Arts Updates, Interviews, Calendar, Calls for Artists and Volunteers, Auditions --- It's All Here in Arts Blast, Arts Blast on the Air, and on Facebook.

Supporting The Arts & Arts Councils Everywhere

Volume 4 No. 38 | October 21, 2022

Notes from the Editor:


Last week I mentioned a major plumbing problem. Today, almost two weeks after it began, it continues.

This week, I've graduated from plumbers and leak finders to the county team, outside now with a fleet of big trucks and machinery. Dare I hope?


And last week I included a link to St. John webcams. It got a ton of click throughs, so I think I'll just keep it here. Here's the link. Yes, it really is that gorgeous.

Arts Blast alternates with On the Arts Blast Calendar with extra Arts Blasts as needed.


Click to Subscribe to Arts Blast

Arts Blast on the Air with Willi Miller

This week's Arts Blast on the Air:  Oct. 20, 2022 - Sara Bliss, associate director of the National Museum of American Illustration ... and Indian River County Tax Collector Carole Jean Jordan and Chris Sexton discuss the Kids Tag Art program in Indian River County. Listen to or download the podcast now or listen on the radio — 101.7FM ON THE TREASURE COAST —Sunday evening at 7.


Note: Arts Blast on the Air podcast is now uploaded to more sites — SpreakerSpotifyiHeartRadioDeezerPodcast AddictPodchaser; and JioSaavn — and there's even an Alexa skill! "Alexa, play the latest Arts Blast on the Air with Willi Miller."

Bookmark On the Calendar at WilliMiller.com for frequent updates. Calls for Artists, Auditions, & Volunteers are now onlineCatch up with events at Willi Miller's Arts Blast on Facebook and pick up some laughs and interesting info on the Willi Miller's Arts Blast Extras page. And now there's a Facebook AND an Alexa Arts Blast on the Air!

In This Issue

FEATURES


CCIRC call for artists

Vero Beach Art Club Junior Membership

West Coast Update

Rockwell and Leyendecker at the Elliott

Garden Club of IRC Christmas Ornament

Bonsai at Longwood

Vero Beach Museum of Art’s Museums for All

Plant a Free Tree, Enter a Contest

Lunch and Chamber Music in Stuart

Happening in Brevard County

AmericanSongbook with Dick Golden

Galleries at First Pres

Tidbits

Sights & Sounds, Friday Fest, Ghosts!

Lighthouse ArtCenter’ D’Art for Art

Weekend Changes at Riverside

Martin Arts Awards

A.C.T. Studio Theatre

Treasure Coast Ballet

I’m Still Standing

VB Choral Society

Pineapple Party

Concert Under the Stars at Bok Tower

       ... and more!

If you're reading this on October 21 before 5:30, you're between 11 and 17 years of age, and you're a budding artist, get over to the Vero Beach Art Club Gallery & Marketplace at 1903 14th Avenue in Vero Beach for the monthly meeting of the Junior Vero Beach Art Club. Missed it? Catch one the third Thursday of the month (except January). 

It's here! The 2022 Garden Club of Indian River County Christmas Ornament

Check the website for the list of vendors.

Cultural Council of Indian River County

Last Call for Members' Entries


Food, Glorious Food! is the theme and we're looking to you to whet our appetite with your creative interpretation of edible fare.

Please submit up to seven (7) images to Elise@Cultural-Council.org by the submission deadline, Monday October 24. Include Title, Medium, Dimensions and Price. Download the spec sheet.


Location: Intergenerational Recreation Center

Exhibit Title: Food, Glorious Food!

Call Date: September 21, 2022

Submission Deadline: Monday, October 24, 2022

Notification of Selection: Thursday, October 27

Delivery Date and Time: Wednesday, November 2, 11 am to 12 noon

Exhibit Dates: November 2 to February 3, 2023

NOTE: If you are currently exhibiting at the IG Center, you may pick up your work Wednesday, November 2, 11 am to 12 noon.

We look forward to seeing your work!

