TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Art Attack

The 39th edition of the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts invades downtown this weekend.

ADVERTISEMENT

By ESTHER HAMMER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 5, 2009

TAMPA - The Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, now in its 39th year, will fill downtown Tampa streets this weekend with a pirate's bounty of jewelry, pottery, paintings, photographs, metal works, sculptures and more.

Nearly 300 artists, chosen from more than 1,000 applicants, will participate in what is arguably Tampa's premier art event. Some local artists in this year's show talked recently about their art and why this particular outdoor show is important to them.

"It's a very prestigious show," said Palm Harbor artist Glenn Woods, echoing a sentiment shared by all the artists interviewed. "The caliber of the artists is incredible. And the crowds are usually good."

Woods, who does shows just about every weekend across Florida and in Chicago in the summer months, has exhibited his one-of-a-kind pottery pieces three times before at the festival. He likes being able to actually meet those who buy his art.

"It gives me the opportunity to really talk about it and explain the process," he said. "Once a person realizes just how much work goes into one of these pieces creating the texture, there's a greater appreciation."

Woods achieves the texture on his work by distressing and stressing the clay. "All that patterning is really natural within the clay itself," he explained. "I create a cylinder straight up and down and apply color and then stretch it. The dry parts don't stretch and that creates crackle."

That crackle is clearly evident in one of his favorite pieces in the show, "The Golden Ram," a decorative, lidded jar with ram's horns on the top.

Tampa acrylic painter Dave Delacruz, in the show for the second time, looks forward to camaraderie with other artists.

"It's important networking," he said. "Plus, being a self-employed, full-time artist I appreciate that the sales are always good." His bright, panoramic beach scenes are crowd pleasers, with their expansive skies and small figures on the beach.

Ybor City artist John Costin has been in the Gasparilla Festival since the early 1980s, displaying and selling his hand-colored etchings of Florida's birds. He enjoys meeting locals and introducing his art to people.

"All my etchings are handmade," he said. "Each one has hours of labor in it. I do small watercolor studies, but for me, my copper plate is my canvas. When I create, I don't have a specific blueprint of how it's going to turn out. Things happen in the process. That's part of the fun of discovery that makes it more exciting for me as an artist. Every one is a little different."

Costin's interest in how science interfaces with art is seen in "Da Vinci's Song," featuring four songbirds with beaks open in song.

"The title refers to the fact that Da Vinci was noted for making inroads in science and art at the same time," he said. "And I was thinking how when a bird sings, it's music to the listener, but for the birds, it's pure science."

Steven Gregory, Tampa's 2006 Photographer Laureate, has been in this art show since 2005 when he won the "Best Emerging Artist" award. A big attraction to the show, he said, is how promoters treat the artists.

"They're organized and they always have a tent for the artists where we can grab food," he said. "And they provide booth sitters so we can take a break."

Gregory's new works in the show will boast a lighting that isn't as intense as earlier works, but is still distinctively Gregory. The scenes come from within Florida and outside it. "We Can Do It" is a photo of a decrepit factory he discovered in North Carolina.

"It crossed my mind that it was the perfect symbol for what was going on with our economy; the downslide."

Native South Tampa jewelry designer Anne Kantor was a regular at the show many years ago. But for the past 25 years she was too busy owning and operating her "Boulevard" retail stores in Tampa. This is her first time back.

"I think I'm known for what I call 'floating jewels,'" she said, referring to a technique she originated. "These are the ones where each bead is hand-coiled so they do appear to float. And they are all made with semiprecious stones, crystals and pearls."

To find these or any other artist, pick up a free program at booths throughout the festival.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The 39th annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Lykes Gaslight Square Park and along Franklin Street in downtown Tampa.

COST: free

WINNERS SHOWCASE: Award-winning pieces will be on display for the public to see from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday in the TECO Plaza Atrium, 702 N. Franklin St.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT