One for the Arts!

Tuesday, I took the Metrorail to the Metromover where I walked under a covered walkway connected to the Hyatt where the Art and Business Council of Miami had their annual Serving the Arts Luncheon to honor those who have given their time, talent and treasure to the arts.

It was a full house! My favorite part was witnessing Knight Foundation's commitment to bringing art to the people by pledging 1000 random acts of culture. In the photo below the lady in the black dress holding a program and a purse is actually singing opera. As you can see by this photo, everyone is delighted as you can see by all the people smiling as they watch and listen.

The way random acts of culture works is people just start singing in the middle of everyday life as if you are suddenly swept up inside the set of a musical or opera. These performers go to the people to introduce their art whether they are at a shopping mall, a park or an event much like a flash mob.

After the singers are finished, signs are help up and they hand out cards for the opera... brilliant!

The luncheon was filled with people who support the arts and many awards were given out. At my table (featured above) Louis Wolfson III of Pinnacle Housing Group has a passion for art in public places. He is currently supporting the smARTy dog program to help bring smart boards to public schools. Wolfson was recognized as a Shinning Star Supporter for the Arts.

Heather Bettner of Prince Media Development, above, was recognized as an Arts Hero for her work in art in public places. Heather works to bring art and community together as well as helping charities though the proceeds of the sale of the art. She began with the hugely successful Coconut Grove Peacock Tour in 2011 and has continued to bring art to South Miami with the Manatee Fest (Kick Off Party May 20th) and smARTy Dogs to Pinecrest.

I was a guest of Heather's and as I looked around our table I realized how much Heather had reached out to our community by who she invited to her table. She invited Pinecrest Mayor, Cindy Lerner, South Miami Mayor, Philip Stoddard, Kate Callahan who is running for Miami Commissioner, Louis Wolfson III, Doris Meltzer, and artists Alex Yanes and Marcie Ziv.

It wouldn't be an art appreciation ceremony without Mr. Ziff (above). He may need a walker to get there, but he is still going strong and still committed to the arts!

Thank you to all of you who support the arts and understand how important art is to our everyday quality of life.

Nancy Martini

Please Join Me for TWO Garden Events

The first event is Saturday, April 29 and Sunday May 1st at Fairchild Tropical Gardens at the Food & Garden Festival from 9:30am to 4:30pm

I will be at Fairchild Tropical Gardens this weekend from 9:30 to 4:30 and speaking at 1:30 on Sunday about Art as Eco Activism. I will be explaining the need to plant Milkweed in order to help the low population of Monarch Butterflies. I will have seeds for you to plant and demonstrate how to upcycle a newspaper into a small seedling pot.

Then at another garden...

Please join me Tuesday night, May 3rd from 6:00pm to 8:30pm for the Arts at Saint Johns Common Roots art exhibit at the The Miami Beach Botanical Gardens (across from the Miami Beach Convention Center).

From 6:00pm to 8:30 pm, you can see an exciting show about native plants of Florida. Thirteen artists, including myself, will be exhibiting photographs and paintings in many different mediums. The paintings I will be exhibiting are all done in encaustics (natural bees wax) which are part of my new collection exploring nature within the few miles that I walk each day called: " Behind the Fence." Through these paintings I hope to learn about the nature that surrounds our everyday life by bringing to the forefront all the overlooked inhabitants that we hurriedly pass by in our busy lives; many of which hide in sacred spaces behind guarded fences.

The painting featured above is called: "Missing Monarchs." It is an environmental call to action to inspire people to plant more Milkweed seeds to help the survival of Monarch butterflies who's larvae can only feed on this one particular plant.

The paintings will be installed Tuesday and hang throughout the week concluding with a Go Green event Saturday, May 7 from 9:00am to 12:00pm.

Two beautiful garden events back to back... Hope you can make one of them!

Nancy Martini

Artist

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International Park(ing) Day 2010 in Coconut Grove

Park(ing) Day in Coconut day was a hugh success! Not so much with large crowds, but it was a launching pad for future Park(ing) Days in Miami. I had to explain Park(ing) Day to almost everyone I met. The only ones who really knew about it were there volunteering. For those of you who still don't know... Park(ing) Day is celebrated in many cities around the country to bring awareness to green spaces and environmental issues. Its where you take street parking spaces and turn them into parklike green spaces.

