The Current Fall 2022

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Amarillo is a city with something to prove. So many institutions in this city have made it their goal to prove that Amarillo can and will support something most people would be surprised to find in a mid-sized city in the Texas panhandle.

Amarillo and the arts have always flirted with each other, from Georgia O’Keefe to the recent mural explosion, the city has provided space for art and artists. This magazine celebrates the weird and charming city that is Amarillo, Texas.

The stories on these pages provide just a small glimpse into the active and thriving arts community in this city. As you read through this magazine, remember that great art and great people can happen anywhere so why not here.

Making a magazine is an incredibly collaborative effort, so I would like to thank the people who have made it possible. First of all, the staff of the magazine has put in an incredible amount of work and effort to put everything together. Jill Gibson and Maddisun Fowler have always provided advice and pushed us to be the very best journalists, designers and artists we can possibly be. Derek Weathersbee has provided his expertise in design and typography to make sure that this magazine looks its very best. Brady Hochstein at ColorArt Amarillo provided amazing support in the printing of this magazine. I would also like to thank all of the students who have contributed their stories.

Thanks for reading and remember, why not here?

- Phoebe Terry

A Cartoon by Sargent published in a 1968 edition of “The Ranger” about the addition of language learning lab facilities.

Ben Sargent

by PHOEBE TERRY

Ben Sargent is a man of many talents. He’s been an editorial cartoonist for almost 50 years, he runs a letterpress print shop and, if that wasn’t enough for one man, he also volunteers as a railroad engineer on steam engines.

“Sometimes I tell people I can fire a steam locomotive, set type by hand and saddle a cow pony, so I’m all set for the 19th Century,” he said.

Sargent dresses like a “cross between a cowboy and a train conductor,” according to Jack Ohman, a cartoonist for the “Sacramento Bee” and one of Sargents “best cartoonist friends.” “At 6’3”, he makes it work.”

Sargent grew up in a newspaper family. Both of his parents worked for the Amarillo Globe-News while he was growing up. “My first newspaper job was, in those days, called a dispatch runner,” Sargent said. “Those were usually teenage guys, like I was, who would run proofs of the ads out to the people who bought them to show them the proofs before they went in the paper.”

He graduated from Amarillo High School in 1966 and went straight to AC. During his time at AC, he worked as a reporter and cartoonist for the student-produced newspaper, “The Ranger.” After AC, he went to the University of Texas and graduated with a bachelor’s in journalism. After graduating, he went to work for a few wire services as well as the Austin American-Statesman.

One day, Sargent was asked to do a drawing for a feature story one of his colleagues was working on. That led to more opportunities for cartoons here and there. He left the Statesman to work at a wire service for a little while, but eventually, he was offered a chance to return to The Statesman as a full-time artist. “I thought, ‘Well I’m kind of a second-rate reporter, I’ll give that a shot,’” he said.

“I was the only artist in the building, so I was doing all kinds of stuff, maps and graphs and little drawings,” he said. “Not long after I got there I asked the editor if I

could try some editorial cartoons and he said, ‘Yeah, give it a shot,’ and I did and pretty soon it grew to the point where that was all I did.”

“The first thing you need to know about Ben is that he’s perhaps the most meticulous artist in American cartooning, period,” Ohman said. “He approached his cartoon in the manner of an engraver. I can almost visualize him using a lupe. His cross hatching is immaculate, and in a world of bang-it-out artists, he’s a Rembrandt in a Photoshop world.”

Sargent won the Pulitzer prize for editorial cartooning in 1982 and was nominated again in 2001 and 2002. He retired from the “Austin-American Statesman” in 2009.

Sargent has not slowed down in his retirement. He runs a letterpress printing company originally founded by his brother and uncle. “I’ve learned the letterpress craft from my father when I was 12 years old, and have enjoyed it ever since,” Sargent said. “I really got back into it when Dad moved down to Austin from Amarillo in about 1993 and brought his type, press and printing equipment with him.”

His printing company, Sargent Brothers Printers, owns a collection of more than 230 fonts and a 10x15 Chandler & Price platen job press built in Cleveland in 1908.

