas, Richardson and Plano. The station features artwork by Julie Cohn. Read the rest of this entry »