Create Summer 2018

create

Summer 2018

Life. Community. Growth.

A BOND BETWEEN BROTHERS: TRUFANT BROS TATTOO SHOP

LOCAL PIT BOSSES TELL ALL ABOUT THEIR PASSION

ON THIS FARM HE HAS ART FEATURING

ROGER ALLEN

&JERRY WARNELL

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Your everything store.

325.655.1166 • 35 E. Concho 10:00-6:00 • Monday - Saturday 2

E GGE MEYE RS.C OM

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Howard College, in partnership with our community, is excited to offer a new

$1000.00

Tuition assistance scholarships available.

Call today for more information. (limited scholarships available)

10 Month Class/Lab work plus a 16 Week Co-Op Program After completion of this program you could work in the following fields: Residential home construction which will include but not limited to: Foundation, Framing, Roofing, Drywall, Window and Door installation, and Interior Trim. Electrical, Plumbing, Cabinetry, and Flooring

FMI Call Nelson Davis at 325-234-9746 SUMMER 2018

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2018 summer E d i t i o n

The Cover

Becca Sankey Photography

Roger Allen can be considered a pioneer in bringing the arts to life in San Angelo through his efforts tha t can be seen, first hand, at The Chicken Farm. Find out more by visiting the Art Center at 2505 Martin Luther King Dr.

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ART IN UNCOMMON PLACES San Angelo doesn’t hold back in terms of time, talent and monetary donations.

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MINISTRY FOR NEIGHBORS 803 Rust Street

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SAN ANGELO’S PITMASTERS Ask any Texan: Where can you find the best BBQ? San Angelo, of course.

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THE PIT BBQ A different style of BBQ

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HAMPTON’S BBQ Smokin’ Eats

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BUBBA’S SMOKEHOUSE For the love of BBQ

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create Life. Community. Growth.

PUBLISHER JOSE PALOS jose.palos@gracemediacompany.com EDITOR BECCA NELSON SANKEY becca@gracemediacompany.com WRITERS BECCA NELSON SANKEY AMANDA RAZANI AMI MIZELL-FLINT SARA NEGOVETICH DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KIM DENDLE DIGITAL DIRECTOR KYLE HOOKS PHOTOGRAPHY KIM TORRES PHOTOGRAPHY BECCA SANKEY PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS KEN GRIMM

Be sure to check out our website:

CREATE-MAG.COM Create magazine is a Grace Media publication.

Copyright © 2018. Create Magazine is published bi-annually and is free of charge to San Angelo and surrounding communities and businesses. Mail may be sent to Grace Media, P.O. Box 5931, San Angelo, TX 76902. For advertising rates or editorial correspondence email info@gracemediacompany.com or visit create-mag.com 6

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DROP THE F-BOMB What do you know?

What do you believe?

I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.

Mark 11:23

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AND ON THIS FARM HE HAD ART Roger Allen & Jerry Warnell

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: HOLLI GARET

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THINKING BIG FROM LOVE ST. San Angelo’s Museum of Fine Arts

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A BOND BETWEEN BROTHERS Forms premier tattoo shop in San Angelo

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Letter from the

Publisher JO SE PALO S

“Get off my bus! Get off my bus! Move with intensity!”

These are the words that are so familiar to those who’ve experienced the arrival of Marine Corps boot camp. The date was August 9, 1999 and It was the first time I realized that the hardships and stresses I’d experienced in my lifetime, leading up to that moment, would serve great purpose.

The bus station, now the popular The Latest Scoop, was downtown San Angelo and I would be departing my beloved home town and headed to face my greater calling. I was stepping onto the steps of a greyhound bus for the first time, knowing that only thing arming my plan for the rest of my life was faith, I looked back at my mother and smiled with what I knew was nothing more than forced serenity. I could also say, I was looking back at the exact smile from her.

Create: Life. Community. Growth. Is filled with stories of individuals who have passion and faith in what they believe in. Like me, they executed what they believe to be the plan for their calling and are now the contributors to what makes San Angelo the great place it is. Enjoy learning about the individuals who wake up every day and create the great quality our community has to offer.

God bless you,

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ART

INunco

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PLACES

By Becca Nelson Sankey

Photography Becca Sankey Photography

I

f there’s one thing Julie Raymond has learned about her adopted hometown since starting Art in Uncommon Places in 2006, it’s that San Angelo doesn’t hold back in terms of time, talent and monetary donations.

That kindness has been the heartbeat of AIUP and its quest to put San Angelo on the map. “We want San Angelo to be seen as an artistic community,” Raymond said. “And we want people to see the graciousness and generosity of the city.”

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AIUP is the force behind a plethora of prominent art pieces in some of San Angelo’s most public spaces, including the Red Arroyo Trail, along the Concho River Walk, The Bosque, and Firefighter’s Memorial City Park. The pieces range from mosaic tile benches and tuffets, to life-size wire men and totems, to tiled vehicles including a fire truck, Volkswagen Beetle, and old pickup trucks. Other notable

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projects include the nation’s first mile-long glow stone path on the Red Arroyo Trail granted by the San Angelo Health Foundation, and $20,000 worth of LED lights on the historic Lone Wolf Bridge donated by Principle LED. Raymond and Sue Rainey, along with three other teachers, founded AIUP in 2006. “We wanted to bring art to the people,” Raymond said. “We got a donated warehouse and donated material and started.”

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Attorney Mark Carlton encouraged the women to make AIUP a nonprofit so that it could apply for grants, and Jorge Ellis, founder and CEO of Timeclock Plus, made a generous donation to help establish it as a nonprofit. Five years ago, AIUP moved into a 6,000 square-foot space at 701 S. Irving St. Much of the work on its projects (approximately three to four a year) takes place at its headquarters.

