On October 26th, 2023, Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio hosted a wonderful environmental art exhibit titled ‘WILD CONNECTION; an art exhibit inspired by nature’ which benefited Save Northeast Denton.
Save Northeast Denton (northdenton.org & @savenortheastdenton_tx on Instagram) is a group working to save the last rural area of Denton in the Northeast portion of the city. They believe it is good for everyone to preserve nature. This area is by Hartlee Field Road and Clear Creek and is a beloved connection to the wild nature of our great home in North Texas. Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center also exists in this area of the city.
Currently, the Denton city council plans on working with developers to pack the rural space with high-density housing which would immediately increase dangerous traffic to the ecologically sensitive area. Once gone, these spaces are lost forever. Save Northeast Denton wants to achieve preservation of this area because it is truly up to US to save it for future generations to get to experience and cherish it.
This art exhibit brings attention to the natural connections we have to the wild Earth, and all of its creatures. We need nature to exist safely, and healthily within our societies and within this world we share with so many other things. It is our responsibility to co-exist with nature and to preserve the natural state of the ecosystems we call home.
We’ll talk about how you can take action later in this article with the calls to action so stay tuned & enjoy the art exhibit first.
And in case you want to take action right away…
[Click Here to Skip to End to See How You Can Help Save Northeast Denton]
Wild Connection hosted plenty of amazing artists who contributed to the event, and performers or showcases of films, zine readings, vocal and music performances, and poetry readings or spoken word. It all blended together to create a wonderful and exciting experience that inspired everyone to take action for preserving Northeast Denton and nature in general.
Experience a brief walk-through of the event to get us started!
Here is some information on the initiative to save the Clear Creek natural areas in Denton, TX and how they would be effected by high-density development:
The artwork presented that night was superb and beautiful, I really appreciated every piece. The vast range of different mediums was also a delight to behold. We will feature the art in stills throughout the article to break apart the performances captured on video. Please enjoy the documentation of this wonderful and important exhibit that’s “just so Denton” as Paul Meltzer put it at the event!
This pinks and red floral piece evokes some Georgia O’Keefe vibes with it’s beautiful attention to the folds and details of the inner workings of nature. I appreciate the brush strokes visible and energy of this piece is divine.
The whale artwork provided is gorgeous as the giant creature floats in the void of the deep seas. I can almost imagine it’s whale songs echoing down in the deep.
Another shot of the whale.
‘Lillies of the Valley’ Jewelry, 2023. (zeck glass, opalite, serpentine)
This piece was lovingly created by Rowan Black of Rowan’s Treasures (@rowanstreasures)
The leaf beads are my favourite from this set of jewelry made by Rowan.
There was a BEAUTIFUL public art project on display and available to paint on with tempera paint! It was an awesome and fun opportunity! Check out this video look at it:
I ended up painting a little green nature cat on the piece in my typical style of drawing cats. It was actually a little tough to manipulate the paint on the fabric panel, but it worked out and was great fun.
“MEOW! PURRserve NYAture!” – this cat, probably
The Petal Project was present with their awesome table selling ‘The Way Trees Hold Each Other’ (Community Zine #2) which was a love letter in zine form to the trees that support us in this world and the nature they are a part of. It included poems, artwork, written word, stories, and even music shared by artists from all over the world.
You can snag a copy if you find The Petal Project vending at any events in the Denton TX area! You might also try Contacting Them at The Petal Project website to see if they might ship you one too.
The Petal Project’s Rachel Weaver performed a handful of beautiful selections from the zine at the event as the first part of the performances.
Let’s take a look at some more environmental artwork.
The ocean is so vast, and we are so small. I love the scale of the person in this and how you can almost miss them due to how intensely large the ocean is in this gorgeous piece really putting into perspective where we are in the world. It’s a wonder to behold the ocean.
This piece was definitely striking with the imagery of the woman with colours on her face and bright red hair versus the cool blue sky filled with black and white butterflies. The juxtaposition of the more graphic butterflies versus the realistic style for the woman also is a nice contrast. Jose Angel Hernandez is a great artist.
The next performance is a poetry reading by Jose Angel Hernandez too, featuring poetry he wrote himself.
This wonderful piece was created by Marina Earley. It looks to be made of polymer clay, copper wire, and crystals on a silver chain. I love this pendulum SO much. It is beyond cool!
