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Articles Featuring November Estero Fine Art Show

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The next edition of the Estero Fine Art Show takes place on the weekend of November 18 and 19, 2017 at an all-new venue – the Gulf Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shop. On this page your will find articles announcing the festival, its related youth art competition, and the artists participating in both.

 

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Hot Works announces Estero Fine Art Show winners (11-26-17)

Panoramic View 04The Estero Fine Art Show was held on November 18 and 19 at its new location at the Gulf Coast Town Center. The two-day outdoor art festival is sponsored by the Institute for the Arts & Education, the associated 501( c)(3) non-profit arm of organizer Hot Works, LLC.

Seventeen different professional artists received awards, including a beautiful, two-foot-long ribbon to display in his/her Panoramic View 06booth the entire weekend. Each award-winning artist is also juried into next November’s show, which will take place on November 17 & 18, 2018.

There were two Award of Mastery/Best of Show winners:

  • Dan Neil Barnes, Glass, Georgetown, KY
  • Panoramic View 08Jimmy and Connie Langford, Metal, Cumming, GA

Five Awards of Excellence were conferred:

  1. Rosa Chavez, Painting, Dos Palos, CA
  2. Michael Costello, Sculpture and Painting, Willis, VA
  3. Marvin ‘Murf’ Murphy, Painting, Weston, FL
  4. Artist Booths 04Jo Nelson, Mixed Media, Hastings, NE
  5. Sip-Tshun Ng, Mixed Media, Pompano Beach, FL

There were ten Awards of Distinction:

  1. Tim Peters, Clay, Winter Haven, FL
  2. Paula Mae Green, Batik, Pompano Beach, FL
  3. Werner Holzbaur, Wood, Bradenton, FL
  4. Kevin Kichar, Fiber, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  5. Zaki Knapen, Mixed Media, Antwerp, Belgium
  6. Artist Booths 02Svetlana Kuznets, Fiber, Cape Coral, FL
  7. Stan & Debbie Megdall, Glass, West Bloomfield, MI
  8. Cesar Nogueira, Sculpture, Ocala, FL
  9. Michael Solomon, Painting, Rockaway Park, NY
  10. Mark & Lee Etta Van de Bogart, Jewelry, Bronson, FL

Local art professional Marianne Megela judged the show. Dan Neil Barnes Nov 2017 IMegela boasts an impressive pedigree when it comes to evaluating art show talent. Between 2006 and 2014, she planned and executed six local art shows and five national outdoor festivals as the Naples Art Association’s Festival Director. Prior to that, Marianne worked for eight years as volunteer Show Chairperson for the Naples Artcrafters. But Megela is equally conversant with the artists’ side of the art festival equation. Following her graduation from Akron University in 1990 with a degree in art, she and her husband participated in hundreds of local and national art shows, traveling to 62 cities in 17 states. These became her classroom, where she learned through observation and inquiry the essentials Dan Neil Barnes Nov 2017 Knecessary for a successful art show. Today, Megela works at The Sweet Art Gallery as a business consultant and sales representative.

Best of Show winner Dan Neil Barnes has built a reputation for thoughtfully-designed and intricately-wrought works that combine vibrantly colored stained and fused glass with soldered bronze, copper, aluminum and other metallic accents. Barnes’ work moves the millennial-old craft of stained glass into a new Dan Neil Barnes Nov 2017 Ocreative art form – one that pushes the idea of glass in art to a whole new level. The hundreds of small stained and fused glass squares he incorporates into his three-dimensional structures imbue them with a kinetic quality. They undulate, flow and change direction and intensity as they respond to light and the movement of the viewer, Jimmy and Connie Langford 02almost as if they were alive and sentient.

The other Best of Show winners, Jimmy and Connie Langford, employ a cadre of dyes, acids and other chemicals to tint the metal (primarily stainless steel) that they weld into a variety of minimalist, low-relief contemporary wall designs. Although based in Georgia, the Langfords maintain places with workshops in both central Florida and Michigan in order to be closer to the art shows in which they participate each season. Interestingly, neither hail from an art education or background. Jimmy was a musician who quips that he became too old to rock and roll. Connie has graduated from garden to studio art after nearly twenty years in the field.

TJimmy and Connie Langford 08he Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Gulf Coast Town Center on January 6 & 7, 2018. Voted in the top 100 art shows in America three years in a row, this top-notch fine art and fine craft event brings to Southwest Florida new original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working and carvings, fiber art and art jewelry from the ateliers, studios and workshops of some 140 local and internationally-acclaimed artists. All are present throughout the two-day event and eager to answer questions about his/her work and inspiration. Live art demonstrations afford numerous opportunities for patrons to witness first-hand the various processes that the artists’ go through and the techniques they employ in order to create high-quality artworks in his/her chosen medium.

Art of Murf 02The Estero Fine Art Shows are produced by Hot Works, LLC, which also produces the award-winning Orchard Lake Fine Art Show in West Bloomfield, Michigan and Boca Raton Fine Art Show in downtown Boca Raton. You can obtain more information at www.hotworks.org or www.facebook.com/hotworksartshows.

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Lehigh Acres mixed media artist Zaki Knapen part of Estero Fine Art Show (11-16-17)

misc-zaki-04The 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show comes to Gulf Coast Town Center on January 7 & 8. One of the artists taking part in the show is Zaki Knapen, an artist known to many River District residents and visitors.

Born in Antwerp, Belgium and educated in Europe, Zaki spent many years living and traveling throughout the world. Among his many stops and stayovers were England, Spain, Morocco, St. misc-zaki-03Martin and other ports of call across the Caribbean. He eventually landed in Chicago, where he made an impact sharing his art and artistic sensibilities through membership in the Elmhurst Art Guild, Chicago Art Institute, Chicago Art Coalition, Planet Collage, Naperville Art League, misc-zaki-02Lombard Artist Coalition and DuPage Art League. Chicago is where he also first heard about Estero Fine Art Show Executive Director Patty Narovny.

“When I lived in Chicago, I heard that if you ever do art shows in Michigan, you must participate in Patty Narozny’s art show because she pays personal attention to the artists, and makes us feel special,” Zaki recalls. Among the features misc-zaki-06exhibitors touted were Narozny’s attention to detail and support from set up to tear down, and all phases in between. But it was not until he relocated to Southwest Florida that Zaki actually applied for admission into one of Narozny’s shows.

That occurred in 2010, about a year after Zaki made the move to Lehigh Acres. He’s participated in the Estero Fine Art Show ever since, and recently, he’s served as a judge for the youth art competition and exhibition that Hot Works orchestrates in connection with each of its Estero misc-zaki-08Fine Art Shows.

“Everything you touch is art,” Zaki emphasizes to budding young artists. “A table, a chair — an artist had to come up with that design.” Like Narozny and Hot Works, his goal is to inject more art and art appreciation into the community. “We have talented artists in our own back yard,” he observes.

But Zaki’s encouragement is not restricted to pre-teens and adolescents. He is just as concerned with fostering the development and enthusiasm of misc-zaki-07neophyte, mid-career and longtime professional artists. Toward that end, he has been affiliated with the Art League of Fort Myers almost since the day he arrived in Southwest Florida, not only serving several terms as the League’s president, but contributing to the Art League’s newsletter, Brushnotes. As author and editor, Zaki shares his insights about the local, national and international art markets.

And through group shows and outdoor art festivals like the Estero Fine Art Show, he shares his insights into misc-zaki-05art and life in general with those who encounter his work. “In the melding and mixing of color, you ultimately present the viewer an experience of emotional revelation,” Zaki has found.

Although Zaki enjoys figurative work, he is best known as a mixed media abstract artist. His work reflects his European education, upbringing and a perspective forged through international travel and exposure to diverse cultures and philosophies.

“I like working in the abstract,” Zaki admits. “It allows me personal freedom to explore and viewers greater latitude to interpret and connect with the work based upon their own life experiences.”

misc-zaki-01In the latter regard, Zaki firmly believes that art should give the viewer permission to appreciate and interpret based on internal expectations in the realm of the abstract. But for that to occur, viewers first need to take the time, slow down and wait for the work to resonate with or speak to them. One of the reasons he enjoys exhibiting at venues like the Estero Fine Art Show is because of the opportunity they give art enthusiasts to experience and connect with a wide array of artists, genres, media and motifs.

Show hours for the 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show are 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Redfern 09on Sunday, November 18 & 19. Featuring original work by some 70 nationally and internationally-acclaimed juried fine art and fine craft artists, the Estero Fine Art Show has been voted in the top 100 art fairs in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine. For more information, please contact Hot Works LLC Executive Director Patty Narozny at 941-755-3088 or by email at patty@hotworks.org.

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Eye on multi-dimensional abstracts of Marvin ‘Murf’ Murphy (11-16-17)

Murf 01For over thirty years, Marvin (Murf) Murphy has used his keen sense of color and feel for design and form to create dynamic, multi-dimensional geometric abstract paintings that have earned him recognition on an international scale. On November 18 & 19, he will be among 70 fine art and craft artists who have been invited to exhibit and sell their original, handmade artworks at the 20th Bi-Annual HotWorks.org Estero Fine Art Show, a juried art fair that takes place next to the Bass Pro Shop at the Gulf Coast Town Center mall.

Murf equates his compositions with cartography. But he’s not interested in mapping out shorelines, islands, continents or seas. He’s busy charting Murf 08 Colors of the Sunrisethe universe and the unifying threads that run through all of nature. Toward that end, he has developed a language of colors, lines and geometric forms. But there’s an architectural quality to his abstract works. Some of that inheres in his use of thick layers and impasto applied with brushes, palette and even putty knives. But he confers three-dimensionality on many of his works by combining colored acrylic films with glass that he sets about half an inch from the painted surface of his underlying canvas.

Three decades or more ago, when he was just starting out, Murf had a day job tinting car windows. It didn’t take long before he figured out that he could Murf 02 Tribal Beatpiece together scenes on windows, sliding glass doors and storefronts from the shapes of palm trees, sailboats and the like he cut from these colored films in much the same way that Henri Matisse used scissors and colored paper to fashion his renowned posters and other cutouts during the final chapter of his storied career.

“At some point, I began framing them and taking them to art Murf 03 Golden Moonfairs and festivals,” Murf recounts. “The process evolved from there.”

Today, he affixes his colored film cutouts to the underside of a plate of clear glass in patterns that augment or contrast with the geometric patterns in the composition beneath the glass. As the beam of a gallery spotlight passes through the glass and film cutouts, it is focused, splintered and refracted to create Murf 04 Silver Squaremesmerizing highlights and shadows on the textured surface of the canvas. Natural, organic light will produce the same effect, although in a more diffuse, subtle manner.

The resulting three-dimensional, tactile quality is a new wrinkle in the 100 year history of the abstract art movement. But there’s more to Murphy’s abstractionism than texture and dimensionality. He Murf 05 Yellow Lightalso evokes a preoccupation with the building blocks of the natural world and cosmology: light, color and geometrical shapes, particularly rectangles and squares. Silver Square, Yellow Light, Green Light, Across the Sky, New Horizons, Golden Moon and Color Source are the names of just a few of his contemporary constructs. These cues aside, Murf leaves it to his viewers to intuit whether the interplay of light, color, shape and Murf 06 Green Lightshadow reflect cosmic truths or some cogent commentary on the human condition in modern society denoted, as it is, by the repudiation of fact and science, environmental damage, and impending climatological cataclysm.

Over the years, Murf has taken some of his more popular compositions and converted them into lithographs – like Earth Island, which he presented in 2010 to the newly-installed Murf 07 Across the SkySecretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. This was a follow-up to Murf’s invitation to attend a special farewell celebration at the United Nations in 2006 in honor of U.N. Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kofi Annan. The latter event featured Murf’s original painting, In a Perfect World.

Murf 09 Red LightOther Murf lithographs have been popularized as art festival posters and album and magazine covers. In fact, a number of Murf”s designs have been added to the collections of famous jazz musicians and other public figures, including Dave Sanborn, Richard Elliot, Kenny Rankin, Dave Koz and President Bill Clinton. In addition, Murf”s Earth Island piece is featured on the PBS “Jim Brickman Beautiful World” special.

Murf 10 Blue LightOver the years, Murf has been deeply involved in many environmental projects. His designs have raised substantial amounts of money for environmental, educational and social causes. At these fundraisers, Murf has shared the limelight with such noted celebrities as Pamela Anderson, Bob Barker and Ivana Trump, and former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has expressed his appreciation to Murf”s Murf 11commitment for the preservation and protection of our environment.

Murf’s original works and lithographs can be found in private and corporate collections around the globe, but you can experience them for yourself at the 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine  Art Show. The show takes place in a new venue this year – Gulf Coast Town Center at exit 128 on I-75. Hours are Murf 1210:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 10:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Estero Fine Art Show has been voted among the top 100 art fairs in America ten years running. Admission is just $5, and supports the Institute for Arts & Education, Hot Works affiliated 501( c)(3) organization that is dedicated to fostering art in young children, diversity and community enrichment. There is plenty of free parking.

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Maine artist Anne Wooster brings botanical monotypes to Estero Fine Art Show (11-16-17)

Wooster 01When local art enthusiasts last saw Anne Wooster, she was busy winning an Award of Distinction at the Bonita Springs National Art Festival for her botanical monotypes made with oil based etching inks. On November 18 & 19, you can see her latest work at the 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show next to Bass Pro Shop at Gulf Coast Town Center.

Anne Wooster has been an artist and nature lover since she painted her entire body at the age of two. A Waldoboro native, she took art lessons from established artists and attended Medomak Valley High School before matriculating at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. While an art instructor at Warren Community School between 2000 and 2006, Anne Anne Wooster Pix 04attended Hay Stack School of Arts every fall with other Maine art teachers. That’s where she fell in love with printing the flora of Maine.

