SAVE THE DATE!
MUSE@mfa on Jan 30, 2015 Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida
http://stpeteartsalliance.org/index.php/item/406-muse-mfa-2015 — at St. Petersburg Arts Alliance.

This Folkfest Weekend, Oct 25th

Saturday, October 25th
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Please join us for the opening night of my exhibition. Live music at 7PM in Everything Dolce's outdoor courtyard. 937 Central Ave, 6:00 PM.

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Blue Lucy Ybor City X Savoir-Faire Labs

P R O U D L Y P R E S E N T S

— CREATURE FEATURE –
A portrait series of legendary creatures and monsters.

For this particular curated exhibit each artist selected from a compiled list of creatures and was asked to give their interpretation of that creature. This is the first show curated by Chad Mize of Blue Lucy and Elias Théroux of Savoir-Faire together in the Ybor space many of you are familiar with. Please join us this Saturday for a show you will not want to miss.

FEATURING THE ARTWORKS BY THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS:

LAURA SPENCER — Garuda
DANIEL MRGAN — Harpy
PERRY DEVICK — Jackalope
PHILLIP CLARK — Rainbow Serpent
DRONE — Unicorn
CAKE MARQUES — Satyr
MICHELLE SAWYER — Vodyanoy
CALAN REE — Cyclops
PALEHORSE — Dragon
BRANDEN HOLLYWOOD — Mermaid
TYLER STAGGS — Kraken
JUJMO — Oni
CHAD MIZE — Sharabha
THOR ERIC PAUL — Banshee
MONK — Yeti
STEPHEN PALLADINO — Cerberus
STOIC — Jikininki
J MICHAEL TAYLOR — Minotaur
CLAYTON PETRAS — Hydra
BASK — Krampus

For further information about the show or to inquire about a particular piece for advance purchase please e-mail chad@bluelucy.net or elias@wearesavoirfaire.com.

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Thrill Day

South Straub Park. a public festival involving Zombies and dancing (you can dance if you want to)  to MJ's "Thriller". 200 block beach drive on Straub park. Make up and rehearsal 3-5 PM.
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Cirgus McGirkus, a Saint Petersburg tradition for decades, this small circus is delightful. At 1401 62nd Ave. S. Lake Vista Park. St, Pete.

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Sunday, Oct 26





Hello everyone! I, Jellyfish Princess, and many other talented individuals will be at the Harbour Island Art Walk. There is food, music, face painting, prizes, pump art contests, and a lovely scenic view of the bay out here. I will be taking commission requests at the show, doing traditional style caricatures, and there will be free charm and sticker giveaways with each purchase! Come on out, I hope to see your lovely faces. :)
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mmm

Breakfast with David Audet

Nicko's Diner is a neighborhood staple in Seminole Heights. A place next to a community baseball field, now in disrepair, with seven-foot high weeds and catch nets flapping in the wind. Across the street are a body shop and a church. The King, Elvis, ate at Nicko's in 1956, in the booth just to the right of the door as you come in.

I find David sitting in the same corner I usually sit at. He has been scanning from his voluminous files of negatives taken over the decades he has been involved with countless arts events in the Bay area. We talk about projects, stories, people, events, places etc., but time permeates the conversation.

Boxes of old photographs of things now gone, significant things in the local history of art that no history museum seems remotely interested in. When their keepers die, they will be dispersed, sold, and/or at landfills.

Museums are concerned with commercial history, the history of developers, media and other corporate interests. Spectacular things, like wars (which are corporate, I know) horrid crimes etc. Artists, far less so.

I have an idea: Form a meatspace web, people who would agree contractually to store historically significant items, never owning them, and to pass them on to others in the network when they can't keep them any longer. A Keepers of History kind of thing. A fragmented constellation of storage spaces for what the museums will not touch.

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Portraits of Nigerians, both royalty and common men.

