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"I am still hearing chainsaws, but these are happy chainsaws," said Cecily Pegues, of Decatur.

Cecily Pegues knows she has a big responsibility to her farm and, more importantly, her family. Her parents had bought the farm in Decatur just after World War II. It was the farm she grew up on while it grew on her. And that responsibility extends to the cows and even to the trees that used to stand in front of the home.

"For every creature that's here and the balance between them," said Pegues.

If she could guess the live oak had been there "hundreds of years." When the December EF-2 tornado tore through Decatur, it took down homes as well as the live oak and a number of pine trees that line the property.

"It's been a traumatic nine months. I'm still cleaning up," said Pegues.

Pegues had an idea to take a negative and turn it into a positive. She enlisted the help of Kevin Roach and Jimmy Hobbs, who specialize in chainsaw art.

"Our slogan is carving stories," Roach said. "Chisels are my paintbrush."

Roach has been carving for seven years and almost exclusively for the last four.

The pine trees Pegues lost that line her property are now lines in the survival story. Roach and Hobbs have turned the destruction from the tornado into art. There is some form of carving, chain-sawing and painting on each of the 16 pine trees on the Pegues property. The trees have purposely placed pairings of animals that capture the spirit for Pegues.

"Every animal is out there for a reason," said Pegues.

For example, the raven and the fox, spider and rabbit, wolf and bat, even a standalone bear.

"I was not willing to look out there at destruction. I set up a fresh barrier," she said.

To Pegues, every carving has a purpose both symbolically and spiritually.

She's thankful for a lot of things: for people like James and Mike McMillan who rushed to help clean up on the day of the tornado and beyond, and for those who have helped transform stubs of trees into works of art.

"It was a terrible day, but it was made much better by friends," she said.

The day WFAA arrived at the Pegues ranch, Roach was working on three beams of sunlight on the backside of one of the trees. Roach has a number of wood sculptures throughout the town of Decatur and takes pride in the craft.

"For most sculptors, [the art] found them... they didn't find it," said Roach.

Pegues has a few more art projects on the farm left to be done. And while she worries about the loss of habitat the downed trees created, she is thankful to be continuing the family farming legacy in a slightly more colorful way.

As Taylor Swift, one of the best-selling musicians in history, performs to sold-out crowds throughout the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (including AT&T Stadium), the Arlington Museum of Art announced it will debut an exclusive exhibition this summer that focuses on the evolution of the icon’s artistic expression.

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Collection, presented by the HELP Center for LGBT Health, will open Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Arlington Museum of Art. Additional support has been provided by the Arlington Cultural Tourism Council. A private opening reception for members and donors will be held on June 2. Advance tickets will go on sale in April at arlingtonmuseum.org.

Curated by the Arlington Museum of Art from Swift’s own private collection, Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Collection will feature original costumes, photographs, and concert videos drawn from her creative periods, or “eras.” Highlights of the exhibition are eight costumes worn by Swift from her record-breaking albums Midnights, folklore, Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

Altogether, the exhibition is an exploration of Swift as an evolving, boundary-pushing artist. It will run through Sept. 24, 2023. “As an artist, Swift's career is rich in depth and detail, and we believe the exhibition will appeal not only to her fans, music lovers, and art lovers, but to the next generation of emerging museum-goers,” Chris Hightower, president and CEO of the Arlington Museum of Art, said.

Dr. August Jordan Davis, art historian, curator and chair of Art and Art History department at the University of Texas at Arlington, recognizes Swift’s entire body of work as artistic expression, including her skills as a lyricist, composer, musician, performer, art director, set designer, actor, theatrical director, producer and curator of her own public persona.

“Taylor Swift is a storyteller who obviously loves exploration,” said Davis. “From writing and singing to acting and directing, from the changing genres of her musical journey across two decades, to crafting the concepts and characters of her albums and songs, Swift is attuned to experimentation. The variety of eras in Swift’s career shows her dedication to finding new forms of expression and performance that will bring her latest ideas to life.”

Hightower sees the exhibition as a unique opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in what it means to be a multimedia artist today.

“Great artists throughout history have been able to express themselves so sublimely because they were so dedicated to their craft,” said Hightower. “They never stop learning and never hold back. They influence the future because they take creative risks in spite of opposing forces.”

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said that the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Collection exhibition reflects a number of the city’s strengths, including a reputation for world-class entertainment, the city’s Music-Friendly Community designation by the State of Texas, and an on-going commitment to supporting arts and cultural programming.