“Monotypes are reminiscent of photography and yet feel like painting,” says Anne. “Each print uses live plant material and no two prints are ever the same.” Today, Anne devotes herself to art full-time, gathering the subjects and material for her prints from her gardens, her friends’ gardens, and the local fields, forest and seashore. “Art is a necessary expression of the beauty in my life.”

FAnne Wooster Pix 05our years ago, Anne met her partner Steven Peaslee. They decided soon after to take their artwork on the road across the country full time. Steve was very inspired by the process and has been printing since 2012, developing his own technique along the way.

You can see Anne’s and Steve’s latest prints at Gulf Coast Town Center during the Estero Fine Art Show. Show hours are 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 20. There is plenty of free parking.

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Growth forces change of venue for Estero Fine Art Show (11-06-17)

Redfern 09The 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show opens November 18 in a brand new location next to Bass Pro Shop at Gulf Coast Town Center. This is the second time in three years that the boutique -style, two-day outdoor juried fine art and fine craft show has changed its venue, and that is a reflection of its growing popularity with area are lovers, enthusiasts and folks on the look-out for fine arts and crafts.

In 2015, the Estero Fine Art Show moved from the south parking lot of the Miromar Outlet Mall across Corkscrew Road to the eastern lot at the Miromar Design Center. “Although we hate to change location again, we simply need more space,” concedes the festival’s director, Patty Narozny. Bass Pro Shop 01Because of the show’s popularity among both artists and patrons, more room is needed for artists’ tents and display booths as well as patron parking. Gulf Coast Town Center can accommodate both of these needs.

According to Narozny, a number of the show’s unique features Gulf Coast Town Center 01explain the growth of the festival over the last few years. First and foremost, the show attracts the brightest up-and-coming artists from around the country and even abroad.

To ensure that only the finest get to exhibit their work at each of her shows, Narozny uses a jury of art professionals with a combined 120 years of experience in fine art. As a result, the show has a reputation for including Gulf Coast Town Center 03quality work in an array of artistic disciplines, including painting, drawing, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working, fiber art and art jewelry.

“I make it my business to meet and get to know all of my artists,” says Narozny, who visits as many as possible in their homes, studios and galleries across the nation. Many become personal friends that she’ll do anything for, as happened a couple of years ago when someone stole a 20-foot Ben Foster 02trailer containing all of the bronze sculptures that Wyoming sculptor Ben Foster expected to exhibit throughout Florida during the 2016 festival season. The trailer, which disappeared just before Christmas from a Naples storage facility, also contained Foster’s pop-up tent, pedestals, wall coverings, signs and sculpting tools.

As soon as she heard the news of the theft, Narozny leapt into action, putting out the word about Foster’s predicament on Gulf Coast Town Center 02Facebook, via email and to her contacts in the media (such as Four in Your Corner’s Lisa Greenberg). Within hours, Foster’s collectors and fellow artists had made available enough sculpture, pedestals and displays that the artist and his wife were able exhibit not only at the Estero Fine Art Show, but the other festivals they were scheduled to attend over the ensuing twelve weeks.

Narozny displays the same level of loyalty and concern for the folks who frequent her shows.

Gulf Coast Town Center 04“It’s important to the people who come to our shows to know that they will see original work from some of the best artists working in the country right now,” Narozny expounds. Knowing that Narozny and her jury have vetted each exhibitor frees enthusiasts and collectors to purchase with the knowledge that they are getting value – not to mention the strong possibility that their acquisition will appreciate in value as the artist’s rGulf Coast Town Center 05eputation and stature continues to grow.

Still, there’s original art for every budget so everyone can find just the right piece for their home or office no matter their economic circumstances or art IQ.

And Narozny goes out of her way to keep the focus on art. While she does provide musical entertainment during the course of the show (popular group Patchouli often appears), Narozny declines requests by food vendors who ask to sell Gulf Coast Town Center 06at her shows. That’s why it’s important for her to stage her shows in the parking lot of small malls and shopping centers that offer patrons diverse dining options both before and after they take in the art. With restaurants such as Carrabba’s, Conners, Famous Dave’s, Miller’s Ale House, Pinchers Crab Shack, P.F. Chang’s and Outback, the move from Miromar to the Town Center is sure to satisfy even the most Gulf Coast Town Center 08discerning palette among Estero Fine Art Show attendees.

The absence of food vendors coupled with low-volume, easy-listening and semi-classical music goes a long way toward creating a casual, relaxed atmosphere that is conducive to viewing and buying art and engaging the exhibiting artists in conversation about their inspiration, technique and process.

Gulf Coast Town Center 09Narozny employs yet another technique to ensure that her assemblage of elite artists brings their finest work to the Estero Fine Art Show. She engages an acclaimed artist or other art professional to judge the work at each show. Best of Show, Award of Excellence and merit award winners are announced on Sunday. It’s not just about ribbons and bragging rights. The winners get cash awards.

Some of the those who have judged past shows include Florida SDana Roes and Patty Narozny 02outhWestern State College studio art professor and artist Dana Roes, popular abstract artist and former Art League of Fort Myers president Zaki Knapen, and author, film producer and co-founder of the Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida Marina Berkovich of Naples.

The formula has been working to perfection. Not only has Narozny had to find bigger and better quarters, the Estero Fine Art Show has been a top-100 Gulf Coast Town Center 10outdoor art festival three years in a row (as ranked by both Sunshine Artist Magazine and other trade journals).

The Estero Fine Art Show takes place from 10:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Coast Town Center next Bass Pro Shop 03to Bass Pro Shops.

The Estero Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003. For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.

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2016 Best of Show winner Michael Costello returns to Estero Fine Art Show (11-06-17)

Michael Costello 02The 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show opens November 18 in a brand new location next to Bass Pro Shop at Gulf Coast Town Center. This boutique -style, two-day outdoor juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Last year’s Best of Show winner in 2016, Michael Costello, is among the artists participating in this year’s show.

Costello’s mixed-media sculptures are influenced by the simplicity and balance of Asian objects. His kinetic wood and Michael Costello 12stone designs enhance the natural beauty of the elements used in the sculptures.

“In my work, I try to link architectonic and anthropomorphic imagery,” says Costello, who employs wood as his primary medium combined with stones which serve as counterweights, He prefers mahogany, tiger maple, walnut, oak, sycamore and cherry, along with soapstone and alabaster for his counterweights.

Costello uses typical wood shop tools, such as jointers, planers, band saws and sanders, to create the wood components of his mixed media pieces. But he starts by carving a set of stones first, thereafter designing the Michael Costello 13body of the piece around the stones. The body is sanded and filed through many different procedures. He grinds the stone out of large slabs and polishes them by hand.

“I refer to my sculptures as non-functional furniture,” Michael remarks. “The kinetic element is the main focus of my sculptures.”

The incorporation of movement into works of art actually dates back more than 100 years to the Dadaist and Constructivist movements that emerged in the 1910s. Alexander Calder was one of the leading proponents of incorporating movement into art. In Calder’s case, he created mobiles that moved in response to touch or air currents to fashion works that suggested an animated version of painting.

Michael Costello 08Costello’s kinetic components induce interactive relationships between the sculpture and the viewer resulting in novel and unexpected visual experiences as well as a Zen-like sense of harmony and serenity. Going beyond the boundaries of traditional, handcrafted static objects, Michael’s kinetic non-functional pieces promote the idea that mechanical movement can enhance the overall beauty of a work of art.

Costello received a Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University in North Carolina and his MA degree from Western Carolina University (NC). His work can be found in the collections of the Blumenthal Foundation (NC), Sisters of Mercy (NC), Michael Costello 0420th Century Fox (CA), Duke University (NC), Weyerhaeuser International (WA), Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum (NC) and Ocala Museum of Art (FL).

Michael currently works from his studio in Virginia.

You can meet Michael and view his unique sculptural pieces at the Estero Fine Art Show on November 18 & 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shops. The Estero Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003.

For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.
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Spotlight on metal sculptor Keith Bradley (11-06-17)

Keith Bradley Art 01The 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show opens November 18 in a brand new location next to Bass Pro Shop at Gulf Coast Town Center. This boutique -style, two-day outdoor juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Among them will be sculptor Keith Bradley, whose current series of animal sculptures is giving the art world reason to rave.

Unusual, whimsical and life-size, his collection of metal horses, bulls, cats and dogs draws a steady stream of festival-goers to his booth at every outdoor art fair or festival he attends. People simply cannot walk away once they lay eyes on his spirited, animated creations, which reflect Keith’s unique brand of imagination, perception, Keith Bradley Art 03curiosity and humor.

Bradley relates that the inspiration for this body of work came when he spied the metal roof of a burnt-out barn roof glinting dully in the Northern Florida sun. On the spot, he decided to pay tribute to the animals that once inhabited that domain. But his work is not purely representational. While he captures the essence of the animals he portrays, each metal sculpture incorporates a captivating blend of originality, creativity and fun. And toward that end, he employs an array of media designed to enhance each subject’s delightfully humorous composition.

Keith did not Keith Bradley Art 04start out as an artist. Rather, he began his career as a chef, graduating from the Culinary Institute of Hyde Park in New York. But a back injury forced him to find a different creative outlet. With no formal training, he attacked painting and pottery with his trademark “full speed ahead” attitude. Keith Bradley Art 02Within three months, he had work on display in a number of galleries.

After mastering the airbrush, he had work on display in national galleries. Within two years, he was teaching at Miami International Fine Arts College.

Based in South Florida, Bradley devotes his full time and attention to creating an ever-expanding Redfern 09menagerie of fantastical creatures that capture the hearts of those who have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of his non-demanding critters which, Keith laughingly points out, do not have to be fed, groomed, or taken to the vet.

Be sure to check on Keith’s’ work at the 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show. There’s always something new and extraordinary to see, as this artist has a curiosity-driven sense of humor and is constantly expanding his sculptural field with new and imaginative sculptures.

The Estero Fine Art Show takes place on November 18 & 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shops. The Estero Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003.

For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.

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Spotlight on sculptor Scot Buccina (11-06-17)

Scot Buccina 06The 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show opens November 18 in a brand new location next to Bass Pro Shop at Gulf Coast Town Center. This boutique -style, two-day outdoor juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Among them will be sculptor Scot Buccina.

Working from his studio in the Hobe Sound Marine Village on Scot Buccina 02Florida’s east coast, Scot draws inspiration from Florida’s beautiful coastal environment to produce and sell a large body of marine life sculpture. He also produces abstract, figurative and representational sculptures, which includes a collection of guitars that stems from his great love of music.

Buccina’s media include marble, alabaster and other stone, as well as hard woods, burl, clay and occasionally bronze.

He also appreciates the effect of combining stone with wood or glass.

Classically trained, Scot credits as influences such masters as Michelangelo, Brancusi, Donatello and Henry Scot Buccina 01Moore. From that vantage, he approaches each block of quarried rock or boulder with the mission of releasing the beauty trapped beneath its raw, colorless exterior. Toward this end, he utilizes an assortment of hammers, chisels and power tools.

Once the three-dimensional figure emerges, Scot then spends hours, even days, lovingly polishing the stone with various grades of sandpaper, heightening the sense of accomplishment he derives upon the completion of each piece. The smooth, silken finish also attracts the interest and admiration of the people who come in contact with his sculpture. Scot derives added pleasure from the fact that few people are able to resist rScot Buccina 04eaching out to rub the glassy surface of his finely- finished works of art.

Scot is widely recognized throughout South Florida as a preeminent resource for sculpture refinishing and repair. His more than thirty years’ experience in sculpting stone serves him well as he carefully rehabilitates broken, scratched and damaged artworks.

Scot participates in art shows around the country, along with exhibitions that allow him to display and represent his work directly to art enthusiasts, collectors and customers. Not surprisingly, his work often garners awards at these venues.

Scot Buccina 03His patrons include collectors throughout the United States and abroad.

Buccina (pronounced Boo-cheena) received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine and a Masters in Art History and Studio Art (sculpture) from Florida State University, where he also earned a teaching assistantship in studio sculpture. Of note, Scot is a second generation American. His parents immigrated to the White Mountains of Maine from Tuscany and Calabria, Italy.

You can meet Scot and view his unique sculptural pieces at the Estero Fine Art Show on November 18 & 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Scot Buccina 05Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shops. The Estero Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003.

For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.
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Spotlight on wood turner Ray Cannata (11-06-17)

Ray Cannata Art 04The 20th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show opens November 18 in a brand new location next to Bass Pro Shop at Gulf Coast Town Center. This boutique -style, two-day outdoor juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Ray Cannata is among the artists participating in this year’s show.

Cannata is a self-described wood turner. Like the potter’s wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms limited only by the turner’s imagination. In Cannata’s case, his lathe turns out a variety of irregular abstract shapes as well as smooth, highly polished symmetrical open and closed bowls and platters.

Ray Cannata Art 03Ray hollows out his closed bowls through the hole in the top. The degree of difficulty associated with the finished work is a function of the diameter of the hole in the top and the height of the piece.

Cannata is attracted to the grain and features of the wood he chooses for each artwork. While he has an innate affinity for wood of all kinds, including spalted orRay Cannata Art 02 partially-rotten wood, he especially has developed a deep love of cherry wood from New England, which he turns into fantastic salad bowls of various sizes.

“I also find it very challenging to develop the inner beauty of burl and design asymmetrical artistic pieces,” Cannata adds.

TRay Cannata Art 01urning enables Cannata to indulge his passion for working with his hands. Cannata also relishes the tactile and visual qualities of the wood as well as the challenge of problem-solving associated with wood turning.

Cannata is a member of the American Association of Wood Turners, Redfern 09Spring Hill Art League, Hernando County Fine Arts Council, and Killington Vt. Art Guild. Ray moved to Spring Hill several years ago from Killington. Born in New York City, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees before embarking on extensive travels throughout Europe to study ancient Greek and Roman art treasures and Renaissance works located in Italy, France and Spain.