The practice of letterpress printing was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid 15th century and was the primary form of printing until the invention of offset printing.

Sargent doesn’t practice just one craft though, he is also a volunteer railroad engineer for the Austin Steam Train Association.

According to Signe Wilkinson, one of Sargent’s friends and a cartoonist at the “Philadelphia Daily News,” Sargent liked to say, “Anyone can start a locomotive. It takes an engineer to stop one.”

“Our operation is pretty unusual in the tourist-railroad business in that all of our operating crews–conductors, engineers, brakemen etc.–are volunteers, and all of us are fully trained and licensed for our jobs,” Sargent said. Sargent is also the chairman of the board for the association.

Preston Moore

Sports journalism in the Panhandle

by DAISY BURTON

Preston Moore is a sports reporter and news anchor at NewsChannel 10 , but he has been working in journalism since he was 16. His first venture into the world of journalism was when he founded his very own entertainment news website “The Cinema Spot” while he was a student at Amarillo High School.

“It definitely helped me out a lot more than I thought it would,” Moore said. “I was younger than a lot of the guys I was working with. They nicknamed me boss baby because I was the editor-in-chief at 16 and I had writers who were like 25 years old.”

Preston has had a passion for sports ever since he was young. “He always loved sports and statistics,” said Nicole Moore, Preston Moore’s mom. “When he was a young child he learned to count by adding the numbers from NBA players’ jerseys and NASCAR numbers. We always told him he should be an announcer because he would have fun by announcing NASCAR racers as he played with his cars or announcing basketball games as he played them even when he was 4 and 5 years old.”

Little did Preston know that this

passion for sports would lead to a lifelong friendship.

“Preston and I became friends over sports,” Dylan Gilbert, a lifelong friend of Preston’s, said. “We were on every team together growing up. We loved to play basketball and talk smack about football. My family would go to his family’s house every Sunday to watch football, play basketball between games, and just talk sports all day. That was always my favorite time of the week.”

Preston’s passion grew stronger as he grew older and went on to major in sports media at Oklahoma State University. “Being in the student section of those games was some of the best times of my life, the energy is unbelievable,” Moore said.

When he was not in the student stands at OSU, Preston spent his time working for the O’Colly, the student newspaper at Oklahoma State University, as well as working as an anchor for student media.

Preston also has a strong passion for theatre, he played Gaston in the Amarillo Little Theater production of “Beauty and the Beast.”

“His acting ability was superb, we had never heard him sing solo and he astounded us,” Nicole Moore said. “To go from being a shy child to someone

able to play a part like that really blew us away,” This passion for theatre ultimately lead Preston to a job at Walt Disney World Florida where he played Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh” and friends and one of the “Country Bears “on the “Country Bears” ride. “It’s hot like, you’re sweating, but you’re having the time of your life,” Moore said. “I will always look back on those five months in entertainment at Disney as one of the coolest things I’ve experienced.”

Although he enjoyed traveling, Preston is happy to be back in his home town working at NewsChannel 10. “I love it so far. Its probably been the best place I’ve ever worked,” Moore said.

“When he was little, I remember it on the wall the first time I went over to his house, Preston won a reading award from President Bush,” Gilbert said. “He had a signed letter hanging in his room congratulating him on the achievement and the effort that got him there. I always wished that I was cool enough to do something on such a high level that the President of the United States commended me on it. But that’s Preston, a man of many talents that just come naturally to him. That is just Primetime Preston.”

Filmmakers AC

A still frame from Scott’s “Whispers.”

by STETSON SMITH

Some Amarillo College students are putting their ideas on the big screen. CJ Scott is one such student who began her filmmaking career during college and has continued her passion post-graduation.

Scott has written, directed and produced multiple short films. She also has a feature length movie titled “Whispers” currently in post-production.

“I debuted my newest short film, “Hideout,” at Terror-Con in Lubbock,” Scott said. “Showing the film my friends and I worked so hard on is a blessing. I am so thankful for those opportunities. Having people interested in my film is the best feeling ever. All creatives want is someone to listen to them. No one is required to, but when they do, I am beyond grateful.”