A wonderful necklace design by Marina featuring the stoic bald eagle. Copper wiring and beads, sculpted eagle. This one’s design is just great. I love the little eyes of the eagle as a touching little detail. These sculptures have a soul of their own by the looks of it.
This bobcat headpiece with crystal point and copper wire is another piece by the same artist. What a unique approach to jewelry making! I love this reverence of nature in their work.
The next performance is by Marina Earley, who does poetry too on top of her artwork contributed! Let’s have a listen:
Lee Ray is a local photographer who took the following photos at Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center – you can visit it today at 3310 Collins Rd, Denton, TX 76208 from 6am – 9pm daily.
‘A Bug’s Snack’ photo from 2023 by Lee Ray. Cute and such a cool capture!
‘Underbark’ a photo from 2023 by Lee Ray. Beautiful.
‘Tree Arches’ from 2023, by Lee Ray. Another beautiful look at Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center and preserve.
‘Hostile Environment’ by Lee Ray sporting the spikes grown by trees local to Clear Creek.
Next up was a local vocalist known as Kay! She put on a great performance with her guitarist and brought a lot of joy to our hearts, filling up the room with her serenading. Awesome musician!!
Emma Tull provided a wonderful piece of artwork featuring a skeleton made up of flora and fauna. This piece gives a lot of vibes about how we will be our own undoing, and even so nature will still reclaim us after it’s all over.
A look at an earlier piece moved over with the skeletal flora/fauna piece.
Evan Earley, related to Marina, is another great artist who carved a depiction of Clear Creek to make block prints from! This piece really blew me away with the attention to detail in every inch of carving made for it.
A close-up of Clear Creek, featuring a little otter!!
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Mary Boswell, a local environmentalist, mother, and teacher brought us Mark Kelly Smith’s poem ‘Kiss It!’ as the next performance.
‘Frame of Reference’ from 2023 about ‘Evolution. Creation. Lifecycle’ is a lovely piece by @nkluesive (on Instagram) that examines the different stages of the life of a plant, a flower, and the growth it goes through put on display in a circle of life cycle. This piece blew me away and I was so impressed with the ability to capture each part of the life of a plant by gathering parts at different times. So cool and grounded in the Earthen ways of the world. This is probably the most stunning piece of the entire show just because of the awesome process it took to create it.
A close-up, but I forgot my Macro Lens so it was fairly hard to get a good focus with the dim lighting too. Hopefully this is okay enough to get a glimpse of the little life cycle on display.
Oscar Lopez of Denton, TX brought us ‘Preserve Nature’ – an artistic short film.
‘Seams of Relationality (2023) uses maps, glass beads, wire and sand to create the heron in the stunning piece here. Marina Earley also provided this work.
Another piece of bird related art by an unknown artist, ‘Starving’ is depicting a vulture in alcohol markers on mixed media paper. Great capture. I love the unique texture of the feathers especially. The background is also unique.
Let’s take a listen to another poetry reading by Anne Beckmann titled ‘Nature is Balance’;
The rosy maple moth is one of the most impressive pieces at the exhibit. Hand sewn and embroidered on a large panel of green fabric, the piece stands strongly reminding us of our smaller neighbors in this world. The piece is surrounded by plant matter for display.
The pieces above the rosy maple moth were just as beautiful – pressed flowers in glass, with welding done to create the glass frames and seal them off. One is a mirror (on the right) and one is see through with flowers attached. Both are gorgeous and would look lovely catching sunlight from a window. It reminds me of the windows of the soul, etc.
Now, let’s listen to a brief little poem from a local community member I love getting to see around. If you know their first name I would love to edit this article + video and add it! Thanks so much.
There was a great table and booth with T-shirts and other oddities from nature. The best part was it was a craft station for putting together BUG HOTELS!! These are packed with twigs and food filled little natural tubes that once set up all together provide a natural habitat for bugs to hide in during the Winter.
I got the opportunity to fill one of these delightful things! It was really awesome! I’ll be placing mine in the garden area once it gets colder.
Want to make your own bug hotel and need guidance? Check out this nifty how-to video I found on the subject for the same type of bug hotel we made at the event, enjoy!:
The rest of the table had nice oddities that were a sight to behold. Bones, moss, preserved flowers, etc.