You can meet Ray and view his unique pieces at the Estero Fine Art Show on November 18 & 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shops. The Estero Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003.

For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.

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Spotlight on November poster artist Gwendolyn Redfern (10-21-17)

Redfern 09Join Hot Works LLC for the 20th bi-annual Estero Fine Art Show – November 18 & 19, 2017 – with a brand new location at Gulf Coast Town Center – next to Bass Pro Shop. The boutique style, two-day outdoor art juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Among them will be watercolor and mixed media artist Gwendolyn Redfern, whose original painting, “Color Girls,” serves as the poster art for the show.

Painting has always been part of Redfern’s life, but she also discovered pottery while completing her B.F.A. in painting at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She inititally chose ceramic classes to fill in her schedule, but pottery quickly became Redfern 04another vehicles for her creative expression. Today, her pottery has become synonymous with sleek design, spectacular glazes and intricate carving.

However, it is through her oil and watercolor work that she challenges viewers to embark upon vivid journeys to other dimensions. Redfern has no interest in rendering representational portraits, preferring instead to craft psychological studies that focus on the emotions reflected in the faces of everyday people she encounters as she goes about her daily routine. “My art represents my life experiences –hidden secrets, experiences forgotten or wished forgotten – experiences that move the soul so hard that they entice Redfern 01a warm smile or bring on laughter,” Redfern confesses.

The disjointed forms, daubs and smears of pigment and excited coloring give her paintings a dynamically expressive quality. These and other artistic devices force her audiences to consider self and spirit, and to question the influences of powers greater than our own.

“My paintings are also packed with surprises and hidden content,” she reveals. “One of my early influences was John Biggers [an artist renowned for his meticulous humanistic depictions of African and African-American life]. Every time I looked at one of his murals, I saw something different. That’s what I strive for in my own oil and watercolor paintings as well.”

Redfern 02Redfern’s work defies categorization. However, he work expands upon the legacy created by van Gogh, Picasso and Chaim Soutine, including their impulsive, often turbulent brushstrokes and knack for creating highly-charged movement through form, color and shape. Her visual storytelling is also influenced by the Native American side of her lineage.

There’s a story behind “Color Girls,” as well. Although the painting now serves as the poster art for November’s Estero Fine Art Show, the composition was originally conceived for a local performance of “The Vagina Monologues” that a friend produced and directed. “She used it in the playbill for the show,” notes Redfern with a lilt iRedfern 03n her voice.

You can meet Gwendolyn Redfern and view her art at the Estero Fine Art Show on November 18 & 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shops. The Estero Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003. For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.

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Collectors and connoisseurs clamoring for Dan Barnes’ glass art sculpture (10-21-17)

Dan Barnes 04Join Hot Works LLC for the 20th bi-annual Estero Fine Art Show – November 18 & 19, 2017 – with a brand new location at Gulf Coast Town Center – next to Bass Pro Shop. The boutique style, two-day outdoor art juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Among them will be glass artist Dan Neil Barnes, a mixed media sculptor with a growing reputation for thoughtfully-designed and intricately-wrought wDan Barnes 11orks that combine vibrantly colored stained and fused glass with soldered bronze, copper, aluminum and other metallic accents.

Barnes’ work moves the millennial-old craft of stained glass into a new creative art form – one that pushes the idea of glass in art to a whole new level. The hundreds of small stained and fused glass squares he incorporates into his three-dimensional structures imbue them with a kinetic quality. They undulate, flow and change direction and intensity as they respond to light and the movement of the viewer, almost as if they were alive and sentient.

DDan Barnes 07an continually pushes the limits of what an artist can accomplish with glass. Like many others in the field, innovation often comes as the result of trial, error and happy circumstance. That’s especially true of the leopard pattern that typifies much of his newer fused glass works.

“I discovered that tack fusing leaves glass more tactile, so that you can build layer upon layer,” Dan explains. “Trapping air pockets between layers creates a pattern reminiscent of a leopard’s spots. I like that visual texture. It’s richer and deeper and has considerably more character than what you can get with full fusing.”

WDan Barnes 15hile Dan is gratified that glass art connoisseurs and collectors are clamoring for his innovative wall hangings and freestanding pieces, he is equally proud of the growing demand for his monumental work in the realm of public art.

One such site-specific work is Cascade, which stands 45 feet high by 22 feet wide and 9 feet deep. Commissioned in 2013, the installation consists of 157 separate pieces of fused glass that are suspended by stainless steel cables from the ceiling in the front entrance to the new convention center in Owensboro, Kentucky. Dan Barnes 14Contrasting with the building’s angular design, Cascade’s gentle curves bring both movement and color into the space, conjuring the flow of the Ohio River that runs behind the building.

Just this month, Barnes completed a collaborative commission fDan Barnes 16or the University of Wisconsin in Madison with renowned sculptor Douwe Blumberg. Together, they created an eight-foot-tall, 2,500-pound bronze and glass sculpture of the university’s beloved mascot, Bucky Badger. The work is innovative in a number of respects. First, the glass is lighted from within, which gives the Alumni Park centerpiece titled Dan Barnes 10Well Red a startling appearance after dark. And thanks to a construction approach Barnes developed that enable him to weave the structural support for the glass directly into its grid, Well Red combines Barnes’ three-dimensional stained and fused glass with Blumberg’s bronze in a way that allows the material to flow seamlessly from one to the other.

Public art commissions such as these not only enhance the notoriety and value of Barnes’ smaller artworks, they afford him the opportunity to discover new ways to involve his viewers with the pieces he creates.

Barnes only began working with glass several years ago. Before then, Dan oDan Barnes 12wned and operated a highly-successful upholstery and furniture design business with a reputation for design flair and top-quality craftsmanship. But that business just didn’t afford him with the creative opportunities and challenges he enjoys today. So to acclimate himself to the new medium, he sought out and studied with Laura Hallock in Lexington, Kentucky. He’s been a proven innovator ever since.

Dan Barnes 09Besides, I really enjoy going to art shows around the country and meeting hundreds of people who love glass and sculpture and art, just like me.”

You can meet Dan Neil Barnes and view his art at the Estero Fine Art Show on November 18 & 19. You will find the show outdoors at the Gulf Coast Town Center next to Bass Pro Shops. The Estero Dan Barnes 03Fine Art Show is produced by Hot Works, LLC, which has been producing quality, perennially top-100 art fairs and festivals since 2003. For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or email patty@hotworks.org.

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Hot Works issue call to youth artists for November, 2017 Estero Fine Art Show (10-07-17)

Youth Madelyn KellumThe Estero Fine Art Show returns to Southwest Florida on November 18 & 19, 2017. But it won’t take place at the Miromar Design Center. This year, Gulf Coast Town Center will serve as the new home for this perennial Top 100 and eagerly-anticipated outdoor art festival

Hot Works has a long tradition of including art education in the shows it produces. Toward that end, it integrates a youth art competition into the event. This competition gives young artists a golden opportunity to begin learning the rules that govern participation in a professional art show and exhibition. The Estero Show welcomes young artists in grades K-8, or ages 5-13.

“TYouth Award Best of_Alana Hadden, Mixed Media (2)he Art competition is provided with a premium location within the show to display all of the budding artist entries,” notes Executive Director Patty Narozny. “There is $250 in cash awards provided to four winners, along with a beautiful, colorful two-foot-long ribbon.”

Criteria for judging youth art focuses on technique/execution and originality, which is similar to the jYouth Award of Excellence_Elizabeth Defrance, Painting (2)udging for professional artist awards. As art programs are being dramatically cut and eliminated in schools nationwide, the need for such initiatives is made even more relevant.

The Youth Art awards will be announced and presented at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 19, in the “Youth Art Tent.” Photographs of the winners and other youth art participants will be taken.

The deadline for youth art entries is November 5, 2017. Now is Youth 3the time to start thinking about and creating the art work you want to enter for the show! A Youth Art competition application is available at www.hotworks.org. Please mail applications to PO Box 1425, Sarasota, FL 34230. The application fee is $3 per entry; with up to two entries per student accepted.

If Youth Stephen Prendivilleyou are interested in sponsoring the Youth Art Competition, please contact Patty Narozny at patty@artsaneducationinc.org.

The Estero Fine Art Show has a new home located at Gulf Coast Town Center, next to Bass Pro Shop. Event hours are 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 19.

The Estero Fine Art Show showcases professional artists from all disciplines, Youth Nalin Ismeincluding paintings, sculpture, clay, glass, wood, fiber, jewelry, photography, and more. All work is original and personally handmade by the artists participating in the show. This art fair is juried by art professionals. Sponsored by Hot Works, LLC, the Estero Fine Art Show is professionally produced by an executive director with an outstanding national reputation.

For more information, please visit www.hotworks.org.

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Spotlight on blown glass artist Stan Megdall (10-06-17)

Megdall 07Join Hot Works LLC for the 20th bi-annual Estero Fine Art Show – November 18 & 19, 2017 – with a brand new location at Gulf Coast Town Center – next to Bass Pro Shop. The boutique style, two-day outdoor art juried fine art and fine craft show attracts some of the country’s finest artists. Among them is West BMegdall 05loomfield, Michigan artist Stan Megdall.

A contemporary glass blower, designer and sculptor, Megdall is known for colorful, vital, organically-shaped wall sculptures ideal for homes, gardens, office and corporate environments. “Although my work is included in the collections of many hotels, Megdall 09corporations and private homes, my primary focus is hospitals and health care art,” states Stan, who enjoys a national reputation among hospitals spanning the United States.

It all started when he happened to take a glass blowing class. “I realized that my passion lied within the arts,” Stan recalls. While he continues to learn through trial, error and constant practice, hMegdall 01is life-long study of glass art began at Detroit’s famous Center for Creative Studies.

“Custom, hand blown sculptures are complex,” concedes Megdall, whose pieces are wrought in a furnace that stays heated to 2500°F. “To finish the glass, each piece is ground, polished, and hand placed to create a one-of-a kind design.

To convey his nature-inspired healing designs to hospital and medical venues, Megdall works with an array of Megdall 08doctors, medical offices, designers and art consultants. “Displaying my art in the right places has been proven to support patient care and uniquely contribute to patient satisfaction and shorter hospital stays,” reports Stan.

Data compiled by a number of recent studies conducted by the Americans for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts in Healthcare and the Journal of the Royal Society for Medicine, among others, does show that certain types of art can result in shorter hospital stays, the need for less medication, Megdall 04greater pain tolerance and fewer post-operative complications. Shape, color, and texture factor heavily into the health benefits derived by patients, families and caregivers from the visual art displayed in patient rooms and waiting areas.

The unique shapes that Megdall creates through his glass art are uniformly perceived as warm, inviting and cMegdall 02alming. They are holistic, which reminds Stan of his favorite quotes from Vincent van Gogh: “Art is to console those who are broken by life.”

Besides a color palette that ranges from soothing to vibrant, Megdall employs metal to make his wall pieces really pop. The medium also gives his wall and freestanding sculptures strength and durability.

The wall pieces are also quite versatile. They can be hung in many different ways, which allows collectors to change the look and design of a room by simply re-arranging the way the pieces are displayed on the wall.

BMegdall 03ut Stan rarely gets to interact with the patients and medical staff who view his art in medical and hospital settings. To keep in touch with individual collectors and art enthusiasts, Stan and his wife, Debbie, participate in quality juried art shows in the country. Not surprisingly, Megdall’s glass wall art has garnered numerous awards and accolades.

Hot Works’ Estero Fine Art Show takes place 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18 and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 19 at the Gulf Coast Town Center east of I-75 off Exit 128 on Alico Road in Fort Myers, next to Bass Pro Shop. Organized by Hot Works and the 501c3 non-profit arm, Institute for tMegdall 06he Arts & Education, the Estero Fine Art Show is consistently ranked in the top 100 national shows by Sunshine Artist Magazine. All work is original and handmade by each of the participating artists who will be present at the show and eager to personally answer questions about their designs, process and inspiration.

For more information, please contact Executive Director and Producer Patty Narozny at 941-755-3088. More info www.hotworks.org.

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Youthful Estero Art Show award winner to perform in opera competition at Carnegie Hall (11-30-16)

miss-7Canterbury student Aurora Badia is on a roll. On November 20, she was one of three young artists who received Awards of Excellence in the Estero Fine Art Show youth competition. A short time later, she learned that she’s a second place winner in the Opera Aria Junior Category (age 11 to 14) in The American Protégé International Vocal Competition 2016. As a result of the latter selection, she will perform on December 17 & 18 at New York’s Carnegie Hall!

The American Protégé International Vocal Competition is designed for singers who would like to challenge themselves in a very competitive environment. The Competition was open to solo vocalists and vocal groups of all ages, nationalities and countries. miss-109Participants were required to submit video recording materials for the audition. Multiple winner were chose in each vocal and age category.

At the Estero Fine Art Show, Aurora received her Award of Excellence in drawing. It is the third time she has been an award winner in the youth art competition, including Best of Show in the 17th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show Youth Competition, youth-auroraonce again in drawing. The competition gives budding, young artists a golden opportunity to begin learning the rules of being part of a professional art show and exhibition. It exposes young artists to the opportunity of creating art for a living and provides the competitors with an unmatched learning experience by exposing them and their families to artwork they would not have otherwise seen and access to professional artists with whom they can converse and ask questions about participating in art shows as a career.

Badia will have her pick of career paths. Not only does she have a bright future in both the visual and performing arts, she may youth-2also choose to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a physician. Dr. Anais Aurora Badia is a Board Certified Dermatologist who holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Miami, a D.O. from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine and her Doctor of Medicine from University of Health Sciences School of Medicine.

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Hot Works announces youth art competition winners (11-27-16)

miss-9The 18th bi-annual Estero Fine Art Show was held November 19 & 20 at Miromar Design Center. More than 160 professional artists participated in this top-100 nationally ranked outdoor show, which only displays original artworks that are personally made by artists who are present and available to answer questions throughout the two-day show.

