Get to know the 2022 Emerging Artists

What to do when you’re STUCK? Inspiration, creativity is blocked, and you the artist become frozen and frustrated! Being “stuck” in your creativity is not an uncommon situation for visual… Read More

Here’s the second part about Camera Roll, explained. “February 16th, 7:34pm” This is probably one of my favorite pieces, even if I keep telling people I don’t have a favorite. My… Read More

Today I would like to start analyzing my paintings from Camera Roll one by one. “January 13th, 10:02am”   It has always been difficult to open up and share my… Read More

Sometimes you need to put all the projects down, get out of the studio, and reintroduce yourself to the world, even if just for an afternoon. I recently went on… Read More

The Work I Shipped To Korea Sold! I am very happy to write that Klamp Art Gallery in South Korea sold 5 of my paintings at Art Busan last weekend…. Read More

The best part about being in film, is getting to work with brilliant storytellers! Last fall, I helped produce the short film “26” with director, dp and writer of the… Read More

Read About: Art is the pilot episode for Read About It an unscripted series created by Cultured Books that brings books to life through literary based field trips throughout Tampa… Read More

I used to think an opportunity would just fall in my lap. Maybe I’d be walking around the mall, and someone would come up to me and say “Hey. Do… Read More

Animal extinction is a big problem. You would think that natural occurrences like climatic heating and changes in animals’ habitats are the problem, but we know that human activity is… Read More

“There is toxicity everywhere around us. In the environment, in the political atmosphere, but the origin is in people’s hearts. Unless we clean the ecology of our own heart and… Read More

Started out with a theme and a play that sort of went along with that. Decided I wanted music. But then started really fleshing out the play, and wondered, “Is… Read More

Fear of rejection? Become a writer! Nothing will cure you faster. First, you get rejected from agents. Signed with an agent? Congrats! Now you get rejected from publishing houses. Landed… Read More

There is a pervasive weight in the air these days. A sense of wrongness, a sense of loss and despair that invades the lungs with every breath and weighs down… Read More

I just closed on my performance of STANDING, a tribute to Ukraine. This work was so meaningful and I hope to have other opportunities to show it. The piece opens… Read More

Professional Oil Paints vs. Student Grade Oil Paints One of the things I wanted to do was with the grant money. I wanted to continue learning from different artists about… Read More

The literary world keeps their secrets close to the vest. So I thought I’d pillage recent memories and offer a step-by-step breakdown of the process for curious minds. This is… Read More

I would like to share a little bit more about my new series at the Emerging Artist Exhibition with Creative Pinellas, Camera Roll.  The Social Media Reality Every single day… Read More

Well, THE SHOW IS OPEN! I’m very excited to say that we’ve successfully opened the run of Steel Magnolias. Last week, I had the opportunity to do some press for… Read More

In the year 1885, Tiffany opened the Tiffany Glass Company in Corona Queens, New York, and continued to design interiors and expand his glass making techniques and objects which he… Read More

Influenced by British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy’s documentary, Rivers and Tides, my colleague Alison and I decided to try our hand at constructing a sculpture/installation “from nature and in nature.” It… Read More

Last November, I applied to the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts Fall 2022 program. The overall application process was extremely challenging, but after weeks of hard work… Read More

In my last blog, I told you about my experiences writing for Gulf Coast JFCS, interviews with survivors of the Holocaust, and how that led me to my own back… Read More

This week I’ll continue my discussion of Tiffany’s formative and adult years and how the stage was set for his thriving and lucrative career in home furnishings and beautiful objects… Read More

It is not often that I take time for rest. As an artist, I enjoy the work that I do, so it does not feel like “work.” That being said,… Read More

“Peacock Strut (Remix)” – from the 2022 collaborative album, The Table (Vol. 1), by Anthill Cinema & Jon Ditty. Despite falling in as Track 4 on the album’s song order, this… Read More

The Opening Night of the 2021-22 Emerging Artists Gallery Exhibition was a double first for me (Kayte) as I have never been to a Gallery Showing (Shush!) and never had… Read More

I’m closing in on the final stretch of my forthcoming novel, Bands of a Small Hurricane (OCT 2022) , and wanted to share a little project I’ve been working on… Read More

We open this week, Friday April 29th, 2022. We’re in the midst of dress rehearsals and I wanted to share a video blog of what a typical day looks like… Read More

I often read this poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller as a touchstone, particularly now, as I embark on research for a new play based on characters from Shakespeare’s The Merchant… Read More

This week I thought I’d switch things up by talking about another artists’ work, the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Artists must go out into the world to look at… Read More

