On Saturday, explore Dallas' funky boho Southern 'hood.
Queer artist Blake Harris welcomes y'all into his work-live space for the Cedars Open Studio Tour

COME ON IN: Harris’ studio will exhibit billboard-sized digital photos that are then painted, like “Lu,” a portrait of his dog. (DANIEL A. KUSNER/Dallas Voice)

While making a U-turn in the 1800 block of Clarence Street in South Dallas, I'm greeted by a slatternly middle-aged woman wearing strawberry short-shorts and white loafers with gold trim. While I'm not entirely sure of her occupation, the word "crack whore" comes to mind.

Down the street is KRG Studios, an address surrounded by rusty industrial buildings. Once inside KRG's gated parking lot, Blake Harris guides me into a one-story building with high ceilings. The inside of his 950-sqare foot unit has polished concrete floors, skylights and an open kitchen. The near-immaculate layout allows Harris enough space to work on his enormous canvasses. Some are 16 feet long. The images are mostly photos: goldfish, roses and Lu, Harris' friendly pug who sniffs my shoes.

After shooting with a digital camera, Harris sends his images to a firm in California where they go through a process used for billboards. The photos are reproduced onto huge mesh-like screens, which Harris then frames and paints over. Interestingly, the same wood he uses for his frames is incorporated into the nifty horizontal slats that surround his kitchen area.

A creative director at IMC2, a Web design firm, Harris moved into his studio in 1999. He used to live in Uptown, but when he heard about the unit at KRG Studios, Harris wasn't scared of venturing south of downtown. On Saturday, his studio is one of the 50 work-live spaces featured on the fifth annual Cedars Open Studio Tours.

The Cedars is one of Dallas' oldest neighborhoods. Before 1920, The Cedars was a somewhat ritzy neighborhood that also attracted Jewish immigrants. Both Stanley Marcus and Aaron Spelling were born there. Throughout the 20th century, the residential vibe petered out. While many businesses have closed shop, The Cedars still has an urban-industrial energy. But most speculators can see past the decay, homelessness and drug dealers, and just look north: The Cedars has some of the best views of the Dallas skyline. It's like Deep Ellum before it died and before its '80s-'90s renaissance.

Harris has noticed that most of The Cedars' vacant buildings have being bought up and are in the process of being renovated. Because he's a vegetarian, The Cedars doesn't have many food joints that satisfy Harris' palette. But he's likes Lee Harvey's, arguably Dallas' best nightspot that attracts a stylish, post-gay alternative crowd.



SEE THE CEDARS

The fifth annual Cedars Open Studios Tour. Nov. 17, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Walking maps and transportation from studio to studio are provided. The Cedars is located just south of downtown, off of I-30 and Ervay Street. Free. CedarsOpenStudios.com



This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition November 16, 2007