But event organizer Hot Works LLC does not limit its show to professional artists. As part of its ongoing commitment to bring art education into the community, in conjunction with the Institute for the Arts & Education (an affiliated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) Hot Works sponsors a youth art competition for grades K-8 or ages 5-13 as part of the show.

miss-7“The competition gives budding, young artists a golden opportunity to begin learning the rules of being part of a professional art show and exhibition,” notes Executive Director Patty Narozny. “It exposes young artists to the opportunity to see that they can create art for a living – that they can do something they love to do, and, most importantly, how to do it.”

The art competition and show gives participating students an unmatched learning experience by exposing them and their families to artwork that they might not have otherwise seen. Narozny and her experienced staff encourage the youthful competitors to speak with the professional artists in the show and to ask them questions about a career as an art festival artist.

miss-8For the November show, Hot Works received 64 entries from 46 students enrolled at 14 area schools. These entries were displayed in the art fair.

To date, more than 1,100 students have participated in the art competition and show. Many of the young artists and their families attended the event on Sunday afternoon, when the winners were announced during a 3:00 p.m. ceremony which saw the four youth winners receive a total of $250 in cash awards along with colorful two-foot-long ribbons. In addition, five other students were awarded $20 Miromar Outlet Gift Certificate together with ribbons of distinction recognizing miss-6their work.

Criteria for judging the youth art were based on technique/execution and originality, which are similar to the criteria for judging the professionals.

Art Teacher Elizabeth Olancin with Gulf Coast Elementary in Fort Myers involves her art students each show. For the second time, her student Leah Myers (top photo), won an award. Just 7, Leah won Best of Youth Art and $100 for a mixed media piece she submitted.

“Yes, Leah was extremely surprised,” Ms. Olancin reports. “She was so cute when I presented her with the ribbon and envelope on the morning miss-4news at school. She definitely needs this. She has a unique style – I’m glad Zaki, the Youth Art judge, saw it as well. Thank you for all that you do for the Arts! You too are truly AMAZING!!!! I admire and respect you for bringing the Arts to our community, especially for our children.”

Hot Works also recognizes and thanks Art Teacher Cindy Collins of Gateway Charter High School in Fort Myers, who involves her students in the Youth Art program each show. Four of her students were prize winners.

Besides Leah Myers, the three $50 cash Award of Excellence winners at the November 2016 Estero Fine Art Show Youth Art were”

  • miss-5Aurora Badia (second photo), Drawing, Age 13, Canterbury School, Fort Myers – 3x youth art award winner!
  • Mykayla Parker (third photo), Painting, Age 12, Gateway Charter High School, Fort Myers – 1st time winner!
  • Michelle Xuan, Drawing, Age 9, Cumberland Elementary, West Lafayette, IN – 1st time winner!

The five $20 Youth Art Awards of Distinction from Miromar Outlet Mall – Gift Certificates to Mall were:

  1. Nalin Isme (fourth photo), Painting, Age 8, Pinewoods Elementary, Estero – 7x youth art award winner!
  2. Vanessa Schoof, Age 12, Gateway Charter High School, Fort nov-2016-estero-art-show-01Myers – 1st time winner!
  3. Andrea Sejjas, Mixed Media, Age 13, Gateway Charter High School, Fort Myers – 1st time winner!
  4. Ann Vu (fifth photo), Mixed Media, Age 7, Gulf Elementary, Fort Myers – 1st time winner!
  5. Corey White (sixth photo), Sculpture, Age 13, Gateway Charter High School, Fort Myers – 1st time winner!

nov-2016-estero-art-show-02Special congratulations to:

  • Nalin Isme – now a 7x Youth Art Award winner and previous Best of Youth Art!
  • Aurora Badia – a 3x Youth Art winner and previous Best of Youth Art!
  • Leah Myers – a 2x Youth Art winner – this year’s Best of Youth Art!

nov-2016-estero-art-show-03If you or your child missed the November Estero Fine Art Show, you have another opportunity to compete in just a few weeks. The 18th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show taking place on January 7 & 8, 2017 at Miromar Design Center also includes a youth competition and art show for kids in grades K-8 or ages 5-13. The deadline for applying is December 15, 2016. Applications are available at http://www.hotworks.org/pdf/2017apps/EsteroYouthJan17.pdf. For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org or telephone 941-755-3088.

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Hot Works announces Estero Fine Art winners (11-23-16)

michael-costello-02The Estero Fine Art Show closed with a flourish this evening, with 17 different artists receiving awards.

There were two Award of Mastery and Best of Show winners:

  • Michael Costello, Sculpture
  • Kevin Lubbers, Sculpture

Five Awards of Excellence were conferred:

  1. Brent Anderson, Photography
  2. kevin-lubbers-04David L. Ashenbrener, Sculpture
  3. Keith Bradley, Sculpture
  4. Jimmy and Connie Langford, Metal
  5. Gary Reichow, Wood

Hot Works issued ten Awards of Distinction:

  1. Sidney Carter, Painting
  2. Lynn and Steve Cebula, Mixed Media
  3. Patricio and Neena Ferreira, Jewelry
  4. Will Grant, Sculpture
  5. Paula Mae Green, Batik
  6. Kevin Kichar, Fiber
  7. kevin-kichar-02Timothy Lockwood and Carmen Ivory, Wood
  8. Jack Megela, Photography
  9. Tim Peters, Clay
  10. Sabra Richards, Mixed Media

The Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Miromar Design Center on January 7 & 8, 2017. This top-notch fine art & craft event brings to Estero, Florida new original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working and carvings, fiber art and art jewelry sabra-1from the ateliers, studios and workshops of some 120 local and internationally-acclaimed artists. All are present throughout the two-day event and eager to answer questions about their work and inspiration. Live art demonstrations afford numerous opportunities for patrons to witness first-hand the various processes that the artists’ go through and the techniques they employ in order to create high-quality artworks in their chosen medium.

mooseThe Estero shows are produced by Hot Works, LLC, which also runs the award-winning Orchard Lake Fine Art Show in Michigan. In order to achieve a high-quality fine art and craft show, the Hot Works team travels continuously around the U.S. and Canada visiting art shows and recruiting the very best artists for Hot Works events.

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Artist Edward Park heads list of notable locals exhibiting November 19 & 20 at Estero art fest (11-14-16)

Edward Park 01The Estero Fine Art Show takes place at the Miromar Design Center on November 19 & 20. Among the area artists exhibiting in the show is Naples artist Edward Park.

It is difficult enough to master one genre, but Park is accomplished in three. Take a jaunt around his booth this weekend and you will quickly find that he is equally adept at impressionism, realism and abstract art.

Edward Park 03A graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design who also studied at the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art in France, Park has been painting for half a century. Today, he is acclaimed internationally for brilliant color combinations and remarkable palette knife technique. Nowhere is that more evident than in his fall scenes, where he engrafts layer upon layer of oil on top of his linen support to fashion dazzling, dappled forest scenes in yellows, orange and red.

Park groups his paintings into several series: American landscapes, European scenery, modern impressionism, his road series and his Garden of Eden. “But my most popular paintings are my rowboats,” notes the artist. “They instill calm and serenity,” he explains with the Edward Park 04aura of a master in Zen or transcendental meditation. Without outboard motors, rudders or oars, they encourage viewers to reflect on the source of their own inner peace and direction.

Park operates out of his 2,000 square-foot studio and gallery at 1719 Trade Center Way in Naples. “I have been at Naples Fine Arts Studio and Gallery Parked in front of Parkfor 19 years,” he notes proudly of his stability and longevity in the notoriously volatile art market. His is a career decorated by an extensive list of awards, commissions and other honorariums.

If you haven’t experienced Park’s works, you can view them at Naples Fine Arts Studio and Gallery or the Estero Fine Art Show. You will find him in Booth 157.

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Vibrant hues characterize contemporary and abstract paintings of Naples artist Belisario Manrique (11-13-16)

Manrique 01The Estero Fine Art Show returns to Miromar Design Center on November 19 & 20. One of the artists taking part in the 2-day outdoor art festival is Naples painter Belisario Manrique.

Vivid color is an unmistakable aspect of Manrique’s artistic style. He draws upon his Peruvian background to infuse his contemporary and abstract paintings with vivid and vibrant hues. Belisario utilizes various media to achieve his final works, including acrylic on wood panels applied using brushes, sponges, palette knives and other Manrique 02means, and he finishes each one with a clear resin coat. Manrique was one of ten artists receiving Awards of Distinction at last year’s November’s Estero Fine Art Show.

You can view Manrique’s latest offerings this weekend. The Estero Fine Art Show opens each day at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. For more information about the show and its participating artists, please continue reading.

 

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Estero Fine Art Show provides glimpse into awe-inspring creative journey of magical realist Marcus Thomas (11-13-16)

Marcus Thomas at Naples InvitationalMarcus C. Thomas discovered the joy of painting after surviving a snow skiing accident in 1986 left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. It would have been understandable if the young man had given in to self-pity. After all, at the time it happened he was an athletic and physically-active college grad with a brand new degree in commercial recreation who had just taken a job as the activities director at a vacation resort.

“That Christmas,” Marcus tells, “I received a set of Crayola watercolors.” Although he had no Marcus Thomas 03background in art, he launched himself into a new adventure. He became not just a painter, but an artist whose works are so realistic, you’d swear you were looking at a photograph rather than an oil on canvas or panel.

“I like realism and the edginess of surrealism,” Marcus notes, and toward that end, his paintings combine hyper-realistic technique with magical surrealism imagery.

Dating as far back as van Eyck and Vermeer, artists Marcus Thomas 04have used various techniques including camera obscura in order to achieve a photographic quality in their finished work. But not Marcus Thomas. He paints free hand, except in his case, he uses a brush rigged to a mouthpiece that he clenches between his teeth. But as a result, he’s required to make adaptations in the process to which classically-trained artists religiously adhere.

He cannot render a drawing of his motif or subject matter in pencil or charcoal. “I have to use a small, Marcus Thomas 02fine point brush instead.” And once he places the outline of his composition on canvas, he can’t hone the image with a Sharpie or magic marker. “I just start applying the paint,” he mentally shrugs.

His results are spectacular. His paintings regularly stop festival-goers dead in their tracks. Only then do they notice Marcus parked in his wheelchair, meticulously daubbing paint on a canvas and stroking it into place.

Not only are his works a true crowd pleaser, they Marcus Thomas 101have garnered him a number of Best of Shows. “I like art festivals,” says the artist. “They allow me to travel and be outdoors.”

Marcus is quick to give credit to the love of his life. “Without my wife, Anne, this wouldn’t be possible. In fact, a new pictorial biography titled Flight of the Mind: A Painter’s Journey through Paralysis gives a compelling glimpse into how Anne and Marcus have established daily rituals that sustain their creative journey. The book also treats readers to more than 200 color-plate Marcus Thomas 102photographs of Thomas’ work from his early watercolor wildlife renderings to his recent magical realism oil narratives, underscoring how the themes of flight, adventure and the natural world have remained constants in Marcus’ life since his childhood.

The Estero Fine Art Show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 19, and Sunday, November 20, 2016 in the parking lot outside the Miromar Design Center.

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Maine artist Anne Wooster brings botanical monotypes to Estero Fine Art Show (11-13-16)

Wooster 01When local art enthusiasts last saw Anne Wooster, she was busy winning an Award of Distinction at the Bonita Springs National Art Festival for her botanical monotypes made with oil based etching inks.

Anne Wooster has been an artist and nature lover since she painted her entire body at the age of two. A Waldoboro native, she took art lessons from established artists and attended Medomak Valley High School before matriculating at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. While an art instructor at Warren Community School between 2000 and 2006, Anne attended Hay Stack School of Arts every fall with other Maine art teachers. That’s where she fell in love wooster-04with printing the flora of Maine. “Monotypes are reminiscent of photography and yet feel like painting,” says Anne. “Each print uses live plant material and no two prints are ever the same.” Today, Anne devotes herself to art full-time, gathering the subjects and material for her prints from her gardens, her friends’ gardens, and the local fields, forest and seashore. “Art is a necessary expression of the beauty in my life.”

Four years ago, Anne met her partner Steven Peaslee. They decided soon after to take their artwork on the road across the country full time. Steve was very inspired by the process and has been printing since 2012, developing his own technique wooster-02along the way.

You can see Anne’s and Steve’s latest prints at the Miromor Design Center during the Estero Fine Art Show on Saturday, November 19, and Sunday, November 20. It takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

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People often ask digital artist Edward Loedding whether his work is a painting or a photograph (11-12-16)

loedding-07Edward Loedding is one of the artists bringing work to this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show. On first view, most people encountering a Loedding composition ask themselves, if not the artist himself, “Is this a painting or a photograph?”

Loedding would probably bristle at being Loedding 05pigeonholed as a digital artist. You see, that’s just medium as far as he is concerned. His art, by contrast, seeks to bridge the gap between realism and abstraction. He merely uses a smattering of digital tools to edit his photographs in order to accomplish this overarching goal. “Elements of both [painting and photography] are merged together using digital tools to form a totally new way of creating art,” the artist explains on his website. “The tools I use are a digital SLR camera, computer, Adobe PhotoShop, digitizing tablet and Loedding 02stylus, and a modified Roland Symphony12 color printer.”

Loedding’s subjects include flowers and scenes of the Vermont countryside. “I choose my subjects based on geometries that provide potential for rhythm and harmony,” says Loedding. “Each piece of my art is a composite of multiple photos and additional elements that I create directly in the computer. The second step is orchestrating all of the gathered elements; deciding which elements to include and where they should be placed on the Loedding 01digital canvas. Once all of the pieces are in place, it’s time to make them work together. I transform all of the pieces individually, changing their size, orientation, color, shadows, highlights – everything – until they form a cohesive and lyrical composition.”

