The Art Room’s 2024 Community Art Project, “Wonderful World”

In celebration of North Texas Giving Day, we’re excited to announce what we have planned for our 2024 Community Art Project. For several years now we’ve been committed to giving back to other Denton area nonprofits, highlighting what it means to be a community. This year we’re thrilled to be working with Health Services of North Texas to beautify their new Pediatrics Health Center, located at 4308 Mesa Drive, Denton, TX.

This project will consist of the design and painting of 10 treatment rooms, the reception area, and various other spaces in the facility; currently the spaces are minimally decorated. Health Services of North Texas expressed their desire to improve their aesthetic to be more representative of the vibrant, fun-spirited, and safe space that their mission aims to deliver. The Art Room is delighted to meet this need in our community using our resources, which includes you.

What we’re doing

The overall theme of our design encompasses different ecosystems and the animals that live in them. Each treatment room will feature a different animal in its native habitat, alongside an affirmation to encourage mental health. Other areas of the clinic will draw inspiration from this theme. Here’s a mock-up:

before:

After:

we need your help

One of the many things that’s  so great about our Community Art Project is that we cannot do it alone. We’re looking for community members to join us in our mission to bring this children's clinic to life.

We are in need of roughly 40 volunteers to offer their time and talent to the fulfillment of this project. Volunteers will be working on the painting of the design elements that will be featured in the treatment rooms. We have four painting sessions scheduled to complete these elements.

dates And sign up forms for painting sessions:

Saturday, August 10, from 3 to 8 p.m.

Sunday, August 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, August 17, from 3 to 8 p.m.

Sunday, August 18, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Each session will be held at The Art Room and will begin with a demonstration of the type of painting we’ll be doing. We’re asking that you commit to the entirety of the session to ensure the completion of the work. Each session will consist of 10 to 12 volunteers, and you’ll be working in small groups with guidance from project managers. Snacks and beverages will be provided in a fun, safe, and relaxed environment.

As we initiate this project and it evolves, there may be other opportunities for collaboration and community involvement. We’ll be providing regular updates on our exciting progress and opportunities through our social media and website.

other ways to support the art room

The Art Room’s commitment to Health Services of North Texas is to provide artwork that is safe, durable and hygienic for their young patients, which means we’re using high quality materials and extra time to realize these details. To help us accomplish this goal, we’d love to have you on board through your volunteerism and financial support. Throughout this North Texas Giving Day season we would appreciate a financial donation, in any amount that is meaningful to you, which would help us meet our goals, including our larger goal—to build community through creativity.

Curating Lori Rohloff-Peek's Exhibition

Art curation and installation is often a person's last thought when exploring an art exhibition. However, for one local designer, creating impactful experiences with a piece is essential.

Sydney Pendarvis is a local designer who played a huge role in curating Lori Rohloff-Peek’s exhibition at UNT CoLab, which opened on July 12. Pendarvis graduated from Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in 2023 with a degree in design and currently works at a local print shop. As an artist, Pendarvis keeps herself busy with freelancing, designing graphics, and curating exhibitions.

 During her years in undergrad, Pendarvis served as the Vice President of TWU’s organization, American Institute of Graphic Arts, creating opportunities for fellow designers to share their work with the community. Pendarvis found her way into The Art Room through a tour taken through one of her courses. When looking for venues for an upcoming exhibition, Pendarvis remembered her time at The Art Room and the work the organization does. Pendarvis finds it important to support local non-profits whenever she can and hopes to see herself more active in the non-profit sector in the future.

“They were really accepting of us trying to do an exhibition,” Pendarvis said. “We walked in all scrappy like ‘can we please?’ and it worked out really great. They were really accepting and really open to [the exhibition], so it makes me happy to support them any way I can. Now I am doing [Lori’s exhibition] for them and I’m really glad to be able to contribute to it.”

