People really responded to Shameus and his message. So much so that he swept the Scary Chairy Orchard awards, taking home accolades for the Most Clever Chair and the People’s Choice for a chair created by a group!
Read Morebiggest update ever & lots of love for you
it is my hope we can continue to make magical things happen in a hopefully not-too-distant future. i am now going to try to do my best to update you on ALL THE THINGS…
Read Morewe're all doing the best we can: an update from the web
hello spiderfriends near & far;
no doubt you are having a very weird week(s). we are too. personally, i don’t know what day it is. (time is a construct.) however you’re coping, i hope you are able to take things moment to moment and find time to breathe. it helps to have good books to read, dear friends to talk to, and a journal for your thoughts. i’m in no place to be giving sane advice right now but i do intend to update you with a few things that are going on with the ‘web during these bizarre and confusing times. there are still ways we can connect and grow and learn from one another and we intend to do just that.
YOU ARE HERE: MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS
our much-needed mental health support groups have gone online, and our facilitators and community are here to listen and support each other during these difficult days. please email yah.braedyn@gmail.com or yah.caitlin@gmail.com for a link to the zoom meeting! here are the upcoming meeting times: Saturday, March 28 at 1:30pm Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30pm Meetings are generally held every Tuesday evening and the last Saturday of the month. Feel free to email us or the facilitators at the address above if you have any questions.
FOLLOW THE READER BOOKCLUB
this month our FOLLOW THE READER bookclub read Persepolis with a supplemental treat recommended by Shadan, Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas, and we invite our bookish community members to join us for a lively online discussion this Thursday (March 26) at 7pm! If you haven’t read either of the books but you aren’t afraid of spoilers, you are more than welcome to zoom with us for some entertainment and learning! you can also join us next month in honor of National Poetry Month we will be doing a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE challenge, in which you read as many poems as you can and bring your favorites to share at our meetup at the end of the month (next one will be Thursday, April 30, but we may hang out earlier just for fun-stay tuned!). as always, we are happy to offer suggestions if you need somewhere to start and we have digital resources available to anyone who may need them!
Link to Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/210850978 Meeting ID: 210 850 978
DISCORD & HAPPY HOURS & VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING OH MY
Nina set up a Discord server for Spiderfam! join us here: https://discord.gg/GkjfK4n if you're not familiar with Discord, that's ok because we’re figuring it out too. it’s a chat server that is available thru web browsers and the phone app, so we can keep in touch with each other. we’re in here offering mutual support to one another & sharing photos of our pets & meals & craft projects & you should totally get in on this.
we had a super cute zoom happy hour last week and we’ll definitely do it again. it was great to see everyone’s faces and commiserate as a community. we will share via our socials when we do it again – let us know if you don’t have access to other communication channels and we will make a note to email or text you invites personally! the crew is also planning some virtual programming to bring us together and continue to showcase the creativity of our brilliant artists and writers. we'll have more on that soon, but for this week check out:
VIRTUAL OPEN MIC IN SUPPORT OF GOLDEN BOY COFFEE CO.
our dear co-collaborator Anjelica Fraga set up an open mic featuring a collection of spiderpals sharing their poetry, songs, and stories virtually! we’ll be pretending we are at Golden Boy Coffee Co and encouraging everyone to give to their employee fundraiser here in lieu of a cover for the show: https://www.gofundme.com/f/golden-boy-tips-amp-donations
check out the open mic at 7, and/or happy hour with us starting at 6 in this zoom meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/399096623 Meeting ID: 399 096 623
AN UPDATE REGARDING OUR PATREON FUNDS & ARTIST LIVELIHOODS & “THE FLOOD”
as you can imagine, many of our artists & co-collaborators have lost sustaining gigs/work/jobs recently, so we’re keeping a spreadsheet updated with links & payment info. please share this link and contribute as you can- we are so grateful!
http://bit.ly/spiderweb-support
BIG NOTE: we will also be splitting up our patreon payout on April 1 between our collective members in need, so you are already helping us help our artists so much. we plan to continue using our funds in this way for the duration of the crisis at hand. thank you so much for making this possible.
lastly, our HQ studio flooded last week & though it was a horrible, terrible mess nothing crucial was lost or damaged & we are so grateful for community members checking in & contributing support where they can. we love you so much!