Loedding 04Once he is satisfied with the structure of his composition, Loedding is ready to begin the painting. First, he breaks down the photographic qualities of the image and reduces it to very smooth areas of color. Then, using a combination of different digital paintbrushes, he begins to reshape those areas back into focus, changing every line, every curve, every detail, making them say exactly what he wants them to say, creating a Loedding 08perfect balance and harmony among all of the elements in the artwork. Finally, the art is printed on canvas using archival pigmented ink, varnished, and stretched. All of the images are presented as signed and numbered limited editions.

Although Loedding comes from a painting tradition, he finds that digital tools Loedding 09uniquely enable him to bridge the abstract/realism divide. “Abstract art is a re-creation of the process of conceptualization,” Loedding points out. “It has often failed because it is spoken in a strange and personal language that offers no common point of reference to the uninitiated observer. Abstract art has been esoteric at its best, intimidating and alienating at its worst. [At the same time], in our society, where an overabundance of imagery and information is easily accessible, realism is demoted to the status of data. Without a corresponding Loedding 12value judgment, its primary merit is merely its degree of accuracy …. My approach is not to blur the edges of realism or sharpen the focus of abstraction, but to create a common ground where the two can meet; not as opponents coerced into an uneasy balance, but as equal partners singing a new song with one voice.”

The resulting images are as layered and complex as the artist himself. “People generally don’t buy my work the first time they see it—they really need to see it a couple of times before they make that Loedding 11decision,” Loedding concedes. “And, I’ve been doing it long enough to understand that today’s enthusiasts are tomorrow’s customers.”

Toward that end, Loedding returns to Southwest Florida periodically throughout its annual art fair and festival season and, in addition to finding Loedding 10growing acceptance by area art collectors, he is winning critical acclaim as well. Last November, he was one of ten artists who received a coveted Award of Distinction at the Estero Fine Art Show at the Miromar Design Center. He repeated the feat at the Bonita Springs National Art Festival that took place on January 30 & 31, 2016. This weekend, you can meet the artist and examine his work at the Miromar Design Center during the Estero Fine Arts Show. The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. each day.

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Local photographer Jack Megela participating in next weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show (11-12-16)

unnamedThe Estero Fine Arts Show reconvenes at the Miromar Design Center on the weekend of November 19 & 20. Among the area artists who have been accepted into this juried show is Naples fine art photographer Jack Megela.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Megela studied Criminal Justice at Lorain County Community College while working as a State Trooper with the Megela 03Ohio Highway Patrol. Later, he attended Kent State University and while working as a Detective Sergeant with the Canton, Ohio Sheriff’s Department, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement Administration.  Having extensive training in all aspects of photography from camera Megela 01work to darkroom developing and printing, he put his skills to work during his daily regiment in everything from traffic fatalities to major crime scenes of all types, including numerous homicide investigations.

After retiring from law enforcement, Jack returned to Kent State University to pursue a Megela 05curriculum in Art and Fine Art Photography. He then travelled the United States by recreational vehicle, visiting all 49 land-bound states before he and his wife, Marianne, settled in Naples near the edge of the Fakahatchee Strand and The Big Cypress National Preserve.

Megela now spends many hours each week photographing in the Florida Everglades and on the beaches in the Gulf of Mexico, where he directs his photographic experience toward nature and landmarks in and around the City Of Naples. “It has been a long road from investigating, documenting and photographing human tragedy as a law enforcement officer to photographing in the quiet magnificence of nature,” Jack shares. “It’s been a transition from a world of violence, chaos and Megela 06tragedy to a world of peace and tranquility, a world that makes sense. Art makes sense, embracing us as it gives us refuge from catastrophe and despair.”

Over the past 20-plus years, Megela has participated in hundreds of juried outdoor art shows and exhibitions at venues throughout the United States. He has received more than 45 awards for his photographs and his work is held in numerous corporate and private collections all over the world. In addition to the Artists’ Gallery, you can see his work next weekend at the Estero Fine Art Show.

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Internationally-recognized sculptor John Zidek participating in next weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show (11-12-16)

Zidek 5One of the 11 SWFL artists participating in next weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show is John Zidek, an internationally-recognized sculptor who has worked over the years in numerous mediums, including bronze, wood, resin, ultra-violet minerals, and a line of gold and sterling silver jewelry.

John’s newest wall sculptures combine fabricated Zidek 4copper and hand-blown glass. “Blown glass is a process. It starts as clear crystal and frits are rolled into it for color and pattern. The frits come from two companies in Germany, which Chihuly claims are the best in the world,” says Zidek. “While the glass is still hot it is fumed with titanium, a Tiffany Zidek 2technique with a space age metal. It was chosen for its overall reflection and iridescence. The quality of the glass blowing is determined by not only the thickness but also its overall uniformity. In other words, it is thin and uniform from its center to the edge.”

Zidek enlisted his friend and fellow artist Ron Hinkle, owner of Dying Art Glass Works in West Zidek 3Virginia, to develop and refine his process. “I had the design and Ron had the expertise to help me put it together.”

“My copper designs are generally in my mind,” Zikek explains. “Occasionally I may make a basic sketch to retain an idea, but that is rare. I selected copper as my metal for several reasons. It is flexible enough to be worked by hand and then through heat treating it can be made rigid.”

Another reason that Zidek gravitates toward copper is its permanence. “Copper is found in sheet form in Michigan. It is layered between rocks and has been there for millions of years in its natural state. Copper was Zidek 6chosen for the Statue of Liberty for its resistance to salt air. The only issue with the Statue to date has been the ironwork that has rotted away in the arm. Depending on formulas, bronze is 94-97% copper; the inclusions are to give it hardness.”

Zidek brazes all of his pieces at approximately 1800 degrees with oxygen/acetylene. “The copper is at its melting point when I apply a copper rod to make the connection,” Zidek continues. “Even though I schooled in jewelry and am familiar with soldering, the process to connect copper is much more intense. I like to build up the shoulders of my joints. Consequently, the application of heat is very delicate. Too much and the entire joint dissolves and falls off. Of course, too little heat and nothing happens.”

Zidek 9Zidek’s pieces have no soft solder, plumbers solder, epoxies, glues or other materials that will fail over time. The work basically becomes one piece and is permanent. His pieces are made from hollow tubing, which makes them very lightweight and easy to install. He uses a museum brown bronze chemical patina for color. The metal is then clear coated with enamel and heat treated. A large piece may weigh as little as twenty pounds.

Zidek is also experimenting with floor, pedestal, lighting, water features and wind sculptures.

A Professional Level Member of the International Sculpture Center, Zidek 8Zidek periodically exhibits in International Art Expo New York. John was born and raised in Franklin, New Jersey. His father, John Zidek Sr., was first generation American, his family having come from Czechoslovakia. His mother, Edna, is a Daughter of the American Revolution. For more information about John Zidek and his art, please telephone The Artists’ Gallery at 239-596-5099 or visit http://www.theartistsgallery.us/.

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Hot Works now accepting applications for inclusion in November 2016 Estero Fine Art Show (05-27-16)

Miromar Design Center 01Hot Works LLC is taking applications from artists who are interested in exhibiting their work in the 18th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show™ on November 19 & 20, 2016. As area residents and visitors have come to appreciate , this two-day outdoor art festival has become a “must attend” event in Estero each Fall.

What Artists Should Know:

  • Crowd Shot with Design Center in Background 01In November 2015, Hot Works’ Estero Fine Art Show™ was voted one of the top 100 art shows in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine;
  • As reported in the May 2016 edition of Sunshine Artist Magazine, average sales per artist at the November 2015 show were $7,075;
  • Estero is, by far, one of Florida’s most affluent and sophisticated art-buying and art-loving audiences;
  • Crowd Shot 05Hot Works’ Estero Fine Art Show™ prides itself on having quality art that is all original and personally handmade art by the artist who is in the show;
  • Youth Art Competition integrated for grades K-8 or ages 5-13 (with applications for inclusion due by October 15, 2016); and
  • Institute for the Arts & Education is the 501( c)(3) non-profit arm which focuses on visual arts, ethnic diversity, community enrichment and fostering art education among youth.

Crowd Shot 01The show is staged in the east parking lot of the Miromar Design Center, Southwest Florida’s premier destination for design professionals and the general public. Located directly across Corkscrew Boulevard from the festival’s original site in the Miromar Outlet Mall, this outstanding location provides:

  • Crowd Shot 02High visibility from the main road;
  • A location where patrons come specifically to purchase art;
  • A grand sculpture, museum-like entrance and well-landscaped grounds with a beautiful setting for a quality art show;
  • A location with plenty of parking, trees for shade, and association with prestigious retail design and furniture stores and designers.

Crowd Shot 03This is a juried show. The deadline to apply for inclusion is August 5 (notifications to be sent by August 15). No more than 175 artists will be juried into this show. At present, all categories are open.

Please contact Executive Producer Patty Narozny at patty@hotworks.org or 941-755-3088 for more information.

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Hot Works announces winners of Estero Fine Art Show youth competition winners (11-28-15)

Youth 3The 17th bi-annual Estero Fine Art Show was held November 21 & 22, 2015 at its new location at Miromar Design Center. As part of organizer Hot Works LLC’s commitment to bring art education into southwest Florida, a youth art competition for grades K-8 or ages 5-12 was integrated into the art fair. Sponsored by the Institute for the Arts & Education, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit Youth 2organization, and Monkey Bars Storage Solutions, young artists were invited to apply with their original and personally handmade art. 

The competition gives budding, young artists a golden opportunity to begin learning the rules of being part of a professional art show and exhibition. It exposed young artists to the opportunity of creating art for a living – Youth Auroradoing something (s)he loves to do and, most importantly, how to do it.  The art show provided these students with an unmatched learning experience, and exposed families to artwork that they would not have otherwise seen. Young artists were encouraged to speak with the artists in the show – all professionals — and to ask them questions about participating in art shows as a career.

This year’s youth art contest included 45 entries from 12 schools, with all entries being displayed at fair. The young artists and their families attended the event on Sunday afternoon for the announcement of the competition winners. Cash awards totaling Youth James Prendiville$250 were provided to four young winners, along with a beautiful, colorful two-foot-long ribbon. In addition, five $20 Miromar Outlet Gift Certificates were also awarded.

Criteria for judging the youth art were based on technique/execution and originality, which is similar to the criteria for the judging of the professional artist awards. The winners were:

Youth Nalin IsmeOne $100 Best of Youth Art:

                       Aurora Badia, Drawing, Age 12, Canterbury School (third photo, above)

Three $50 Youth Art Awards of Excellence:

  •             James Prendiville, Age 12, Drawing, Paul Lawrence Dunbar Middle (fourth photo, above)
  •             Nalin Isme, Painting, Age 7, Pinewoods Elementary (fifth photo)
  •             Stephen Prendiville, Age 10, Drawing, Allen Park Elementary 

Youth Stephen PrendivilleFive Youth Art Awards of Distinction from Miromar Outlet Mall – $20 Gift Certificates

  •             Madelyn Kellum, Age 13, Drawing, Bonita Springs Middle School
  •             Alexis Jade Moore, Age 6, Mixed Media, Three Oaks Elementary
  •             Leah Myers, Age 6, Mixed Media, Gulf Elementary, Elizabeth Olancin, Art Teacher
  •             Jackson Parker, Age 14, Painting, Gateway Intermediate, Cindy Collins, Art Youth Madelyn KellumTeacher
  •             Morgan White, Age 5, Painting, Rayma C. Page Elementary

 

Organized by Hot Works, LLC, the Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Miromar Design Center on January 2 and 3, 2016. Voted in the top 100 art fairs in the nation, this fine art and fine craft fair is juried by art professionals with a combined experience of 120+ years in art education and/or art fairs. Artists in all forms of art discipline participate, including painting, sculpture, clay, glass, wood, fiber, jewelry, photography, and more.

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Atlanta artist Cat Tesla earns Award of Excellence at Estero Fine Art Show (11-27-15)

Cat Tesla 02Atlanta abstract artist Cat Tesla was one of five artists earning Awards of Excellence at last weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show at the Miromar Design Center. Tesla describes her work as an ongoing exploration of abstract designs “executed in mixed media on canvas and birch supports.” She is intrigued by color, texture and the juxtaposition of shapes.

“The question I get most often at art festivals is ‘Where did you get your inspiration?’,” Cat shares. While the content of her paintings comes from nature, Cat begins her mornings with meditation to clear her mind so that she can focus on Cat Tesla 05truth, flow and harmony. “I like to come to the canvas without any preconceived notions and see what happens. For me, this is the best way for the truth to reveal itself.”

As a result of the meditative process that gives rise to her compositions, Cat’s paintings convey a sense of calm and respite. “I strive to communicate what can only be felt, rather than seen,” Cat states. “The world around us provides a constant and unending display for our senses if we only slow down to take notice.” In this vein, she quotes the Persian mystic and poet Rumi, who once said, “Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.”

Tesla 04There is unquestionably an element of gratitude underlying Tesla’s work. In January of 2002, her husband was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 41, Although detected at an early stage, his treatment required surgery, chemotherapy and daily radiation treatments for six weeks. He’s fully recovered and travels with her to the 20 or so festivals at which she exhibits throughout the year.

Cat drew considerable strength from her husband’s battle with illness. He gave her another gift, as well. “One day he informed me that he had Tesla 05made some wood boxes for me to paint on instead of canvas. I resisted, but he told me to think outside the box. ‘Paint the outside of the box, Catherine,’ he prompted.” She finally did, and has painted more than 1,000 “Outside the Box” boxes, which are collected by people around the world.

“One of the hallmarks of my ‘Outside of the Box’ Series is to integrate clay tiles into their design,” Cat relates. “At the beginning of each year at a local ceramic studio, I make several hundred small clay tiles that I call cookies. They live together in my Tesla 01studio and eventually find a home on a painting. Once I have painted the textural domains, it is easy for me to see where the cookies belong.”

