Hot summer, cool art

An outdoor festival in Florida during summer would test the devotion of even the most dedicated art patron.

The Professional Association of Visual Artists (PAVA) solved the problem with one simple move - indoors.

Now in its 22nd year, PAVA's Cool Art Show gives art lovers a chance to see (and shop for) works by area artists away from the heat and humidity.

"Things were really slow during summer for local artists," says PAVA president Susan Gehring, a Florida landscape artist. "If you didn't go on the festival circuit up North, there wasn't much of an outlet."

PAVA provided a solution to that, beginning at Eckerd College and moving to a couple of other Pinellas County locations before settling at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg five years ago.

"The Coliseum is the best," says Joyce Curvin, who makes papier-mache sculptures using 95 percent recycled material.

"The Coliseum is such a big part of the area's history," Curvin says. "It's beautiful and so historic. It's great to be in that environment."

This weekend's show will feature 75 artists, mostly from the Tampa Bay area, but also some from the east coast and Tallahassee, as well as one from south Georgia, Gehring says.

Media represented include painting, sculpture, metalwork, wood, glass, pottery, photography, mixed media and jewelry.

Even cooler, the show is free.

"It's a nice mix of media with some really great talent," Curvin says.

Besides shows such as Cool Art, PAVA "provides information, opportunities, exhibits, really all kinds of resources" for artists, Curvin says.

"We help artists with all kinds of nuts-and-bolts things," Gehring says. "How to deal with taxes, how to market, how to get images to shows."

The Cool Art Show takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at The Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Parking and admission are free. Food and drinks will be available for sale. For information, call the Coliseum, (727) 892-5202 or visit www.coolartshow.com.