According to Scott, filmmaking begins with writing. “Right now, I make indie short films to build my writing skills and learn the basics of directing.” Scott said she is always learning. “Practice makes perfect and I learn how to be a better director with every new project.”

Scott said she has had help from other aspiring creatives and actors. Bryan Arvello, AC graduate, and digital content producer and videographer for the college communications and marketing and communications department as-

View Scott’s work here:

sisted with some of her films and has become a close friend.

Arvello has also made his own set of films while enrolled and after graduating. “I didn’t get to watch movies a lot when I was little,” he said. “There were a lot of strict rules in place because of my family’s religion, so, for me, films were an escape when I did get to watch them.” Arvello said his fascination with visual storytelling led him to working with Scott, which he describes as “awesome.”

“It’s great because there is a lot of creativity as well as the people involved that care about what they are making, especially CJ,” Arvello said.

Arvello said he is drawn to Scott’s love of the horror genre, but he also hopes

to branch out. “A lot of CJ’s stuff has been horror, in fact all of the projects I worked on with her have been horror and I’m fascinated by the horror genre itself, but with the short film I made it was a drama/romance and it was a lot of fun. I want to keep testing the waters with different things. I want to see what making a comedy is like. I want to see what other genres are like,” he said.

Working with Amarillo filmmakers also provides opportunities for local actors to gain experiences.

“CJ is the first filmmaker I’ve worked with,” Nicole Ellis, an Amarillo College theatre major, said.

“I would love to get more into acting so being able to be on the film side was very interesting and was a new perspective on acting,” Ellis said. “I’m not much of a horror film watcher, but being in it was very exciting and interesting, definitely something different for me because when a horror movie comes out and my friends want me to go, I normally say no.”

Ellis is also helping Scott with audio in her current film “Hush.” She said she finds it weird to watch herself in the movies and hear her own voice. “When you hear yourself speak, it’s normally in your head until it’s recorded and you hear it, so hearing yourself and seeing yourself from the perspective of everybody else is a big shock,” she said.

photo by PHOEBE TERRY

“Jason has a way of capturing the human form in a daunting, graceful and beautiful way that I wanted to be a part of.”

-Nox Falls

Jason

art bares itself Barrett

by D. HILL

Sometimes less is more. In the case of Amarillo business owner Jason Barrett, what is less is the clothing.

Barrett is the owner of the 806 Coffee + Lounge and a nude portrait photographer.

Barrett’s journey as an artist began as a child taking art classes. From there he became an architectural photographer, and then, about a decade later, he began taking photos of people. With the inspiration of a friend, he decided to take up nude photography.

“Our very first featured artist here at the 806 was a really good friend of mine, and he did all nude paintings,” Barrett said. “It piqued my interest. To me, shooting nude photography is similar to shooting architecture, which is what I used to love to do.”

Barrett said that his photography sessions are collaborative and emphasize comfort. “It’s fun to get with models and incorporate their ideas because if we’re both invested in that particular shoot, we get

better pictures. It’s more fun.”

Before each shoot, Barrett meets with the models and discusses plans for the photo session. “I’ve shot a lot of people who’ve never modeled at all before, for anything, much less stripped down, so I always like to make sure that everything is completely clear. Obviously with nude photography, comfort level is big for both of us. If they’re uncomfortable, I get uncomfortable.”

Modeling nude in front of a camera can be daunting, but Barrett’s models said he tries to make his subjects feel confident.

“I had never done a fully nude photoshoot before, and I was super nervous,” Annie Hall, one of Barrett’s models, said.

“Jason was amazing to work with. He knew what he was doing, was very professional and kept the whole shoot concise and light-hearted. He’s definitely someone you can trust. I’ve had experiences with photographers where something I shot ended up on the internet without my permission, but you never have to

worry about that with Jason. He’s lovely to work with, even if you are nervous, because his demeanor makes you feel comfortable rather than exposed. He’s also a brilliant artist. The ideas, themes and poses from either his own ideas or the model’s always create beautiful art,” Hall said

For some models, the nude photography experience is about proclaiming their sense of self-confidence and self-love.

