By Nanette Wiser
Kudos to Creative Pinellas Arts Annual 2023: Discovery event and exhibition, and a fond farewell to executive director Barbara St. Clair who has tirelessly created a vibrant cultural organization, and to Beth Gelman for her hard work and creativity and Roman Black who helps get the word out. Publishers Peter Roos and Renee Roos and I were on hand to mingle with artists, patrons and our advertisers, Britt Hayes, and Jane Radix, as well as greet contributor Pamela Joy Trow and others. Thrilled to be on the wall of sponsors! Creative Pinellas is open Wed.-Sat. 10am-5pm in Largo. Pick up a copy of Pinellas County’s Arts & Culture Guide when you’re visiting.
Life is art, and local theater, dance and opera bring our joy and challenges to life with comedy, song, and drama. Theater Tampa Bay awards at The Palladium celebrated the growing talent at so many venues, from Stageworks (nine awards) to Tampa Rep, where Arthur Miller’s All My Sons took five awards. Become a member or buy tickets to support theater including The Off-Central Players at Studio Grand Central, St. Petersburg Shakespeare Festival, freeFall, American Stage, Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, Central Park Performing Arts Center, The Straz, West Coast Players, Studio @620, St. Pete Opera, St. Petersburg City Theater, Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, Gulfport Community Player, and Project Alchemy.
At the Arts Annual and November Saturday arts festival at Creative Pinellas, we met many fabulous artists, many of them with pieces on display at CP. Mark Mitchell paints Conceptual Pop Art with a message – colorful and iconic, and always with a bit of subtext to encourage the viewer to look deeper. “At its core, my work is an attempt at a wake-up call, by exposing things that may otherwise be hidden from view. Each piece is intended to catch the viewer off-guard, invite them in for further exploration, and challenge them to make connections, find meaning, and ultimately see differently some aspect of the world in which we live,” says Mitchell. His work (seen here) is currently on exhibition at Creative Pinellas. He has a home studio on Isle of Capri, Treasure Island, and shows both at Creative Pinellas and Woodfield Fine Art Gallery in downtown St. Pete. Oh, and he’s a triple talent, who writes and sings. www.MarkMitchellStudio.com
Strolling through the leafy campus, we enjoyed seeing Patricia Kluwe Derderian’s whimsical streetscape illustrations, Leslie Alpha Bestulic’s books and meetlg.com, Elizabeth Neily’s art to wear, Javier T. Dones copper art and sculptures, Benit Hines ceramics, Jane Fields sagger and raku pottery, Steven Verenicin’s pet portraits in oil or pastels and admired Suncoast Bonsai Society and Thunderstruck Bonsai’s green thumbs. Spazzleapples ceramic pieces were functional art and B & B designs’ custom bags were beautiful. Ethereal designs from Barbara Ellen Watermelon ranged from watermelon felt hats to felted slippers adorned with flowers and perfect for fairies. Many artists from ArtJones were also on hand, and if you can, join them for the 7th annual Studio Tour and Sale Dec. 2-3. www.ArtJonesStudioTour.com