Currently I am preparing new prints for two upcoming shows in June. The pencil studies shown here are for the next series of prints called Cosmos/ Chaos II. In preparation… Read More

… Read More

Quite possibly the most infuriating comment ever uttered, and I have heard this several times over my life/career, most frequently by students is, “…I don’t want to study history because… Read More

This week I’ll complete the story of my Cuban relatives’ immigration to the United States.  I’ll also connect the dots between my temporary art studio, where I completed my first… Read More

As the first summer reading list was well received, I thought I would throw in a second collection of art+design books that every artist should read. Enjoy. Context, history and… Read More

A few years ago, I wrote poetic piece o’ conjure for Gerald Jenkins’ photo-novel It’s After The End Of The World. I didn’t know him when Darius James asked me… Read More

Fluidity means that our black identities are constantly changing as we respond to circumstances in our families and communities of origin, and as we interact with a wider world. –… Read More

All This Stuff I’m Carrying vs Things Waiting for a Weightless Me. Never content with simply providing what’s requested; always on a mission to break it down to something that… Read More

Sometimes, as we develop our craft, we find we have a theme in our art. Sometimes we are inspired specifically by a certain event, a place, or even a person. … Read More

This past weekend I had the great experience of working with the dancers of the Georgia Dance Theatre. I set a new work on five very talented dancers for the… Read More

In a continuation of last week’s blog, I’d like to keep talking about stepping stones and butterfly effects. All those little things, seemingly small at the time, that build and… Read More

I was listening to NPR in my car the other day.  Does anyone listen to NPR when they aren’t driving?  They did a story on a man who owns a… Read More

… Read More

When I am staring at a blank canvas, the first thing that I do is to start defining the inherent grid and systems. Here are three tricks that I use… Read More

It was this piece in which I began working with personal references. The first thing that I painted, now barely visible after several layers of subsequent paint collages,* was an… Read More

This was the first of the series that I completed as a part of the Creative Pinellas 2022 Emerging Artist Grant. This was the easiest of the pieces to resolve… Read More

A Design Group In China Wants My Work A design group in China wants to put my work in their showroom where they offer lifestyle furnishings and art. They only… Read More

… Read More

The way my brain works, is I typically have many ideas swarming around on a day-to-day basis, and because I’m overly ambitious (at times) those aspirations easily begin to pile… Read More

Discovering myself while I explore how personal memories shape my experiences and create subconscious images for the subject of my work. Artists are inspired by many things, often referencing passages… Read More

Last week I told the story about the most precious gift I ever received from my father when I was just 10 years old– a paint set. To continue my… Read More

My painting above is one of four currently on display at the 2022 Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Exhibition. It had a circuitous development, as most of my pieces do. You… Read More

There They Go. Today I crated and shipped 25 paintings to South Korea to be shown at the Busan Art Fair May 12-15. This is very exciting for me. It… Read More

… Read More

April 14th, 2022 6:00pm EST When I am getting out of my car, I see my mother, brother, and partner walking towards me. We walk up to the gallery and… Read More

April 2nd, 2022 April 2nd was the day I was scheduled to drop off my Artworks for the Emerging Artist Exhibition. Its a semi-long drive up to Creative Pinellas with… Read More

It’s 5:30pm, I get to the gallery early. Nobody is there yet. I finally enter, and I run to see my work hung. I am in shook. I feel proud,… Read More

There is an old joke about sending your spouse to the art supply store for white paint… One of the fun curses of being in the arts is that learning… Read More

STANDING | May 7-8 | Mainstage Theater, Hillsborough Community College As I continue to develop my upcoming dance work titled STANDING in Moving Current Dance Collective’s performance of NewGrounds, I… Read More

We buy them because we believe we are buying the time to read them. Ok campers, here is your summer reading list. The following is a short annotated bibliography of… Read More

… Read More

… Read More

Hello, and welcome to my first blog as a 2022 Creative Pinellas Professional Artist Grant recipient. My name is Eileen Marquez, and I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York. My husband… Read More

Why do we as a species have this innate drive to flock to bodies of water?  Oceans, lakes, waterfalls, even raindrops draw us to their surfaces.   There’s the obvious,… Read More

It’s interesting to stand right where you are in your career and look backward, noting all the stepping stones that paved your way. It’s a series of butterfly effects, tiny… Read More

Good Morning, All! My name is Roxanne and I am writing today to try to get the hang of this newfangled blog thing. I first watched the tutorial video and… Read More

… Read More

… Read More

After a scenic two days, with a few stops, I finally landed in Louisa, Kentucky! Hooray! The hospitality in this quaint, little town is unrivaled. I’ve been accepted with open… Read More

