video + new show announcement!

WE ARE EXCITED FOR THE NEXT SHOW! We have received so many requests from people who want to participate it has been difficult to keep track of it all, but somehow we're managing! There's going to be a lot of new faces this time around. I am personally excited for all of the writers that will be reading their work. Don't get me wrong, musical performances are always fun, and I respect musicians and their talent incredibly! However, dealing with writers is so rewarding because many of them (like myself) have a desire to create but very few outlets to express themselves and share their work, especially in an attentive showcase setting. But here we are! And everyone gets a chance to express themselves and make friends and get feedback and support. It makes me happy. Every event we host gets just a little bit better, and I'm sure November will be no exception. The week prior to the show we'll be hosting a workshop, hopefully that will bring out some creative minds and help boost some motivation and excitement for everyone's projects!

Also, we put together a video from the last Spiderweb show, check it out.

{we, bees} look forward to what is in store for us in the future.

autumn masquerade success!

The Spiderweb show this last weekend may have been the best yet, despite glaring difficulties with the weather. In the days preceding the show we held our breath and watched the radar building up storm systems headed directly for north Texas. The forecast read that every day the week before the show and every day the week after were supposed to be just beautiful- Saturday was the only hiccup in the midst of perfect days. Our luck! We stressed and agonized over what to do and made the risky decision to continue the show as planned until the weather became so unkind that we could no longer do so. With the help of our kind sponsors (Linda and Brett), we built a crude shelter over the majority of the porch where we host the Salon, and weather-proofed the area the best we could. We were worried people would stay home and not come to the show. Happily, we were proven wrong. Not only did we have a fantastic turn-out, but the weather held off until just after the show wrapped up!

The evening was full of highlights. As it was a masquerade-themed event, we had a bunch of really great masks and facepaint creations! It was so cool so many people got into the spirit of things! There was something magical going on under the huge tarp we sent up. (It resembled a creepy circus tent.) It may have helped that we spent hours before the show decorating. Pumpkins, lights, and, appropriately, spiderwebs and little plastic spiders were draped over almost everything. Several artists displayed some very unique pieces that drew a lot of good attention and added to the overall atmosphere. We even had a really great little zine, designed and illustrated by a veteran spiderweb artist, including poetry from several others.

The words and music presented at this show came from all sides of the artistic spectrum. We were so fortunate to be able to experience both seasoned musicians trying new and exciting things and blossoming amateurs gathering their new-found courage and delivering powerfully. We heard readings that were funny, sad, thoughtful, heartwarming, eerie, and full of a commanding truth. The audience was constantly entranced. I, personally, wouldn't take back a single moment from the entire night.

The thing that continues to strike me when we put on these shows is how REAL it all is. It’s what we want, of course, but the heart that these artists are putting in to their work blows me away every time. {We, bees} began this project with one solid idea: we wanted to create an environment that is comfortable for everyone, a place where creativity can thrive and nervousness takes a backseat to the excitement one feels in sharing their art with people who are genuinely interested and open-minded. There will never be room for pretentious attitudes. We just want to bring people together and inspire our community. I think we are succeeding, and I’m not sure I have ever felt anything so rewarding.

a harvest of ideas

 {We, bees} spent the day preparing for next weekend. Because bluebear is a school bus driver, and had the day off for Columbus day, whatever that is, and barbarian was planning on taking the day off to adventure anyway, they had an incredibly productive and distraction-free day. We shopped and cleaned up for the next Spiderweb Salon show... maybe we spent way over our budget this time, but hopefully it will be worth it! The next salon will be slightly themed, a spooky, but more importantly, harvest celebration, to highlight and appreciate the harvest of ideas and friendship! As our space was completely covered in leaves, the afternoon was spent raking, sweeping, and cleaning. We also hung more lights in the trees, brainstormed masquerade prizes, birthed ideas for future shows, creativity, and fun, and prepared the electrical situation for the weekend, as that's always a little tight. We are so excited! The week before is always hectic, but completely worthwhile. We can't way to see everyone this weekend and harvest a bounty of inspiration to share with everyone. See you then!