To bring each piece to fruition, AIUP partners with various city departments and businesses, as well as countless local artists and volunteers. “Every dime donated goes toward materials for pieces that we donate back to the city,” Raymond explained. “We have a think tank of people who help us create.”

For Raymond and Joy Thomas, AIUP’s CEO, the organization is a labor of love. The women are its only full-time staff, and neither collects a salary for her work. However, Raymond and Thomas rely on a “powerful” board of women, she said, and – when undertaking major projects – they put out an all-call request for volunteers.

We wanted to bring art to the people.

- Julie Raymond, AIUP co-founder

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For the tiled fire truck, “We set aside three days, and we had 30 volunteers signed up every two hours,” Thomas said. “People took ownership of their little section, and the project was finished in two days rather than the three planned days. The event was fun and the result was an amazing piece of art with an overwhelming support of 180 volunteers.”

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The glow stone path was another herculean task that succeeded because of the community’s efforts. The stones had to be shipped from China because the mineral that causes them to glow is not mined in the United States. Under a relentless summer sun, volunteers hand cast the stones into wet cement and covered them with a thin layer of more cement.

Thomas added, “A lot of times Julie and I will reflect and laugh and think, ‘How did we do that?’ It’s truly amazing.”

The struggle of making the impossible possible is real – and worthwhile.

“Nothing makes my heart sing more than driving by the fire truck and seeing kids climb all over it,” Thomas said.

“People are drawn to the art,” Raymond mused. “That’s the gift we have been able to give to the city.”

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Ministr y

FOR Neighbors S

an Angelo is blessed with a multitude of non-profit organizations. Few have the reach of Rust Street Ministries.

The local ministry, so named for its location at 803 Rust St., dates back to 1995 when Wall resident Sandy Jameson went on a mission trip to Atlanta with her childhood church, Johnson Street Church of Christ. While there, they visited a church with a rolling closet, a bus that carried donated clothes to people in need.

The group excitedly talked about the project on the trip home to San Angelo. In a time before cell phones were prevalent, they pulled over to use a pay phone to call the church and tell them about their desire to start a similar project in San Angelo.

Upon their return, the youth group painted an old church bus to look like a black-and-white cow.

They called it Closet On Wheels and used it to bring clothing donations to children at San Angelo elementary schools. Johnson Street Church of Christ rented a warehouse space on Rust Street and named the ministry The Christian Service Center.

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By Ami Mizell-Flint Photography Becca Sankey Photography

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By the numbers: In 2017, Rust Street Ministries assisted 28,109 people from San Angelo and the surrounding areas with:

270,431 lbs. of food 78,235 articles of clothing 14,187 kitchen & linen items 1,190 pieces of furniture 587 appliances 171 bicycles Over the next several years, the ministry burgeoned and was eventually renamed Rust Street Ministries. Donations grew – along with the ministry’s need for space.

Today, Rust Street Ministries encompasses 33,000 square feet and provides much more than just clothes for kids.

Volunteers speak to an average of 50 families a day about their needs and how Rust Street Ministries can serve them. Every interview ends with prayer.

Bryan Jarvis, director of Rust Street Ministries, oversees the organization’s six employees and numerous programs.

“People’s lives are so hard,” he said.

“They need love, they need care, they need kindness, they need compassion, they need physical help.

I’m honored to be part of a team that gives it to them.”

When a family comes in for donated clothes, children pick out five tops, five pants and three pairs of shoes, one of which is a new pair

How to help: If you are interested in making a donation or volunteering with Rust Street Ministries, call 325-486-1004. of sneakers purchased with money donated to Rust Street. An adult may select up to 30 items. There are also hygiene products, bedding, and various household items to choose from, depending on the need.

As much as he loves helping the people served by Rust Street, called “neighbors,” Jarvis loves watching the volunteers grow through their work just as much.

“This matters as much to us as to the people we serve,” he said.

“We’re changed as much as they are.”

Janet Brenham, volunteer coordinator, oversees the 120 volunteers that keep Rust Street Ministries running smoothly.

Volunteers speak to an average of 50 families a day about their needs and how Rust Street Ministries can serve them.

Every interview ends with prayer.

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ATIN R B

CELE

G

4 3 Taste

Participating Restaurants

YEARS

OF SAN ANGELO 2018

Angry Cactus West Texas Bar & Grill Ben E. Keith Foods

Taste of San Angelo benefits culinary education in the Concho Valley

Bubba’s Smokehouse Buffalo Wild Wings Central H.S. Culinary Arts

Globos Artisticos

Pepsico

Halfmann’s Cake Cottage

Riverview Restaur

HEB

Rooster’s Chicken N

Jalapenos Locos

Sam’s Club

Julio’s Burrito’s

Shannon Medical Center

Kona Ice

Texas Roadhouse

Lake View H.S.

Texas Steak Expres Tuesday, Culinary Arts Chili’s The Hampton’s BBQ September 11th, 2018 Lazy Ladle in Menard Christoval Vineyards Tom Green County 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Children's Tickets: Twin $6 Peaks Lonestar Cheeseburger Adult Tickets: $30 DeCoty Coffee, 1st Community FCU Longhorn Coffee Tea & Spices (12 and Under) Military discount available Zentner’s Daughter Spur Arena Cheddar’s

Fuentes Downtown Original Henry’s at the Base and door only Platinum Sponsors TICKETS AVAILABLE AT

of 8 for $300

To Reserve Call (325) 262-0303

Adult Tickets: $30 Military discount available at the Base and door only

VIP Tables of

300

$

8 for Available

Angry Cactus West Texas Bar & Grill Ben E. Keith Foods Bubba’s Smokehouse Buffalo Wild Wings Central H.S. Culinary Arts Cheddar’s Chili’s Christoval Vineyards DeCoty Coffee, Tea & Spices Fuentes Downtown

Gold Sponsors

FMI CALL 262-0303 Tickets Available at: Silver Sponsors Children's Tickets Dickey’s Barbeque, Fuentes Downtown, $ (12 and Under) 6

S ET CK TI

Dickey’s Barbeque, Fuentes VIPDowntown, Tables Rooster's, Original Henry’s, Halfmann’s Cake Cottage Zentner's Daughter & at the door.

