Sunday, May 19, 2024
GRANBURY CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION
Stacey Watkins-Martin and Cora Werley are local artists and members with several others of the Granbury Cultural Arts Commission. Both work diligently with many other people and organizations to promote Granbury as the exciting arts destination it has become.
Anyone who has spent a few minutes in our Convention Center has seen the dramatic Western paintings — and the artist you've become familiar with there is none other than Granbury High School's long-time art teacher Mike Tabor.
First of all, he would want you to know about the accolades of his students — who won at the Fort Worth Stock Show Art Contest eight of the last nine years of his teaching career. That's an artist who has the talent and ability to pass along what he's learned, who was generous with his time and his encouragement, which literally changes young people's lives. Being nurtured in artistic expression is a gift he gave his fortunate students.
Now that he's retired from teaching, we're sure to see more of the artist he's always been: the guy that's won awards from Texas A&M University, the Texas Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, Tarleton State University, the city of Granbury, Bosque Conservatory, and as a George Phippen Invitational Recipient in Prescott, Arizona. He's been profiled at least 30 times in various publications. His work hangs in collections as wide-ranging as Grady Spears (the famous cowboy chef), banks and financial institutions, law firms, restaurants, hotels and private companies.
But even though he loves to paint, has been honored for painting, is still being commissioned (two for the 6666 ranches, for example, four for Globe Life Field in Arlington, a triptych for the Waco Regional Airport) and will continue to paint … a large part of his commission work is now in sculpture. John Hancock Insurance Company commissioned a fabulous statue of the father-and-disabled-son Hoyt team famous for running marathons together.
He's been commissioned recently by a generous anonymous donor to do a larger-than-life bronze cowboy named "Texan Rider" for Tarleton State University. Right now he's working on a life-size bronze sculpture of Dan Coates, who was one of the original founders of Shanley Park, which has been enjoyed by this city for years. It is anticipated that sculpture will reside permanently in the newly developing Shanley Park Sculpture Garden for us all to enjoy for years to come.
Tabor still lives and loves to work in Granbury where he and his family have put down roots and are leaving a legacy. We are certainly beyond blessed with Mike and his wife Suzy Tabor as our neighbors here. In fact, if any of you were driving by the Langdon Center that Friday night, you saw evidence of that.
The "Dinner in White" put on by Granbury Arts Alliance (GAA) was a remarkable success in so many ways. People enjoyed each other's company, supported and became members in the GAA and helped GAA raise the money needed to carry Mike's sculpture of Dan Coates into fruition. Casting a life-size or larger bronze statue is not an inexpensive venture, and art-loving Granburians came out in droves to support Mike Tabor's first Granbury outdoor public art sculpture.
srebal01@aol.com | 817-733-2118
cwerley@werleylaw.com | 817-946-3865
