"Celebrate the Arts" at SRAC!

Kick-off for Indian River County-wide "Celebrate the Arts," (CTA) organized by the Cultural Council of Indian River County, was Friday night, April 19th, in Downtown Vero Beach's Arts District.  14th Avenue was closed to traffic from 19th Street to 23rd Street, and in spite of the sometimes inclement weather there was a decent turnout for this first annual event.

The Sebastian River Art Club's tent was manned by Ray Ground and several other volunteers who volunteered their time and energies to display works by members and hand out information about the Club.

PLEIN AIR FOR CTA
Saturday brought a plein air session for CTA at SRAC's Art Center, on the edges of the beautiful park out back of the Clubhouse.  Although it was a day without shadows, as the sun never showed up, the day was cool and pleasant for painting, and several of us enjoyed the day.  Another session will be offered to the public to enjoy, or try painting it themselves, next Saturday, April 20th 11:00-3:00.  Extra easels, paints and brushes will be provided by the Club for the public to try.  Below is pictured a beautiful scene this blogger painted, one of many beautiful scenes at this lovely meandering park.  And this little duck came a-begging for a treat, which I happily provided for him.  Can't get that experience painting in a cluttered ol' studio!

JOE MILLER, WOODCARVER, FOR CTA
Ongoing in the Art Center for CTA, and throughout the month of May, in the Hume Gallery (SRAC's Guest Artist Gallery) will be works by Joe Miller, et. al, who is the president of the Indian River Woodcarvers.  He maintains a studio gallery at Art Mundo in Fort Pierce. 

Joe is a master woodcarver whose work has been exhibited all over Indian River County and beyond.  Canes, cranes, faces, wildlife and other beautiful woodcarvings will be on display through May.  Joe plans to have a carving workshop for the public at the Art Center in the near future--look for news of that.

VOTE FOR SRAC'S ART CENTER THEMES
In the exhibit rooms of SRAC's Art Center are works on view in all mediums and subjects, but pay particular attention to this month's theme - Gardens - and vote for your favorite.  At the end of each month there will be ribbons given out to the most popular works.  Also vote for last month's theme, "House pets" which missed the mark because of a water problem we had which forced us to remove many works from the walls.  So two votes please for our dedicated artists.

STAY TUNED THROUGH THE SUMMER!
As we all in the SRAC look forward to laying back a little on art-related endeavors for the summer, stay tuned for continuing exhibitions in the Art Center as we paint away and come up with more ideas for the public to enjoy.  Stop by any Tuesday, Thursday and most Saturdays 11:00-3:00 and take a peek at what's going on.  Maybe even join in and take up the brush.  It's a great bunch we have here, we have a good time, do some good work, help the community, share ideas, and find ways to help each other through the creative process.  Have a cup of coffee with us and we'll tell you about it.

Have an "Artsy" day!
Judy Burgarella
VP, and blogger for the
Sebastian River Art Club

CELEBRATE THE ARTS COMING!!!

Lots has happened since the last February blog entry - had some trouble with a busted pipe under the Art Center which also feeds the wonderful newly-opened Senior Center.  Well, that's fixed, and now we're back both back in business. 

Many new paintings have been created by our talented members in February and March, and although we skipped awarding ribbons for March because of the mishap, we ask our members and guests to please vote for their favorite animal portraits for March, and "Garden" painting for April.

Guests can now see studio painters within our gallery space at times during the day, in the DaVinci and Rembrandt Galleries, Tuesdays, Thursdays and most Saturdays 11-3:00. 

Our scholarhsip winner - watch for news of that!

CELEBRATE THE ARTS - A County-wide celebration of the arts, which the SRAC will be participating in.  April 19th to the 28th.  More news to come.

PICNIC - The SRAC Annual Picnic is tomorrow, Tuesday April 2nd, and we all look forward to getting together in a social setting outdoors at our lovely Riverview Park here in Sebastian.  Lots of food, laughs and good artsy conversation, overlooking the Indian River Lagoon, in view of Paul Krogel's bronze statue which resides there, and was created by our own member the late Rosalie Hume.

Rosalie Hume

Well, that's all for now.  Stay tuned for more news about the Sebastian River art Club's Art Center

Art Studio Tour--What a Blast!

Well, it's 2 days post Sebastian Art Studio Tour, and we're still enjoying the "afterglow."  It was a wonderful day for both artists and browsers alike, and the weather cooprated wonderfully too.  I would say we had at least 300 people come by my house, and there was a constant stream coming and going, all ravig about how much fun it was.  All except our master suite and guestroom was open to the public, and I had paintings on easels, tables and panels all over the house, with my Indian paintings on panels in the lanai, with Indian music playing  in the background.  A video of one of my portrait demonstrations was looping on our big screen, and nibblies were placed all around the kitchen area. 

People were happy and friendly, curious andcomplimentary.  Met lots of interesting people who love art or are artists themselves, and made many important contacts.  It was a lot of effort, but well worth it.  I will post photos of it soon.