Steakhouse

Rooster's, Original Henry’s, Halfmann’s Cake Credit Cards Accepted Cottage, Zentner's Daughter & at the door.

FMI CALL 262-0303 To Reserve Call (325) 262-0303

Bronze Sponsors

Pak Quality Food Q's Printing & Des

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS Globos Artisticos Halfmann’s Cake Cottage HEB Jalapenos Locos Julio’s Burrito’s Kona Ice Lake View H.S. Culinary Arts Lazy Ladle in Menard Lonestar Cheeseburger Longhorn Coffee Original Henry’s

Pepsico Riverview Restaurant Rooster’s Chicken N’Fixin’s Sam’s Club Shannon Medical Center Texas Roadhouse Texas Steak Express The Hampton’s BBQ Tom Green County 4-H Twin Peaks Zentner’s Daughter Steakhouse

PLATNUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

Park Quality S UFoods M M E R 2| 0Q’s 1 8 Printing C R E A T E -& M ADesign G.COM

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They need love, they need care, they need kindness, they need compassion, they need physical help.

I’m honored to be part of a team that gives it to them.

Bryan Jarvis,

director of Rust Street Ministries

Rust Street Ministries board of directors (Photo contributed by Rust Street Ministries)

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Between unloading donations of clothes, household goods, furniture, bicycles and food, sorting them all, organizing, tagging and distributing them, the need for volunteers is always present.

There’s a community of people that work at Rust Street, Brenham said, adding, “It’s all about sharing God with our community.”

Sandy Jameson went away to college soon after the mission trip that spurred the vision for Rust Street Ministries.

When she moved back to San Angelo with her family 13 years later, she was amazed to see how much the ministry had grown and how many churches were involved. In addition to Churches of Christ, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and several other denominations are involved.

“All the people I love who were part of my growing up, spiritual experience, were all volunteering at Rust Street,” she said.

More than 20 years later, Johnson Street Church of Christ continues supporting Rust Street Ministries, paying all overhead expenses the organization incurs. This allows for 100 percent of monetary donations to be spent on the people the ministry helps, Jarvis and Brenham said.

As the previous owner of San Angelo’s Just Between Friends semiannual consignment sale, Jameson arranged to have unsold items donated to Rust Street Ministries. Thousands of clothing items, in sizes newborn through teen, allowed the organization to grow even more. Those donations don’t sit idly in a warehouse: Last year, Rust Street distributed an average of 6,500 clothing items every month.

“It was definitely a full circle moment,” Jameson said of the donations.

Jameson sold Just Between Friends in 2017, but donations to Rust Street continue after each sale.

As for a vision for the future, the one Jarvis and Brenham have for Rust Street Ministries may seem a bit unusual. “This year, we have not served as many people as we served last year,” Jarvis said, “and that’s a good thing. Serving less people tells me the economy of San Angelo is doing better, and people are able to care for themselves.”

But Jarvis knows there will always be a need to serve people who need help. “If five come or 50 come, we’ll be here,” he said.

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San Angelo’s

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Ask any Texan: Where can you find the best BBQ? San Angelo, of course.

We spent some time with local pit bosses to get the details on why they wake up each morning and put in the work they do to provide the city with amazing smoked cuisine. Enjoy their stories - and their delicious food.

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A DIFFERENT STYLE OF BBQ

By Amanda Razani

Photography Kim Torres Photography

WHEN JESSE SANCHEZ AND D.J. RIDENOUR, BEST FRIENDS FOR YEARS AND OWNERS OF THE PIT BBQ, FIRST DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF OPENING UP THEIR OWN RESTAURANT, THEY HAD NO IDEA JUST HOW POPULAR IT WOULD BECOME IN SUCH A SHORT TIME.

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Their friendship started in the food business. They both worked as waiters at the same restaurant, but after graduating high school, Ridenour went on to pursue a career as a chef and graduated from culinary school at El Paso Community College.

“I’ve always had a love for cooking. I started helping in the kitchen at around 8 years old. My mom ran a donut shop, so I helped make the donuts. Then I became more interested in the savory side of food,” Ridenour shared.

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We stand out with our style of cooking, from the choice of woods we use to the look of our briskets.

- Jesse Sanchez, CO-OWNER OF THE PIT BBQ

So he started watching cooking shows. In the mornings he enjoyed watching Great Chefs, which inspired him to experiment with foods, spices and different flavor combinations he could achieve. He really enjoyed making marinades.

Ridenour eventually ended up in Austin, where he worked at some popular BBQ joints including John Mueller Meat Co. and Smokey Denmark’s.

Meanwhile, Sanchez stayed in his hometown and become a successful car salesman. But both men were looking for something different. Sanchez wanted Ridenour to move back to San Angelo, but there weren’t any jobs. So the two began brainstorming and talking about the possibility of opening up a restaurant together. The more they discussed it, the better it sounded. They were both passionate about good food, and they both liked San Angelo. When it came down to it, the two believed the community would enjoy experiencing a different kind of BBQ, too.

“San Angelo needed to be introduced to a different style of BBQ, versus the original backyard style,” Sanchez shared.

