Sunday, October 19, 2014

I painted the hands on the clock... and now it wakes me up

5:19

Friday afternoon I made one last attempt to capture with my camera the “Navasota Sparkles” as they passed over my new mural. I have become fascinated with what some very reflective windows across the alley in cooperation with the changing sun do to the artwork. I had discovered that the last sparkle that starts with Blind Willie Johnson around 3:30 migrates and centers (more or less) over the beer clock by Tom Shaw at approximately 5:19. So I painted the hands on the clock accordingly. That was pretty neat I thought. 

Then when I woke up early this morning, my head full of profound experiences from an especially exciting weekend, my fingers itching to type them out. I lay there wondering whether I should roll over or get up and write. Which would it be? Soon  I obediently hopped out of bed and glanced at the clock. It was 5:19.



So here we go, whatever that means.

Profound may be an understatement for my experiences, but since I easily dance on the precipice of overstatement, I will have to try to control myself and allow you to judge for yourself. Here is the thing- I am fortunate enough to get to follow stories, much like a hunter after prey, as they unfold, partly because I have studied history and have learned how to transect with it… and partly because, as I have often observed, I have the gift of finding, and you will see that sometimes I get a lot of help.  Forest Gump has got nothing on me… 

I also write an Art/Entertainment blog for ABC40 Televison in Bryan. ( you can find it @ http://brazosvalleyarts.blogspot.com/ ) and I had way too many choices, in order to cover the numerous prospective art & entertainment stories unfolding in the Brazos Valley this past weekend. I really had no idea which ones were the best material for that blog, but I had to make a decision. I had started an article, yet unpublished,  about our local music venues, and so I chose two on Friday night. The Lakeside Ice House on Lake Bryan sounded perfect on such a beautiful evening, and my friend Randy Pavlock was playing there. Done deal! Maybe one day we can put him up on the wall... 

Unfortunately most of the artists had to die first... But my blog ended up with much better news for Randy... as you can read in the ABC blog called BrazoSphere.


Monday, October 13, 2014

I had looked into this alley many times...

J. P. Keelan walks home from work several years ago.

I have always loved this space... the way the window reflections from the Wolk building move up the opposite wall on Blues Alley in the afternoon. 

When the City began to implement its downtown revitalization plan, I was pleased that the old narrow alley was to be closed as a thoroughfare and converted to a pedestrian walkway to parking spaces behind downtown and Mance Lipscomb Park.

Bert Miller, the owner of Blues Alley, who owns the wall facing the alley decided to do something with the new space... We have been friends along time and it was a great pleasure to answer his challenge to tell our story to the world... 

If you got the money honey, I've got the time!


Saturday, October 11, 2014

This mural makes people do crazy things!

This past week a guy pulled up to the mural and parked his semi-truck in the middle of Washington Avenue...

Kevin Ray Adams ran into our Navasota legacy and stopped dead in his tracks! But he was driving a huge truck!

He was so full of questions and information that I think I just stood confused at first. Then he explained that he was a musician... then everything made sense. He told of the Texas Music Museum in Irving, and his father in law "the BIG BOPPER." That's when I realized this fellow was no ordinary truck driver. Kevin is a ring-tailed tooter and lives in Katy... but he performs all over the place and loves country music. And from the sound of things, he is very well connected in the entertainment business. I'm so glad he found the mural, got his photographs, and did not get stopped by the police! Come back and see us Kevin when you are not driving that monster!

Our Fabulous Music Heritage!


Welcome to this new blog about the recently painted mural in Navasota, Texas. This mural celebrates the entertainers from our community who have become famous around the world as they wrote and recorded their music. You can research each artist (up at the top) and learn the amazing facts around this special stable of singers and musicians. AND you can even listen to their music.

We are presently putting the finishing touches on the work, which is over twenty feet tall in some places and spans way over one hundred feet!


David Woods works on the portrait of Nat Dove... the last part yet to be done.