The Fort Myers Dowtown Rotary is assising with parking as they did last year.  Avoid the Fuss Ride the Buss.

Park you cars downtown across from  Fist Watch in the old Boulevard Plaza.   There are buses every 15 minutes running downtown.

Thanks

ArtFest Fort Myers, Southwest Florida’s premier art festival takes place downtown Fort Myers on February 4 & 5, 2012 from 10 to 5 each day. Each year Fort Myers’ only free, two day art extravaganza, decorates our downtown with exceptional artwork, entertainment and children’s art activities.

Attendees enjoy and purchase artwork in a variety of mediums and prices from nationally recognized artists from across the country and around the world.

Its better than a gallery – there is lots of variety – you can talk to the artists – you can view the work of over 200 fine artists in a single weekend – you can introduce your children to the magic of original art.

Enjoy this amazing opportunity to see some of the most creative and exciting artwork to be exhibited anywhere in Florida this season.

ArtFest Fort Myers artists are rarely seen at other local art festivals. Their work is refreshing and new. It’s a perfect time to find that one of a kind piece for your home or collection!

In the Main Gallery
November 21st – December 31st

Alicia Schmidt:
40 Years a Retrospective

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Opening Reception: December 2nd, 5-7:30pm
Exhibiting: November 21st – December 31st
Gallery WALK & TALK: December 3rd from 10-11am
Members Gallery: Barbara Fewster
Theater Lobby: Lydia Fogaras Ljuboja M.D.

“Alicia Schmidt: 40 Years A Retrospective” will contain work dating back to 1971, including paintings, drawings and watercolors. The collection starts with traditional academic work, figures, landscape and portraits but also represents various turning points in Schmidt’s life as her work developed into a minimal style and then into abstract works.

Alicia has been a resident of Cape Coral since 1966, moving to SW Florida from Dunkirk, NY. Her work has been exhibited nationally and regionally in solo, group, and juried exhibitions and has been the recipient of many awards.

Art Walk and Tree Lighting December 2nd 2011

Fort Myers Art Walk offers great gift and holiday shopping options

December’s Fort Myers Art Walk and the Saturday Art Fair will offer some great holiday shopping options for local residents and tourists alike.

The first weekend of December will see new art exhibits, the official Christmas tree lighting, and a growing art fair in downtown Fort Myers.

The next monthly Art Walk will take place on Friday, Dec. 2, with local art galleries and art stops featuring new exhibits and shows. This regular cultural event draws between 1,500 and 2,500 people each month to the downtown River District.

Then on Saturday, Dec. 3, the organizers of Art Walk present the seasonal Saturday Art Fair. A new twist this year is the art fair is a juried event, showcasing individual artists at tables along the sidewalks of First Street. The Saturday Art Fair runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free to attend. Thirty-nine artists and art vendors are scheduled to be at December’s Saturday Art Fair.

The monthly Art Walk runs from 6 to 10 p.m. on the first Fridays of every month. The December Art Walk will include a dozen art galleries and art stops and will feature new art shows, live music, and the traditional after party.

An added bonus on Friday, Dec. 2 At Fowler White and Boggs

Downtown Fort Myers is kicking off the Holiday Season with the Holiday Stroll this Friday. Mayor Randy Henderson, who is standing in as Santa, will ride down First Street in a horse drawn carriage.
The prime spot to watch Mayor Randy Henderson ride down First Street in a horse drawn carriage is the front entrance of the law office of Fowler White Boggs – on the corner of First and Hendry.

Office staff will sweeten your wait with Holiday music, hot coffee and cookies. Please bring an unwrapped toy – FWB is a drop-off location for Toys for Tots. Toys and monetary donations will be accepted from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to help as many local less fortunate children as possible to celebrate the Holidays.

Inside FWB’s office atrium, a 12 feet tall decorated Christmas tree is the center piece for amazing stained glass art displays by John C. Coleman.

  The carriage will head to Hendry Street, turn north and stop just north of Bay Street. The mayor will light the official downtown Christmas tree in the grassy median of Hendry Street. He will then travel to the Art of the Olympians at the river’s edge where fake snow will fall on strollers. The procession will turn around and head south on Hendry Street back to First. Turning east on First, the Mayor’s carriage will proceed to the Goodwill Festival of Trees at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center. First and Hendry streets will be closed temporarily during the stroll and tree lighting.