“Jason has a way of capturing the human form in a daunting, graceful and beautiful way that I wanted to be a part of,” Nox Falls, one of Barrett’s models, said.

Falls said that nude photo shoots have the power to change the way people feel about themselves and their bodies. “It’s a valid and transformative experience that enabled me to see myself in a different light and lens. I love documenting the skin I live in and continue to do so. Working with Jason catapulted that, and I’m forever thankful,” Falls said

by Jason Barrett

photos by PHOEBE TERRY

by ALDO AGUILAR

“Opportunities for artists are limitless,” according to Stephanie Jung, an Amarillo College art instructor.

“Visual artists have a wide variety of career options. Being a professional artist, selling work (or receiving grants for the production of work in an academic or museum setting) is the first thing that comes to mind. Teaching is another primary career option,” Jung said.

Jung encourages people to pursue careers in the arts. “I wouldn’t say it is easy to enter the creative fields in general, but if you have the passion for it, nothing is better, and nothing else will do.”

In the visual art community there are many different types of art and artists. From pen and paper, to painting, to photography and digital art – there is immense variety in the types of art that a person can pursue.

“I really like traditional art,” Klaus Padgett, an art major at AC, said. “I really am enjoying life drawing right now. I want to be a tattoo artist, so getting art experience is something I need to do,” he added.

Some prospective artists say they are afraid that finding employment as an artist will be challenging, but AC art professors say there are many ways to find stable employment in the arts.

“I think it’s important for a person wanting to have a career in art, to go to college” Steven Cost, an art professor said.

Cost said he realized his passion for

art as a child and has worked in the field for over 50 years. “You have to work hard at creating your legacy as an artist. That’s success,” Cost said.

Like other careers, success in the arts often depends on the ability to network and find new opportunities.

“Like in any other profession, you will meet people who are incredibly kind, supportive, intelligent, insightful and innovative,” Jung said. “You will also meet people who are petty or mean. Ideas are a currency in the art world, as is doing something first, and a sense of scarcity may drive competitiveness,” she said.

Jack Sorenson, a well-known artist from the Amarillo-area did not earn a college degree in art. From a young age he had talent and became a wellknown and respected artist.

“I announced to my family at 11 that I was going to be an artist,” Sorenson said. “There weren’t any artists in our family, so everybody tried to discourage me. They thought I was going to be a starving artist, but I never really had trouble making a living in art. People think it’s hard and a struggle, but it’s no worse than anything else,” he said.

Sorenson added that he encourages people to follow their passion. “If you have the drive to do something, don’t listen to anybody. Just do it. After all these years of drawing, my goals are still the same, just do what you want to do and keep making what you want to make.”

JOBS IN ART

Dynamite Museum

by RYLEE CHERNE

The Dynamite Museum is an art installation which is made up of painted over road signs scattered all across Amarillo. With seemingly no rhyme or reason to the project, each sign was painted by hand and featured a completely unique design.

“I got hired to work on that project because I was different,” Jon Revett, art director and associate professor of painting and drawing at West Texas A&M University said. “I had dreadlocks, brands, tattoos, and I was an engaging person. You think art is one thing then all of a sudden I got involved in this project and it was something completely different.”

Revett was hired for this special project, not just for his experience, but because such a unique project required equally unique artists to complete it.

“It was not just some boring thing you did in your studio,” Revett said, “It was a lot of weirdness, a lot of fun and it was definitely larger than life.” The project started with a small handful of artists painting and hiding signs all over town. As the popularity of the signs began to grow, soon the project would span across the entirety of Amarillo.

“There was an idea but we didn’t really have a clear vision,” Revett said. “So we just sort of

opened the floodgates and let the public sort of decide.” Typically the artist themself is the person who decides what to make of their art, however, with the Dynamite Museum the tables were turned. People began sending in their suggestions as to what the artwork should be on the signs. The artists would then vote on the ideas, choosing which pieces of artwork would be painted.