Rockwell and Leyendecker at the Elliott

For the first time in Florida, visitors will have the unprecedented opportunity to view an exceptional collection of artworks by Norman Rockwell and his mentor, J.C. Leyendecker, at the Elliott Museum, 825 NE Ocean Blvd. An invitation only Sponsors/VIP reception will kick off the exhibit on Thursday, Nov. 3, and will open to the public with a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4.



The exhibit will run through March 3, 2023 and include 20 original works of art —10 by Norman Rockwell and 10 by J.C. Leyendecker — along with each artist’s complete collections of vintage Saturday Evening Post covers — 323 by Rockwell (321 unique illustrations and 2 repeated covers) and 322 by Leyendecker. The magazine covers range from 1899 through 1963, giving an interesting visual history of the United States through an ever-changing time. Major events such as both World Wars, the Great Depression, and 16 presidential terms, as well as timeless scenes of family life and childhood, are represented.


This exhibit, presented by the Historical Society of Martin County, is being made possible through the generosity of these sponsors: The Lichtenberger Foundation, The Kiplinger Family Foundation, Henry & Rachelle (Rocky) Grady, Bob Massey, Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Activities and The Community Foundation Martin/St. Lucie.

“We are thrilled that the Elliott Museum promotes classic Americana, and what’s more American than Norman Rockwell,” said Judy Goffman Cutler, director of the National Museum of American Illustration. “This configuration has never been seen before in Florida. The scope and poignancy … it’s really brilliant.”


Through this exhibition, Cutler hopes to highlight the mentorship and influence that Leyendecker had over the more well-known Rockwell. She encourages visitors to compare their artworks. Throughout their careers, both artists reflected the currents of American life and its times.


“I hope the viewers will gain an appreciation for the wider world of American illustration and take an interest in all the illustrators of the Golden Age,” said Cutler.


The Elliott Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.- 825 NE Ocean Blvd., Stuart. For more information, visit the website, www.hsmc-fl.com or call the Elliott Museum at 772-225-1961.

Left - NORMAN ROCKWELL (1894-1978), THREADING THE NEEDLE, 1922, oil on canvas, 25 1/2" x 20 1/2", signed lower right. Saturday Evening Post, April 8, 1922 cover


Right - J. C. LEYENDECKER (1874-1951), WAR HERO TELLING STORIES, 1919, oil on canvas, 27 1/2" x 19 1/2", signed lower right. Saturday Evening Post, May 10, 1919 cover

© 2022 National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI, www.americanillustration.org, and the American Illustrators Gallery, New York, NY, www.americanillustrators.com


The opening reception of the Fall Art Show at The Galleries at First Pres is this Sunday, October 23, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The show will feature the works of local artists Valerie Cecire, Grace Cormier, and Theresa Kelso.

Valerie Cecire is a contemporary landscape painter and printmaker as well as abstract artist. Her impressionistic and abstract monotypes, prints, and oils capture the balance and change of light in nature. ... Art pieces are done in plein-air and studio settings and are impressions and concepts derived from nature with abstract dimensions. Valerie is a Vero Beach Art Club and Sebastian Art Club member and Vero Beach Museum member. ... Her art is mixed medium inspired by nature. There are unique elements incorporated in her paintings, sculptures, textile fiber art and jewelry.

Grace Cormier was born in Szczecin, Poland. At the age of eighteen, she began her new life in the United States, settling in Miami. In 2001, she owned and operated Interior Design Service and a small Art Gallery on Long Island, NY. She retired in 2019 and returned to Florida where she committed herself full time to create art. Her art is mixed medium inspired by nature. There are unique elements incorporated in her paintings, sculptures, textile fiber art and jewelry. She is a member of Vero Beach and Sebastian Art Club. Her art work is exhibited in several local Art Galleries.

After a career as a Clinical Psychologist, art is another form for Dr. Theresa Kelso to express herself and experiment creatively. She has crisscrossed the country, growing up in Duluth, Minnesota, then attending Eastern Florida State College, studying environmental science, and moving on to Rollins College and Florida Technological Institute in Melbourne. She had a 30-year private practice in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, before returned to Florida in 2018. Theresa loves living in Vero Beach because of its’ southern atmosphere and small-town feeling with a lot of activity. The artist has studied at the Vero Museum and the Artists Guild Gallery. This First Presbyterian Gallery showing not only displays Dr. Theresa Kelso’s art, but also highlights the importance of art for the young. 


