Art Celebrates Community & Creativity

Artisans Share Homegrown Skills Rooted in Life

Story by Kathy Denes

Texas runs deep in the hearts of its artists, particularly those whose work reflects Lone Star culture, past and present.

Many of their artistic endeavors can be classified as folk art—a category which includes ceramics, sculptures, paintings, quilts, jewelry, photography, pottery, glass, furniture, musical instruments, and more, created by artisans with little or no formal training.

These artists welcome the chance to share their homegrown skills at folk art workshops, classes, and communities across the state. The Chicken Farm Art Center in San Angelo offers all these experiences in a single place.

The folk arts scene in this city of about 100,000 residents is a big draw for locals and visitors alike. The genre is so popular that the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts presented a 2-part exhibit named True Texas: Folk Traditional Arts of the Concho Valley starting in 2020.

1 of the artists featured in the first True Texas exhibit is weaver Audrey Legatowicz, who set up her loom in Chicken Farm Art Center’s Studio 2—1 of its 17 artists’ areas, also known as coops

Audrey took her first weaving class in Illinois when her children were young. “It was nice to develop a hobby,” she says. She learned to sew and crochet as a child from her grandmothers, both seamstresses by trade. But weaving drew her in as an adult, and she learned all she could from books. Then she joined a weavers’ guild, which offered access to workshops and monthly meetings where other weavers would “share their information and little tips along the way that I enjoy passing on to others,” Audrey says.

When she moved to Dallas in 1981, weaving became her main vocation, first at a retail shop, then in a private gallery and a series of consignment shops. Teaching opportunities followed at the city’s craft guild and in school systems, where she started a textiles study program. But after 30 years in Dallas—the last 10 of those commuting for twice-yearly stints at a Chicken Farm Art Center coop—Audrey made the move to San Angelo.

Visitors to the eclectic Chicken Farm arts community can take classes and workshops there, but they can also enjoy what the farm describes as “a peaceful oasis that allows your soul to breathe.”

The Coop Scoop

The Chicken Farm Art Center opened in 1971, when the late Roger Allen quit his job as the Central High School art teacher and partnered with 2 buddies to create an artists’ haven. They bought a vacant set of buildings that had been a 1940s chicken farm and, over time, converted the spaces into studios and apartments where artists could live as a community.

Other property partners came aboard in 1999 and gave some old co-ops new life as The Inn at the Art Center, with 4 single bedrooms and a couple of 2-bedroom suites. They also converted a grain silo building into a restaurant called, fittingly, The Silo.

Besides the chance to learn from talented artisans or simply enjoy a break in a relaxing atmosphere, the Chicken Farm Art Center offers a vibrant art shop and gallery. Also, the first Saturday of every month except January brings a pop-up vendor market, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., where Texas artists, many of them local to San Angelo, sell their artworks, crafts, and goods. When the weather permits, a group of local musicians called the Chicken Pickers is on hand to jam.

The farm hosts a range of events throughout the year. These include a 2-day Holiday Art Market & Open House set for Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Updates on events and classes can be found on the farm’s website, Chicken Farm Art Center, and on its Facebook page.