Biking is encouraged, especially on Park(ing) Day. We had a few people ride their bikes and used the green space to park them.

When I arrived there was much to do. We did have some help from the city parks department. They brought the sod to us and helped place it.

Pie studios brought their beautiful eco furniture for everyone to enjoy.

Here is our working crew, thankfully not afraid to get their hands dirty.

Students from FIU shared the space with me. They used reclaimed milk cartons to make seating.

I met these three very green young women who sketched with me and even made a sign to get people driving by to think about green space.

It was a fun day that I was proud to be a part of. I loved sitting in our green space sketching and talking about green ideas with green people all while connecting the environment to art.

To see more photos, check out the Coconut Grove Grapevine.

Fall for Arts Starts the Cultural Season!

Today I went to one the best ideas to promote the arts for the city of Miami that I have seen in a long time. The event was called Fall for the Arts Festival located in the Adrienne Arsht Center Parking lot and was sort of like a old time community town fair. Art from every discipline from visual art to live performances to children's art education was represented. I really enjoyed seeing so many arts groups all in one place easily accessible to the community side by side in white fair tents. Here are a few of the photos I took...

The Bahamas Junkanoo Revue were as enjoyable to watch as they were to listen to.

Jeanine Dronsick, managing editor of Around Town Magazine on the left shown above was there with Susan Glass. I happily snatched up a year's subscription at half the price... the deal of the day! Around Town Magazine is a fabulous full-color, beautifully printed magazine with interesting articles about culture in South Florida; art event listings with full descriptions; and even a dining guide so you can figure out were and what to eat once you are out and about.

Bands entertained the crowds...

Heather Bettner was there showing off her peacocks that are currently on display in Coconut Grove. Here is the map of all the peacocks.

I met these two adorable girls from Estampas de Colombia Folkloric Group. I love to see when people put in the extra effort to make their organization stand out.

The day was so hot people waited in line for free water. Something to think about for next year when you want someone to come to your booth!

Studio Art Miami had a hands on activity for the kids. They made a living tree where the kids made the leaves by coloring them with markers and got to hang them on the branches... very cute.

Of course, I was most impressed by the Bicycle Valet! Nice green initiative sponsored by Mack Cycle and Green Mobility Network.

All and all it was a great start to the season.

Encaustics, My Next Adventure...

Last weekend I attended the 4th Annual Encaustics Conference at the Monserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA. I have been experimenting lately with encaustics because I have been drawn to the simple process of painting with the natural medium of beeswax and tree sap/resin.

Beeswax smells and feels heavenly delicious to me. When I touch the warm wax, I have the same warm and cozy feeling as I do when I drink a warm cup of hot tea on a cold night. It soothes me like no other medium I have ever used before. Even though I am new to encaustics, somehow I feel like I have been using it my whole life.

(Judy Klich, Robin Van Hoozer and Ruth Ann Muirhead-Stephens)

I am not alone with my passion for beeswax. At the conference, I experienced something I never had happen to me before with a group of artists. Every artist that I met was warm, open and willing to share every secret, every gained experience with grace and generosity.

When I returned to Miami, I realized that not only did I learn a lot about encaustics, but I also learned what it feels like when a whole group of artists share, support, encourage and inspire each other openly and honestly.

A few days after the conference I happen to ask an artist in Miami about their technique. The artist said he couldn't tell me because he said it was his secret and couldn't share that information. I smiled and thought about what I had learned and about the best kept secret of all: helping others is the first step toward success.

Coconut Grove Peacock Tour Launch is this Saturday... May 29th from 5 pm to 11 pm. Great chance to meet your local artists!

On Saturday, not only will you get to meet the artists who created the peacocks for the Coconut Grove Peacock Tour like Cara Nusinov, Eileen Seitz and Sauma (featured above) and see their beautifully painted peacocks, you will also get to enjoy a tropical evening under the stars with fabulous music by Fire Brigade, dancing with DJ Boogieman George, delicious food from Potions in Motion and The Fresh Market and yes... of course, refreshing drinks.