“At one point, my job was the sign seller,” Revett said. “We didn’t actually sell the signs, but we would get the signs made and we would take polaroids of them. Then I would drive around in a 1959 pink Cadillac, and if somebody was standing in their front yard, I would jump out of the car and be like, ‘Do you want a sign?’” This idea of letting the public be a part of the art is by no means a new concept. Social sculpture, as it is referred to in the world of artists, gives the public not just the chance to view and enjoy art, but to be a part of the art. Letting the people in on the process from start to finish slowly built a sense of community between artists and everyday people.

“It was definitely much more freeform and we engaged the public, in that way where they actually took some ownership in making the work and then the signs were given to them, so they could do whatever they wanted with them,” Revett said.

collage by KAMDEN SLOUGH, courtesy photos

Caliche

Caliche is a collection of stores all operating under one roof. It has records for sale, vintage clothing and a space for counseling sessions with Ashley Allcorn LCSW. The space also hosts the Lasso Art Gallery, curated by Kegan Hollis an art instructor at West Texas A&M university as well as AMoA.

The Amarillo Museum of Art is located on the Amarillo College Washington Street Campus, and hosts a rotating collection of art exhibitions as well as a permanent collection of Asian art sponsored by the late Dr. William T. Price. The Asian art collection includes over 300 works from South/Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Admission to the museum is free.

Art Gallery

The Lile Art Gallery is a piece of classic Panhandle americana, run by Bob “Crocodile” Lile and his trusty furry companions, Lady and Zeek. The Lile Art Gallery features a collection of Route 66 memorabilia as well as some of Lile’s own art. The gallery is most known for its ‘Cadilite’ jewelry, made from pieces of paint chipped off the Cadillac Ranch cars and polished until all the layers of paint mixed together shine.

Vocal Jazz

courtesy photo

by MASON DUGAT

“It’s not always as glamorous or easy as the movies make it look,” Dr. Nathaniel Fryml, director of choral activities said.

Vocal Jazz is an acapella group at Amarillo College, and even though they are called vocal jazz, jazz is not the only thing they sing.

“We are called a vocal jazz ensemble, and that’s sort of the bread and butter of what we do,” Fryml said. “We do try to incorporate a lot of Jazz in the course of a year, but we are also a little more flexible than that. We also try to mix in other stuff that we just love to do.” The group even gets to pick the songs they get to practice sometimes.

“Dr. Fryml has the final say, but as far as suggestions go, he will ask us what songs we think might work, and we will listen to some arrangements that we think are feasible,” Canon Perkins, a graphic design major, said. “Dr. Fryml goes through and decides which one would be the best one for the event or an event in the future.”

“We have a four to five part group. Sometimes Dr. Fryml will perform with us, but there is bass, baritone, tenor, alto and soprano. I represent the alto,” Halie Schultz, a general studies major, said.

“I enjoy being the bass. It’s where I tend to sing most of the time,” Perkins said.

“The group has been around for quite awhile, so we have tried to hold on to a lot of those traditions to respect those groups,” Fryml said. “It’s a pretty cool organization and legacy to continue.” The group has a year-long commitment.

Even though Vocal Jazz is considered a class at Amarillo College, people that are interested in joining must go through an audition phase that happens in August. “I hold those auditions myself, and typically it’s a two stage process and the first round will be individual auditions or in small groups,” Fryml said. “And then people who pass the first round based on their musical experience, aptitude or skill move into a second round where everybody is together and the group is trying to form itself.”

Even though the main auditions happen in August, there are times when they still need to fill some roles.

“I saw Dr. Fryml sent out an email about it that sounded very similar to an acapella group I was in in highschool called ‘New Sound’ that I really enjoyed, so I thought I would give it a try,” Perkins said.

BLANK SPACES

BLANK SPACES

Murals

by PHOEBE TERRY

Amarillo has experienced a public art boom in the past few years. For Blank Spaces, public art is about a lot more than paint on a wall, it’s about shaping future artists and giving them the skills they need not only to be a successful artist but to be an impactful member of the community.