“In Arlington, we love collaboration, a can-do spirit, and out-of-the-box thinking,” said Mayor Ross, “and the team at the Arlington Museum of Art continues to surprise and thrill us by really putting all that into practice. It has been so exciting to see the Arlington Museum of Art find its voice in the last few years, and there is no doubt that even bigger things are on the horizon.”

Exhibition Details

About the Arlington Museum of Art

The Arlington Museum of Art is dedicated to championing creativity and providing access to art for the educational enrichment and cultural development of our community. Its forward-thinking curatorial mission drives the museum to present relevant and engaging art exhibits that change several times a year and attract visitors from all over the world.

Art meets science in Artist Boat 2023-24 fall and winter day camp sessions! Campers will experience true science and art enrichment with the creation of Eco-Art and exploration of Artist Boat’s Coastal Heritage Preserve. Each camper will create high quality art projects and explore like a young naturalist. Each day is a different theme. Come for one or come for all!

Registration Now Open

Fall Eco-Art Day Camp Dates

9:00 am – 4:00 pm daily

Monday, November 20th: Fun Fishing Adventure Spend the week fishing with us! We will learn different fishing techniques like how to seine, throw a cast net, and go crabbing! Students will also learn the ancient art of fish printing and dissecting a perch.

Tuesday, November 21st: Flowers and Feathers There is no shortage of birds and beautiful flowers to see at the Coastal Heritage Preserve! Campers will explore and paint like John James Audubon. Campers will learn all about the wildlife from the soil to the sky, while creating projects of their own!

Wednesday, November 22nd: Gulf of Mexico Mania There are so many fun creatures to learn about that live in the Gulf of Mexico. Sharks and whales, jellyfish, and turtles, and so much more! Students will learn all about the creatures of the Gulf and bring home a painted portrait of a native species.

Winter Eco-Art Day Camp Dates

Tuesday, January 2nd: Paint Like Van Gogh Van Gogh is famous for his plein air landscape paintings. Students will get to learn more about the famous artist, and experience the joys of painting landscapes outdoors and making nature journals.

Wednesday, January 3rd: Whale of a Time We whaley hope your campers will join us to discover new things about the gentle giants of the Gulf of Mexico. Campers will create unique whale artwork and learn new art techniques!

Thursday, January 4th: Turtle Time Bring your campers to have a turtley awesome time learning about the life of the turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. Campers will get to see our own animal ambassador Diamondback Terrapin and create an array of artwork!

Friday, January 5th: Under the Microscope Come learn about the unique microscopic world just beneath our nose! Campers will get hands-on experience using microscopes and learning the different functions, as well as get the chance to create their very own clay plant or animal cell.

Registration Now Open

Texas Swifties with the post concert blues can get another glimpse into 12-time Grammy award-winner Taylor Swift’s decades-long career with a new Arlington Museum of Art exhibit.

“Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Collection” opens at the Arlington Museum of Art, 201 W Main St. in Arlington, June 3 and runs through Sept. 24.

The exhibit features original costumes, photographs, videos and more representing Swift’s creative periods, or eras, throughout the years. Exhibit highlights include eight costumes worn by Swift from her albums Midnights, folklore, Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

Kendall Quirk, Registrar and Director of Exhibitions at Arlington Museum of Art, said museum staff has already seen high demand for the exhibit with excitement from around the country.

“We’re really proud of that and excited to have people who maybe are not familiar with Arlington here this summer,” she said.

Swift brought her Eras Tour to AT&T Stadium in Arlington from March 31 to April 2, playing a three-hour show with 44 songs all three nights. She also played shows in Houston later in April.

The Eras Tour includes songs from across Swift’s ten albums, each of which represent a different “era” of her career.

Quirk is a Swift fan, made apparent by her lavender colored dress — reminiscent of one of many outfits Swift wears during her Eras Tour shows — that she wore during an exhibit preview event Thursday.

Typically she takes a lot of time researching an exhibiting artist and topic, but this time Quirk said she was able to jump into the project loaded with prior knowledge which helped her conceptualize the exhibit.

Wear along the bottom of a pair of tall black boots in the “Fearless” section gives a hint at Swift’s first headlining tour. A green plaid dress worn by Swift during her Disney+ concert film performance of “folklore” takes fans back to Long Pond Studios.

The outfits are artifacts of Swift’s career and while the clothes may be on headless mannequins, fan’s will no doubt recognize the pieces — and maybe even the songs she performed in them.

“Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Collection” was planned six months prior to its opening, but how the collaboration came to be is a little more secret.

“It’s been just a really great collaboration with them, so that’s kind of all I’ll say,” Quirk said. “We’re really excited to have it and I hope that it’s a really exciting summer and I really think it will be based on the response that we’ve been getting from people ahead of time.”

Tickets for “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Collection” are on sale now.

Tickets prices are:

A $5 per person rate is also available for groups over 10.

Museum members get free admission tickets.

This story was originally published June 1, 2023, 4:00 PM.

Linda and Bill Reaves found themselves coming down with a case of homesickness. The year was 1975, and the fledgling educators had just moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, from their home state of Texas to take teaching positions.

The solution to their longing seemed simple—paper their bare walls with Texas art. To conjure scenes of home, the couple worked within their teachers’ salaries and bought prints depicting the Lone Star State. But the art bug really bit when they had saved enough to purchase their first oil painting at a high school rummage sale in Grand Rapids.

Little did they know the mystery, and the lifelong love of art, that painting would spark. The Rocky Mountain scene with Native Americans in the foreground was unsigned, but believing it to be an original Albert Bierstadt, known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West, Linda and Bill took to researching their cardinal piece with increasing interest. For the next five years, they painstakingly attempted to authenticate the painting. Upon returning to their home state of Texas to finish their doctoral degrees, the mystery was finally solved—through additional research the Reaves discovered their inaugural piece was, unfortunately, a period copy.

While some novice collectors might have been daunted by such a setback, the Reaves were more determined than ever as they embarked upon their newfound quest for researching and acquiring great Texas art. The homesick students had become the teachers. Devoting their time to education and arts connoisseurship over the years, they eventually amassed an important and focused collection of Early Texas Art originating from 1920 through 1980.

The culmination of the Reaves’ passion and dedication resulted in a bulk donation of their collection to the Texas A&M University Art Galleries in late 2021 – with over 350 works on long-term loan, 100 pieces donated, and a substantial endowment to keep Early Texas Arts programming alive and well at Texas A&M – providing the genesis for the Texas Art Project, an initiative and collaboration with the Texas A&M University Art Galleries staff to bring Texas-centric arts exhibitions, research, and programming to Texas A&M and beyond.

The Texas Art Project celebrates the state’s cultural and fine arts legacy through twice yearly exhibitions, co-curated by the Reaves, featuring Early Texas Art from the Reaves’ collection, the University Art Galleries existing collection, and borrowed works from other private and public lender collections.

“We are so pleased to have this opportunity to work along with the talented team at the University Art Galleries to organize a thoughtful and engaging exhibition series that can help viewers better realize the robust range, depth, and quality of art produced in our state over the years,” Linda Reaves said. “It is our hope that the entire series will serve to enhance fine arts opportunities for both students and the public alike.”

A recent Texas Art Project exhibition of Texas Impressionism works in the J. Wayne Stark Galleries, “Strokes of Genius,” resulted in a 286 percent increase in visitor traffic, with exhibitions bringing in Texas A&M classes, homeschool groups, and expert guest speakers from other museums, like The Grace Museum and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

What started out as a whim to cure a case of homesickness turned into a lifelong passion, with the Reaves assisting in the formation of the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art (CASETA), operating their own prominent fine arts gallery in Houston for more than a decade, and now serving as co-editors of the Joe and Betty Moore Texas Art Series at the Texas A&M University Press.

After serving as educators and administrators for more than 35 years, and Bill previously working for the Texas A&M University System, the Reaves’ early calling to become educators has further compelled them to make lasting impacts on their community and state; while not only seeking to provide for the students at Texas A&M, they plan to introduce underserved communities and rural school districts to the world of Texas art with their recent gift through educational programming, which will meet people where they live in their communities.

“Linda and I are especially excited about helping to bring more exposure to Texas art to the Texas A&M community and the state,” Bill Reaves said. “We think that learning and knowing more about our state’s rich visual arts legacies only adds additional joy and enrichment to the experience of being a Texan.”

To learn how you can support the Texas A&M University Art Galleries and the Texas Art Project through artwork donations, contact UART Director Catherine Hastedt. To help support UART through monetary donations, contact Reagan Chessher at the Texas A&M Foundation.

To learn more about the University Art Galleries and the Texas Art Project’s upcoming exhibitions, visit uart.tamu.edu.