“Everyone has gifts from the Creator,” Cat professes. “I believe it is the duty of each of us to share our gifts with the planet. My paintings are a Tesla 07brave look inward – revealing what lies beneath both literally and spiritually. Yogis call it the ‘divine flame’ – the spark that motivates you in life. In Buddha’s words, ‘Look within, thou art the Buddha,’ while Jesus taught us that ‘the kingdom of heaven is within you.’ For me, painting is the most life affirming thing to do.”

Organized by Hot Works, LLC, the Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Miromar Design Center on January 2 and 3, 2016.

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Focus on Estero Fine Art Show Judge’s Award of Excellence winner Allan Tuttle (11-26-15)

Allan Tuttle 05Two Judge’s Awards of Excellence were handed out at last weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show at Miromar Design Center. One went to clay artist Craig McMillin. Abstract artist Allan Tuttle earned the other.

Tuttle’s mixed media paintings are a symphony of subtle colors and complex imagery. A self-taught artist that has made a name for himself on the streets of Soho,  his work is influenced by literature, psychology, his journey as a musician, the natural landscape of his home state of Maine and the urban terrain of New York, his home for over a decade. Non-objective and non-representational, Tuttle’s Allan Tuttle 02abstracts provide portals to alternate universes and realities. Once inside the confines of his landscapes, viewers are free, even encouraged, to attach their own lexicon, language and meanings to the imagery they discover in the resin-covered acrylic of Tuttle’s canvas supports.

Allan Tuttle 01“Painting for me is about creating environments,” says Tuttle. “Environments you want to jump into. In fact, I frequently imagine that I am one inch tall when creating these spaces. Somewhat surreal, somewhat abstracted and somehow almost non-objective, a whole other world.”

Tuttle seeks a place within his mind where he can find satisfaction without answers. “I believe you Allan Tuttle 04have to feel like the artist was just on the surface, but at the same time, you need to experience a feeling of transcendence. That is my goal in every piece.”

To create each piece, Tuttle takes his pigments apart and combines the ingredients on the surface of his canvas before employing a sophisticated layering technique. “In this phase, I use both knives and brushes and both opaque and transparent mediums,” Allan explains. Each piece typically contains a minimum of five to eight layers, topped with a resin finish that includes a UV inhibitor.

Organized by Hot Works, LLC, the Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Miromar Design Center on January 2 and 3, 2016.

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Focus on Estero Fine Art Show Judge’s Award of Excellence winner Craig McMillin (11-25-15)

Craig and Ana McMillan 05One of the benefits to browsers and collectors who attend outdoor art fairs and festivals like the recently-completed Estero Fine Art Show is their ability to meet artists who are experimenting with novel methods and processes for creating both two and three-dimensional art. Clay sculptor Craig McMillin is a case in point, and even the judges were impressed with the strides he is making in firing incredibly large crystalline glazed platters. They awarded him one of two Judge’s Awards of Excellence at the show.

McMillin’s exquisite clay pieces are perfect for large Craig and Ana McMillan 06Sfoyers, great rooms and other interior spaces that are circumscribed by tall ceilings. His works explore the dynamics between wheel-thrown pottery and crystalline glazes. Although the firing process for these beautiful crystalline glazed pieces is controlled, the effect from the glazes is unpredictable since the crystals grow and change Craig and Ana McMillan 03Sshape as the kiln temperature drops. Consequently, each piece is unique – alive with reflected light and refracted color, with complex patterns in the glaze resulting from the growth of the zinc crystals.

Craig started his journey in pottery at the age of 16 when he started experimenting with clay on an abandoned pottery wheel at his school. Self-taught, what developed was a lifelong passion with ceramics, where Craig has always strived to test the limits of clay as well as his skills.

Craig and Ana McMillan 01“I start each day with the same intent, to create the finest piece of ceramic art that I possibly can,” declares Craig. “What I am doing as a potter is creating a canvas for the crystalline glazes, to establish a synchronistic relationship where the glaze and the pot complement each other. I am truly a product of my experience; the last pot is my greatest teacher, with all the other pots before it.”

Organized by Hot Works, LLC, the Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Miromar Design Center on January 2 and 3, 2016.

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Hot Works announces Estero Fine Art winners (11-23-15)

Craig and Ana McMillan 03SHot Works LLC has announced the winners of this fall’s Estero Fine Art Show. Clay artists Craig and Ana McMillin and mixed media artist Allan Tuttle earned the highest marks during the show, each receiving a coveted Judge’s Award of Excellence.

The judges also awarded a second tier of Awards of Excellence. The recipients of these ribbons and $100 apiece are:

  • Cat Tesla, painting
  • David Gordon, painting
  • Allan Tuttle 05Art Bartkowiak, painting
  • Patricia and Neena Ferreira, jewelry
  • Tim Peters, Clay

Receiving Awards of Distinction are:

  • Anna Polistuk, painting
  • Edward Loedding, digital
  • Jeannie Maddox, painting
  • Isack Kousnsnky, photography
  • David Goldhagen, glass
  • Kurt Ruby, metal
  • Suzanna Dimarco, jewelry
  • Suzanna Dimarco 02SGerardo Leccese, mixed media
  • Dick Cunningham, photography
  • David Pelish, mixed media

The Estero Fine Art Show returns to the Miromar Design Center on January 2 & 3, 2016.

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In spite of windy, dreary conditions, enthusiastic crowds mob Estero Fine Art Festival (11-22-15)

Crowd Shot 01In spite of blustery, dreary conditions associated with an approaching cool front, Day One of the Estero Fine Art Show is in the books. This top-notch fine art & craft event brings to Estero, Florida new original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working and carvings, fiber art and art jewelry Crowd Shot with Design Center in Background 02from the ateliers, studios and workshops of some 120 local and internationally-acclaimed artists. All are present throughout the two-day event and eager to answer questions about their work and inspiration. Organized by Hot Works LLC, the show does an exemplary job of jurying in new blood so that festival-goers will have the chance to see and buy work from artists they won’t find Crowd Shot 03anywhere else.

Day Two starts at 10 a.m., with the artists on hand throughout the day and until the festival closes at 5 p.m. The show is at the Miromar Design Center on Corkscrew Road just east of I-75.

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Internationally-recognized sculptor John Zidek participating in this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show (11-21-15)

Zidek 5One of the eight artists participating in this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show is John Zidek, an internationally-recognized sculptor who has worked over the years in numerous mediums, including bronze, wood, resin, ultra-violet minerals, and a line of gold and sterling silver jewelry.

John’s newest wall sculptures combine fabricated Zidek 4copper and hand-blown glass. “Blown glass is a process. It starts as clear crystal and frits are rolled into it for color and pattern. The frits come from two companies in Germany, which Chihuly claims are the best in the world,” says Zidek. “While the glass is still hot it is fumed with titanium, a Tiffany Zidek 2technique with a space age metal. It was chosen for its overall reflection and iridescence. The quality of the glass blowing is determined by not only the thickness but also its overall uniformity. In other words, it is thin and uniform from its center to the edge.”

Zidek enlisted his friend and fellow artist Ron Hinkle, owner of Dying Art Glass Works in West Zidek 3Virginia, to develop and refine his process. “I had the design and Ron had the expertise to help me put it together.”

“My copper designs are generally in my mind,” Zikek explains. “Occasionally I may make a basic sketch to retain an idea, but that is rare. I selected copper as my metal for several reasons. It is flexible enough to be worked by hand and then through heat treating it can be made rigid.”

Another reason that Zidek gravitates toward copper is its permanence. “Copper is found in sheet form in Michigan. It is layered between rocks and has been there for millions of years in its natural state. Copper was Zidek 6chosen for the Statue of Liberty for its resistance to salt air. The only issue with the Statue to date has been the ironwork that has rotted away in the arm. Depending on formulas, bronze is 94-97% copper; the inclusions are to give it hardness.”

Zidek brazes all of his pieces at approximately 1800 degrees with oxygen/acetylene. “The copper is at its melting point when I apply a copper rod to make the connection,” Zidek continues. “Even though I schooled in jewelry and am familiar with soldering, the process to connect copper is much more intense. I like to build up the shoulders of my joints. Consequently, the application of heat is very delicate. Too much and the entire joint dissolves and falls off. Of course, too little heat and nothing happens.”

Zidek 9Zidek’s pieces have no soft solder, plumbers solder, epoxies, glues or other materials that will fail over time. The work basically becomes one piece and is permanent. His pieces are made from hollow tubing, which makes them very lightweight and easy to install. He uses a museum brown bronze chemical patina for color. The metal is then clear coated with enamel and heat treated. A large piece may weigh as little as twenty pounds.

Zidek is also experimenting with floor, pedestal, lighting, water features and wind sculptures.

A Professional Level Member of the International Sculpture Center, Zidek 8Zidek periodically exhibits in International Art Expo New York. John was born and raised in Franklin, New Jersey. His father, John Zidek Sr., was first generation American, his family having come from Czechoslovakia. His mother, Edna, is a Daughter of the American Revolution. For more information about John Zidek and his art, please telephone The Artists’ Gallery at 239-596-5099 or visit http://www.theartistsgallery.us/.

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Naples fine art photographer heads list of artists participating in this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show (11-18-15)

unnamedThe Estero Fine Art Show™ takes place at Miromar Outlet Mall on November 21 & 22. Among the artists that this juried show will feature is Naples fine art photographer Jack Megela.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Megela studied Criminal Justice at Lorain County Community College while working as a State Trooper with the Megela 03Ohio Highway Patrol. Later, he attended Kent State University and while working as a Detective Sergeant with the Canton, Ohio Sheriff’s Department, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement Administration.  Having extensive training in all aspects of photography from camera Megela 01work to darkroom developing and printing, he put his skills to work during his daily regiment in everything from traffic fatalities to major crime scenes of all types, including numerous homicide investigations.

After retiring from law enforcement, Jack Megela returned to Kent State University to pursue a Megela 05curriculum in Art and Fine Art Photography. He then travelled the United States by recreational vehicle, visiting all 49 land bound states before he and his wife, Marianne, settled in Naples near the edge of the Fakahatchee Strand and The Big Cypress National Preserve.

Megela now spends many hours each week photographing in the Florida Everglades and on the beaches in the Gulf of Mexico, where he directs his photographic experience toward nature and landmarks in and around the City Of Naples. “It has been a long road from investigating, documenting and photographing human tragedy as a law enforcement officer to photographing in the quiet magnificence of nature,” Jack shares. “It’s been a transition from a world of violence, chaos and Megela 06tragedy to a world of peace and tranquility, a world that makes sense.  Art makes sense, embracing us as it gives us refuge from catastrophe and despair.”

Over the past 20-plus years, Megela has participated in hundreds of juried outdoor art shows and exhibitions at venues throughout the United States. He has received more than 45 awards for his photographs and his work is held in numerous corporate and private collections all over the world. In addition to the Artists’ Gallery, you can see his work this weekend at the Estero Fine Art Show in the Miromar Design Center. The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. each day. In addition to fine art, there is great food and free live entertainment from world-class favorites. For more information, please click here.

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Hot Works announces winners of adult Awards of Excellence for 15th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show (11-19-14)

leah gilletteThe 14th Bi-annual Estero Fine Art Show™ was held on November 15 & 16, 2014 at Miromar Outlet Mall. This fine art and fine craft fair was juried by art professionals with a combined 140 years experience in art education and/or art fairs. All forms of discipline were showcased and for sale including paintings, sculpture, clay, glass, wood, fiber, jewelry, photography, and more.

Sponsored by Hot Works, LLC and the Institute for the Arts & Education, Inc. (an associated 501(c )(3) organization that focuses on visual arts, diversity, fostering art education among young students and community enrichment), juror Les Slesnick of Orlando selected the winners of $1,500 in Professional Artist ray cannataAwards. A retired photographer who has participated in art shows for more than 35 years of participating in art shows, Slesnick has himself won top international awards as well as several awards from the top art fairs in the country.

In addition to the wealth of knowledge and experience he possesses, Slesnick employs a judging system that requires him to spend the same amount of time in each artist’s booth. His judging criteria is based on technique/execution, originality, and booth appearance.

2014 Estero Fine Art Show™ Professional Artist winners were:

svetlana kuznetsTwo $500 Purchase Awards/Juror’s Award of Excellence

  • Marvin “Murf” Murphy, Painting, Weston, FL
  • Leah Gillette, Mixed Media, Largo, FL (top right)

Five $100 Awards of Excellence

  • Ray Cannata, Wood, Spring Hill, FL (second photo)
  • Svetlana Kuznets, Fiber, Cape Coral, FL (third photo)
  • Mauro Pozzobonelli, Sculpture, Loxahatchee, FL (fourth photo)
  • Ted Striewski, Jewelry, Fort Pierce, FL
  • Charles Taube, Wood, Phoenix, AZ

Five Awards of Distinction

  • mauro pozzobonnoGeorge Bragg, Metal, Panama City Beach, FL
  • Jodi Crespi, Jewelry, Plantation, FL
  • Daryl Harwood, Mixed Media, Panama City Beach, FL
  • Jim Holehouse, Watercolor, Winter Garden, FL
  • Bill Sargent, Photography, Lakeland, FL

Following selection of the winners, a “Prize Patrol” team that included Slesnick, Hot Works Executive Director Patty Narozny and Editor of Jewish Federation and L’Chayim’s Ted Epstein visited each winning artist at his or her booth to present them with a two-foot ribbon for diplay in their booth the rest of the art fair. All winners are juried in and accepted for the 16th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show™ on November 14 & 15, 2015

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Hot Works announces winners of Estero Fine Art youth competition (11-17-14)

Madison White Best of Youth 02The 14th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show™ was held last weekend at the Miromar Outlet Mall. Juried by art professionals having more than 30 years’ experience, the Estero Fine Art Show was a feast for the eyes. All work was original and personally handmade by the artists participating in the show. Included and showcased for sale were paintings, sculpture, clay, glass, wood, fiber, jewelry, photography, and more.