They also both liked the idea of working together and the freedom of working for themselves. That’s when Sanchez’s father-in-law stepped in to help them move their plan into action.

“He said that if we bought a food trailer, he would let us set up on some property he owned, free of charge. He would not charge us rent, water or utilities, so we could save up enough money for a permanent location,” explained Sanchez.

Ridenour and Sanchez found a food trailer and opened for business in September of 2015. Despite operating in a relatively hidden location, they stayed busy. Eventually, they decided it was time to look for a permanent location with better visibility. A convenience store located on Sherwood Way shut its doors, and they were able to buy the building.

They look forward to providing extended hours, live entertainment and beer at their new location.

“We are driven by the positive remarks we hear from our customers, and that is what makes us want to provide an even better experience,” Ridenour said.

With delicious and unique menu items that include the popular Jailbreak Sandwich, which comes with brisket slathered in peanut butter and jelly, the specialty street tacos that are served on Thursdays, and jalapeño creamed corn, The Pit BBQ has developed a cult following that includes retired NFL player Pierce Holt, who resides in San Angelo. (cont’ pg. 32)

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49ers

The Pit BBQ has developed a cult following that includes retired NFL player Pierce Holt, who resides in San Angelo.

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The owners credit the great flavor of The Pit’s meat with the special way it is cooked. “We cook our brisket hot and fast in the beginning,” Ridenour said. “It sears the outside like a steak on a flattop, which keeps the fat rendering through the brisket, so it keeps the juices inside.

We also mix a special blend of seasonings, and we believe in using a lot of pepper.”

Sanchez added, “We stand out with our style of cooking, from the choice of woods we use to the look of our briskets.”

Not only have the residents of San Angelo noticed this difference, but Texas Monthly has too. The magazine recently included The Pit BBQ in a coveted list of the top BBQ places in Texas to visit, called the “Yeti Passport.”

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SMOKIN’ EATS

By Becca Nelson Sankey Photography Kim Torres Photography

JATON AND COURTNEY HAMPTON HAD BEEN LIVING AND WORKING IN THE DALLAS AREA FOR SEVEN YEARS WHEN OPPORTUNITY – IN THEIR HOMETOWN OF SAN ANGELO, OF ALL PLACES – CAME KNOCKING.

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Having recently welcomed a second child and ensconced in the big city, the Hamptons weren’t sure they wanted to answer.

Weary of the long days required of Courtney as an executive chef working for someone else, the couple had entertained the idea of starting their own restaurant when Jaton’s father found a building for rent. “He suggested a food truck lot and found a place, and within three weeks we quit our jobs, packed our house, and we were here – with no money in the bank. We sold everything,” Jaton recalled, adding that the couple and their two sons moved in with her parents until they could get back on their feet. “We said, ‘OK, Lord, if this is what You have for us, You’re going to make a way.”

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“He literally smokes 14 to 16 hours every day.

You can only achieve that kind of flavor from hard work.”

-Jaton Hampton, CO-OWNER OF HAMPTON’S BBQ

The Hamptons secured the lease at 229 N. Chadbourne St., converted a snow cone trailer into a barbecue food truck and set up outdoor seating. In September 2017, Rustic Field to Table BBQ, now The Hampton’s BBQ, was born.

For Courtney, who had plenty of experience working in the food industry, it was the beginning of a lifelong dream. “He’s worked for some really great chefs in Dallas, like Tim Byers, a James Beard Award-winning chef,” Jaton said. “He worked for a great restaurant in Fort Worth, and those are the ones that sparked his love and passion for over-fire cooking.”

The concept for The Hampton’s – which, as its former name, Rustic Field to Table, implies, sources fresh, local ingredients – was created in Dallas.

Though opportunities for farm-raised and grass-fed beef and local, fresh produce year-round aren’t as readily available in San Angelo, the Hamptons keep their focus on quality and flavor.

The Hampton’s main dishes are chopped brisket sandwiches, Big Red pulled pork sandwiches infused in soda, and a brisket, pulled pork and macaroni and cheese sandwich.

Due to give birth to the couple’s third child during the time of our interview last spring, Jaton stays busy marketing the business and making its desserts, while Courtney prepares and serves everything else. “It’s definitely a one-man show,” she said. “He literally smokes 14 to 16 hours every day.

You can only achieve that kind of flavor from hard work.”

But what The Hampton’s lacks in manpower, the Hamptons compensate for in plans.

They hope to transition from their food truck into a restaurant and are offering pop-up dinners, in which a small group of diners are provided a four-course progressive meal outside, without any advance knowledge of the menu. “It’s about enduring the elements with good food,” Jaton said.

“We want to show people we can do much more than barbecue.”

The dinners, she added, will “help pave our way into a brick and mortar.”

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The Hampton’s is open Tuesday – Thursday 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday

10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. (or sellout)

The lot has live music on Fridays and is BYOB.

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H T U O BIG Mndwich sa

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pork d e l l u p , brisket heese c n c a and m

ead r B s e h c Tres Le th Vanilla g wi Puddin izzle r D m a Cre Six months in, Jaton said she’s grateful to be back home fulfilling a dream. “We have talked about opening our own business and doing our own thing for so many years and just never had the right opportunity,” she said. “We have amazing support here from our family and friends. We know that God’s hand has been on this from the beginning because He’s opened doors we never even imagined.”

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FOR THE LOVE OF BAR-B-QUE

By Amanda Razani Photography Kim Torres Photography

WHEN IT COMES TO BBQ, ONLY A SELECT FEW CAN BE AS PASSIONATE AS GERALD PRITCHETT, WHO SHARES HIS ENTHUSIASM FOR WELL FLAVORED MEAT THROUGH HIS RESTAURANT, BUBBA’S SMOKEHOUSE. LOCATED IN A RUSTIC LITTLE SHACK, THE PLACE GIVES OFF A TRADITIONAL AND AUTHENTIC TEXAS BBQ VIBE. 42

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Pritchett said his love for good BBQ started in the back yard, where he enjoyed cooking with his family.