Blank Spaces is a local mural painting organization that allows students interested in art to work in a professional environment. The group is led by Shawn Kennedy, the head of fine arts at Caprock High School, with the mission to spread appreciation of art to people all around Amarillo.

“Not everyone goes to art museums or hangs out in galleries, so this was a really good way to have anyone be able to go out and have a kind of walking gallery,” Kennedy said. “As the head of fine arts you’re constantly trying to show the importance of art making, and public art is a good way to do that because everyone can relate to it.”

The group got its start in 2018 with a partnership between Kennedy and Dyron Howell, the executive director of Snack Pack 4 Kids.

“I would drive a little short bus full of kids from Caprock to Snack Pack every day,” Kennedy said. “We would

sit around this giant boardroom and talk about public art and murals and what we wanted to see and what that would take.”

Those boardroom meetings went on for about a year until they were able to find a building to paint on. The group had no budget and few supplies, but they had an idea for a design, according to Kennedy.

“The first day, in the summer of 2019, we invited about 30-40 kids and probably 15 showed up,” Kennedy said. “By the time we were done we were down to about 12. There was no money involved, it was just ‘we want to do this because it’s something we think is interesting and worthwhile.’”

Working with that group of kids over the summer, Kennedy realized how big of an issue food insecurity was among his students. Working alongside Snack Pack 4 Kids, they recruited a group of volunteers to cook for the kids.

“That summer, we had all these community members helping to cook, and we weren’t just feeding our kids, we were feeding other volunteers too,” Kennedy said. “Amarillo National Bank came out, the fire department came, the police department came. We had 100 volunteers come in bits and pieces and paint a section of the wall. To this day we still provide a hot meal every shift.”

Blank spaces is not just about the art however, according to Kennedy, it’s about growth. The group is active in volunteering around Amarillo, recently they packed boxes of art supplies to send to kids who lack access to art supplies. Kennedy also tries to teach the group about the business side of art.

“My favorite thing about Blank Spaces is the endless love and help that flows within our mentors,” said BrookLynn Turner, a senior at Caprock High School. “Yes, we do learn the ways of art, but we also learn the ways of life while we grow through this internship.”

“It’s really great to see their confidence grow, in the beginning sometimes you’ll get a little cry out of them because they’re so terrified, and by the end of it they’re handling media, that’s stuff your average adult struggles with,” Kennedy said.

To work for Blank Spaces, students need to apply and submit a portfolio. After that, they go through an interview process. The students range in age from freshmen to a few college-aged students.

“I knew and admired Blank Spaces MuraIs long before I joined but I never knew how to get involved,” Niara Torres, a senior at Caprock said. “I was in Mr. Kennedy’s art class my junior year and participated in many art events

throughout the year like the Walmart Christmas mural event. Kennedy noticed my work ethic towards the assignments I was given and saw my potential and offered me the opportunity to join the Blank Spaces team.”

Once hired, students get paid an hourly wage, and may additionally receive a scholarship at the end of the year.

“There’s a lot of things that have to fall into place to make a thing like this work,” Kennedy said. “It wasn’t like Blank spaces just did this thing, it was propped up by dozens and dozens of other people, it’s a big deal.”

The effect of Blank Spaces goes beyond the physical murals around town, the artists that have passed through the group have spread out all over Texas, carrying with them all the knowledge and inspiration they have gained, working with Blank Spaces.

“I want to be an Artist to impact others’ lives the way that my art teacher has,” Turner said. “I want to inspire other teenagers so that they know that art is a way of expressing yourself, and that you’re not bound to just one style of art. I want my art on walls, and on people, so I can leave my mark on the world.”

EEKS

by TREVOR DOBBINS

Aunt Eeks is a local book, vintage clothing and all around oddity shop located on Amarillo’s Sixth Street.

“Aunt Eek is a gypsy at heart, a life-long learner and acquirer of books, ephemera, art and ‘uniquities,’ according to the store’s website. “Her desire to collect the memories of her travels and encounters is matched only by her desire to share them with other like-minded travelers of this world. An artfully curated store beckons, one never knows what one may find.”