The portraiture of the Royals and commoners of 20th century Nigeria by Chief Solomon Olange

Rare Portraits of Kings and Commoners from 19th-Century Nigeria

For over five decades Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge photographed the royal court and everyday life of Benin, Nigeria. Drawing on their collection of over 2,000 glass...

hyperallergic.com [Link]

This 5x5 Weekend, Oct 18-19, 2014

Saturday, Oct 18
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one-night special art exhibit featuring Roy and 14 local artist that are part on the one week workshop leading up to this show. Evocative, large-scale abstract works that explore an affinity between music and painting will line the walls of the studio and stretch the imagination of the audience. Lerner has had 26 solo exhibitions; been included in 111 group exhibitions; has paintings in 13 museums, more than 8 galleries and many public and private collections. He has exhibited in ten countries, most frequently in the US, Canada, France, and Italy. His works are showing tonight from 5-9 at the Kokol Gallery, 3318 W. Bay to Bay in Tampa.
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Workspace opens "Between Alpha and Omega" at 6:00 PM at 4501 N. Florida Ave.
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Machine in the Ghost is a group exhibition at the Kirk Ke Wang Art Space. Six artist statements were randomly created using online artist statement generators. Six artists, in turn, created work based on those statements. This Saturday we get together to close the show. If you haven't seen the exhibition yet, this will be your last chance - Come hang out with us! 5120 N. Florida Ave.

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  At Bayfest on Anna Maria Island. The rum happy fun locals welcome ( we're ALL LOCALS!) event on Anna Maria Island's pine street. Bands, booze and ME! RhondaK ,the real deal native Florida Folk Artist. I'll have a lot of one of a kinds and a huge mermaid, horse, cat lady and more. $3-150. Something for everyone!
Show link:
http://www.annamariaislandchamber.org/IslandEvents/tabid/62/ctl/Details/Mid/385/ItemID/667/Default.aspx
RhondaK link:
http://www.rhondakwrites.com/ ______________________________________________________




Nuri is getting into the spirit for tomorrow's 'Pops in the Park' with The Florida Orchestra. Come to Vinoy Park starting at 4 PM to join in the festivities! See you there!
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We are so excited to be featured at The Florida Orchestra Pops in the Park.

We will have a kids reading area, a coloring station where kids can design their own book covers, and a song/poetry collage area. Come say hello to us!

Here’s the schedule for the afternoon on October 18:

4:00pm Osceola High School Women’s Choir
4:30pm Lakewood High School Jazz Band
5:00pm Tampa Bay Children’s Chorus
5:30pm St. Petersburg Community Band
6:00pm Matt Weihmuller Jazz Quartet (VSA)
7:00pm The Florida Orchestra performance

Other arts groups with tents and activities:

Armillata Designs
NOMADstudio
TFO Instrument Petting Zoo
Tampa Bay Children’s Chorus
VSA

Enjoy a picnic under the stars with guest conductor Damon Gupton and The Florida Orchestra. It’s a varied program of pop tunes, film scores, patriotic themes, Broadway hits and more with an Armed Forces Salute, Bernstein’s Candide Overture, Shostakovich’s Festival Overture and Sousa’s El Capitan March, along with music from Grofé’s Mississippi Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Rodgers’ South Pacific...all with the evening ending in Tchaikovsky’s explosive 1812 Overture ...... fireworks!!

Canned Food Donations: Concertgoers are invited to bring canned food donations for Tampa Bay Harvest for their food bank services in the Tampa Bay area.

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30 artists interpret their own land on provided landscape sized panels.

Participating artists:
Chris Giuffré
James Michael McCraken
DemiGod
Timothy Innamorato
Melissa Yungbluth
J Michael Taylor
Stephanie McKee
T Cris Alencar
Anthony Krol
Mason Schwacke
Julie Price
Curtis Sneary
Justin Wagher
P$YNNER
Carol Davis
Josh Poll
Ken Echezabal
Lainey Rhodes
Jujmo
Salvatore James
Jedd Lancaster
Kristin Northup
Joshua Fuller
Angela Faustina
Heinz Hinrichs
Justin Arnold
Josh Stover
John Taormina
David Cabassa
Jeffrey Jacoby
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[From Donna Gordon and the Official St. Petersburg City site]