“I’ve always enjoyed it,” he said. “And I wanted to do it on a bigger scale, professionally.”

Born and raised in San Angelo, Pritchett says he’s always been involved in the restaurant industry, and he’s been specializing in BBQ the last 17 years. “My first job at a BBQ restaurant was at Old Time Pit BBQ, where I was the manager for 10 years. I really learned a lot from the owner. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have the knowledge I do now,” he explained.

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When I cook, I put a lot of myself into it.

It comes from the heart.

- Gerald Pritchett,

OWNER OF BUBBA’S SMOKEHOUSE

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Old Time Pit BBQ caught fire in 2011, forcing its owners to shut it down. (Bubba’s Smokehouse escaped the very same fate in May of this year, when the local fire department received a call about a Dumpster fire. The fire had spread to the back of Pritchett’s restaurant, but firefighters were able to put it out, and the place incurred minimal damage.)

When Old Time Pit BBQ shut its doors, Pritchett went to work for Bubba’s Smokehouse, where he served as the manager for several years. The owners were fairly new to the business, and he had a lot of experience to lend. He enjoyed working there, and said he feels that he helped build it to the point it is now. So, when the opportunity came up to purchase the restaurant six months ago, Pritchett and his wife went for it.

“We decided to venture out on our own and give it a try ourselves. And, for the most part, we have left it all the same. I am a firm believer if it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it,” Pritchett explained.

He said he believes what makes his BBQ joint stand out now is not any special seasonings or type of wood. It’s the love he puts into it.

“My thing is, when I cook, I put a lot of myself into it. It comes from the heart. I am passionate about it, and I place a lot of love into my cooking,” he shared.

Along with the traditional fare, including brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, sausage, smoked turkey, potato salad, beans, coleslaw and peach cobbler, he and his wife serve some specialty items, like the tasty Piglet Sandwich. It is one of the most popular menu items, and is made up of pulled pork and sausage topped with a sweet BBQ sauce.

The place stays busy, and has grown quite a large customer base. So much so that he is working on offering a more extensive catering service as well.

Right now, they offer carry-out catering only.

Making sure his customers are pleased is important to Pritchett. “I would say that the look on people’s faces when they have finished eating, and they come up and tell me how great everything was, is priceless,” he said. “I like getting to know all my customers. We know many of our customers really well, well enough that we can have their order ready when we see them pull up.”

When he isn’t busy cooking and serving BBQ, Pritchett enjoys another hobby that he has started integrating into his business: flying drones.

“It is my second love behind cooking,” he said.

“I made a little video of my restaurant one day and shared it. People really liked that.”

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I would say that the look on people’s faces when they have finished eating, and they come up and tell me how great everything was, is priceless.

- Gerald Pritchett

The

d r a o b ssage

Me

What do you know?

What do you believe?

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Romans 1:17

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by FAITH. As the Scriptures say, “It is through FAITH that a righteous person has life.”

My journey has been one of experiences that I wish could have been more positive; some of the life-altering moments have shown me that evil is lingering and can seem as loud as the concert speaker standing in front of a crowd that you can’t be freed from. What I’ve learned about that evil is that it can be loud, but the loudness of evil is what you let it be. For me, it’s a matter of dropping an F-bomb right on it because I choose to have FAITH and not fear.

San Angeloans exude so much passion and faith. Just read the story about Rust Street Ministries. How amazing is it that an individual saw goodness in something and had that FAITH there would be a chance for members of this great community to be reached, helped, listened to, cared for and loved? The program went from a closet on wheels delivering clothes to having a 33,000-square-foot building that supported more than 28,000 people last year alone. Perseverance through FAITH is real when you can drop an F-bomb on fear and not allow it to influence your life or shape your purpose.

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Story and Photography By becca nelson sankey

The whiz of harried traffic on Martin Luther King Boulevard belies the quiet, funky commune tucked behind pencil-shaped fence pickets. The morning sun bathes the property in a rosy glow. Birds chirp, wind chimes tinkle gently in the breeze, and artists – as a sign near the entrance reads – are already at play.

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espite its name, the Old Chicken Farm Art Center is home to nearly a dozen people – not chickens or farm animals, and nearly two dozen artists work there on any given day. Co-owner and artist Roger Allen bought the property and opened it in 1971 with the vision of creating a haven where fellow artists could work and live. Fastforward 47 years and the art center is everything he imagined – and more.

artist, he doodled on a notepad as he spoke; dates, names, and compass symbols bloomed on white scrap paper.

“We’d work on the Chicken Farm until dark, until you couldn’t see the nail heads,” he recalled.

“Then we’d go in and throw a pot till late and do it again. You find out you can sell some of it occasionally. And then you’re going to shows.”

In 1977, Allen left teaching to focus on the Chicken Farm

“I had a lot of people tell me I was crazy buying it,” Allen said. With a laugh he added, “Forty years later, I figured out they were right.”

Allen grew up in Lubbock. At Texas Tech, he studied electrical engineering, then switched his major to architecture before finally settling on art education. He got a call that an art teacher was being sought for Central High School.

Despite never having heard of San Angelo, Allen took the job and began teaching at Central in 1967.

“When you’re teaching, you have time to go home and do stuff,” Allen said. Like any true

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and his art. Eventually, his name became synonymous with the brightly-colored, whimsical pottery he creates. The Starkeeper Gallery is Southwestern with a distinct flair: a black stilted silhouette reaching for the stars, set against a bold-colored sky.