Some art highlights of the Friday, Dec. 2 Art Walk:

- Art of the Olympians: Showing an exhibition, Legends of ’68, featuring artwork from four dynamic USA Olympians from the 1968 Olympic Games (Rink Babka, Bob Beamon, Peggy Fleming, and Al Oerter), and a collection of works by Olympic Artist Steve Allen. Vocalists from the Young Artists Awards program will be performing holiday songs starting at 6:30 p.m.

- Art League of Fort Myers: Opening reception for Small Packages exhibit.

- Arts for ACT Gallery: Opening reception for new show featuring artists Cheryl Fausel, Honey Costa, and Ron Evans.

- Coloring The World: Holiday art sale to include medal sculptures by Mac Worthington, paintings by Stephen Gray Blancett, jewelry by Raven, and pottery by Sandy Pond.

- daas Gallery: Opening reception for Earth: A Cry for Deliverance, a juried group exhibition.

- Gallery Showcase and Information Center at IberiaBank (Bayview Court at First Street). Art Walk T-shirts are available at this location as well as buttons, maps and brochures.

- HOWL Gallery: Kash N Karry Holiday Sale offers big savings on many art pieces including original art, framed art, T-shirts, and unframed posters & prints, available for immediate take home. Save up to 50% on select items.

- In One Instant: Holiday Salon: Photography and Gifts for the Season, with more than 20 different local and regional photographers represented.

- Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center: Final night of Goodwill Festival of Trees.

- Savvy on First: Featuring artists Bekki Shanklin and Trudy Hylant.

- Space 39 Gallery: Group art show. 

Nearly 50 participants make Art Walk successful each month and they include the Alliance for the Arts, AmeriDry, Art League of Fort Myers, Art of the Olympians, Arts for ACT Gallery and Boutique, Browtopia, Cigar Bar, Coloring The World, Cool Hand Luc’s, daas Gallery, Downtown House of Pizza, Enjewel, First United Methodist Church, Florida Repertory Theatre, Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency, The Franklin Shops, French Connection Cafe, Hampton Inn & Suites, Happenings A&E Magazine, Hideaway Sports Bar, Hotel Indigo, HOWL Gallery/Tattoo, Ichiban Japanese & Chinese Restaurant, IberiaBank, In One Instant Gallery of Photography, Legacy Harbour Hotel & Suites, Leoma Lovegrove Gallery, Linen Cottage, Lush French Bakery, Mad Hatter Galleries, Main Street Antiques, Market America Realty & Investments, Morgan House Restaurant, The Oasis Luxury Condos, Potomac Bead Company, Red Door Studio, Renaissance Creativity Center, River District Alliance, Rock Lake Resort, Savvy on First, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Select Transportation, SKS PhotoShoot, Space 39 Gallery, Spirits of Bacchus, Twisted Vine Bistro, United Café, Bar & Bistro, The Veranda Restaurant, What’s Up Dogs?, Yanos Restaurant, and the Young Artists Awards Program.

Held the first Friday of every month from 6 to 10 p.m., Art Walk features local and national artwork in the downtown art galleries and several art stops in the Fort Myers River District. The evening culminates with an after party at 10 p.m. The December after party will be held at Spirits of Bacchus on Hendry Street.

Always a collector’s item, new Art Walk buttons will be available at galleries that night. Art Walk has its own T-shirt (in red or black). Shirts are available for a donation at the IberiaBank gallery showcase during Art Walk.

A free shuttle service courtesy of Select Transportation Inc., with stops planned near the art venues, and parking at the Harborside Event Center will be available for Art Walk patrons. Shuttle stops include The Oasis Condominiums, Art of the Olympians, and the Patio de Leon entrance at First Street.

A map of Art Walk, showing transportation and parking will be distributed by participating galleries. Art Walk is a rain or shine event. Art Walk was started by a group of art galleries and art enthusiasts and debuted in October of 2008. Art Walk is a River District Alliance event. For more information on Art Walk, participating galleries and links to gallery websites, visit www.fortmyersartwalk.com.

Cheryl Wilfong, author of The Meditative Gardener: Cultivating Mindfulness of Body, Feelings, and Mind, will visit Fort Myers as part of the week long Living MindFULLy Festival.  On Friday, September 23 at 7 p.m., Cheryl will be at the Eco Center at Rutenberg Park to read from and discuss her book.

