We are doing some First Friday festivities this week:

-Late hours 6-9pm
-Food Truck: Fire In The Hole Pizza
-Complimentary Sangria
-Great handmade products from 25+ local artitists

A Creative Art STUDIO is planning a special music and shopping evening. With Mother’s day right around the corner, the gallery and studio will have several artists on hand with special items that will make perfect gifts. The evening starts at 7 with the Dana Issac Trio followed by a local duo Pearl Snap Shirts. The Dana Issac Trio is composed of the musical couple Deke and Dana Issac along with keyboard player Rick Johnson. Both Rick and Deke attended University of North Texas in Jazz studies. Deke has played in such groups as The Atomic Antmens, Boojam Blues and toured with Johnny Taylor. Dana was in Jazz Singers with Paris Rutherford and both she and husband Deke often play with Dana’s father who has played with such greats as Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Jack Teagarden. Following the trio will be the rock steady PurlSnapShirts. Composed of Joe Stack and Garrett Phelps, the duo describes themselves as musicians who are “Guitar playing, lyric singing; born to the wolves, and raised among the various communities of Denton, Texas. Various art demonstrations and a community Art project using Collage will be taking place during the evening. Grab a friend and join the fun at A Creative Art STUDIO. You can also find out more information on their facebook.

Denton artist and watercolorist, Aurora Cabrera, the studio’s featured artist of the month, will have paintings of brightly colored Mexican symbolism and flora on display. Come meet Aurora and other artists that have works in the gallery. Art demonstrations including metalwork, painting, jewelry and mixed media will take place in the new classroom area of the gallery. This will be the open house and grand opening for the newly designated space. Add your special artistic touch to the mosaic table started at last First Friday or the new community painting. A Creative Art STUDIO is located at 227 W Oak, Suite 101 just off the historic square of Denton, Texas.  For more information please visit the website or their Facebook.

The DIME Store will house handmade goods from 25+ Denton artists, carrying products such as handcrafted furniture, handmade jewelry, vintage clothing, handmade bags, and more. The store is located at 510 S. Locust in a converted 1950s home and has the nostalgic flair of a five and dime shop.
The DIME Store is owned and curated by Shelley Christner and Rachel Aughtry, both artists and residents of Denton.

Shelley and Rachel originally began DIME in 2010 under the moniker “Etsy Denton” to promote a community among local artists that sell their work on Etsy.com. Etsy Denton held several large craft fairs at the Center for Visual Arts before changing the name to DIME and announcing the opening of the store in early 2013.
The Grand Opening festivities continue on Saturday with a cookout, beer from the local brewers at Armadillo Ale, and a free DIME tote to the first ten shoppers.
First Friday hours are 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Saturday hours are 10:00am – 6:00pm. Regular hours begin Tuesday, April 9th and are Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00am – 6:00pm.
Website : www.dimehandmade.com
Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/339267266192754/?ref=ts&fref=ts

We will be featuring the following artist for the months of April and May. Be open Thursday through Saturday 5:30 to 9:00 p.m., April 4-6

Bethany Royston is a stay at home mom and self taught artist. With the support of her loving family she’s been blessed to follow her dreams of becoming an artist. She’s had showings around the Denton area and specializes in custom pieces which have sold internationally. She loves God and art and especially the combination of the two!

With a passion for Day of the Dead, kitsch, and an eclectic mix of different cultures she uses acrylics and mixed media as her medium of choice. She gravitates towards very bright colors and whimsical images and uses her love of nature as an inspiration. You can check out her Etsy page at https://www.etsy.com/shop/BethanyRoystonArt. 10% of all sales are donated to the buyer’s choice of charity.

- Cherry Kandy is located inside SCRAP, and was featured last year – HERE.

Spring is almost here and A Creative Art STUDIO is hearing music in the air. Guitar music to be exact. This First Friday we celebrate the noble Guitar with three Guitarists from the Metroplex. Starting at 7:00 we present Denton’s own Doug Raney.
Doug has been playing the guitar for 40 years and indicated that his own musical influences range from the amazing flamenco of Paco de Lucia to the lightning-fast flat picking of Jerry Reed; from the classical wonders of John Williams to the street savvy blues of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Following Doug, Fort Worth, Texas-based solo acoustic guitar master Darrin Kobetich will perform. He classifies his sound as “ambient delta raga thrash grass,” but that’s just scratching the surface. Originally from Long Island, New York, Darrin grew up listening to a lot of music, (including bluegrass, Italian and Greek music, rock ‘n’ roll) and has been playing the guitar since the age of 12. Mark Brandt, Dallas resident, also joins the line – up. Mark first picked up a guitar at the age of 13. Two decades later, armed with a diverse array of influences and experiences, he’s writing music that resonates with passion,
aggression, beauty, and an undeniable flow of energy.
Photographer, Lily Mirsky, is the featured artist of the month. Originally from Riga, Latvia, she came to the USA in 1980 to pursue her dream of living in a free country. She feels that the art of presenting the beauty of the world through the eye of the camera has unlimited potential.
Each month the studio provides a community art project for all to work on. This month a mosaic will be created using small pieces of colored glass and other materials. Artist demonstrations will also be taking place at the studio. Grab and friend and join the fun at A Creative Art STUDIO.

Music:
6pm – Alex Blair – awesome jazz vocalist with Austin Byrd on keys!
8pm – The Future Eyes
“The Future Eyes were formed in 2011 as four friends came together to put a live sound to the extensive catalog of Denton based singer/songwriter Kelbe Schrank (pronounced, “shronk”), including two previous self-produced albums. The result has been an entirely new true collaborative effort, with Schrank still the primary songwriter, but with new found energy and a dynamic genre-bending sound; an amalgam of indie rock and folk with veins of blues and funk streaking through. With the bold beats and rich harmonies of James Grisham, evocative bass lines of John Oliviera and soaring guitar crescendos of Jason Cook, The Future Eyes leave contrails across the minds of listeners.”
10pm – Ellie Meyer – “Ellie Meyer is an up and coming artist into the music scene, with vocals and song lyrics that will make you want to listen for more. All of her songs are based on life experiences and inspirations that either Ellie, herself, or those around her have experienced”, DentonRadio.com

Art:
Also we have an art exhibit of sketches by local artist Bryan Kelly. The show represents one year of daily sketches by Denton based illustrator Bryan Kelly. This collection includes all 365 sketches posted between February 10th 2011 and February 10th 2012. These sketches were initially posted, with captions, on his website, bryankellyillustrations.com and on his facebook account also called Bryan Kelly Illustrations. Bryan continues to post sketches five times a week, Monday through Friday. The Friday sketch is presented as a full color illustration.

We haven’t done a tasting in awhile…
We are super excited about Friday night! We have a whole evening planned, so come and join us!! The fun starts at 7:00 pm with Beaux from Republic Wines tasting 4 wines.
-Wild Horse Pinot Noir
-If You See Kay Red Blend
-Estancia Unoaked Chardonnay
-Genesis Syrah
Cost – $15.00 per person. Virgil will have some snacks for you to munch on while you enjoy your wine!! )

At 8:30, we have a new music artist to the cellar…Matt Grisby. He is a Denton based singer-songwriter who’s music lies somewhere between folk and alternative country, drawing comparisons to the likes of John Prine and Robert Earl Keen.

Please come give him the cellar family welcome!!

I can’t wait to see your face and have some fun!!!!

Cheers!!
Virgil and Amanda
940.435.0149