ST. PETERSBURG, FL (October 13, 2014) – St. Petersburg high school student Molly Doyle had no idea that something she saw during a family vacation in Greenville, South Carolina, would lead to a public sculpture installation on one of St. Petersburg’s busiest downtown thoroughfares. “Birds On Beach,” to be unveiled Tuesday, October 21, is the city’s newest addition to a growing collection of public art.  
At 4 p.m. on October 21, Mayor Rick Kriseman and artist Donna Gordon introduce the Warbleson bird sculptures to St. Petersburg during a ceremony in South Straub Park, just south of Second Ave. N.  Molly, friends and family members, District 4 Council Member Darden Rice, the city’s Public Art commission liaison, District 6 Council member Karl Nurse and Elizabeth Brincklow, manager of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, will be in attendance.
During the family’s 2012 Greenville trip, Molly, now a Northside Christian School senior, noticed a whimsical public art project called Mice on Main, a city-wide mouse hunt that served as an engaging way for people to learn more about the city. Molly realized the concept would work well in St. Petersburg and Birds on Beach was hatched.
 “Watching the project move from an idea to an actual art installation was exciting,” reflected Molly. “I learned a lot, especially that you shouldn’t let age or inexperience keep you from achieving your goals.”
After receiving city approval for her idea and finding seven local sponsors to host the birds, Molly hired figurative sculptor and St. Petersburg resident Donna Gordon. Working closely with Molly, Gordon began the process of creating eight, 5 1/2-inch bronze birds that now perch along or near, Beach Drive.
 “The sculpting was a lot of fun, but the best part of this project for me was working side-by-side with Molly,” stated artist Donna Gordon. “Few teens her age have the determination to undertake a project of this scope, let alone see it through.  She is an impressive young woman.”
The entire project took almost two years, from the idea’s inception to the birds’ installation.
Birds on Beach is a bird quest whereby visitors and residents are invited to locate the Warbleson bird family who are visiting St. Petersburg but have lost track of one of their flock. The task is to help Mama, Daddy, Betty, Brian, Beatrice, Benny, and Bethany find missing fledgling Buddy and, while doing so, discover the history of downtown St. Pete.
“Combining details of art and of St. Petersburg’s history with the story of the Warbleson family provides a delightful opportunity for both our residents and visitors to engage with the beauty of our downtown waterfront,” said Elizabeth Brincklow, manager of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs.  “Our partners in the public and private sector have been enthusiastic supporters of   Molly’s idea and a unique opportunity to share her love of art with the city.”
The public is invited to help locate the missing Warbleson with free clue flyers available at seven sponsor locations or at www.birdsonbeach.com , which will launch October 21. Sponsors include the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Administrative offices, 1400 19^th St. N.; the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel, 501 Fifth Ave. NE; The Birchwood, 340 Beach Drive NE; Bruce Watters Jewelers, 208 Beach Drive NE; The Dali Museum, One Dali Blvd.; the Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE; or the St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 Second Ave. NE.
For information about Molly Doyle and the Birds on Beach project, visit www.birdsonbeach.com .

Between Two Quaids: Christina Humphreys interviews Ericka Richardson about her "Night Moves" show.

Ericka Richardson, on the left, interviewed by Christina Humphreys on the right, about her current show at QUAID, "Night Moves" on Oct 16th, 2014.














QUAID is a co-op owned by USF adjuncts and profs. The space seems to only show USF students, profs, grads. These interviews are more than a little incestuous, and almost the entire audience were USF (including me). Academese is spoken to a largely academic audience. It is still a fascinating discourse, laden with insights into the artists, process and work.

--- Luis

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Roy Lerner Workshop at Beth Kokol Studios

Pulling into the parking lot at Beth Burley Kokol's studio at 3318 W. Bay to Bay in Tampa, there were paintings drying on the tarmac, looking like scattered giant azulejo tiles shining in the sunlight.




In the studio, easels were everywhere, with a wide variety of abstract paintings in different stages being worked on. Music played loudly, some of the painters swaying to it. Beth Kokol introduced me to Roy Lerner, an international artist based at the Northern border of NY State who is conducting this spirited workshop. 


       Work by Roy Lerner.




Work by Roy Lerner.


In the studio, easels were everywhere, with a wide variety of abstract paintings in different stages being worked on. Music played loudly, some of the painters swaying to it. Beth Kokol introduced me to Roy Lerner, an international artist based at the Northern border of NY State who is conducting this spirited workshop. 

We talked about his work, which is very sculptural and done with pigmented acrylic gels. Unlike many artists, Roy is at the zenith of his powers, very outgoing, open, clear, confident and obviously a great teacher, given the energized workshop members and their work.



As with any mature artist's work, there are multiple ties and roots woven into it. Music and time figure prominently, not to mention color. Miles Davis and Clement Greenberg were mentioned. I photographed the painters at work as seen below.
Roy Lerner's own show at Beth Kokol gallery opens this Saturday, October 18 at 5:00 PM at 3318 W. Bay to Bay Blvd.

Close-up of one of Roy Lerner's paintings showing the terraced rhythms, very similar, yet each different. Like Time descending a staircase.



I particularly liked this work by a workshop member because the artist "paints" beyond the edges of the frame. By the dynamics of the forms the viewers' mind choreographs the dance of the abstract forms extending them beyond what can be seen. We are enjoined as collaborators. Lovely.