The person behind the store is named Angela Workman. She grew up a little outside of Amarillo but moved around for awhile before eventually settling back in Amarillo and starting Aunt Eeks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I love the selection of stuff they have in the store. I love that you can find great gifts. They have books, they have clothing; they have records. It’s a lot of the things that I love all under one roof,” said Amy Presley, FM90 program director and Amarillo College audio production instructor.

Alongside the used books and assorted oddities, the store offers locally-produced products and art.

Every first Thursday of the month, Aunt Eeks has an open mic night where anyone can come perform. “It gives people a voice and lets them meet others whether they like them or not,” said Workman. “It gives people a chance to do any piece of art they want for an audience.”

Scot Mcclain, an AC business management major, said he enjoys open mic night. “I appreciate the way everyone can express themselves without anybody criticizing them,” he said.

Presley agreed. “They’re very accepting of anybody and any talent level and I love that people come to support. They truly love art.”

photo by PHOEBE TERRY

Mikel Rome

Rory Isaman

Pantera Stroud

Down to Earth

by BEAU OKECUKWU

Down to Earth or DTE is a clothing brand that was founded March 23, 2020 with the goal to inspire others.

Mikel Rome, the founder of Down to Earth, said numerous factors moved him to create the brand. “The concept and idea for DTE came from thoughts, ideas, the strange environment around me, the people around me, traumas, growing pains, love and just the overall hope to be able to build a better tomorrow and inspire others through art and creation,” Rome said.

He also said he sees the brand as a reflection of himself. Since his childhood, Rome said he has been an outcast. “I had different hobbies, ideas and tastes. When I was younger, I was heavily ostracized for it and I was uncomfortable with myself, as well.” Even with the obstacles of being excluded from social groups and the sadness that comes with that, Rome always knew he’d be doing something like Down to Earth. “I knew I always wanted to create something,” he said.

Although Rome has created a successful business, he maintains his original focus. “My main hope is that I can help others and give them a platform to be able to express themselves with-

out having to sell out or get sucked into the corporate system,” Rome said.

Rome says he’s invested in this brand because he loves it, not for financial reasons. “I run an almost ‘anti-business’ model, that being that I only make about $5 off each product I make, because I want to make my products affordable for everyone who wants them,” Rome said.

Naturally, Rome faces challenges with running the business, but he doesn’t let those challenges discourage him. “I always remind myself that the feeling won’t last forever.” Rome doesn’t actually view other clothing brands as competition. “I want them to succeed as much as DTE.”

Rome’s colleagues agree that DTE is different. “It’s a group of friends who all want to get their name out there, and it’s a small local brand that’s not trying to make a huge profit,” JuJu Martin, the main photographer of Down to Earth, said. “The group of friends is the brand to me. I think that since we are all close with one another and we look at each other as friends rather than coworkers and having so many friends trying to achieve a goal the same way will keep us successful,” Martin said.

DTE is attracting some loyal followers. “I’d been following the brand for a little bit and I thought it looked really cool,” Tanni Zeller, a model for Down to Earth, said. “I liked the message behind it, so when I saw an ad for modeling, I responded to it.”

Zeller described DTE as inspiring and inclusive. “DTE is a platform to promote and inspire other creators, as well as be a safe space for kids like me. Kids who don’t fit in anywhere else,” Zeller said.

Zeller describes DTE as a community for outcasts–both those who securely embrace their differences and those who feel timid and alone. “DTE is somewhere for people who don’t fit in to fit in,” she said.

Rome said he cares about DTE, but he also cares about Amarillo as a whole. The city is a source of creative inspiration for him. “Amarillo, Texas is such a strange little town, especially Sixth Street. I’ve met so many beautifully strange people there. You walk into a bar on Sixth and your sit next to a group of bigoted bikers, an aspiring musician, a civil rights activist, and a Christian couple in their 80s.”

DTE isn’t only a reflection of Rome, but a reflection of the city he calls home.

ART GALLERY

Easley McPherson

Phoebe Terry

Shawn Miner

Kate Woollard

Charlie Glear

Mariem Padgett

PHOEBE TERRY

MEET THE STAFF

Art Director

FALL 2022

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