“As part of our commitment to include art education in the Estero Fine Art Show™ and the southwest Florida community as a whole, a youth art Isabella Burnham, painting 01competition for grades K-8 or ages 5-14 was integrated into the event,” notes Festival Director Patty Narozny. “The competition gave budding, young artists in Southwest Florida a golden opportunity to begin learning the rules of being part of a professional art show and exhibition.” As school art programs around the country are being curtailed or defunded completely, the need for such initiatives is more relevant than ever before.

In addition to the thrill of having their art displayed in a prime location at the festival, participating young artists Evan Goldhagen 01had the chance to meet and talk with professional artists, ask them what it’s like to participate as a professional artist in art festivals around the nation, have their work judged and win cash awards. The winners were announced by Narozny and sponsor Monkey Bars Storage during a well-attended ceremony at 3:00 p.m. on the festival’s final day:

  • $100 Best of Youth Art:  Madison White (age 8)(top photo).
  • $50  Youth Art Award of Excellence: Isabella Burnham, Painting First Baptist Academy (age 14)(second photo)
  • $50  Youth Art Award of Excellence: Evan Goldhagen, glass (age 11)(third photo)
  • Nico Tirollo, drawing 03$50  Youth Art Award of Excellence: Justin McCann, mixed media (age 8)

In addition, Miromar Outlets added five $20 gift certificates as prizes, which were awarded to Nalin Isme, 6, other; Elizabeth Defrance, 12, painting; Nico Tirello, 8, drawing; Alexis Jade Moore, 5, sculpture; and Savannah Zettler, 13, painting.

Burnham and Isme are repeat award-winners. Burnham took Best of Show honors at last Savannah Zettler, painting 03November’s Estero Fine Art Show, with Isme, who attends Pinewoods Elementary, receiving a $50 Youth Art Award of Excellence in painting.

Organizer Hot Works LLC returns to Estero on January 3 and 4, 2015 for the 15th Bi-Annual Estero Fine Art Show. The festival will be held, however, across the street at the Miromar Design Center. “We’ve outgrown the space available to us here,” Narozny explains. Another youth competition will be part of the show. The deadline for youth art entries is December 1, 2014. A youth art application may be obtained online at www.hotworks.org. Please mail applications to P.O. Box 1425, Sarasota, FL 34230. There is a Proud Sponsor Looks On 2$3 entry fee and students are limited to a maximum of two entries.

Monkey Bars Garage Storage in Fort Myers is a great way to create an organized garage that meets all of your needs. Featuring a patented bar and hook system, Monkey Bars Storage offers an organization system that makes it easy to access your items and uses your entire wall space to keep your items organized. Completely adjustable and customizable, their system provides the best garage organization Fort Myers has ever seen. For more information Award Presentation 02or location, please contact Steve at 239-603-6480 or by email at info@garagesolutionsfortmyers.com.

For more information about the Estero Fine Art Show or youth art competition, please telephone Festival Director Patty Narozny at 941-755-3088 or visit www.HotWorks.org.

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Beautiful weather and enthusiastic crowds greet Estero Fine Art Festival (11-15-14)

Crowd Shot 01Luxuriating in moderate temperatures and bountiful sunshine, Day One of the Estero Fine Art Show is in the books. This top-notch fine art & craft event brings to Estero, Florida new original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working and carvings, fiber art and art jewelry from the ateliers, studios and workshops of some 120 local and Viewers 01internationally-acclaimed artists. All are present throughout the two-day event and eager to answer questions about their work and inspiration. Organized by Hot Works LLC, the show does an exemplary job of jurying in new blood so that festival-goers will have the chance to see and buy work from artists they won’t find anywhere else. As a point in fact, only two of last year’s category winners are in this November’s show!

The festival is set up in the southeast parking lot of the Miromar Outlet Mall, which is located across a small man-made lake from Germain Arena, home to the Florida Kimberly Marshall 07Everblades hockey team. In addition to richly landscaped covered walkways throughout the mall, Miromar boasts a number of exquisite fountains. The one located in the hub fronted by Gap and Oakley is patterned after the Fontana della Tartarughe (Fountain of the Tortoises) in Piazza Mattei on Via Dei Funia in Rome, Italy. The Crowd Shot 06original was built between 1581 and 1588 by Giacomo della Porta with bronze figures by Taddeo Landini (1550-1596). The original concept was that of male figures riding dolphins (thus the fountain’s first name, Fountain of the Dolphins). But when the fountain was restored in 1659 at the request of Pope Alexander VII, the dolphins were replaced with male figures pushing tortoises toward the upper basin (and the fountain became known as Crowd Shot 07the Fountain of the Tortoises). The Miromar Outlet Mall is located at 10801 Corkscrew Road, Estero, FL 33928-9436.

The festival returns on January 3 and 4, but shifts location across Corkscrew Ave. to the Miromar Design Center. But the current fest still has another day of fun and art in the sun. The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 16.

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Sculptural paintings of Bonita artist Kimberly Marshall on display at Estero Fine Art Show (11-14-14)

kimThe Estero Fine Art Show™ takes place at Miromar Outlet Mall on November 15 & 16. Among the artists that this juried show will feature is Kimberly Marshall, an internationally-renowned Bonita Springs artist who has won several awards for her creative talents in painting and mixed medium. Though her subject matter is vast, some of Kimberly’s favorite subjects are flowers, seascapes and landscapes. Her paintings inspire simple beauty, serenity, and joy. Her motifs are inspired by nature, her travels and photography.

Kimberly Marshall 04“I currently specialize in impasto painting with acrylics and oils painted with a palette knife on canvas,” says Kimberly, who graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in Toronto, Canada. “I refer to my style as sculpting in paint.” She painstakingly combines up to 50 layers of acrylics and oils in a single painting, emphasizing different impasto textures to produce a 3-dimensional, sculptural effect on canvas that makes her flowers, fields, landscapes and seascapes really come alive. In fact, Kimberly Marshall 06if you’ve ever wondered what a van Gogh sunflower painting, floral composition or water lilies would look like with 3-D glasses, then you’ll revel in Marshall’s luminous homages.

“By combining several techniques together, I can expound on my creativity and allow my art to flow like the textures which surround our world,” Kimberly expounds. Of course, her approach comes at a cost. “I’ve had to drastically reduce the Kimberly Marshall 07number of shows at which I can exhibit,” the artist points out. It takes an mindboggling amount of time to engraft layer upon layer of paint to build an impasto that juts as much as a half inch off the surface of the canvas. As a consequence, Kimberly finds it necessary to spend more time in the studio and less time on the festival circuit, appearing in Viewers 02only 14 or 15 each year instead of the nearly three dozen festivals that once monopolized her busy schedule.

But that’s fine with the artist, who feels a consuming need to create. “My art is an expression of my passion and love for life and all its gifts and amazing beauty,” she acknowledges. Kimberly Marshall is located in Bonita Springs, Florida, and sells her original paintings at juried fine art shows and exhibitions nationwide.

The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. each day. In addition to fine art, there is great food and free live entertainment from world-class favorites. For more information, please click here.

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Florida artist Sandra Brewster to display works in glass at this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show (11-13-14)

Sandra Brewster GlassThe Estero Fine Art Show™ takes place at Miromar Outlet Mall on November 15 & 16. Among the artists that this juried show will feature is Sandra Brewster, a self-taught glass artist who has been creating works in both clear and colored glass for more than 20 years. Sandra uses a unique technique for frosting and etching. Translating her original drawings with intricate knife carving as well as stage-carving, or sandblasting, she has also mastered the technique of carving silhouettes in all depths of glass. From free-standing sculptures to brewster 1architectural wall installations, her unusual pieces fire the imagination of the beholder.

The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. each day. In addition to fine art, there is great food and free live entertainment from world-class favorites. For more information, please click here.

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Patchouli to entertain at this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show at Miromar Outlet Mall (11-12-14)

Estero Fine Art Show Patchouli 2Award-winning songwriter Julie Patchouli and master guitarist Bruce Hecksel are bringing their powerful musical chemistry to the Estero Fine Art Show this weekend. The duo will be one of two acts providing entertainment during the two-day event, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, November 15 and 16, at the Miromar Outlet Mall.

Patchouily Entertains 08Patchouli represents the very top echelon of today’s acoustic performers, bringing the highest level of skill together with passion, experience and joy. Famous for that smiling voice that instantly turns a bad day into a good one, Patchouli’s down-to-earth, hopeful songwriting is “New American Folk,” blending elements of folk, pop, flamenco and jazz with world beat rhythms. In fact, some describe the tandem’s sound as “the harmonies of Patchouily Entertains 03 (3)Simon & Garfunkel meet the guitar brilliance of the Gipsy Kings.”

Fifteen years of non-stop touring has honed this classically trained duo into legendary performers. Dubbed “the hardest working folk duo in America,” the duo is as busy in the studio as they are on the road, with 15 CDs to their credit. Of these, 12 feature their very own brand of original Patchoulimodern folk music, with 4 CDs, under the name Terra Guitarra, showcasing their all instrumental Spanish-style guitar project, including a holiday music CD titled Winter Solstice.

In addition to Patchouli, the Estero Fine Art Show will feature 130 world-renowned and top-notch local artists in all disciplines, including painting, photography, jewelry, glass, fiber, sculpture, wood, clay and Logomore. All work is original, and many of the artists, the Estero Fine Art Show is their only Florida festival.

The Estero Fine Art Show is open both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is free admission and free parking. The show is held outdoors at Miromar Outlet Mall, located in Estero off I-75 and exit #123, Corkscrew Road. The art fair is sponsored by Hot Works Fine Art Shows and produced by Executive Director Patty Narozny. Hot Works’ flagship show, the Orchard Lake Fine Art Show® held in West Bloomfield, Michigan, has been voted in the top 100 art shows in the country the last seven years in a row. Hot Works and Narozny strive to bring the same quality and professionalism to Southwest Florida.

For more information about the event, please logon to www.HotWorks.org, call 941-755-3088 or email Patty Narozny at Patty@HotWorks.org.

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Naples artist Edward Park heads list of notable locals exhibiting at this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show (11-10-14)

Edward Park 01The Estero Fine Art Show™ takes place at Miromar Outlet Mall on November 15 & 16. Among the artists that this juried show will feature is Naples artist Edward Park.

It is difficult enough to master one genre, but Park is accomplished in three. Take a jaunt around his booth this weekend and you will quickly find that he is equally adept at impressionism, realism and abstract art.

Edward Park 03A graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design who also studied at the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art in France, Park has been painting for half a century. Today, he is acclaimed internationally for brilliant color combinations and remarkable palette knife technique. Nowhere is that more evident than in his fall scenes, where he engrafts layer upon layer of oil on top of his linen support to fashion dazzling, dappled forest scenes in yellows, orange and red.

Park groups his paintings into several series: American landscapes, European scenery, modern impressionism, his road series and his Garden of Eden. “But my most popular paintings are my rowboats,” notes the artist. “They instill calm and serenity,” he explains with the Edward Park 02aura of a master in Zen or transcendental meditation. Without outboard motors, rudders or oars, they encourage viewers to reflect on the source of their own inner peace and direction.

Park operates out of his 2,000 square-foot studio and gallery at 1719 Trade Center Way in Naples. “I Having a Seathave been at Naples Fine Arts Studio and Gallery for 18 years,” he notes proudly of his stability and longevity in the notoriously volatile art market. His is a career decorated by an extensive list of awards, commissions and other honorariums.

If you haven’t experienced Park’s works, you can view them at Naples Fine Arts Studio and Gallery Logoor this weekend’s Estero Fine Art Show at the Miromar Outlet Mall. Other local artists participating in the tw0-day show are painter Julie Carlson of Bonita Springs, fine art photographer Dick Cunningham of Bonita Springs, Naples fine art photographer Michael Evanick, Lehigh Acres painter Mario Gonzalez, Cape Coral artist Yongqun Guo, Fort Myers painter Fred Gutknecht, Cape Coral fiber artist Svetlana Kuznets, Estero jeweler Jay Lensink, Naples painter Belisario N. Manrique, Bonita Springs painter Kimberly Marshall, Naples photographer Jack Megela, Naples fiber artist Diane Moss, Fort Myers jeweler Anisa Stewart, Naples jewelers Valerie Thomas & Dana Shirley, and Fort Myers sculptors John & Donna Zidek.

The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. each day. In addition to fine art, there is great food and free live entertainment from world-class favorites. For more information, please click here.

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Important information for artists participating in the Estero Fine Art Show (10-03-14)

Sun Dappled Day 4Hot Works LLC has posted the following important information for artists participating in the Estero Fine Art Show on November 15 and 16:

Contact Info

  • Patty Narozny, Executive Director
  • P.O. Box 1425, Sarasota, FL 34230 (winter address)
  • Estero October 2012 A (2)P.O. Box 79, Milford, MI 48381-0079 (summer address)
  • Office #941-755-3088 (FL) or #248-684-2613 (MI) or Cell #248-762-2462
  • Email: Patty@HotWorks.org Website: www.HotWorks.org

Event Address

  • Entrance 1Miromar Outlets, 10801 Corkscrew Road, Estero, FL 33928
  • Event location is southeast corner of the mall, corner of Corkscrew and Ben Hill Griffin Roads

Event Dates & Times

  • Saturday, November 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Estero October 2012 BSunday, November 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Set Up & Tear Down

  • Thursday, November 13, event marking (there is no overnight security on Thursday evening)
  • Friday, November 14
    • check in begins at 8:30 a.m.
    • all set up must be complete by 6 p.m. unless other arrangements have been made for after-hours set up
    • there is event security on Friday & Saturday evenings
  • Estero October 2012 CSaturday, November 15, final set up 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. (please, all vehicles must be out by 9 a.m.)
  • Sunday, November 16
    • tear down begins at 5 p.m.
    • vehicles permitted only patrons have left the show
    • tear down must be completed and everything moved out by 9 p.m.