Roy Lerner and one of his works.


--- Luis

Notes from 2nd Saturday, October 2014, Part III

Feathered Serpent had "Obscured by time", magazine illustration-caliber work by Hermann Trappmann, which in fact, has been used (very appropriately, I might add) for signs in parks. Gallery owner Linda Ramirez objected to the work being photographed, saying "It's copyrighted". It is time even lawyers who own galleries educate themselves on the issue of copyright. All current art is copyrighted. They should also educate themselves on the Fair Use provisions of copyright law.

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In the interests of Full Disclosure, I should say that Creative Clay is perhaps my favorite stop on 2nd Saturday. The above cat should explain why.




Artist Robert Phelps kindly took time from holding court to pose with his work at Creative Soul Cafe. He asked me to make it clear that only one of those glasses on the table was his.




Work by Robert Phelps at Creative Soul Cafe.




Painter Carol Dameron and photographer Herb Snitzer in Carol's studio.





John Lichtenstein Monster Movie TV Pop themed work at the Venture Compound.



John Lichtenstein talking about his work, and "trace shame".





Venture Compound jam...




The list from this 2nd Saturday.

End, Part III


--- Luis

Notes from 2nd Saturday, October 2014, Part II

Artist Evelyn Dufner with her work at Dysfunctional Grace Art Company.























Wendy Durand moved into her new studio space in Soft Water Studios.



Carla Bristol's Galerie 909 featured "Earth Tones"  by Scott Davis.



(Right-to-left) Mitzi Gordon, of Creative Pinellas, Carla Bristol, Galerie 909, Bradley Kokay, artist, ex-Venture Compound Art Directos, Jim Grinaker, esquire, at Galerie 909.







Gulfport Artist Cora Marshall and her historical portraits at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum. These was one of the standout shows of the evening.




Laura James and her work. She shares a studio with Saori Murphy at Five Deuces.




Nathan Beard and his work, which is partially about the pseudo-cyclical nature of time as we experience it, at Leslie Curran's ARTicles gallery.

End, Part II




mmm

Jamie Wyeth's portraits of Rudolf Nureyev at the Museum of Fine Art, Saint Petersburg Florida.

If you are a ballet fan, and particularly of Rudolf Nureyev, or are entranced by figurative art, you can stop reading here. This show is for you.

The artist is not the Wyeth you've heard of, or seen in books, Andrew. This is his son Jaime, who from an early age was groomed by the family to be the third-generation chapter of a budding arts dynasty. No less than Lincoln Kirstein (who admittedly was a close family friend) referred to him as "the finest American portrait painter since the death of John Singer Sargent" (!). In my opinion, this was a monumental lapse in judgment or a moment of hyperbolic sentimentality.

This show is not the same as the one in the Boston MFA, which was a retrospective of 100 plus works, but only nineteen (19) of the portraits Wyeth painted of Rudolf Nureyev in the 1970's or done later- from photographs. The Boston show is traveling to the Walton-Walmart Crystal Bridge Museum.


There are also a few of the artists' notebooks in glass cases, a room full of costumes worn by Nureyev in the ballet, another full of Nureyev dance posters by photographers and loop video of the dancer. To a dance aficionado, a feast, to an arts lover, slim pickings and lots of filler.



Jaime Wyeth is 68. He is a significant and widely recognized American artist, but with these portraits, he seems to have been overwhelmed by the subject. He does much better with regular mortals, as seen below.




   "Orca Bates"





All work shown by Jamie Wyeth.


--- Luis

Notes from 2nd Saturday, October 2014, Part I

[2nd Saturday is the monthly gallery walk in the city of Saint Petersburg, Florida.]

Amy Marshall's Strands of Sunshine featured Coralette Damme in a Pop-Up show. The work, consisting mostly of smaller pieces, was arranged altar-like on two tables. People were staring at the work, mouths agape. It reminded me of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Epiphany day, of people lighting candles.





Being in Michele Tuegel's decorative art gallery, watching her lovingly teaching her beautiful young grand-daughter elemental accounting and math.




Selfie at Michele Tuegel Gallery.




The Crislip Arcade has been undergoing an enormous amount of turn-over for months. The latest departures were Dawn and Ungala, leaving Leslie Pringle Burke as the only painter left there. Rande James is managing now. It is acquiring a flea-market-ish aura from what I can see, which is a shame.



Panoramic of the interior of Leslie Pringle Burke's studio.


End Part I.

mmmm