As for the others, those I have talked to had a fabulous day also, with lots of positive feedback.  The Club had a great day, many members pitched in, painted and brought nibblies, with Peni Baker and Ann Emery overseeing it all.  This was so good for the Club's image and for exposure in the community, and I'm sure many more people are finally aware of it's exisence.  Below are a few pics that were sent to me by peni Baker.

Now this is what an art club should look like - people busily painting and chatting in a roomy, well-lit environment.  Doesn't have to be a castle, just neat, clean and orderly, with plenty of tables and chairs and windows ... the perfect place for us.  FYI, 10% of any sales from all studios will be to the Ecumenical Food Pantry. 

All-in-all, a wonderful and very memorable day.

Judy Burgarella
Blogger

Art Studio Tour Coming February 9th!

The Sebastian River Art Club will be participating in the 2nd Annual Sebastian Art Studio Tour, a tour of 10 artists' home studios on February 9th, 10:00-5:00.  Maps are avilable online at www.sebastianartstudiotour.com and at locations around town which are listed on that website.  The Club will have member artists at work creating their magic, and other members will be there to show the public our wonderful art space and the many works therein.  Presently we are featuring a show about birds, more information of which can be found in the previous posting. 

So jump on the tour, rain or shine, follow the map and look out for our funky arrows on the street.  We'll be there to welcome you to our wonderful artworld.

Judy Burgarella
blogger for the Sebastian River Art Club's Art Center

"All About Birds" and other news

Today when I stopped at the Art Center Kathy Costa, Ann Emery and Vito Derasmo were busy hanging the bird show, and below is a painting by Thelma Koopman (master Chinese Brushtroke painter!) that caught my eye.  The colors were brilliant, design excellently executed, and nicely framed.  She's a real pro, and we're proud of her.  Take a look for yourself below.

And more news of our lovely Club, unbenownst to me several of our regular studio-painting members donated their time and talents to paint birdhouses for Habitat for Humanity as a fundraiser for them.  And beautiful they were as I saw them lined up on a table.  Our club gives back.  If anyone has taken some pictures  will upload them soon.

Judy Burgarella
Blogger

"All About Birds"

Coming in February at the Sebastian River Art Club's Art Center space, "All About Birds," avian-related works of art created by our Club Artists.  Bird fanciers will love this show which will be on display in our Rosalee Hume Gallery from february 1st through the 28th. 

Drop into the Art Center any Tuesday or Thursday and some Saturdays between the hours of 11:00 am and 3:00 pm, and view the many other lovely and exciting works created by our own SRAC artists.  Stroll through our studio area and watch artists at work.  Try your hand at learning something new in one of our art classes: Watercolor by Judy McNamara (President of the Club 321-724-9857), Tuesdays, or Judy Burgarella (772-581-8281) who teaches other mediums including acrylic, traditional oils, water-soluble on Thursdays bi-weekly, 11-2:00 (changing soon to 10-1:00).

We've just celebrated our 75th Anniversary, creating-enjoying-and promoting art in the City of Sebastian and parts beyond, and we welcome the public to take advantage of our efforts and join us in our continued celebration of Arts in Sebastian.

Judy Burgarella
Vice-President, and
Blogger for the Sebastian River Art Club

WOW! We're 75 Years Old!

Yup, the Sebastian River Art Club is celebrating its 75th year with a Reception Thursday, January 17th, 4-7 pm.  This event is free and open to the public, and there will be refreshments and a free raffle for our guests.  Please do come and celebrate with us.  We have a lovely quilt show on display in our gallery space, compliments of the Stepping Stone Quilters, and many artworks by our wonderful artist members.  Drop in and take a look and have a nibbly!

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POST-NOTE - This event was a smashing success, and over 20 people went home with lovely original works of art created and donated by our own wonderful artists.  Presidents were honored, our most renowed member, the late Rosalee Hume was honored with a wonderful display of her works, and our beloved Henry Pitt was honored for his tireless and long-time devotion to art and painting. Thanks to the family of Rosalee Hume who brought many works of hers for us to enjoy, and many many thanks to all the volunteers who made it come together so smoothly.  But especially I would like to thank all those before us who worked throughout the years to bring the Club to the point it is now ... still here, still thriving, and still being the vehicle for people to enjoy and grow art in Sebastian.

Delicious celebratory cake!

Richard Gillmor (President 2011-2012) proudly
displays his "Certificate of Appreciation"

Our beloved Henry Pitt, honored with a special
tribute for his dedication to the arts

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While you're there, step into the Rosalie Hume Gallery space and see our guest artist show, the Stepping Stone Quilters' "Quilt Challenge - Life in Sebastian, Celebrating 25 Years."  This stunning mix of art and fabric will dazzle you.  "Wow!  How in the world do they do it--and how many hours and days does it take?"  Those are the words that are echoed in the Hume Gallery whenever people come in to view this lovely show.  See it before it's taken down the end of January.

Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Sebastian River Art Club