A Tribute to Elizabeth Kaufmann by Kathy McElhinny

Our beloved Elizabeth Kaufmann passed away last night (5/25) from cancer. I can't tell you how hard it is to write that sentence. She truly LIVED. Her beautiful soul lit up every room she entered and we would joke about how she was always surrounded by people at parties. You just wanted to be with her. Her artwork! Her amazing artwork filled with hidden images and fantasy landscapes with bright colors and such detail! Her art at the Christmas gift exchanges was so coveted..that really tickled her. Elizabeth and her fellow artist husband Dave are a big reason that there IS a Gallery part of Strawbridge Art League. Their commitment to be one of our "Gallery founding fathers" helped get us out of the Henegar and on our own feet. They have supported us ever since. I hope we continue to make you proud, Elizabeth. You are so loved and will be sorely missed 

Spotlight on Sheri Hughes

For those of you who haven't heard, I'm so sorry to inform you that Sheri Hughes passed away last night. The world has lost a great artist and a wonderful person. Her art will live on and will remind us all of her giving nature and her love of wildlife.
 
Sheri won many awards throughout the country for her wildlife paintings. She photographed wildlife for many years then used those photographs as inspiration for her beautiful paintings. Her devotion to wildlife was evident in every painting.  

She will be greatly missed. We offer comfort to her family and friends.

Spotlight is on Lori Knerick

Spotlight: Lori Knerick

Who: Bio from Lori

I feel lucky - growing up in NYC - we were exposed to art at an early age through neighborhood revitalization programs.  As children we painted murals on playground statues, sidewalks and barrels. And took walking tours of the city with cameras - then came back to free classrooms and learned how to develop them.  In college, I took many art classes but majored in cultural anthropology where I also studied museum exhibit display. This gave me my interest in primitive art - and my first serious exploration in art was in clay. 

What medium do you prefer and why?

These days I like mixed media, clay and altered photography. I still like clay because it is so tactile- and have recently begun to do clay works after a long while.

What inspires or motivates you to create your art and what does your art mean to you?

I like to capture things with my art - but make it into what I feel it should look like - not what it does look like.

What makes your art unique?

 
I first did altered photography before there were so many apps around that everyone began to use. I would spend many hours and days on one piece working on it and changing it.  Those are still some of my favorite pieces. I feel my art takes me along. I usually start out with an idea, but along the way it almost always takes me in different directions as we move along together

 Please stop by the Strawbridge Art Leauge and Gallery to see more of Lori Knerick's work. The gallery is located at 819-2 Strawbridge Avenue; Melbourne, Florida.

Haley Luttrell will demo paper sculpture at theStrawbridge Art League General Meeting

 On Tuesday, January 17th, starting at 6:00 pm

at the SAL Gallery, Haley Luttrell will demonstrate paper sculpture at the general membership meeting...

 

Haley says, “Paper sculpture has become very popular in the last few years. The availability of printed and textured papers in the scrapbook section of art and craft stores has transformed the medium and made it more accessible. You can use it for simple greeting cards, pop-up cards, ornaments, illustrations, artwork or combine it with collage or multi-media to add texture and raised or 3-d effects.

 

She will demo ideas on manipulating paper as well as the ultimate shortcut for turning a photo into collage/paper sculpture without cutting up your original photocopy or sketch.”

 

You won't want to miss this demo.... Come to the Strawbridge Art League and Gallery at 6pm on Tuesday, January 17, 2017. The gallery is located at 819-2 Strawbridge Avenue; Historic Downtown Melbourne. 

Coming up in January

Just to give you a little head start on January.  Here's a brief list of what's happening early in the month...

Sunday, the 1st—Happy New Year!!

Monday, the 9th—SAL Board Meeting 6:30 at the Gallery

Monday, the 9th—Take-in for “Anything Goes” 2-4 & 6-9 pm at the Gallery 

Friday, the 13th—Friday Fest & Reception for “Anything Goes” exhibit 6 - 9 pm 

Tuesday, the 17th—General Membership Meeting 6 pm at the Gallery 

Details on these events after the new year..... Have a Happy and Safe New Year's Eve

Spotlight: Susan Carden Flicker

Who?  Susan Carden Flicker: Bio

 My first memory of myself drawing on an easel was in Kindergarten. I took art classes in grammar school and continued taking them from high school to college. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration from Paier College of Art, I was employed as a graphic designer with the former Ames Department Stores for 16 years. When Ames folded, I returned to painting full time and now show my art in 3 art galleries - Strawbridge Art League and Gallery, Melbourne; Art Gallery of Viera, Viera; and the Connecticut River Artisans in Essex, CT. 