Directions

Estero October 2012 DFrom North or South: Take I-75 to Exit #123, Corkscrew Road. Head east on Corkscrew Road; Miromar Outlets will be on the north side of Corkscrew Road, just past the I-75 viaduct. The mall is located at the northeast side of I-75; the event is located at the southeast side of the mall.

Parking

There is plenty of parking during the event and for overnight parking on site at the mall. We can accommodate any size vehicle. Please park your Estero October 2012 Evehicle on the northwest side of Miromar Outlets, in the back near I-75 and the lake. We are asking artists to park farthest away from the event site located on the southeast corner of the mall in order to leave premium parking for patrons. Please bring a bicycle, a scooter, skateboard, or other form of transportation, otherwise it is a good Sun Dappled Day 2morning walk. The exception is artists with a handicap sticker may park closer to event site, as long as the handicap sticker is displayed in the front window. Miromar Outlets will tow artists that are parked in areas not designated for artist parking.

Post Cards

Scanlan Windows of the WorldPost Cards are available for distribution. It would be greatly appreciated if you could leave the post cards in a visible/public area or distribute them in any other way. If you mail them, please add $.33 postage stamp over the non-profit insignia printed on the postcard; the insignia is valid only for bulk mailings. Additional post cards and posters are available upon request.

Flooring

Black PorscheThe flooring is pavement; it is recommended that you bring flooring for your booth. Flooring provides a nicer booth presentation, and sometimes offers relief to customers’ feet who may linger in your booth longer because of the comfort of flooring.

Sales Tax

Browser at Pelletier SculptorEstero sales tax is 6%. Forms are available online at www.MyFlorida.com/dor/forms. Sales and Use Tax Return information can be found at http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/sales_tax.html . Please call Florida Dept of Revenue at 239-338-2400 in Fort Myers or 800-352-3671 in the State of Florida for more info.

Security

Security will be on site during overnight hours of the event, which includes overnight security for Friday and Saturday evening. Security is licensed, bonded and insured. During the daytime, there is roaming mall security. Please report any security issues to event management.

Event Badges

Estero Fine Art Show 2014 AIt is recommended that event badges are worn only at the event during event hours. Do not publicize that you are working an event; please remove badges upon departure of show.

Tents

All tents must be properly weighted or barreled down, with a minimum of 60 pounds of weight on each corner. The event is on pavement, therefore no stakes are permitted! Please be prepared to handle any bad weather that may occur, whether it Umbrella Symmetry 2be rain, high winds, etc. You may use the parking block behind your tent as additional weight for your tent. If you do, you will need to bring heavy straps. The parking block can be lifted with two people, but please if you use it, return it in the same place that you found it. Event cannot be responsible for tents blown away and any damage that it causes to your own booth, or anyone else’s booth. Hot Works™ will inspect booths on site to ensure rules and standards are adhered. The umbrella-type, pop-up canopy by any manufacturer or distributor are not recommended, as they are the first to come down on a windy day. If you Rainy Day Art 2must use the umbrella-type expandable pop up tent, as with all tents, a minimum of 60 pounds of weight on each corner is required. In addition, if there is rain, sometimes the rain can collapse a canopy tent. Rain is heavy, and if there is enough puddling on the roof, the rain collapses the canopy. Bolstering the inside corners will make the Umbrellas 10canvas tighter and avoids ponding on top on the tent. It is the weight of the ponding of the water that collapses the tent frame. Swim noodles or hula hoops (you can purchase these from the $1 store) placed in corners between the frame and canvas top can avoid ponding. At night, canopy tents must be lowered to withstand bad weather that may occur unexpectedly overnight. Please advise if you use an umbrella-type pop-up canopy. If you prefer to rent a commercial tent with side flaps, please check with event for tent rental.

Hotel

  • Hampton Inn & Suites – $79 Single or Double
  • 10611 Chevrolet Way, Estero, FL 33928
  • Click to reserve: http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/groups/personalized/F/FMYETHX-MAS-20141112/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG
  • Eva Maria Brito Acevedo 04All rooms include continental breakfast, wireless internet service, outside heated pool, fitness center, free parking & can accommodate large vehicles.
  • Includes shuttle to/from Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.
  • You may find better hotel rates by going through an online service such as priceline.com or kayak.com.

RV Camp

  • Koreshan State Historic Site – Reserve Early!
  • 3800 Corkscrew Road, Estero, FL 33928
  • Reservations: 800-326-3521 or www.ReserveAmerica.com Telephone: 239-992-0311

Cartoon BoothBanners

For sponsors, arrangements will be made to get banners in advance. Unless indicated in the contract, banners are to be provided by sponsor/vendor/artist and returned to your company following the event. Estero Fine Art Show cannot be responsible for sign damage as a result of “Mother Nature”.

Emergency

In case of emergency due to weather conditions, please take building cover.

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Artists have until September 15 to apply for admission into January, 2015 Estero Fine Art Show (08-13-14)

Estero15 EHot Works LLC is now accepting artist applications for its Estero Fine Art Show in January, which will be held for the first time at the Miromar Design Center on Corkscrew Road across the street from the south entrance into the Miromar Outlet Mall. Interested artists may also apply for inclusion in the 6th Annual Boca Raton Fine Art Show on Federal Highway (U.S. Hwy. 1) in downtown Boca Raton on January 24 & 25, 2015, which Hot Works also organizes each year.

Hot Works only accepts original work. All categories are currently open for both events, but each show is limited to 175 artists. If you wish to apply for admission to either or both of these shows, you Sun Dappled Day 3will need to send Hot Works three images of your most compelling work along with one showing your booth presentation. Then, a group of art professionals (that include gallery owners, directors and curators, and artists) will review the applications and images. “We judge based on originality, technique and execution, quality, and More Art 2booth presentation,” observes show director Patty Norozny. Only the finest are admitted into the shows.

While entertainment is provided for the pleasure of attendees, there are no stages or pulsating music. Music is low key and conducive to the viewing and sale of high-end art. Hence, there is never any need for participating artists to shout over music in order to hear or be heard.

Estero October 2012 DThe Boca Raton Fine Art Show was voted #68 in the country by Art Fair SourceBook. Participants in the Estero Fine Art Show also typically enjoy brisk sales. That is partially attributable to the fact that the show draws many fair-goers from neighboring Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf Club. It is the only Florida community ever to win the National Association of Home Builders’ Gold Award for Community of the Year. The 1800 acre residential community features a 700 acre freshwater lake, three miles of private white sandy beach, and Scanlan Windows of the Worldsignature championship golf all within one luxurious setting. The National Gold Award was presented to Miromar Lakes for its excellence and superiority. Miromar Lakes also holds the honor of Best Clubhouse in the United States for its Beach. This truly puts Miromar Lakes in a class of its own, as no other community has ever won both #1 Community and #1 Clubhouse in the United States. “This event brings a great buying audience, Crowd Shot 1people with extremely high average household discretionary income who have large, new secondary homes in the area,” notes Hot Works Executive Director Patty Narozny.

Booth prices at both shows follow:

  • 11’x11’ , $395 / $400
  • booth and a half (11’x16’), $545 / $550
  • double booth (11’x22’), $670 / $675
  • Eva Maria Brito Acevedo 02corner booth, +$75
  • electric, +$75 (must request in advance)

The deadline for the Estero Fine Art Show is September 5, with the deadline for the 6th Annual Boca Raton Fine Art Show being September 25. Please click here to apply via Zapplication.org.

Hot Works™ owner Patty Narozny has more than 30 years’ experience as a successful event and media producer and the know-how to connect artists with art-buying audiences. Hot Works’ 501Black Porsche(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Institute for the Arts & Education, Inc., focuses on visual arts, diversity and community enrichment. Toward this end, live art demonstrations afford numerous opportunities for patrons to witness first-hand the various processes that the artists go through and the techniques they employ in order to create high-quality artworks in their chosen medium.

Please refer all questions and requests for supplemental information to Patty Narozny at 248-684-2613 or 941-755-3088 or by email ti patty@hotworks.org.

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Estero Fine Art Show gives students unmatched art festival experience through its Youth Art Competition (08-12-14)

estero logo 1As part of its commitment to include art education in its fine art shows and enrich the Southwest Florida community as a whole, Hot Works LLC integrates a youth art competition for grades K-8 or ages 5-13 into the Estero Fine Art Show™. Sponsored by Monkey Bars Storage Solutions and the Institute for the Arts & Education, Inc. (the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which is part of the art fair), the competition gives budding, young artists a golden opportunity to begin learning the rules of being part of a professional art show and exhibition. As a bonus, competitors are provided with prime space within the show to display their entries, and $250 in cash awards for the winners.

Participating students are afforded the opportunity to speak with the professional artists in the show and ask them questions about their process, inspiration and what it is like to participate in art maggie boswell drawingfestivals and fairs as a career. “In these ways, our Youth Art Competition provides students with an unmatched learning experience,” states Festival Director Patty Narozny.

Criteria for judging the youth competition is the same as that employed to judge the work of the show’s professional artists: technique/execution and originality. At the January, 2014 show, 13-year-old Maggie Boswell received $100 as the best overall youth competitor, with nine-year-old Alana Hadden of Pinewoods Elementary, 13-year-old Isabella Burnham of First Baptist Academy and twelve-year-old Amy Piper of St. Francis Xavier School receiving $50 Youth Art Awards of Excellence. Five $20 gift certificate bonus prizes were awarded to deserving students as well.

youthawardsYoungsters wishing to participate in the Estero Fine Art Show’s November Youth Art Competition have until October 15 to submit their applications. The deadline for youth artists who wish to participate in the Youth Art Competition for the January show is December 15. Applications are available on the web at www.HotWorks.org. For more information, please contact congratsShow Director Patty Narozny at 941-755-3088 or by email at Patty@HotWorks.org.

The Estero Fine Art Show returns this season for two engagements, the first over the November 15-16 weekend and the second January 3 & 4, 2015. This fine arts and craft show brings to Southwest Florida new original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working and carvings, fiber art and art jewelry from the ateliers, studios and workshops of some 120 local and internationally-acclaimed artists.

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Estero Fine Art Show returning November 15 & 16 and January 3 & 4, 2015 (08-04-14)

More Art 2The Estero Fine Art Show returns this season for two engagements, the first over the November 15-16 weekend and the second January 3 & 4, 2015. This fine arts and craft show brings to Southwest Florida new original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, sculpture, wood working and carvings, fiber art and art jewelry from the ateliers, studios and workshops of some 120 local and internationally-acclaimed artists.

Sun Dappled Day 4The festival is juried, meaning that the artists who make it into the show have to impress a panel of art professionals that include gallery owners, directors and curators, and artists. “We judge based on originality, technique and execution, quality, and booth presentation,” observes show director Patty Norozny. Only the finest are admitted into the shows.

Black PorscheAnd to encourage participating artists to bring their finest work to the show, a second round of judging occurs on site on Saturday. The results are announced on Sunday, with the best artists in each category receiving ribbons, purchase awards and cash prizes. By pre-qualifying each one of the artists who come to this event and recognizing the Browser at Pelletier Sculptorbest with ribbons and awards, Hot Works seeks “to help the general public with making their artwork purchase decisions by [giving them the knowledge] that they are purchasing quality work.”

All the artists are present throughout the two-day event and eager to answer questions about their work and inspiration. Live art demonstrations afford numerous opportunities for patrons to witness first-hand the various processes that the artists’ go through and the techniques they employ in order to create high-quality artworks in their chosen medium. Event hours are 10-4 on both Saturday and Sunday, and both the event and parking are free. In addition to fine art, there is great food and free live entertainment.

Umbrella Symmetry 2New this season, the Estero Fine Art Show will take place at the Miromar Design Center. As Southwest Florida’s premier destination for design professionals and the general public, the Miromar Design Center welcomes visitors to a world of luxury and elegance that is unparalleled in the design industry. Distinctive showrooms present a world-wide collection of the finest furniture and accessories, fabrics, wall coverings, lighting, kitchen and bath products, flooring, art and more. The first floor showrooms are open to the public for direct purchases. The second and third floors cater to designers; however, the Estero Fine Art Show 2014 Apublic is welcome to shop and purchase with the assistance of a designer or with the assistance of the showroom’s staff. Design professionals and consumers will find that the Miromar Design Center provides a uniquely convenient and pleasurable shopping experience, which will afford festival-goers the unique opportunity to consider their art purchases in the larger context of home improvement packages.

And for those art lovers who want to shop for clothes, accessories and boutique items, the Design Umbrellas 3Center is located on the south side of Corkscrew Road, directly across the street from the Miromar Outlet Mall, which has been voted Southwest Florida’s “Best Factory Outlet Shopping Center” 16 years in a row. With eateries such as All American Grill, Bon Appetit French Bistro, La Bamba Mexican Restaurant, Luna Rossa Italian Grille and Waterside Seafood and Grille (left), Miromar Outlet Mall offers something for every discerning palette.

Eva Maria Brito Acevedo 04The Estero shows are produced by Hot Works, LLC, which also runs the award-winning Orchard Lake Fine Art Show in Michigan. In order to achieve a high-quality fine art and craft show, the Hot Works team travels continuously around the U.S. and Canada visiting art shows and recruiting the very best artists for Hot Works events.

In addition to 25 years of media and event experience, Festival Director Patty Narozny has a corporate finance degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Currently, Patty produces high-quality, juried fine art & craft events in not only in Florida, but Michigan and North Carolina. Narozny is the founder of Hot Works Fine Art & Craft Shows.

For more information, please visit http://www.hotworks.org/esterofineartshow/  or telephone 941-755-3088.

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