The Nexus of Life exhibition and Lori Rohloff-Peek are supported by The Art Room, and during this exhibition Pendarvis was able to work personally with our team, UNT CoLab and Lori. With only a few exhibitions under her belt, Pendarvis was eager for the learning opportunity and experience with this project. 

 “This is the best team. I am so glad I get to help these people,” Pendarvis said. “I just have so much respect for these people. Even getting to learn from people [at the CoLab] especially since they have been doing this for so long. I am always ready to learn.” 

There are many things to consider when curating an exhibition. One of the most important is ensuring that each piece has its moment. The curation and installation of the pieces allow a lot of freedom, which allows the exhibition to almost become a piece of its own.

“Design is very mathematical,” Pendarvis said. “There’s a lot of grids that you can see in your brain that helps with the layout of it all. It helps with balancing everything, based on everything. Color can’t be too heavy on one side, sizes and shapes of the pieces. There’s not a set answer for anything. There are guidelines, but there’s too much freedom [for the layout]. A lot of it is intuitive.”

During a successful opening night, members from the community were able to come in and experience Lori’s work through the help of Pendarvis’ curation and installation with the UNT CoLab. Enjoying the night, mingling with Lori and other members of the community, and seeing the joy the installation can bring, the stress that can come with trying to perfect a project is finally put at ease.

“I like to be like ‘girl you did that, it’s done’,” Pendarvis said. “In The Art Room especially they are all very encouraging and that definitely helps. I am just so glad to be getting these opportunities and to be learning.” 

Nexus of Life: Lori Rohloff-Peek’s Artistic Odyssey with Huntington’s Disease will be up at the UNT CoLab until July 27. The public can come in and enjoy Lori's incredible works firsthand. 

News from The Art Room I Our 2023 Collaborative Community Art Project!

Hello Everyone!

We are happy to announce this year’s Community Art Project in conjunction with our fundraising efforts for North Texas Giving Day, September 21, 2023.

For the past several years, we’ve donated collaborative community artworks to local nonprofits, involving our members and people from the Denton community, and beyond. This year we want to honor and celebrate the joy and support that our animal companions bring to our lives, so we’ll be donating a large-scale collaborative artwork called Welcome Home to the Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center.

But not only are we announcing our Community Art Project today, we’re also putting out the call for participants and artists! Below is the image we’ll be creating, along with more information about the artwork and your participation.

Welcome Home will be re0alized from 1,500 individual Artist Trading Cards, each a 2 ½ inch x 3 ½ inch miniature artwork, all woven together, collage style, to create the 5 ft. x 9 ft. larger image. Each card will be predominantly one color, and although your color palette will be limited to the color you choose, you’re free to be creative in texture, style, media, and subject matter. You’re also welcome to do more than one card! Since we need 1,500 Artist Trading Cards, your creations will be the most important part of our success in this truly collaborative community project!

If you're interested in participating, we'll be passing out kits starting Friday, 7/14/23, at The Art Room, 721 S. Locust St., Denton, TX. Each kit includes a color swatch and the 2 ½ x 3 ½ inch watercolor paper, and you’re encouraged to pick up as many as you want and are able to complete! The deadline for turning in the Artist Trading Cards is 8/18/23. Cards can be picked up and returned to The Art Room anytime we’re open: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm, and Fridays and Saturdays 11:00 am-3:00 pm. We are also adding 3 additional evening open studio dates exclusively to work on creating these cards: Wednesdays 7/19, 7/26, and 8/2, 5:30 pm-7:00pm.

Virtual instructions will also be offered to those who can’t come by to pick up kits, so if you aren’t able to come in but would like to participate, please email education@theartroomdenton.org, and we’ll send you those instructions.

Finally, we’re hoping to have a few pop-ups around town to help get the community involved in creating artist cards. The times and dates are below:

• Aura Coffee, 7/28/23 and 8/11/23 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm 

• Dan’s Silverleaf, 8/4/23 from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm 

• Tentative: One of Denton's public libraries. The time and place to be determined so stay tuned for announcements.