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
we’ve been thinking a lot about our role in the community & how we can continue to do what we do best as a collective in the era of social distancing: support, love, create....we’ll no doubt have more on that later. right now it’s time to breathe deep. we are all facing big challenges & changes right now & it’s scary but we are in it together & send our love to all of you forever
thank you so much. i miss you.
courtney marie, spider-mom-friend
PS before this all went down, our friends at What the Femme?! were kind enough to interview me and we talked a lot about spiderweb things & hopes & dreams & more: https://www.wtfemmepodcast.com/episodes/episode-34-courtney-marie
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It’s About Healing: Lei Lei’s Gift of L.O.V.E. || The Love Revolution Continues
L.O.V.E. is a new EP by Lei Lei Lashawn, creator of The Love Revolution Continues. “As long as I am breathing, I am going to project love in this extraordinary world.”
Read MoreYOU ARE HERE: Advocating for Artists' Mental Health in Denton, TX
The following is a transcript written by Spiderweb co-founder courtney marie, approved by our You Are Here committee - which consists of DMAC members, Spiderweb artists, and local mental health professionals - and presented at the City Council Meeting on August 13, 2019 by Petra Kelly.
Read MoreSpiderweb Salon Does National Poetry Month
It’s our favorite time of the year, when the rest of the world wises up to all things poetry and we have so many more excuses to share the brilliance of our community with you.
Read MoreFeatured Musician: Lorelei K
Today we have a brand new Songwriting Scholarship release by the one and only Lorelei K! For those who may not be in the know, welcome: Lorelei K is an alternative pop project created by Dahlia Knowles, an artist based in Denton, Texas. She already released an EP this year (a collab with Paul Slavens), went on a huge tour, and somehow still found time to create with Spiderweb.
Read MoreFeatured Musician: Isabel Crespo
We hope you’re ready to absorb the dreamy atmosphere and serene vocals that are Unclear, Unclear, a beautiful new track by composer, musician, and vocalist Isabel Crespo.
Read MoreSpiderweb Salon Goes to the DAM Awards
Voting for the DAM Awards is in full swing, and if you haven’t had a chance to check out their ballot yet, we’ve got a handy little guide to get you through while supporting all your favorite Spiderweb co-creators!
Read MoreFeatured Musician: Sarah Ruth
We’re #PLEASED our wildly talented friend Sarah Ruth Alexander joined the crew at Shiny Sound Recording Studio in November for the newest installment of our Songwriting Scholarship project, which resulted in the beautiful track we’re releasing today, “We Sing the Body Electric.”
Read MoreFeatured Musician: Conor Wallace
Meet Conor Wallace, Spiderweb co-founder, a prolific supporter of his fellow artists, and ever-vigilant songwriter, musician, producer, sound engineer, and creative mind.
Read MoreFeatured Writer: Sebastian Páramo
Today we’re excited to share with you a new poem by one of the most skilled writers and community organizers on the scene in North Texas: Sebastian Páramo!
Read MoreFeatured Musician: Andy Cox
Today we’re excited to share one of the sweetest love songs to ever come out of Shiny Sound Recording Studio: I Got Lucky (With You). This fresh Songwriting Scholarship track was created with our good ol’ pal Andy Cox.
Read MoreSpiderweb Salon 2018: A Year In Review
Please enjoy this detailed infographic showing off everything we’ve accomplished together in twelve short months! WOW!
Read MoreFeatured Writer: Bess Whitby
As far as Spiderweb goes, Bess has done it all: zine editor, food writer, poet, cellist, guitarist, singer, emcee, homeless cat, devious witch, enthusiastic flowergirl, dinosaur operator, and so much more.
Read MoreFeatured Artist: Nina Chantanapumma
It’s a pleasure to share & celebrate this week’s featured artist, Nina Chantanapumma, not simply because she is a mind-mindbogglingly talented multi-disciplinary artist and designer, but because she’s also had a major role in administrating and organizing everything that Spiderweb Salon has managed to accomplish as a collective this year.
Read MoreFeatured Artist: John Wilcox
Our featured artist, John Wilcox, first became involved with Spiderweb Salon after seeing a Facebook post requesting art for Low Power Radio, the zine benefiting local Denton radio station KUZU 92.9FM. The art he sent in ended up on the back cover, a beautiful radio robot bookending the musical ruminations of so many spiders.
Read MoreFeatured Musician: blendways
For this week’s feature, the crew invited Rachel Weaver to Shiny Sound Recording Studio in early September to make some noise and create something beautiful together, and today we’re unveiling the new track they recorded and released under Rachel’s musical project moniker, blendways.
Read MoreFeatured Artist: Bryan Kelly
This week’s featured artist, Bryan Kelly, loves Denton as much as we love Denton. We’ve loved seeing him at the Denton Community Market on Saturday mornings, and his first Spiderweb Salon submission will be published in our upcoming zine, Book of the Dead.
Read More