Continuing An Artist's Legacy In Jackson County

When Jack Motley died, it looked like the local music scene would die with him. Now, a rural Texas community is building an art and music community in his name.

Jackson County is a small area southwest of Houston encompassing the towns of Edna, Ganado, and La Ward. It was home to one of the oldest settlements in the state, Texana, now long flooded under the Lake Texana reservoir. With only 15,000 residents, there were few venues for musicians outside of honky tonks and even fewer for other types of artists.

Jack Motley helped change that. A gregarious man who resembled Santa Claus in form and demeanor, Motley was a regular at the Kerrville Folk Festival and its associated song circles. He released two albums over the course of his life, Glad I’m from Texas and In Treatment, but in Jackson County he was better known for his generous community spirit.

Shelley Srb, president of the Texana Art Council, remembers Motley calling her up out of the blue to propose monthly gatherings of artists and musicians, open to all and not beholden to making money.

“He said, ‘hey, I go to these song circles in Kerrville and they're wonderful and I want to do something like that here,” recalls Srb. “We both agreed that because we're a small community, it might be better to do any type of art. Still the concept of the circle, still the sharing, still the limited amount of time each person has, but if you have oil paintings or if you have poetry or if you like to tell stories or anything, you're welcome. It has definitely been my favorite thing so far. Every one of them is inspirational in a different way.”

Starting in 2024 with support from the Texana Art Council, Motley hosted small gatherings of around 15 people at venues like the Rear Window Listening Room in Ganado. People would come to sing, show off art, or just talk. It was a welcoming environment that brought people from as far away as Victoria.  

One of the first people to start attending the monthly gatherings in 2024 was Jessica Coleman, a local legend in her own right. Journalist, reptile rehabilitator, and wet specimen collector, she was hesitant to start singing and playing guitar in front of people until Motley encouraged her.

“He was a fantastic musician, and he really cared about fostering music in the community,” said Coleman in a phone interview.

“I was there the very first time she read a poem, which then turned into her very first song,” said Srb about the creative circle. “I've been able to see Jessica grow into the musician she is today. That relationship with Jack was really special.”

Even in big cities, it can be hard for musicians and artists to find places to show off their work outside of a moneymaking context. Coleman has gone on to be a staple playing at bars in Jackson County, but she’s come to rely on how the circles encourage people simply to show off their work without worrying the bar is going to make money off of it.

“When you’re not in a commercial state of mind, you can play your favorite art,” said Coleman. “When I make a set list for a bar, I have to cut out a lot of my songs. A lot of my music is really sad, and you can only bum people out in a bar for so long. When I’m at a creative circle, I can play what I love.”

When Motley died suddenly at the age of 78 in May, it looked like it would be the end of the circles without his driving spirit. His friends and fellow artists were understandably devastated, but they rallied to continue his work starting this fall 

Rather than dub it a memorial, the Jack Motley and Friends Creative Circle honors the man without focusing on the sadness of his death.

“I don’t think Jack would have liked the word memorial,” said Coleman. ”He was a celebratory type of guy. 

Soon, there may be a more permanent home for Motley’s vision. The Texana Art Council was originally founded in the 1990’s as a group to preserve the defunct Edna Theater. Completed in 1950, it’s a building right out of a Hal Ketchum song, though it’s languished in disrepair for decades.

Just as Motley’s song and art circle got going, so did the movement on restoring the building. The roof and structure have been made structurally sound. The plan is to re-open it as a community performance and gathering space for the entire county. Next year, the art council will start raising money to formally re-open the building that has sat vacant since 1979. The song and art circle Motley built will be a regular event there, offering people from miles around a place to show off their creative side.

“We have found that folks around here are very hungry for the arts,” said Srb.