If you can’t commit to creating an Artist Trading Card but do want to offer your support to the Community Art Project, please consider making a donation to The Art Room by clicking here on the Donate button, and mention that you want to sponsor our Community Art Project efforts:

Your financial help will be greatly appreciated since we’ll need to frame the piece before presenting the work to the Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center.

We’ve already received much-needed community support for this project from Voertman’s art supplies department, which donated all the paper for the Artist Trading Cards! We can’t thank them enough for getting the Welcome Home Community Art Project started! 

We’re looking forward to the beauty and surprise of this Community Art Project, and also to the wonderful experience of giving our artwork to the Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center during the week of North Texas Giving Day in September.

Feel free to share this email or our flyer (see attached) with anyone who might be interested in participating in this Community Art Project, and please support The Art Room for NTGD in September. 

Photo Credit: Noor Fatafta

Thank you for your generous support of The Art Room and the Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center!

Positive Cycology Ride Recap

We had A BLAST pedaling for our Positive Cycology Ride Fundraiser for Mental Health and National Bike Month! 🚲💚

We can’t thank our sponsors and everyone who participated enough for making this happen! It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we were able to register a total number of 75 riders!

Why We Need Your Help I North Texas Giving Day 2022

The Art Room, located in Denton, Texas is a non-profit art studio for people with mental health issues. We provide a safe, supportive art studio environment for adults and teens to explore their creativity and self-expression through art, and we do it at no cost for our members.

Our idea is that just doing art is a form of therapy, and that our members will find that the creative process itself has therapeutic value in reducing stress, in promoting self-discovery, and in providing a positive means for emotional expression.

At The Art Room we have artist and mental health volunteers who provide guidance and support to members as they learn and explore their artistic expressions. We have programs providing classes on therapeutic art, various art techniques, as well as open studio, where people can engage in any art experience they want. We also have an evening dedicated to teens called Studio 416.

We’ve collaborated with many local organizations supporting at-risk populations such as Our Daily Bread, Cumberland Youth and Family Services, and Denton County MHMR to promote our mission of encouraging healing and recovery through expressive art experiences for people who face mental health challenges.

We offer The Art Room as a vibrant studio space where the people of Denton can find healing through creativity, and self-discovery in our non-traditional therapeutic approach.

But we can’t do it alone. We ask that you support us for North Texas Giving Day, and when you do, you can know that your donation will translate to a work of art and the betterment of our community’s mental health.

Video was filmed and edited by Colectivo Creative Media.

The Art Room is on the Move!

We are excited to announce that we're moving into a bigger and more exciting space, just a hop and a skip away from our current location. This new art studio located at 721 S. Locust St. in Denton will allow us to grow in the number of Members we serve, the variety of art we can explore, and the programming we can offer. 

We consider this expansion a testament to the need for unique services such as ours, and it's only made possible by the gracious support of community members like you!

The new Art Room location is almost triple in size, but a bit rough around the edges, so we’ve been working hard to clean, paint, and create an exciting place for creativity (see progress video here.) 

We’ve been working tirelessly, but don’t fret-- we won’t be that friend asking you to help us move, although we do need your support in other ways. 

Expansion and moving is costly and our community has already pitched in with donations and discounts on services and recent financial contributions to update the lighting. With our expansion in space, we have rising overhead, and we’re still in need of additional supplies to put the final touches on the space before our big move, so any financial support would be greatly appreciated.

The money you contribute will become the chair that a Member will sit in, the lamp they'll use to shed light on their canvas, and the shelf they'll put their art on for display. Your donation will translate to a work of art and the betterment of our community’s mental health.

We plan to move at the beginning of September, and we’ll start our classes and open studio on 9/6/22. We’ll continue to keep you posted on our progress and upcoming celebrations related to our growth and expansion. Please keep in touch with us through our social media and website, and share us with your social media community. 

 Thank you, Denton, for loving us-- we sure do love you back!