The galleries are located throughout the campus of First Presbyterian Church at 520 Royal Palm Boulevard in Vero Beach. Admission is free, light refreshments will be provided. 

The Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA) has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits. 


The program supports those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits visiting the Vero Beach Museum of Art. FREE admission, up to four people, with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible members of the public at more than 850 museums across the country. Museums for All is part of the Vero Beach Museum of Art’s broad commitment to seek, include, and welcome all audiences. 

Photo: Longwood Chrysanthemum Festival through Nov. 13 - photographer Mathias Becca

Arts Blast readers who love the bonsai collection at Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce — as well as readers in the Mid-Atlantic states — will enjoy this article from news.artnet.com about the collection at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. (Sarah Cascone, October 17, 2022)


"Bonsai Is One of the Few Art Forms That Is Really About Time": Longwood Gardens Curator Kevin Bielicki on How a Gift of 150 Masterpiece Trees Will Transform the Botanical Collection


“Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience” will open at Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in fall 2024. The first seven bonsai trees donated by the Kennett Collection are on view October 4–November 13, 2022. Click here to read the full article.


Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens is receiving a transformational gift of 150 masterpieces. But these aren’t your typical works of art—they’re bonsai trees, and they come from Doug Paul’s Kennett Collection, the largest private collection of the botanical art form outside of Asia.

The initial gift includes 50 trees that will come to Longwood over the next two years. Seven specimens are already on view, with the rest part of a longterm bequest that also includes a $1 million endowment for their care.


A significant number of the trees are more than 100 years old, and many have been designated kicho bonsai, or important masterpieces, by Japan’s Nippon Bonsai Association. Others are omono, or “very large” bonsai, measuring an impressive three or four feet tall.

Kennett is also making the entirety of its 1,200 trees available as loans to Longwood, which started its bonsai collection in 1959, with the purchase of 13 trees from Japanese bonsai artist Yuji Yoshimura.


Let’s Cool Our Planet, Save Our Manatee, Fishes, Birds, Lagoon and Provide Safe Habitat For Us & Wildlife. Bring the birds to your yard!

Free trees available at the Audubon House: 

  • 7 ft Southern Live Oaks in 3g pots -Produces the most insects for birds 
  • 6 ft Pond Cypress in 3g pots-Grows in dry soils also 
  • 3 ft Dahoon Holly in small pots- Small tree that needs irrigation


Visit our Pelican Island Audubon Society’s Audubon House at 195 9th St. SE (Oslo Rd) Vero Beach on Sun, Wed, or Fri from 9-11 am to pick up trees. Also, Native Plants for sale! Hummingbirds will come! See our websites: 

https://pelicanislandaudubon.org/home-page/free-trees-available-at-audubon-house/ 

https://pelicanislandaudubon.org/home-page/trees-for-life-plants-for-birds/ 

or call PIAS: 772-567-3520

Instructions for PIAS Birds Need Plants Photo Contest

  1. Each month you can submit up to 3 photos for the Birds Need Plants Contest with emphasis on birds pursuing, consuming, using plants, or near plants and prey. To submit a photo for this month, the deadline is the last day of the month.
  2. A Florida bird must be pictured in your photograph (priority to action shots with or pursuing, using plant, food sources, habitat, and that demonstrate relationship to plants, insects, animals, natural foods).
  3. The photo must be taken in Florida.
  4. A photographer may submit 3 digital images per month.
  5. A photographer will submit only photographs that have never won an earlier award in any contest or exhibit anywhere.
  6. PIAS requests that you provide the highest resolution possible of your jpg digital images.
  7. Deadline: The last day of the month
  8. Email to piaudubon@yahoo.com

St. Mary's Lunch and Chamber Music Series

Dr. Marie Jureit-Beamish will perform in November.


Monday, November 14 at 7:00 PM

Time to Tango: a concert and dance experience 

with Lindsay Garritson and Ashley Garritson-Gelber and tango dancers,

Armando Orzuza and Nuria Martinez.


Sunday, November 20 at 4:00 PM (CONCERT JUST ADDED!)