The Big Ass Dancer series also features Allen’s signature vivid palette, juxtaposed with a curvaceous female form in motion.

Go. Eat. This. Now. A fried, brisket stuffed, avocado.

Need we say more?

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in charge of the Inn at the Art Center, a bed and breakfast comprised of four rooms, one of which encircles the top floor of two old grain silos.

Warnell also owns Silo House Restaurant, a quaint, intimate space on the bottom level that he leases to Helen and Craig Keith.

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his wife, purchased it. Warnell, who was looking for a change of pace from his hectic career managing golf resorts, also moved in to the Chicken Farm, where Allen and his wife, Pam Bladine, live.

When I approached Warnell for our interview, he was outside unloading plants from the bed of

his pickup. “It’s spring,” he said, by way of explanation.

Warnell is the Chicken Farm’s handyman, and on a 60-year old property, there’s always work to be done, he said. He’s also

T

n the 1980s, after nearly working himself to death, Allen sold the back half of the Chicken Farm. It eventually changed hands again when Jerry Warnell, a friend of Allen’s, and

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Keith runs Silo House with her husband, her brother, daughter and mother. Previously known for its fine dining, the restaurant’s dinner menu will soon change, with more vegetarian and gluten-free options. “We’re going a lot more casual, more family-friendly,” she said.

Silo House is also moving away from its tradition of requiring reservations, she said, but parties of five or more are still encouraged to call ahead due to the restaurant’s capacity to seat just 39 people at a time.

“I like to say it’s probably the only restaurant in town where you can have dinner and have a conversation with someone across from you.”

“I like to say it’s probably the only restaurant in town where you can have dinner and have a conversation with someone across from you because it’s not noisy,” Warnell said.

Between the bed and breakfast, the restaurant and shopping available at 17 artist studios, the Chicken Farm easily hosts thousands of people each year. “We can have 1,000 people come through just on First Saturday,” Warnell said, referring to the art center’s monthly event in which artists’ studios are open, artist vendors showcase their wares outside, and live music plays.

“Our three-day event over Thanksgiving can have as many as 5,000.”

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Southwest Florist

Your Professional Local Florist

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“We still have a very devoted following of people

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who probably were all students of Roger’s.”

The goal, Warnell said, is that everybody has a great time. “We want to make sure everybody that comes out here goes, ‘Hey, that was a neat experience!’” he said.

The Chicken Farm is the only commercial operation that’s been on Rand McNally maps, Warnell said, adding that it’s also been featured in Texas Highways magazine multiple times, Texas Monthly, and various other publications. Trip Advisor ranks it the No. 4 tourist attraction in San Angelo, he said.

“We are unique,” he said. “There aren’t many places like this left in the country.

We’re slowly becoming more and more recognized as an art center, a place where people can come and be educated, see a lot of artists’ work, go to classes.”

With a laugh, he added, “We still have a very devoted following of people who probably were all students of Roger’s.”

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It only takes a brief visit to understand why artists feel at home at the Chicken Farm.

It’s a three-acre refuge from the outside world where art, it seems, has found its way into every nook and cranny – from the nine buildings that punctuate the property, each awash in vivid shades; to the picnic table surrounded on three sides by a 1-foot wall of mosaic tiles; to the collection of etched stone work protruding from the ground like headstones in a graveyard.

“I’m super proud of it. It’s what I dreamed about, being around other artists,” said Allen, who will soon celebrate his 75th birthday and, in a few years, the Chicken Farm’s 50th. “But it wasn’t me that built the art center. It’s a whole lot of good friends.

It’s my wife and Jerry, all the artists that are here, and all the artists that have come through here. Would I do it again? In a moment.”

He laughed, then added, “Maybe.”

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& Gain Skills One Course at a Time!

Howard College provides the opportunity for the surrounding community to take classes for personal enrichment, physical and professional needs. Instructors are not only educators from Howard College, but women and men from business, government, and other fields in the community.

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Workforce Training & Continuing Education

(325) 481-8322 Nurse aid • CPR •Medication Aid Recertification • ACLS • Pharmacy Technician • Photography • Truck Driving Training• Welding • and more!

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Community members who are interested in teaching a class are encouraged S U M M E R to 2 0 call 1 8 the Workforce Training office at 325-481-8322

Ladies & Gentlemen,

By Becca Nelson Sankey Kim Torres Photography & Becca Sankey Photography

Holli Garet wanted everything to be perfect.

In anticipation of a sit-down interview with Create Magazine, the San Angelo singer/songwriter drove her four children to school and returned home to shower, apply her makeup and straighten her hair. Afterward, when Garet adjusted the sprinkler in her yard, a stream of cold water shot her in the face. She pointed the sprinkler in another direction, only to have it drench her whole body.

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“It hit me in that moment that obviously God wanted to make sure I stayed humble…just his way of saying, ‘I like you with curly hair, anyway,’” Garet said in a Facebook post later that day.

In the nearly seven years since the gregarious blonde arrived on the local live music scene with her piano and soulful voice, she’s developed a thick skin. Criticism, loss and heartbreak have had a dichotomous influence on her career, sparking both doubt and inspiration; she’s documented much of it with raw and honest Facebook posts. Curled up in a chair in her living room - a space awash in a kaleidoscope of color with walls of lavender, lime and yellow festooned with framed children’s art and paintings - Garet recalled the rollercoaster ride.

In late 2014, a prominent music producer heard Garet’s CD and brought her to Nashville, where she recorded an EP with backup singers, Jimmy Buffett’s drummer and Dolly Parton’s guitarist. Three months later, Sony wanted to sign her. But, uncomfortable with the contract terms, Garet made the painful decision not to move forward. “If I don’t have peace about something, I don’t care if it’s a million dollar check, I can’t,” she said. “I felt like God was saying, ‘Put the brakes on; you’re not supposed to go down this road.’”