Last month, I worked in a shared studio to create a peacock in Coconut Grove, Florida much like the Chicago Cow Parade for my sponsor: The Fresh Market. After my peacock has a six month stay in front of their store, it will be up for auction to benefit Shake-A-Leg. Many other charities will also benefit from the peacock tour headed by Heather Bettner of Prince Media Development (featured above next to me). So, if you have a space for a five foot sculpture, here's your chance to support local art and help a charity all while beautifying your space. I will post the auction date and details at a later date...

The best part of the peacock tour has been all the wonderful artists and people I had a chance to meet while working in our shared studio at the Shoppes of Mayfair which would have otherwise been another vacant retail space. Here are just a few of the artists I was lucky enough to work beside...

Eileen Seitz, who is well known in Coconut Grove for her exquisite tropical watercolor paintings helped out by painting not one, but two peacocks.

Sauma, who not only is a magnificent painter he is currently organizing the Gables Hispanic Cultural Festival coming this September 25th which will feature many Hispanic artists.

Andrea Karahalios Ruggeri, who travels the world to paint intricate, elegant murals, painted her peacock for the Hampton Inn.

And, Dan Bondoff who usually works in pastels featuring charming landscapes and cityscapes worked in oils to created his peacock for Shell Lumber were just a few of the artists I got to know while we worked side by side.

To allow artists to use vacant retail space is good business for everyone. People love to see artists while they are working and just by painting together in the same space we attracted many visitors and tourists. When the doors were locked people were banging on the doors to get in! I hope that other communities and businesses realize just how much art can revitalize vacant storefronts while providing a much needed outlet and studio space for local artists.

Most of us are now well aware of how important it is to buy local food as a way of reducing our carbon footprint. The next step, at a local level, is to know your neighborhood artists and support art in your community as a green initiative. Plus, when you know an artist personally the art becomes even more of an enriched experience when you get the chance to talk to the artist about their work and why they created it. I have met a lot of the artists on the peacock tour and I can assure you that they are all very approachable, welcoming and would love to talk to you Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

Please follow my blog to learn more about local artists...

Wynwood Art Walk in May

Last night I was so happy to see that there still is a good crowd of people going to the Wynwood Art Walk this late in the season. Here are a few of the people I met...

Danilo Gonzalez is a multi-media artists who paints and creates sculptures in his studio in the back of his gallery. The wire sculpture that he is photographed with above is interactive and changeable. When I talked to him about the piece, he uncoiled the sculpture to create different shapes allowing me to move the sculpture as well.

Danilo was very open and told me stories about his work and how he once convinced a sponsor to allow him to purchase all the toy guns and weapons in one toy store as a demonstration against violence with the idea of how the shelves can be empty and bare one day and then completely filled with toy weapons the next in an endless circle of excess.

Dennise Rodriguez (who prefers to be called Den) is a fiber artist working with felt by sewing and hand stitching to create soft, touchable sculptures. Her work is happy, bright, playful and colorful. I was so delighted that she brought her sewing machine to the Fabrika Art Space for all of us to see how she works. Seeing her process and her materials helps me to understand her more as an artist, so I really appreciate that she made the extra effort to bring along all her supplies and equipment to include us on her artistic journey.

Lastly, I got a chance to meet Mary Ann Cohen and her husband Rich, gallery owners of MAC ART Group. Currently on exhibit, is a very impressive body of work by Tico Torres, drummer for Bon Jovi, which includes a wall mural called: "My Cuba" as well as other paintings and sculptures by other artists. However, my favorite paintings they exhibited were created by Maxim Lipzer, an abstract expressionist who lives and works in Argentina... beautiful!

Wynwood Walls: A Gift from Art Basel

To me, the Wynwood Walls are one of the most interesting projects resulting from Art Basel last December. This once dull, cast-aside space has transformed into a beacon of vibrant life, expression and hope.



When we question the importance of art in public places during tough economic times all you have to do is watch the people when they first walk thought the gates of this now transformed space. People need to be visually nourished, especially in a recession. I believe creativity is what will pull us upward and out of this recession.



I hope all of Miami goes out to see the walls and has a chance to experience the space. It is a grand gift to us from visiting artist during Art Basel. Here is an opportunity to see the impact of art in public places and to witness a fabulous expression of possibilities. One that should be shared, discussed and repeated.

Nancy Martini