1 of 9
Crystal Wise
Iliosyus
The Photographer
A suspender of time and a revealer of truth.
Click Thompson has photographed some of the nation’s most prestigious rodeo events and was named the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PCRA) Photographer of the Year in 2022. You can regularly catch him capturing the Western world while close to chutes, with camera in tow, at both Cowtown and Will Rogers coliseums.
clickthompson.com, IG: @clickthompson
2 of 9
Crystal Wise
Molyvius
The Writer
A wielder of words whose stories beget candor and myth.
Christian Wallace is an award-winning writer whose long-form and “shorter” form work you can read in Texas Monthly. His popular podcast, “Boomtown,” is soon to become a Taylor Sheridan-produced, Billy Bob Thornton-starring series called “Land Man,” on which Wallace is credited as a co-creator and executive producer.
christianwallace.com, IG: @wormwithdagger
3 of 9
Crystal Wise
Dimiya
The Contemporary Painter
A visionary who conveys an unknown perspective of the world.
Chloe M. Burk is an artist and barrel racer who grew up in the French countryside. Despite studying fashion in London and Paris, Burk ultimately dedicated her life to painting and, specifically, painting her muse: horses. Her unmistakable style, Native American and cowboy scenes with horses typically in full stride, feels simultaneously contemporary and folkloric. Her paintings are currently on display at Parson Gallery of the West in Taos, New Mexico.
cmburkwesternart.com, IG: @c.m.burk.westernart
4 of 9
Crystal Wise
Cannachrome
The Modern Painter
An illusionist who wields windows out of canvas.
Jacob Lovett is a contemporary Western oil painter and entrepreneur, who in 2021 founded Muse — a collaborative studio space for local creatives. His distinct perspective on Western art has led to numerous group and solo shows at local galleries, including Love Texas Art; Studio Sabka, where he studied under Aleksi Xhaferi; Turner House in Dallas; and The Gage Hotel in Marathon.
jacoblovettart.com, IG: @jacoblovettart
5 of 9
Crystal Wise
Calliopus
The Poet
An engineer whose bricks and blocks are the spoken word.
Red Steagall is a poet, actor, musician, songwriter, radio host, and stage performer. A dang North Texas renaissance man, Steagall creates and promotes art that personifies the ideals, philosophy, and culture of the Old West. Through collaborations, syndicated radio and television shows, published books, and written songs, Steagall’s name has endured and remains synonymous with Western art.
redsteagall.com, IG: redsteagall
6 of 9
Crystal Wise
Polyclio
The Actor
A shape-shifter who vitally portrays all that is good, bad, and ugly.
JP Guana is a Choctaw Native American/Mexican actor and model whose credits include Taylor Sheridan’s “1883” and the films “Terror on the Prairie,” “The Harbinger,” and “Washington’s Armor.” A former employee of The Dallas Morning News, Guana is now a full-time actor and committed to being an educated representative of his heritage.
IG: @choctawnativejp
7 of 9
Crystal Wise
Cantocoda
The Singer
A siren whose spell is not one to avoid.
Kristyn Harris is a singer who’s just as comfortable on the back of a horse as she is behind a microphone. Eschewing the Nashville sound for more traditional fare, her Western swing rhythm style and power-packed yodeling have made her a five-time recipient of the International Western Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award. You can check out her tunes, including three full-length albums, on Spotify.
kristynharris.com, IG: kristyn_harris
8 of 9
Crystal Wise
Metallus
The Sculptor/Welder
A blacksmith who forges life as he sees it.
Jason Owen is a welder, wrangler, rancher, and actor. You can catch his work on several Taylor Sheridan-produced and/or Christina Voros-directed shows and movies — or just about any production that requires a horse and someone to be on said horse. Though his art as a welder rarely enters public spaces, he’s managed to cleverly find new uses for old horseshoes at his shop in Van Horn.
9 of 9
Crystal Wise
Terpsichore
The Dancer
A historian whose steps chronicle a past.
Claudia Tiffany Rodriguez is a TCU theatre major and a conserver and promoter of ballet folklorico, or traditional Mexican folk dance. In folklorico, every movement, instrument, and design on a vestuario (dress) holds a meaning. Rodriguez is currently advocating for ballet folklorico courses at TCU and hopes to one day convince the university to offer it as a major.
IG: @tiffany_y_folklore_
In the olden days, before anyone ever uttered the phrase “year of our Lord,” there were some fascinating, if not perplexing, notions about how inspiration struck. Scholars of the time wondered how artists — painters, poets, and playwrights who were otherwise doomed to general ineptitude — experienced sudden jolts of creativity and workaholism to produce timeless, magnificent works. Unable to accept that artists could pull such tricks straight out of their own minds (with or without assistance from the good ol’ mead), the powers that be among ancient Greeks theorized that nine of Zeus’ daughters, each personifying a different medium, would appear before the aforementioned artists and perform choreographed song and dance routines to inspire creation. These were the nine Muses of Greek mythology, each inspiring an artist of one of these distinct trades: epic poetry, love poetry, hymns, history, music, comedy, tragedy, dance, and astronomy.
While the concept might sound a little dated, we couldn’t help but apply this archaic belief to something that is quintessential Fort Worth: Western art. But rather than spin a yarn and create Muses out of thin air, we set out to find nine real-life Western Muses — local Fort Worthians who could inspire creators. And we decided these Muses should be creators themselves, each in a different medium, whose work and devotion to Western art and the Western lifestyle would serve as inspiration for others — no choreographed song and dance necessary.
With that said, yes, you will notice we took some liberties and strayed from the ancient Greeks’ initial concept. First and foremost, none of these people are, or claim to be (we don’t think), gods or goddesses. Second, because finding a cowboy astronomer proved too difficult, we updated the nine art forms to the more manageable writing, painting, poetry, acting, singing, dancing, photography, sculpting, and illustrating. And, lastly, much like the goddesses of ancient Greece, we gave each a Greek name fitting for a Muse.
Whether you’re an artist or not, we think everyone can use a little inspiration and hope the following pages serve as an antidote for that ever-persistent procrastination. Happy creating, y’all.