She grappled with the grief over what could have been, but found solace in her songwriting. “A lot of good music came out of that time.

I love to write, and all these songs were going, ‘boom, boom, boom’,’” she said, snapping her fingers with each ‘boom,’ the stack of bangles on her wrist jangling.

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Garet was a late bloomer as a performer (she was 30 at the time of her first local gig), but music has always been a part of her life. “I never took lessons,” she admitted. “My grandmother was amazing. She played blues piano, gospel.

She passed away in ’88 and left me her piano. I would spend hours and hours sitting there. I sort of joke that she taught me how to play.”

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talent event, where she met her now husband, Shawn Gould. The couple formed a Christian band, with Garet singing backup. To this day, she said, most of her music is rooted in praise and worship, even as her voice – a sound reminiscent of Norah Jones and Adele – gravitates toward blues. “I’m a happy person, but my music gets you,” she said. “And I guess that is the blues.”

Despite her melancholy vibe, Garet’s goal is to encourage others through her music. “Every time I play a show, I pray before: ‘Lord, please let me sing to these people. Tell me what songs to sing and let them be touched,’” she said. “Music is light and dark. It can take someone from the peak to the pit, or the pit to the peak.

And I want to lift people up.”

Her faith helps her to listen to God’s will and adapt accordingly.

“God is good and He has good plans,” she surmised in her Facebook post.

“Some may seem to be a frustration and inconvenient at times, but they are teachable moments along the journey.

And boy howdy what a journey it is!”

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Thinking

BIG From LOVE St.

By Becca Nelson Sankey Photography Ken Grimm

Photos contributed by SAMFA

S

o inexorably intertwined are the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts and Howard Taylor, its first and only director, that it’s difficult to imagine one without the other. But Taylor, who lived in Philadelphia prior to moving to Texas, was on the verge of taking a job elsewhere when he heard about a museum opening in West Texas that needed a director. “I was enchanted with the idea of a brand-new museum in a place where people would let you express your ideas,” he said. “They liked my ideas, and we went to work together.”

Longtime San Angelo artists have called Taylor a visionary for his efforts in revitalizing Historic City Center, a swath that encompasses the Downtown business district and the side of the Concho River near SAMFA, where San Angelo (then known as Santa Angela) was established in the 1860s. In 2011, Taylor accepted the Texas Historical Commission’s John L. Nau III Award for Excellence in Museums for SAMFA’s preservation efforts. The museum is also the only one to have received the American Institute of Architects National Service Award for its involvement in the

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Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team Progam (R/UDAT), which Taylor and three others helped spearhead in the 1990s. R/UDAT, an organization comprised of volunteers who are experts in historic preservation and urban design, is credited with breathing life back into San Angelo’s Downtown, starting with construction of Celebration Bridge.

Decades later, Taylor is working diligently to bring a similar revival to the area surrounding SAMFA. “It’s pretty run down,” he admitted. “You have these great assets, but then around them, empty buildings, blight. It’s out of balance. (Our current buildings) are all about engaging people and making them feel welcome.”

The building that houses Gallery Verde, at 417 S. Oakes St., was constructed in the 1920s but had fallen into disrepair until SAMFA acquired it in 2002 and, with the Upper Colorado River Authority, restored it. For several years, the building served as the UCRA’s education center. Now, as Gallery Verde, a nod to its past function in ecological education, the space showcases the work of contemporary artists.

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Coop Gallery, at 427 S. Oakes St., is named in honor of Roger Allen, a longtime museum supporter and founding director of the Old Chicken Farm Art Center. The gallery is community-centered and provides a place for local groups and organizations to showcase their work.

Both spaces “give us the opportunity to do things we can’t do at the art museum,” Taylor said, adding that everything the museum showcases must be educational and encyclopedic, and that all timeframes, cultures and mediums are represented.

Along with those early decisions, the museum started the National Ceramic Competition, which has since turned into a juggernaut of an event held every two years.

(The Ceramic Invitational exhibit is held oddnumbered years.)

For the 2018 competition, 1,258 people attended the opening.

“That’s unbelievable,” Taylor marveled. “You don’t get that kind of crowd in New York City.”

Thanks, in part, to the competition and invitational putting San Angelo on the map as a ceramics hub, “we’ve now built one of the most important ceramic collections of its kind in America, and that has become a magnet for collections from all over,” Taylor said. Ceramic gifts have come from California, New Mexico, throughout Texas and overseas. The majority of ceramics in the museum’s permanent collection, however, are purchased from the National Ceramic Competition.

The museum’s permanent collection is comprised of more than 650 pieces, including American crafts created since 1945; American paintings and sculpture from all eras; 72

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Mexican and Mexican-American art from all eras, particularly SpanishColonial arts; and American glass spanning the Colonial Era to postWorld War II. Taylor said about 85,000 people visit the museum each year, with most of its events held for free.

Family Day, in which children and their families can engage in hands-on art activities and learn about different cultures, is held the second Saturday of each month and typically draws about 1,000 people. Art Thursday provides art activities for children every

Thursday and brings in about 100 people each session. Other museum events include the Chamber Music Series, which features musicians from Texas and throughout the nation; big band music concerts from the local West Texas Jazz Orchestra; the SAMFA Collectors Society lecture series; EnPleinAir Texas, an annual national art competition; and the biennial Richard and Pam Salmon Sculpture Competition.

In addition to heading up the San Angelo Cultural District, the largest in America, SAMFA is the

statewide headquarters for the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art (CASETA), which “promotes the preservation, study and appreciation of Texas visual arts and its history,” according to SAMFA’s website. In addition, the museum partners with Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo to offer DoD STARBASE, a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program for fifth-graders held at the base.

