SOUTHERN GRACE ARTS AND CRAFTS SHOW Feb 19, 10 am - 3 pm

Artist Grace McKee presenting $460.60 to Denise Downey of Tampa Crossroads
for the Athena House transitional housing for female veterans

As a result of the SOUTHERN GRACE ARTS AND CRAFTS SHOW, the SouthShore Arts Council received $120 for the Firehouse Cultural Arts Center and the Tampa Crossroads received $460.60 in donations earmarked for the Athena House, transitional housing for female veterans.

We had truly magnificent weather and a constant crowd.  This FIRST ANNUAL show was such a success, there should definitely be a SECOND ANNUAL.  Contact Frances Hereford at 813-645-0004 if you want to be on her list.

POST:

A friend of mine, Frances Hereford, owns Southern Grace Inc. in Ruskin. She is having an art show with proceeds to charity and has asked me to invite creative friends to participate.  Not just 2D artists; writers, sculptors, singers, dancers, all the arts.

SOUTHERN GRACE ARTS AND CRAFTS SHOW

Southern Grace Inc.
301 Hwy 41 South, Ruskin, Florida
Saturday, February 19, 10 am - 3 pm

$20 entry fee for a 10' x 10' space will go to SouthShore Arts Council earmarked for the Firehouse Cultural Arts Center
Must bring your own tent, table, et cetera.

20% of sales will go to the Athena House for homeless female vets in this area

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/The-Facts-About-Homeless-Veterans-Video

New Legislation covers homeless female vets and children:

http://www.nchv.org/news_article.cfm?id=809

If you have questions, call me, Grace, at 813-766-5040 or Frances at 641-0004.

You will be in good company.  Here are a few early bird entrants:

Fred Rothenbush - Oil Painter

Oil Painting by Fred Rothenbush

Grace McKee - Acrylics, Gyotaku, Giclees and Prints

"Banyan Cathedral" by Grace McKee

Enhanced Gyotaku Print by Grace McKee

Tammy Franco of Beautiful Walls and More - Faux Finishes and Murals

Tammy Franco

Gwen Rollings - Author, WE BAND OF SISTERS - Book Signing

Gwen Rollings - Book Signing

Cynthia Atkins - Fish Lips Hand-Painted Items

Sandy Z. Duran - FireflyHalu Stained Glass Art

Monica Gutierrez - Jewelry

Che Gray - Acrylic Paintings; Tile Paintings

Debby Martin-Cohen - Quilts

Nadine Cooley - Watercolor, Oil and Acrylic paintings

Nancy Coon - Jewelry

Maryanne Wexler - Watercolors and Jewelry

Thanks to reporter Kathy Collins of The Osprey Observer Apollo Beach/Riverview Edition:

Click on the link below, go to page 46, and click on the page to enlarge it for easier reading.

http://www.ospreyobserver.com/digital-archives/2011/2011-02-Riverview/pageflip.html

Look for the ad coming out in The Observer.

Something Fishy Is Going On in Apollo Beach!

What?  GYOTAKU.

What is "gyotaku"?  It is Japanese for "fish rubbing."  Japanese fishermen used fish rubbing to record the size and number of their catch.  Gyotaku has become one type of nature printing.

The direct method calls for ink or paint to be applied directly to the fish.  Fabric, watercolor paper, or Japanese paper is then pressed onto the painted fish to make a print.  Messy?  Yes!  Fun?  Absolutely!

When and where can you get a "taste" (pun intended)?  SouthShore artist Grace McKee will be the instructor for the following events:

Thursday, January 27, 10 am to noon --The Art Studio at Arianna's (across Hwy 41 from MiraBay in Apollo Beach behind the M & I Bank) will host a Gyotaku session . Stop by Arianna's Rugs and Decor by January 24 to sign up. Art supplies and one piece of fabric furnished. $35

Saturday, February 26--MiraBay residents* will be rubbing fish at the clubhouse at 10 am.  Hurry and sign up as the class will fill quickly!  Residents can have a non-resident friend sign up with them on a space-available basis.  Art supplies and one piece of fabric furnished.  $35 

*Residents should sign up by February 22.  Non-residents will be admitted after that.

