THE LAST ARTWALK?
Story and photographs by Rani Birchfield
I
t’s November, the weekend before
Thanksgiving. The thermometer has
turned to a cooler spot on the dial. A
holiday spirit has entered the realm,
although granted it probably started in
the summer at major retailers. What
does this mean for the region? It means
ArtWalk, the event formerly known as
Gallery Night, which will celebrate its
25th anniversary this year in 2018.
Typically there’s a featured artist: one
artist chosen by the Board of Directors,
whose work has transcended and con-
tributed to the region somehow. The
artist’s work is showcased at Trans-Pecos
Banks along with fruit and cheese trays,
wine, and melt-in-your-mouth tender-
22
loin made from local beef. This year,
however, the spotlight is on Alpine and
the tri-county area’s support for an event
that’s lasted for two and a half decades.
Keri Blackman, the executive director
and one of the founders of ArtWalk,
believes reaching the silver anniversary is
a big milestone for a small town and
decided to highlight Alpine and the clas-
sic Big Brewster mural that Style Reid
painted in 2005 (pictured here). The
sponsors and the town have supported
ArtWalk so well, she said, making it a
staple (and a great start) of the holiday
season, that Blackman thought, “Let’s
blow up Alpine. We’ll have t-shirts, cof-
fee mugs, all kinds of new things. It will
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2018
be the first time for an Alpine t-shirt.”
Trans-Pecos will have a special guest
which is undetermined as of this writ-
ing.
Back in the day, Blackman was an art
/ industrial technology student at Sul
Ross State University working at a
mom-and-pop frame shop, now known
as Kiowa Gallery. When the owner,
Barbara Jones, asked if Blackman want-
ed to buy it, Blackman accepted and
thought she’d continue with frames and
maybe add a few pieces of art. Her
expectations of the shop (as a freshly sin-
gle mom) were to pay her mortgage and
the owner-financed loan. She decided to
quit school and give her all to the small,
hometown art gallery and frame shop.
One of Blackman’s professors at the
time called her out in front of the class
when she told him her plan, telling the
other students of her decision to quit.
“What grade shall I give her?” he taunt-
ed. “I’ll give her an Incomplete,” he said.
“She’ll be back.” At Kiowa Gallery’s 10-
year anniversary celebration, Blackman
told the story and toasted that professor
for challenging her and heightening her
determination to make a go of the busi-
ness.
John Davis, who taught a ceramics
class at Sul Ross where he met
Blackman, thought it would be cool for
a few galleries to have open houses on