As if that weren’t enough, SAMFA is also working on converting the old county library bookmobile into a mobile museum that will travel to rural schools within an 18-county region.

The mobile museum will be equipped with art supplies, work tables, technology and will – of course – display art.

Taylor hopes to launch the mobile museum this fall. He’s also planning for a summer opening of the Farm and Ranch Museum of the Concho Valley.

Located at 305 S. Oakes St., the living museum will pay homage to San Angelo’s roots with a blacksmith’s shop, restored farm machinery, and live demonstrations from farmers and ranchers.

On Sept. 21, the museum will debut its exhibit, “Inside Out: An Exploration of Women’s Status and Roles in Western Society as Reflected in Fashion From Foundation to Silhouette.” Museum-goers can expect to see a timeline of under things and glean a better understanding of how they relate to women’s societal roles, as well as each generation’s definition of body image and its perception of the female form, from the 1800s to present day. “This’ll probably be the biggest exhibit we’ve ever done,” Taylor said.

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But Taylor, no doubt, is accustomed to thinking big, as demonstrated by the walls of his office – one covered with awards and certificates, another adorned with framed photos of accomplished faces, from Tibetan monks, to Laura and George Bush, to senators and congressmen. In one photo, Ugandan choir boys are pictured in Taylor’s office, clustered around a painting of his face; the photo was taken while he was out of town.

Asked his reason for all he does for his adopted hometown, Taylor continues to look at the big picture, thinking in terms of we, the museum – not me, Howard Taylor. “It’s very simple,” he said, without hesitation. “To make a better world where people learn to care and respect each other. …they share…that they feel comfortable and right coming to the museum. And that they learn from each other.”

Thinking

BIG

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Receiving San Angelo Chamber of Commerce 2018 Innovation Award for EnPleinAirTEXAS EnPleinAirTEXAS is hosted by the San Angelo Museum of fine Arts

fajitas Beef or Chicken, served with beans, rice, guacamole, pico de gallo & flour tortillas.

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Howard Taylor - SAMFA Director Barbara Rallo (on left) Coordinator/Co-Chair of EnPleinAirTEXAS Treva Boyd - Co-Chair EnPleinAirTEXAS

Tues - Thurs 11AM - 10 PM Fri - Sat 11AM - 11PM Sun 11 - 5PM

(325) 223-0171 3015 Sherwood San Angelo, TX 76901

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By Sarah Negovetich

When most people think about a tattoo parlor, they envision scenes from old movies: Sweaty bikers sitting around a dark, dungeon-like room in a thick fog of cigarette smoke.

TRUF But walking into Trufant Bros Tattoo couldn’t be a more different scene. Bright walls, lots of colorful art, and smiling faces are what greeted me when I went looking for why Trufant has become one of the premier tattoo shops in West Texas.

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Photography Kim Torres Photography & Becca Sankey Photography Special thank you to: Danny White Lori Travis Stephanie Pinkston

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The shop opened in 2005 with only two artists, Aubrey and Alex - brothers, as the name suggests, who are passionate about what they do. Alex, the younger of the Trufant siblings, got his first tattoo - a colorful dragon on his left shoulder – at the ripe age of 14. The next day, 17-year-old Aubrey got the same tattoo. And the day after that, their dad made it three times the charm. Afterward, the brothers knew their future and spent the next several years becoming artists.

Their dad found a building in San Angelo and offered it to his sons as a way for them to finally make their dreams come true. Alex, who still had a few years of service in the Air Force left, told his brother, “I’ll be out in a minute,” and convinced his commanding officer to let him out early. Trufant Brothers opened its doors and, according to Aubrey, “It was a dream.”

But they didn’t stop there. Aubrey and Alex have traveled the world learning and studying with some of the best tattoo artists around and 78

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attending conventions to hone their craft. After attending several events, Alex came to Aubrey with the idea of starting a convention of their own.

Aubrey considers himself a “calculated risk taker” and needed some convincing, but Alex called it his Field of Dreams. “You know: if you build it, they will come,” he said.

And they did. Over 50 booths are showcased each year at the West Texas Tattoo Convention. The brothers pride themselves on providing a personal touch for each artist who attends, but they credit the people of San Angelo with the convention’s success.

“Everyone is welcomed with open arms,” Alex said.

The brothers held their sixth convention this year, and they aren’t slowing down. Trufant Brothers recently moved to a brand-new home

You know: if you build it, they theywill willcome. come - Alex Trufant,

co-owner of Trufant Bros. Tattoo

downtown. The open floor plan allows the whole staff, six artists and two shop helpers, to interact more and bring their fun-loving spirit to everyone who walks in. “We joke around a lot, but we take this seriously,” Alex said.

Aubrey and Alex have sacrificed a significant amount of money and time with their families to continue to travel and grow their skills as artists. Their dedication to the craft is what has allowed them to not just survive, but prosper when so many other tattoo shops have closed.

That, and an unwavering commitment to family.

Both brothers spoke about their gratitude for their families and their parents, as well as their love for each other. Alex said he’s “learned more from Aubrey than anyone else,” and Aubrey had to hold back tears when talking about his brother. “The respect we have for each other keeps pushing us to be better,” he said.

For those who might worry that the brothers will get too big and move to a larger city, you can set those fears aside. Aubrey proudly stated, “It’s been a pleasure getting to do this in San Angelo.”

And Alex agreed. “We can’t leave this place,” he said.

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No matter what comes next for Trufant Brothers or the West Texas Tattoo Convention, one thing is crystal clear: These brothers will continue dreaming and living life to the fullest... together.

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