In her wise, down-to-earth book, the Vermont Master Gardener and mindfulness meditation teacher offers a rich bouquet of meditations. Her gentle, friendly, and humorous tone creates a nurturing environment in which to practice mindfulness in our very own gardens. Wilfong invites us to stroll beside our flowerbeds, appreciating them just as they are, and noticing the joy they bring us. We may not have done all the weeding or planting we had hoped, but appreciate that we are doing the best we can.

The Meditative Gardener nourishes the seed of enlightenment that is already growing in your heart. Use the tools of mindfulness and kindness to discover how to cultivate your garden and your meditation practice at the same time. Other spiritual gardening books tell us how to create a tranquil garden. The Meditative Gardener supports us in simply finding tranquility in the garden beside the front door. Instead of being a busy bee, simply be.

LivingMindFULLY project partners include: Lee County Parks & Recreation, Hearts’ Path to Mindful Living, Integrative Mindfulness, HD PR Group, Renaissance School, Lee County Alliance for the Arts, SW FL Naturally, and Cypress Cove Retirement Community.  Proceeds from this event will benefit the 501(c)3 on-profit organization, Hearts’ Path to Mindful Living.  This group’s mission is to promote supportive, life-affirming mindfulness-based programs teaching powerful methods for reducing stress, contributing to health and well-being. 

Walk Flyer 9 5 2011

The public art installation, dubbed The Butterfly Project, features a 3foot long glass mosaic alligator and over 150 unique mosaic butterflies that were donated by 90 artists. The collaborative project, organized by Lynch in July of 2011, includes artwork from Russia, Cyprus, The Netherlands and Australia, among other places.

Lynch believes in the transformative power of art. The mural was originally created to re-energize the outdoor space under the nature center’s museum but the project quickly became a vehicle to support the center‘s programs and revitalize the facility. “I wanted to add public art to the list of attractions that the Calusa Nature Center offers the community”, she said, “but once I started putting the butterflies onto the wall, I realized that visitors were interested in becoming part of the project. That’s when I partnered with the Calusa Nature Center and created the Buy-a-Butterfly program.”

Through the Buy-a-Butterfly Program, visitors can purchase a commemorative mosaic butterfly in honor of a loved one for $100. Artist Eve Lynch then hand cuts the glass and creates the mosaic that ultimately ends up on the wall as a permanent part of the art installation. 50% of the proceeds are donated back to the Calusa Nature Center to help the non-profit continue to provide programming to the community.

Volunteer Mariah Brooks, who purchased the program’s first commemorative butterfly, did so to memorialize her friend that had recently passed away from cancer. “I had wanted to do something for her but nothing felt right until I heard about the butterflies”, she said. “This way she’ll be around all the animals at Calusa Nature Center.”

For more information on the Buy-a-Butterfly program or to purchase a butterfly, please visit The Butterfly Project website, http://butterfly-project.blogspot.com/p/buy-butterfly.html You can also call or visit the Calusa Nature Center at 3450 Ortiz Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33905 | (239) 275-3435 or contact artist Eve Lynch at krakenmosaics@gmail.com

About the Artist

Fort Myers based artist Eve Lynch works in many mediums but is currently focusing on glass mosaic. Her work has been featured in exhibits throughout Southwest Florida and in California and the United Kingdom. The Butterfly Project is her second donated art installation in Fort Myers. Her first, The Messina Mural Project, is a permanent outdoor art gallery at the J.H. Messina Children’s Center on Fowler Street in Fort Myers. You can purchase work directly from the artist at http://krakenmosaics.com

Unfair: the art of Alex Heria

Opening Reception September 2, 2011 6:00pm-10:00pm

World renowned photographer Alex Heria presents his Unfair collection at daas Gallery during the month of September. The exhibition opens to the public during the monthly Fort Myers Art Walk.

Alexander Heria was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1961. He moved to Miami, Florida at age ten. Heria received a BFA in photography from Florida International University, Miami in 1992, and his MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston in 1994. He has taught photography and graphic design for seven years at FIU, Miami Dade College, and the Art Institute Miami. His photography has been exhibited locally and is in numerous private collections. Currently he is an artist-in-residence at the ArtCenter/South Florida.

“My work has always been a search of a place and a clan I could call my own. Born in New Jersey to Cuban immigrant parents, I am part of a subculture known as Cubichis. Subsequently, I belong to two worlds while being truly integrated to neither. Whether it’s portraits of family and friends or gardens on the roadsides or the personal vision of trees as atmospheric phenomena, there’s a seeking-to-feel-right-and-whole with the subject at a deeply personal level. I enjoy the medium of photography for this quest; it has an uncanny ability to record faithfully the scene depicted while creating surprising new relationships simultaneously. It is the learning and exploring through surprise that interests me most as an artist.”