Fireworks and Poetry from Eastern Europe

Delray String Quartet with special guest, Ukrainian pianist, Marina Radiushina.


Tuesday, December 6 at 7:00 PM

Bonifantes Boys Choir from the Czech Republic

All Concerts will be in Ross Hall in the Pittenger Center at St. Mary's Episcopal Church unless otherwise indicated.

Happening in Brevard County

Oct 20-22 & Oct 28-31: Nightmare on Foggy Bluff, Green Gables, Melbourne, GreenGables.org


Oct 21: Friday Fest, Downtown Cocoa Beach, CocoaBeachMainStreet.org


Oct 21-30: The Rocky Horror Show Live – Shuler Stage, Titusville Playhouse, TitusvillePlayhouse.com


Oct 22: Downtown Melbourne Trick or Treat, Historic Downtown Melbourne, DowntownMelbourne.com


Oct 26 & 27: Suites & Treats Concert, Melbourne Community Orchestra, Melbourne Auditorium, 321-285-6724, MCOrchestra.org

The Melbourne Municipal Band (MMB) presents a musical tribute to military veterans with two Greatest Generation concerts Nov. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. at the Melbourne Auditorium, 625 E. Hibiscus Blvd. There is no charge and tickets are not required. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Pre-show entertainment will be provided by the New Horizons Jazz Band of Melbourne.


In keeping with the concert theme, Honor America will have a lobby display of WWII memorabilia and a miniature Liberty Bell. The organization works to increase knowledge of the nation’s cultural heritage, its constitutional form of government, and national, state, and local history.

A Treasure Coast radio tradition since 1999, “The American Songbook” is heard on WQCP online and on 91.9FM Saturdays, 8 p.m.-midnight.


The October 22 American Songbook will include some great duets; Tony Bennett with pianist Bill Charlap, Sarah Vaughn with Clifford Brown on trumpet, and Joe Williams with the Count Basie band. Also this week music from Fats Waller, Dinah Washington, and Nat King Cole.

West Coast Update

From Edison and Ford Winter Estates:


On October 29, only a month after the category four Hurricane Ian ripped through Fort Myers, the historic homesite of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford is opening up to the public with a Fall Festival. This family-friendly event will include craft vendors, food trucks, music and several fun activities for children. 


Activities include the Banyan Tree Climb, which is sponsored by the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association. Early registration is encouraged as this activity is expected to sell out. Tickets can be purchased online at EdisonFord.org and are $45 for non-members, or $35 for Edison Ford members. 


Families will be able to select and purchase pumpkins in the Pumpkin Patch, with the option to paint the pumpkins (paint provided). Other activities include adult and kid-friendly axe throwing and archery, plus children can get their face painted, or get fairy hair. The Wild Wizards will be conducting science experiments and a balloon artist will make crafty animals. Visitors also will have an opportunity to make their own floral bouquets at the flower truck.


There is no charge to stroll around and listen to music; however, each vendor has a fee to participate in the activities and visitors are encouraged to bring cash. Parking is free in the Edison Ford lots. The entire site will be open; however, admission to the museum, laboratory and riverside of the property requires an additional ticket. For information about the site, or to purchase tickets for tours, visit EdisonFord.org.

Marco Island Historical Society reports that The Art of the Dig exhibit will be opening next week. The Exhibit Opening Reception party is on Wednesday, October 26 from 5-6:30pm. https://themihs.info

Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant


We would like to thank the sheriff’s department for keeping our marina safe during this time. We would also like to announce that due to the amazing progress that has happened, the check point going to Sanibel is no longer at the entrance to the Lighthouse but closer to the causeway.

The Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant is officially opening at 5pm this coming Saturday!! We will have a full bar, a temporary limited food menu, happy hour to resume 10/19 and will be temporarily cash only due to no internet (hopefully this will be short lived). Come out and see us and enjoy some normalcy after this horrific disaster that took so much from us all

Tidbits

WE NEED ART!

Calling on all artists and art collectors!

Is your art collection getting too big? Would you be willing to donate a piece of your work to a good cause? Give your art to Lighthouse ArtCenter for D'Art For Art as a tax-deductible donation.

