By Elizabeth Brannon
“Doorways symbolize transitions in our lives. They mark the thresholds between spaces, both physical and metaphorical, where we move from one state to another. Whether it’s leaving a familiar place behind or stepping into something new and unknown, doorways encapsulate the essence of change and the journey of life itself. They hold within them the anticipation, fear, and excitement of what lies ahead, making them powerful symbols in literature, art, and our everyday experiences.” – Tish Carter, Flower Mound Community and Cultural Events Manager
At the recent Flower Mound Arts Festival, four local artists were each invited to create a door for the Community Art Project, a successful tradition supporting the collaboration between artist and community. The project this year was the Door Project, brought to life by Rebecca J. Jones, Steve Falkenburg, Anna Mikhaela Reyes and Beth Dilley. These artists created the front of their door and the back of each door was left blank, which allowed the community to contribute their own designs. These four doors together then created an actual new work of art. Each of these professional and award-winning artists and teachers was invited to share a statement about their door.
For Rebecca Jones, an artist, illustrator and animator, her door was about “opening the door to your imagination. With doors to imagination open, kids can travel to new worlds.” Rebecca helps produce and direct animations for TV, websites, and film. Her films and commercials have won numerous awards and have been in hundreds of festivals and competitions nationally and internationally. rebeccajjones.com
Steve Falkenburg, a lifelong painter and artist, is captivated by the way things look and the way abstract properties interact to produce the visual experience. Steve’s work “lives on a line between representation and abstraction.” For Steve’s door, it was all about “nostalgia and our memories living through us in the present.” Steve’s generation was influenced by the hippie movement, which is wonderfully illustrated by his colorful tribute to the 60’s. falkenbergarts.com
Anna Mikhaela Reyes is an award winning contemporary conceptual artist based in Denton. She uses her tools to elevate the romanticism of botany and the human figure. For her door, Anna used a “green ribbon to focus on May as Mental Health Awareness Month and reduce the stigma surrounding behavioral health issues. The succulents are a nod to the resilience and perseverance of those living with mental health issues, so they may bloom and thrive in challenging environments.” amr-creative.design
Beth Dilley is an artist, creator and teacher who takes joy in any journey. Beth’s art works are well known to Flower Mound residents, as her works have formed the basis of all four community art projects the Art Festivals have produced. Beth’s door is about “what we value and hold sacred deep inside. We are what we treasure, and what we treasure becomes what we offer the world. Because what we see on the surface of one another is only a small part of the person, I made the portion of the tree emerging much smaller than the portion below, the true self. Until a door is opened, it’s like a person we see but have not met. We don’t really know them until the door is opened and we can see what they treasure.” bethdilley.com
The completed Door Project will be available at the Flower Mound CAC for a few weeks this month and at Town Hall in October and November. Residents are invited to see and enjoy the completed project up close, and treasure another Flower Mound community art project.