 The Art Room Family

¨Roots and Branches¨ Community Painting Project Unveiling

By: Deken Taylor

Today was our official "Roots and Branches" community painting unveiling at @cpchildrenshome in conjuction with @ntxgivingday 2021!

The one-of-a-kind piece depicts a historic bois d'arc tree on the Cumberland campus. The work highlights the shared commitment both organizations place on creative expression and Therapeutic activities for individuals with mental health challenges.

The tree, a powerful symbol of shelter growth and possibility, epitomizes how both organizations work to transform community.

We want to thank everyone who contributed to the project! It truly means the world to us to create something that can be used to spread positive awareness in our community.

The Time Has Come Yet Again: Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Give To The Art Room On North Texas Giving Day

By: Deken Taylor

It’s that time again! Every year, we come up with humorous, clever, and valid reasons why you should donate to The Art Room for North Texas Giving Day. Let´s highlight this year’s Top Ten shall we?

TOP TEN REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE TO THE ART ROOM ON NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY 2021:

10. Because there aren’t any other significant holidays in the month of September that rely on your generosity—North Texas Giving Day is it!

9. Creativity lives and thrives here in Denton, and our stock of art supplies needs to meet the ever-growing demands.

8. Because as novelist Nikos Kazantzakis noted, “You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint paradise, then in you go.” Brushes! Colors! Paradise!

7. We’ll soon be launching Studio 416, our pilot program for adolescents. The kids are alright but they’re gonna need some art stuff!

6. Knock knock—Who’s there? Art—Art Garfunkel? No, it’s The Art Room! Feeling groovy, and happy for your donation right about now!

5. The mysterious Haiku Man, our up-and-coming obscure Superhero, offers this gem:
    Growth is nature’s smile
   workshops, therapeutic art

    The Art Room takes wing

4. They say “it takes a village to raise a child,” but they don’t always mention that “it takes a community to fund The Art Room’s mission.” Now is the time, community!

3. Because artist Edward Hopper got it right: “If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.”

Roots and Branches, 2021

Community painting donated by The Art Room to Cumberland Presbyterian Children’s Home

2.  And speaking of our wish list, our old friend Roseanne Roseannadanna knew what she was talking about when she said, “It’s always something! If it’s not one thing, it’s another. It’s either new staff or a fresh tube of Cadmium Red Medium!”

And the number one reason that you should support The Art Room for North Texas Giving Day 2021 is—drumroll, please:

1. Three little words: We Love Denton!

Roots and Branches: 2021 Community Art Project

By: Deken Taylor

For the past couple of years, The Art Room has initiated a community art project, involving our members and anyone else who wants to participate; once it’s completed, we donate the artwork to a local nonprofit. Last year we created 1000 Cranes for Peace, which we donated to Denton MHMR, and the year before we created Denton Community Collage, which we donated to Serve Denton, Wheeler House. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our 2021 Community Project for North Texas Giving Day is creating this large collaborative painting named Roots and Branches :⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

We will be donating Roots and Branches to Cumberland Presbyterian Children’s Home. In order to complete the painting, we will need sixty 10” x 10” Claybord canvases from artists within our community, which will be put together to make the complete 5’ x 9’ community painting.

We have already created a grid on a wall in The Art Room of the canvases we have received so far!

if you can't commit to painting a panel but would like to support the project, consider making a donation of $20.00 to sponsor a panel. You can make your donation here.

We can not wait to see how beautiful it will all look when it is finished!

Soul Art Renewal Recap

By: Deken Taylor

The Art Room had a blast at the Greater Denton Arts Council’s Soul Art Renewal event last Saturday.

The Soul Art Renewal was created in response to the pandemic as a celebration of art and artists within our community.

Among all of the wonderful food, dancing, singing and poetry going on at the Arts Center, the Art Room provided a space for zentangling for all attendees. 

We are no strangers to zentangling! It is great to do as a meditative exercise. 

Many people found it relaxing, and we enjoyed every second of it!