D'Art for Art is LAC's premier annual fundraiser. All donations made will go towards LAC's Art For All outreach and scholarship programs, and, thanks to a generous donor, will be doubled!


All D'Art donations of art must be delivered to LAC's Gallery by November 4, 2022.

Call us at 561-746-3101!

Weekend Changes at Riverside Theatre

Some new changes for The Comedy Zone:

  • Face masks are recommended INSIDE Riverside Theatre facilities regardless of vaccination status, but not required. Masks will continue to be made available at the entrance.
  • We have reduced the number of tables and seats, limiting shows to 50% attendance.
  • Come Hungry! Support us by purchasing food & beverages at The Theatre’s Grill & Bar and help us keep the laughter alive and music rockin’! Do not bring coolers, tumblers, water bottles or food on our campus. 
  • Arrive early for Live Music on the outdoor stage before the comedy show begins. Live music times: 5:45pm-6:45pm, 7pm-8pm and 8:15pm-9pm. 

The Indian River County Historical Society will host their Pineapple Party on Saturday, November 5th at the historic Hallstrom House & Farmstead. The event will take place from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on the grounds of the old home. The Hallstrom House is located at 1723 Old Dixie Highway SW in Vero Beach. There is no admission fee.

MartinArts Awards 2022 will be presented

November 3, 5:30 p.m., at the Lyric Theatre

View the Nominees and 2022 Honorary Award Recipients.

_________________________________


A.C.T. Studio Theatre has American Buffalo weekends through October 27; Treasure Coast Ballet brings Villains to The Lyric Oct. 29.

_________________________________


Mark your calendars for the 34th Annual Sights & Sounds on 2nd Street in Fort Pierce on Sunday, December 4th! This year's theme is Country Christmas.

November Friday Fest 

  • 5:30 PM  8:30 PM
  • Marina Square Fort Pierce


Ghosts of Fort Pierce Past Historic Walking Tours

  • Wednesday, October 26, 20225:30 PM 
  • Thursday, October 27, 20227:30 PM
  • Main Street Fort Pierce
  • 122 A E Backus AvenueFort Pierce

I'm Still Standing Closing Night Reception

November 19, 6 - 8 p.m., Elliott Museum, Stuart


The Inner Truth Project sexual trauma survivors and St. Lucie Cultural Alliance artists joined forces to present the inaugural exhibition of I’m Still Standing.

The Vero Beach Choral Society is in need of vocalists in both Tenor and Alto ranges. Anyone who can read music and has experience singing in a vocal ensemble is welcomed to join the group by audition. Visit the group’s website, www.VeroBeachChoralSociety.org, and click on “Audition” to apply.

American Songbook with Dick Golden Saturdays 8-midnighton NPR affiliate WQCS/WQCP

Bookmark On the Calendar at WilliMiller.com for frequent updates. Calls for Artists, Auditions, & Volunteers are now online.


Catch up with events at Willi Miller's Arts Blast on Facebook and pick up some laughs and interesting info on the Willi Miller's Arts Blast Extras page. And now there's a Facebook Arts Blast on the Air!

 ‌ 

Click to Subscribe to Arts Blast


To opt out of receiving Arts Blast, "unsubscribe" at the end of the page.

______________

If you have an arts-related event coming up, scroll down for information on submitting it for a free basic listing. Limited advertising is available. PLEASE use that format!


Arts Blast wants information about arts-related scholarships for the Scholarships page on our websiteSend me what you have, making sure to include a deadline for applying and a link to detailed information.


Event schedules can change, often at almost the last minute. Verify, double check, and then do it again before you head out the door. And when you do go out, take a mask. Without one, you risk being turned away.


To Submit Calendar Information for ARTS BLAST!

Information is to be received in an email at least one week before publication.


Use this format for Calendar entries:

Who (organization)

What (Event)

When (dates, time)

Where (Name of venue, address)

Why (a brief description of the purpose)

Web/Facebook address

Contact for public use (for tickets, questions, etc.)

Then add a short, descriptive release if available.

Send only one photo, with caption, unless more are requested.

Media contact with email for Arts Blast followup (not for publication)


Copyright ©2019-2022 Willi Miller's ARTS BLAST!, all rights reserved.