Hope to see you there!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It is 2011!  Can you believe it?

MiraBay Art Classes resume this week:

Acrylics - All levels
Tuesdays, 2 - 4 pm or 6:15 - 8:15 pm

Drawing with graphite, conte crayon, and charcoal
Fridays, 2 - 4 pm

Gyotaku
Saturday, January 22, 10 am - 12 noon

Sign up by calling the fitness center. 

Not a MiraBay resident?  Maybe you have a friend who is a resident and is taking the class that interests you.  Give me a call and I'll run interference to help with the signing up process.

Hope to see you soon!

Grace

MiraBay Drinks and Drawing Event Nov 13--Great Fun!



Did you wonder what was happening

around the MiraBay fountain Saturday morning?



We started in the MiraBay clubhouse lounge at 10 am, sharing mimosas

while getting our art supplies for the class.

Karen and Mike are really concentrating.

Judy, Linda and Diane moved to the shade as the day warmed up. 

Grace shares her drawing with Margaret and Kathy.

Everyone created a wonderful work of art and left happy.

Gyotaku (Fish Rubbing) by the MiraBay Lagoon Dec 11

MiraBay Residents:  The maximum of 12 has been reached!

Participants--Remember to bring one of the following:

• Watercolor paper
• Japanese art paper
• Half yard of fabric - Should be absorbent.  Avoid polyesters.

Art supplies and fish will be furnished for you.

Not one of the lucky twelve?  You can call the MB Fitness Center and get on a waiting list.

MiraBay Drinks and Drawing Event Nov 13

On Nov 13 participants will draw the MiraBay fountain and go away with a finished drawing just waiting for a frame.  Really!  The drawing for the Nov 13 will be this one of the MiraBay fountain.  I drew this using graphite pencil, charcoal pencil, black and white conte crayons, and a variety of erasers.  ERASERS ARE DRAWING TOOLS!  It is drawn on blue paper.  (Participants can choose blue or green.)

MiraBay residents can sign up for this fun drawing event by calling the fitness center at 649-1500, x21. 

On Nov 13 at 10 am, the event will begin with shared mimosas and chat time for participants to get loosened up.  At 10:30 am the instructor-led drawing event will take place.  If the weather is good, we may even set up around the MiraBay fountain in front of the clubhouse rather than inside.

I will show the participants various photos of the fountain and show how I came up with this composition.  I always preach, "Do not be a slave to your photo!  Pick and choose the interesting elements and place them in your composition for maximum impact."

You say you can't draw?  Well, you are a prime candidate for this event because drawing techniques will be taught as we create our individual drawings.  You will be led by the hand, so to speak, but can still make changes as you see fit.

So be brave!  Sign up asap!

All drawing tools and materials and one mimosa are included in the price.

Deadline:  Nov 10  Minimum: 6  Maximum:  12

NOT A MIRABAY RESIDENT?  I am offering a drawing class on Thursday, November 18, 1 - 3 pm, at The Art Studio at Arianna's across from MiraBay.

2nd Annual CREATIVE! MIRABAY Event

A SouthShore Arts Council
BIG DRAW Event

Chip Barker, Marketing Coordinator and I, Grace McKee, a SouthShore Arts Council member, volunteered to chair this event at the MiraBay Welcome Center.  The show is available to the public Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 22-24, 2010,  from 10 am to 6 pm.

We invited MiraBay residents and special guests to an Artists' Reception to enjoy the work of our creative MiraBay resident artists and the sunset over the lagoon, and many certainly did!  Thank you to the almost 100 who attended Friday evening!

All Photos Copyright 2010 Grace McKee

Some residents shared their hobbies:

The fascinating ribbon art was created by Nancy Ripley.

Ed Stone writes about boating and presented several of his tales.

Karen Stone paints such interesting oils.

Kathie Demme paints with acrylics and created the beautiful geranium paintings while studying in France. 

 Ken Fink is a talented photographer.

 Kathy Evans (above) and Linda Ellison (below) are first-time artists.  They participated in an instructor-led drawing event and had such fun sharing their drawings in graphite pencil, conte crayon and charcoal.

Other participating residents are in the professional category:

Gwen Rollings is a published author. She shared WE BAND OF SISTERS and SEASONS OF A WOMAN and willingly signed copies during the reception.

Tammy Franco of Beautiful Walls & More—An Elegant Alternative to Flat Painted Walls displayed several of her many faux finishes.

Cory Wright paints in acrylics and is a muralist; she displayed her orchids and offered her portfolio.  Displaying with her were her son Sam and daughter Anna.

Husband and wife, Richard and Sheila Weidel (above and below), share an artistic bent. Richard paints magnificent oils and is available for commissions.  Sheila paints furniture, makes shell items and quilts.  She displayed the elegant sofa table above, a shell mirror (pictured below), and a shell picture frame.

 

While Timothy Delgado has “kept his day job” as Assistant Principal at Wimauma Elementary School, he is a professional artist who paints in oils.  About a dozen of his staff members attended the Artists' Reception to cheer him on.

I, Grace McKee, paint with acrylics.  I am excited to be teaching classes here at the MiraBay clubhouse.  I have recently become MiraBay’s Art Specialist and will be leading resort-style living events. In November watch for a drawing event and a mixed media workshop.  In December there will be fish rubbing, gyotaku, beside the lagoon.

Debbie Wenz is away in California. Friends delivered her fun flamingo lamp for display.  It is one of many items offered by California Clayworks—Unique Ceramic Accessories.

A special "thank you" to my husband Archie, shown here with our good friend Phyllis Elsberry, for tolerating my frequent absences over the past few days and for keeping me going.  He is my biggest supporter.

Check out the photos below to see what fun everyone was having sharing the creativity of our MiraBay residents and enjoying the camaraderie that is inherent in MiraBay living.  And, oh, those sunset views!

 

  

All Photos Copyright 2010 Grace McKee



A highly successful evening...and now to relax!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAGS Drink 'n' Draw

The exuberant ladies who call themselves the WAGS (Wine Appreciation Girls Society) were my first Drink 'n' Draw instructor-led drawing experience.  What a fun evening!  After the "liquid courage" I described as necessary for apprehensive budding artists, we got down to business.  Check out the photos below:

Art supplies, mats and backboards, photos, handouts, apron, easel...it takes a lot of stuff to create art.

This is the artist's version of what we were going for from the photos taken of a wine bottle, a beer bottle and a wine glass.

After the sharing of appetizers, wine and quite a few laughs, the artists, with all their supplies laid out, are chomping at the bit.

Hard at work following instructions....



Here are Debbie, Linda, Chris, Theresa, Margaret and Kathy PROUDLY displaying their finished drawings.

And each lady went home with a matted drawing, their art supplies and another sheet of acid-free paper so they can create another drawing using their new techniques.

Thank you, WAGS, for such a fun evening filled with my favorite things:  laughter and art.

DRINK 'n' DRAW--First Event

A group of ladies in MiraBay asked that I do an instructor-led drawing event. 

This is the plan for a FUN evening:

The group organizer invited friends and collected the fees.  Fees included drawing materials and instruction.

I created a grayscale drawing that I thought this group would especially appreciate.  Also, I created a graphic reminder for her to send out by email or print.  I am blanking out her name; you can see the picture we will be drawing.

Each lady was asked by their hostess to bring either a bottle of wine or an appetizer.  Upon arrival at her home, they will have time to enjoy each other's company and indulge in a bit of "liquid courage" before the creative time.

My goal is that the ladies have a lot of FUN and actually learn some drawing techniques.  Each lady will take home her drawing plus her art supplies and another sheet of paper on which to create another piece of artwork.

I'll let you know how things go....

Paintings for the SouthShore Arts Council Show

I plan to submit these two acrylic paintings to the SouthShore Arts Council Show at the SouthShore Regional Library.  Submission date is August 1. 

You are invited to the Artists' Reception on August 5 at 6:30 pm.

Orchid Basket

16 x 20

Banyan Cathedral

16 x 20