North Carolina Art Shows- Summer Wheat at Mint Museum in Charlotte

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, California Art Shows, Charlotte, Collage, Conceptual Art, Drawing, Illustration, Installation Art, Los Angeles Art Shows, Mixed Media, North Carolina Art Shows, Painting / Painters, Sculptors / Sculpture
Apr 032024
 

Summer Wheat created this mural, Foragers, in 2020 for the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it remains on view today.

From the museum about the work-

This monumental “stained glass” installation celebrates the resilience of North Carolina’s community of makers and providers and creates a space where our present-day Charlotte community can gather for contemplation and inspiration. Collaging sheets of colored vinyl, Wheat has created a towering, prismatic composition that fills all 96 windows of the Mint atrium with female figures of varied sizes, ages, shapes, and races performing acts of labor: fisherwomen, beekeepers, hunters, mothers, caretakers, farmers, bankers.

Following the tradition of stained-glass windows found in places of worship, Wheat offers a narrative of hope and resilience that can be enjoyed in a few minutes or studied over hours. Wheat says that “Foragers presents a tradition in which women were the original hunters, technologists, and artists. This array of women connected by geometric patterns echoes the psychological space of women supporting each other. They are marching together, connecting to creatures from land and water, demonstrating their inherent link to natural elements and to the intricate depths of the unconscious.”

The women in Foragers also call attention to the underrecognized populations who have cultivated the land that we now call North Carolina, from the indigenous tribes to the colonial settlers to the enslaved Africans and all those who have followed. The region is home to myriad traditions-ceramics, basket weaving, quilting, furniture construction, textile production-and The Mint Museum specifically celebrates that legacy through its collection and exhibitions. Foragers salutes North Carolina’s history of creativity and industry, both by those whose names we know and those who remain anonymous.

Her latest exhibition, Fertile Ground, is currently on view at Nazarian/Curcio in Los Angeles, closing on 4/6/24. It includes new paintings and three stone mosaic sculptures.

Florida Artists and Art Spaces- Whimzeyland and SHAMc in Safety Harbor, Florida

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, Ceramic Art, Collage, Conceptual Art, Florida Art Shows, Glasswork, Installation Art, Mixed Media, Painting / Painters, Pinellas County, Places to Visit, Public Art, Safety Harbor, Sculptors / Sculpture
Jan 292024
 

Whimzeyland, the “Bowling Ball House”, is a local landmark located in Safety Harbor, Florida, created by artists Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda.

About the house from their website–

In 1985, they purchased the beige house on Third Street in Safety Harbor, Florida. They traveled everywhere, actively seeking out inspirational and unusual places. Inspired by these travels, they began transforming their house. One of the earliest additions were the wooden triangles to the eaves of their house. The beige house became bold in color, too.

One day, they went to a flea market and saw a sign that said that anybody could take 10 free bowling balls. They took the bowling balls and began painting and placing them around the property. This is how they became known as the bowling ball house of Safety Harbor.

Todd and Kiaralinda even branched out of decorating their home, creating two different art cars, designed a restaurant, and making public sculptures, among other things. They began calling themselves the Whimzey Twinz because they work together on all of their projects.

Their travels soon included visits to folk artists and artists that they met at their shows. These friends visited them, too. Todd and Kiaralinda’s bowling balls inspired many of them. They would create bowling balls for Todd and Kiaralinda, who got so many of these works from artist friends that they started a gallery in their home. They created a “Call for Balls” which made a lot more of these art works roll into their home. Today, they have over 80 bowling balls from various artists around the world and people still bring them bowling balls as gifts.

If you are in the area, make sure to also stop by Safety Harbor Art and Music Center (SHAMc), a nonprofit they opened in 2017. It has an art gallery and shop, and hosts music events and art classes as well.

 

Florida Artists and Studios- Carol Sackman and Blake White’s Mosaic House of Dunedin

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, Conceptual Art, Dunedin, Dunedin, Florida Art Shows, Florida Travel, Glasswork, Installation Art, Mixed Media, Painting / Painters, Pinellas County, Places to Visit, Sculptors / Sculpture
Nov 142023
 

This past weekend was Studio Waltz, an annual artist studio tour that takes place around Dunedin and Palm Harbor. One of the stops was The Mosaic House of Dunedin.

Carol Sackman and Blake White’s magical home has so much going on you almost don’t know where to look first. The couple teach classes from November thru April and can be contacted for tours of their home.

The Mosaic House was also featured in a gallery exhibition at the Dunedin Fine Art Center last year.

Spotted while at their home was a mural, pictured below, by former local artist Jennifer Kosharek, pictured below. She recently relocated to Alaska.

 

St. Pete Public Art- Xenobia Bailey’s “Morning Stars”

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, Ceramic Art, Collage, Digital Art, Fiber Arts, Florida Art Shows, Installation Art, Mixed Media, Public Art, Sculptors / Sculpture, St. Pete
Dec 302022
 

Xenobia Bailey’s mosaic tile work Morning Stars, 2018, in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The work was commissioned by the St. Petersburg Arts Commission.

From the information plaque-

Bailey primarily works in fiber arts, creating crocheted mandalas which consist of colorful concentric circles and repeating patterns. For Morning Stars, Bailey crocheted several mandalas of brightly-colored fiber medium and worked with her fabricators to create the design digitally to be applied as a mosaic design.