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.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

Hillsborough Community College SouthShore Art Exhibit to End Soon

Just want to let you know that my art exhibit at Hillsborough Community College SouthShore will be ending this weekend.  So...if you want to visit but haven't as yet, please do so soon.  Hours are as follows:

• Monday through Thursday, 8 am - 8 pm
• Friday, 8 am - 2 pm
• Closed Saturday and Sunday

So Friday will be the last chance.

I will be exhibiting at the Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts, March 13 and 14.  Come by and say, "Hello."  Be sure to mention that you saw this info on my blog.

In the meantime, my giclees and notecards are available at Arianna's Rugs and Decor across from MiraBay.

Grace

Showing My Work - Hillsborough Community College SouthShore Center

I am very excited to announce that my artwork is now hanging in the Student Resource Center, Hillsborough Community College SouthShore Center.  The college is located in Ruskin at 551 - 24th Street NE south of 19th Avenue just across from Earl Lennard High School.    Directions

Artist's Reception:  Friday, January 22, 5- 7 pm.  You are invited!

Thank you to the members of the Friends of HCC SouthShore who have agreed to serve as hostesses at the reception.  So far Priscilla Mixon, Vicki Elsberry and Christa Jerome have agreed to serve.  Anyone else?

Can't make it to the reception?  You can view the show between 8 am and 8 pm Monday through Thursday from now through mid-February.
Thank you to Dr. Alan Witt, President, who invited me to show, and to Dean Steve Stancil and Librarian Michael Johnson, who have been so helpful.

As I said, EXCITED!!!!

Back from China

We had a fantastic trip. (China2009McKee.blogspot.com) Tried to help at the Big Draw In on Saturday, October 10; still jetlagged and tired so lasted about three hours. (SouthShoreArtsCouncil.org)

This past Saturday I co-chaired Creative! MiraBay, part of the Big Draw. We had a wonderful event: seven artists from MiraBay participated, over 50 people visited, and 31 were interested in knowing more about the SouthShore Arts Council. So a huge success! Thank you to Paula Elliott who chaired the event and Cynthia Atkins of Remix Your Home who was in charge of setting up the display. Also, we appreciate the support of Vaike O'Grady and Chip Barker of the MiraBay Welcome Center.

Back in the Swing

So much has happened in the past two months. Lots of traveling: San Francisco, Las Vegas, North Carolina Mountains, Atlanta.... And once home I had a pinched nerve in my neck so that limited my painting and my computer time.

BUT NOW! I am doing better and have been able to have some creative fun:

• Submitted three paintings for the SouthShore Arts Council members' show at the Southshore Regional Library. Please go see before August 26.
• Participation in the BIGDRAWRUSKIN.org plans: Archie and I attended the artist's reception for Josette Urso, and I attended the kick-off meeting for the mural project at the SouthShore campus of Hillsborough Community College and a creative workshop for the mural project. Also I'm assisting Paula Elliott in planning Creative MiraBay, an opportunity for my MiraBay neighbors to show off their creativity. Mark the date: October 17. (Incidentally, "Ruskin" in the Big Draw name refers to John Ruskin. All residents of SouthShore are encouraged to participate.)
• Completed another painting--Don't Be Koi. Will post it next.

Feels so good!