I had the good fortune to visit and interview Creation Studio founder, director, and Preston Hollow native Hunter Lacey on opening day in January 2025.
The art studio and gallery, just off Southwestern Boulevard, serves artists with disabilities. With a roster that includes popular University Park painter Reese Gould among others, it has had a busy year of impressive progress and accomplishments.
“As far as enrollment, it’s been perfect,” Lacey said of the seven artists. “We’ve had two shows, a couple of markets, and we have another show coming up on March 7.”
UT Southwestern Medical Center reached out to Creation Studio for help with a July 2025 celebration of the 35th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“We went and showed some art, and I spoke in front of all of them, which was a very weird experience, but it went well,” Lacey said, chuckling about presenting to doctors and medical students. “I think what we’re doing really resonates with people. They really enjoyed it, and it helped spread awareness to a community that otherwise maybe wouldn’t have heard of us.”
Creation Studio also participated in the neighborhood Christmas Market this past December, and interest, sales, and donations continue to grow.
“There are people in the community who have become somewhat collectors,” Lacey noted of buyers often interested in folk art and outsider art. “They develop their favorite artist here; everyone has such a different style. It seems like about two-thirds of the art listed in each show sells, which is pretty impressive, I think, for an art show. It definitely helps pay for art supplies.”
Lacey’s sister, Annabelle Folsom, is the chief art teacher.
“We’ve expanded from just painting and drawing to sculpture, printmaking, papier-mâché, collaging, tracing, all kinds of things,” Folsom said. “With some of our artists who are not as communicative verbally, just being able to sit down and get a bunch of information that’s in their head out on paper, then stepping back and looking at it is super rewarding. Being able to put it down on paper — and it looks beautiful and you love it — is a very fulfilling act.”
Wandering amongst the colorful and inspired pieces, I chatted with Gould about recent work, eyed Rachel Frederick working on a rainbow of hues in oil pastel, and spied Emily Morrow painting a flowery pastoral landscape.
“It’s hard to know of, in a few years, we’ll be the same size or of we’ll have more artists,” Lacey said. “But I do think if we have more, we have to be open more days or find a bigger space. It would be sad to leave the village, because it’s the perfect space for us.”
Josh Hickman, a Park Cities musician, artist, and author of such humorous novels as “I Am Luney: The Untold Story of The World’s Naughtiest Man,” is a frequent contributor to People Newspapers. Visit joshhickmanbooks.com.
Author
Josh Hickman
Josh Hickman is a national award-winning journalist, visual artist, sometime musician, and author of seven books. His writing For People Newspapers often focuses on arts & culture, local small businesses, local history & government, and interesting personal stories. His paintings include a commission for Dallas County and a donation to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