The exhibition will be on display through Friday, September 30th. For more information about the event, please visit www.daasgallery.com. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

News Flash about Daas Gallery owner

Also The owner and Good Friend David Acevedo has been commissioned to paint a mural upstairs in the Sky Bar area .   David has helped out on many different projects including paint the downtown purple with his Relay for Life window painting at Starbucks as well as MDA.

Fort Myers artist, Lia Galletti, will display her abstract collection “Reflections On Canvas” at the Alliance for the Arts, September 9th through October 1st, 2011. Art enthusiasts are invited to the free opening reception on September 9th from 5:00 to 7:30pm.

Born in Cuba, Galletti moved to New York with her family in 1960. She moved to Miami in 1970, where she worked as a graphic designer and founded her own printmaking workshop and art studio. In 2004, she joined the Fort Myers community and opened her own studio where she continues to create abstract pieces for shows around Florida and beyond. Galletti’s work has been showcased in Miami, Washington D.C., Boston and multiple international locations.

Galletti says her abstract collection, “Reflections on Canvas,” has evolved through experimentation with different mediums. She’s explored printmaking, linocuts and silkscreen. She’s also experimented with different painting media to achieve the graphic impression of printmaking and developed her own water-resist technique, using water under pressure to create surfaces, textures and lines similar to those of an etching. She used acrylic for her collection, “Reflections on Canvas,” and describes the work as, “an expression of an inner journey in which I explore the primal and simple language of the soul through abstract forms, their only representational role being to bring forth the true colors of our feeling and emotions at their purest.” Galletti’s work will be on display for viewing at the Alliance from September 9th through October 1st, 2011.

Galletti’s pieces will be available for purchase. For more information about her artwork or the exhibit contact the Alliance at (239) 939-2787 or e-mail exhibitions@artinlee.org. Alliance member Harriet Williams will be exhibiting in the Member Gallery during Galletti’s show.

 Stacie Krupa’s “Sassy Spicy Soulmates- Seahorses, Sea Turtles & Salty, Socialite Friends” opens on Friday, September 2, at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. for Art Walk, and the show continues through September 30. The Art Center is located at 2301 First Street, in the River District, downtown Fort Myers.

“As an only child, Animals became my pseudo-siblings. They were my best friends who never failed me,” Krupa says. “These paintings represent my best friends and all the fun I had playing with them. Painting to me is Pure Play. It’s a fun adventure every painting to see what evolves from manipulating materials. I use oils and acrylics, bold colors, charcoals, inks, iridescent mediums, wall spackling and glues to manipulate drips, washes and texture with various mediums.”

Stacie Krupa attended the University of Central Florida where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. As a student she worked in clinical environments where she could combine psychology with her artistic skills and knowledge. While she found great satisfaction in helping clients deal with addiction and develop coping and life skills, she decided to pursue her true passion. She began her education in fine art and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from UCF in 1994. She then attended a post-baccalaureate study program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia, the oldest art school in the United States, where notable artists such as Mary Cassat and Thomas Eakins had studied and worked. She later attended a prestigious graduate program at the Maryland Institute College of Art, on scholarship. She continued her graduate studies at the University of Miami, and in 2001 was awarded her Master of Fine Arts in Painting.

In 1996, she opened her first gallery, the Stacie Krupa Gallery, in Winter Park, Florida. This SoHo-style gallery was focused on providing investment level original art and education to residents and visitors in the metropolitan Orlando area. After moving to Islamorada in the Florida Keys in 1998, she opened the Stacie Krupa Studio Gallery of Art, built on the SoHo- style concept of the Orlando gallery. She recently opened Stacie Krupa’s Corner Grill Gallery of Sanibel. Krupa paints every day. Her trademark, intense gestures create large images, monochromatic shemes, and raw, edgy canvas creations that command attention and warrant repeated viewing. The sea-life of Islamorada has had significant impact on the direction of Krupa’s work over the last 11 years.

“I find my animals elegant and playful and soothing since they represent the oceanic environment that I love,” adds Krupa. “The sound of the ocean waves has always relaxed me and painting the oceanic environment and sea life is my happy.” She loves creating sea horses and sea turtles. “I find their anatomy fascinating and quirky.”

Come experience the intensity of this Islamorada artist and see what critics call her “bold, powerful, in-your-face” expressionistic paintings.