Memberships:

Essex Art Association (Elected Artist), CT

Lyme Art Association (Associate Artist), CT

Art Gallery of Viera, FL

Brevard Cultural Alliance, FL

Brevard Watercolor Society, FL

Strawbridge Art League, FL

Florida Watercolor Society, FL

What medium do you prefer and why?

I prefer watercolor and acrylics. Watercolor has the ability to be spontaneous and I can get vibrant and wild or moody with colors. I like acrylics as well for their vibrancy of colors and they both dry faster than oils.

 What inspires or motivates you to create your art and what does your art mean to you?

I am doubly hearing impaired since birth, and because of that, I am visually more attuned to my surroundings. I like to paint or draw my impressions of what I see and feel into my landscapes and seascapes. I also have a very fond memory of a painting by Maxfield Parrish hanging in my grandmother's home which fascinated and impressed me at a young age. Later, I felt inspired by Norman Rockwell and Aubrey Beardsley. 

I often take my journal/sketchbook and camera on my travels to draw and paint my impressions of the scene unfolding before me. From there, larger paintings can evolve. 

What does my art mean to me? It allows me to express my feelings and emotions to the viewer, whereas I stumble over my words due to my disability. 

What makes your art unique?

I can paint from very tiny (2"x2") to larger works of art. I work on a minuscule scale by creating landscapes, flora, and fauna on miniature canvas paintings which are displayed on miniature easels in all 3 of my galleries. Many people have told me that my art looks like photographs because they have so much detail. 

My fondness for animals, domestic and wild, allows me to paint their personalities into their portraits to the pet owner's delight. 

As an avid birdwatcher, the birds that visit my little pond give me joy and inspiration to paint with my soul.

 Be sure to stop by the Strawbridge Art League and Gallery at 819-2 East Strawbridge Avenue, Melbourne, Florida to see more of Susan's work.

Spotlight on Kelli Coats

 

Shadowy Blue Sea Turtle

 Who?  Kelli Coats: Bio

 For as long as I can remember, I would draw, for hours on end. I would draw everyday genres that appealed to me at that young age. Throughout middle and high school, I took every Art elective possible. After high school, I earned my AA in Art from Eastern Florida State College (then known as Brevard Community College). Nancy Dillen was my college instructor and her teachings left a lasting impression with me throughout my life. Despite my then desire and intention on becoming an artist, I settled for a daily career and my artistic endeavors took a back seat.

It was about 6 years ago that I earned my MA in Art Education and began teaching ceramics at a local high school. Teaching ceramics reignited my passion for creating art. In doing so, I finally found the courage to call myself an artist. I also created online pages (Etsy, Facebook and Pinterest, etc.) to sell my artwork. In this rediscovery, I also joined the Strawbridge Art League, where my art is also on display.  

What medium do you prefer and why?

I currently prefer clay as my medium. This is likely due to my teaching it as a subject matter with the materials are readily available. Drawing (graphite) is also my medium of preference, when time permits.

 What inspires or motivates you to create your art and what does your art mean to you?

Overall, it is an intrinsic desire that inspires me to create. However, my students are also a source of inspiration – teaching often provides a reciprocal exchange of energy that is contagious in the creative realm of living. My fellow art teachers and art league friends are also inspiring – through their encouragement and ideas and art talk I have found the courage to create art I enjoy creating.

To me, my art means I am in alignment with my creative passions. My creative interest has primarily existed within the spooky or Gothic genre, yet I changed course and fell into production art for the hope and sake of selling it. I have since struck a happy medium and have placed my own artistic desires in the forefront. This makes me a much happier artist! 

What makes your art unique?

I think my art is unique because I create spooky art year round – not just at Halloween. I sometimes, I try to reveal the allure of dark art with unexpected subject matter. For example, my hand sculpted ceramic sea turtles - I utilize a black glaze under a sheer color overlay) giving them a shadowy appearance.  

See No Evil

 Be sure to stop by the Strawbridge Art League and Gallery at 819-2 East Strawbridge Avenue, Melbourne, Florida to see more of Kelli's work.

General Membership Meeting on Tuesday November 15.... Presentation by Dove Yepes

Don't miss the General Membership Meeting at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, November 15, 2016. The meeting is at the Strawbridge Art League and Gallery at 819-2 East Strawbridge Avenue in Historic Downtown Melbourne.

Dove Yepes will be showing the group her interesting relief on canvas.  

She is a native Floridian who has had a life long love for art and art history. She has been creating multi-medium art all her life and believes that art has no rules or boundaries. She studied art history and reluctantly graphic design at the University of Central Florida, and has gone on to start her own business, Dove Designs Art, Inc. where she teaches painting classes and paints murals along with showing her own work. 

Her latest obsession has been experimenting with sculpting on canvas which brings paintings to life!