As a last little part of the event, someone left a cute envelope of Native Texas Wildflowers.
Do you ever see naked grass areas that look like they are in need of some natural flowers to help the local pollinators? Snag some bulk wildflower batches based on your Growing Zone at American Meadows seed sellers.
North Texas is in Zone 8A according to the following growing map, check it out!
Depending on your zone you’ll need different wildflower types from American Meadows or other sources. Make sure to double check before you disperse seeds in your area.
You can also find Native flower and other plant seeds at your local Emily Fowler library (502 Oakland St, Denton, TX 76201) at their seed library exchange program for Dentonites to take advantage of. Try to start local, and then try online if you need bulk or can’t find anyone in your area providing native seeds.
Have you ever heard of the cheese shaker + wildflower mix tactic? You can become a rogue seed distributor yourself by making one at home. Check out what these anarchist gardeners are doing in their spare time, even in a city! Maybe you can get inspired to do the same in your area! It would surely help out local pollinators & wildlife!
Last but not least whatsoever, is ?EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY? ! They are a local Denton punk band and make amazing music that’s so much fun to get down to! They performed a 30 minute set. This is the last performance of the event, and then we will get to the calls to action at the very end here. ENJOY & listen to EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY on Spotify!
Stay Informed by following Save Northeast Denton on socials:
Save Northeast Denton Facebook Page
Join the Private Facebook Group – Friends of Northeast Denton
Save Northeast Denton Instagram
Get in touch at savenorthdenton@gmail.com
CALLS TO ACTION – SAVE NORTHEAST DENTON!
Speak At A City Council Meeting: Public Regular Meetings generally occur on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of every month @ 6:30 PM unless otherwise specified.
Find & Download the 2023 City Council Meeting Schedule Here
After announcements / recognitions, there will be an open mic portion with the 1st speaker beginning around 6:45pm.
Location of Meetings: City Hall 215 E. McKinney St. Denton, TX
Pre-Registration for Speaking At City Council Meetings
To pre-register, call the City Secretary at 940-349-8303 by 12pm Noon on the Thursday prior to the meeting at which you intend to speak.
Speakers that pre-register will be permitted to send in a visual presentation. Visual presentations must be sent to City.Secretary@cityofdenton.com by 2pm the day BEFORE the meeting.
Blue Card Registration
There are 7 slots for speakers in the open mic portion of each regular meeting. If pre-registration slots are full or you miss the deadline for pre-reg, you may fill out a Blue Card the day of the meeting starting 30 minutes prior to the meeting start time.
If not all pre-registered speakers show up or if the Mayor decides to allow more than 7 people to speak, those who register on a Blue Card will have the opportunity to speak in the order of which they registered.
All Speakers are permitted to bring out print-outs which they may distribute to the City Council members. There is a projector for you to use as well.
TIME LIMIT:
Speakers will have 4 minutes to give their presentation in front of City Council members & attendees. Speakers may speak on any topic & may request for a topic to be placed on the agenda for future meetings.
SUPPORT SAVE NORTHEAST DENTON – WEAR RED AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS!
Support the speakers who speak up for nature preservation!
Can’t make it to a meeting? Contact City Council with your message in support of saving Northeast Denton, and tell them you DO NOT support the high-density development proposed for Northeast Denton. Urge them to save what little rural area remains.
OTHER ACTIONS:
- Enjoy the area by coming to spend time in Northeast Denton
- Take a hike at Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center and see prairie, woods, and wetlands. There is even deer, beavers, armadillos and a variety of birds to visit.
- Take photos of the natural world or paint/draw the areas in Northeast Denton, and cherish the memories of time you spend there.
- Take a bike ride in a bike friendly community of Northeast Denton. Areas that are welcoming are Mingo Road, Cooper Creek, Hartlee Field Road, and Farris Road near Hodge Elementary.
- Enjoy a simple walk in the area too. Drivers are friendly out here and do not speed.
- Tell people about Save Northeast Denton on social media.
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Thank you so much for reading today and for enjoying the Wild Connection art exhibit inspired by nature for Save Northeast Denton.
Get active today, because our natural areas may not be here tomorrow if you don’t.
Preserve Nature & SAVE NORTHEAST DENTON!