It has been a while since I have added to my blogs; as the show deadline loomed and weighed on my anxiety-riddled self, more and more of my limited attention… Read More

ROOTMAN Homemade Conversations with Homemade Desserts My Name is Frederick “ Rootman” Woods, and I am honored to be one of the recipients for the Professional Artists Grant. My intention… Read More

The Baranoff Oak is located in front of the public library in Safety Harbor, FL. It is known as the oldest living Live Oak in Pinellas County, estimated between 300-500… Read More

I careen through the mountainous slopes of the U.S. Route 23, on my way to Louisa, KY, for my stint with Mountain Movers Theatre Company. I’ve managed to pass through… Read More

  What I do and how I do it. My art background is in sculpture but during the last five or six years I began experimenting with printmaking. What is… Read More

Seeing as how we ended up (unintentionally) doing a series within our Blogs, as we progress, I of course go back and re-read the last one to bring me back… Read More

Works by Jason Hackenwerth with accompanying thoughts. Over then next 25 weeks I plan to share images of paintings and past installations of sculpture. I will try to give thoughtful… Read More

Last month, I was absolutely THRILLED to be a recipient of the Creative Pinellas Professional Artist Grant for my work in literature, but my career in writing didn’t begin with… Read More

Last year, I wrote and performed a show for the Dali Museum on the subject of Lee Miller, who photographed the atrocities of World War II. As I listen to… Read More

(pc: Jeff Cravotta) Hello : ) My name is Sarah Emery and I am a dance artist in St. Petersburg, FL. As a new member of the St. Petersburg community,… Read More

Hi I’m Rachel Stewart. This is my first blog and I’m excited about all the possibilities available to me as one of the recipients of the Professional Artists 2022 grant…. Read More

Hey Everyone! I wanted to officially introduce myself since the Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Exhibition Opening Reception is happening soon! My name is Ashley Rivers and I am a Mixed… Read More

Anybody who truly knows me, knows my obsession with black cinema in the 90’s and early 2000’s. There are so many films that I am completely obsessed over but it… Read More

This year, I wanted to really take the time out to refocus on my acting career! With the many hats I wear, acting has always been the one creative role… Read More

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a summit takeover in Washington, DC led by Issa Rae’s media company, Hoorae. The entire experience was beyond fulfilling. All weekend long,… Read More

The Life and Times of a Nomadic Performer For many years, I’ve contemplated how to describe my experience as a performer to someone who doesn’t understand the process or has… Read More

I smirked warmly as I saw the sparkle in his eye. The look he gets when his pieces are truly seen by someone completely. The first thing I asked was,… Read More

Continued… Glazing techniques led to me becoming incredibly obsessed about the firings and temperatures involved with ceramics as well. Why do we fire to certain temperatures? Firing temperatures when using… Read More

Read How I Got Into The Arts Here: Read Part 1 Here: How I Got Into the Arts Part I: College and Jewelry Read Part 2 Here: How I Got Into the… Read More

I would bet almost anything that between my husband and I, that we have worked as many different jobs as we have college credits, grey hairs and tears for what… Read More

  Previously, we went over all the challenges you face when you venture out to attend art festivals. You may be asking yourself; “If it’s so rough out there why… Read More

I like to touch the medium- work it with my own hands. I like the marks left behind by my fingers. I like the way it all gets stuck in… Read More

  There is a lot of discourse among artists as to whether art festivals are a good way to market and sell art. Attending a festival is always a gamble…. Read More

Last Saturday, March 19th, I attended my first event as a vendor, and it was a success! I committed to this event in January, not knowing the amount of work… Read More

What do the words of one Florida public school teacher mean up against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis? Well, many will have a similar opinion to my husband, even if our… Read More

Read How I Got Into The Arts Here: Read Part 1 Here: How I Got Into the Arts Part I: College and Jewelry Read Part 2 Here: How I Got Into the… Read More

“The Art of Punching Up” – from the 2022 collaborative album, The Table (Vol. 1), by Anthill Cinema & Jon Ditty. This song was a doozy, and took me a long… Read More

Gasparilla Festival of the Arts The 2022 Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts happened this past weekend, March 5th and 6th. The Festival is an Annual celebration of the… Read More

The time has finally come. I attended so many events downtown, and I admired the artists who were bringing their own tent and selling their work. A couple months back… Read More

  There’s a whole vibrant culture around  craft and art festivals. Vendors and attendees alike share a passion for both beautiful art and community. My very first art festival as… Read More

Read How I Got Into The Arts Here: Read Part 1 Here: How I Got Into the Arts Part I: College and Jewelry Read Part 2 Here: How I Got Into the… Read More