Get art supplies by just giving a donation of any amount! Really? Yes, at Creative Clay on First Ave. South St. Petersburg. They have a thrift store of art materials. Anyone can pop into the thrift store in the back of the building, browse, rummage through the shelves, drawers and boxes and pick your art needs. For a donation of any amount, you can pick up some great stuff! The thrift store is packed with books, paper, beads, tools, bags of buttons, pencils and other arts and craft items. I can’t name everything that is there. It’s a treasure trove of art supplies donated to Creative Clay from artists/hobbyists who want to get rid of their used art materials for whatever reason; moving away from Florida, cleaning out their personal studio, and/or changing their media and they pass it on! This week I picked up a few goodies like paint brushes, old frames, matte board, glue, rice paper just to name a few things I found.
I also got a chance to see former staff members and former students of whom I had the pleasure of teaching art to a few years ago. As an art teacher there, my experience was very rewarding. As I taught them about artmaking, they also taught me. Unhindered by academic dos and don’ts, they create intuitively and spontaneously discover their own images, colors, and designs resulting in very unique paintings. While they create the studio is full of music, laughter and social conversations.
Creative Clay is a non-profit organization located at 1846 1st Ave. South, in St. Petersburg. Right here in our community. Creative Clay offers a safe and fun environment to adults with developmental and physical disabilities. Its core program is the Community Arts Program and each week about 30 – 40 adults come from 8:30 to 2:30 to learn art, music, theater and other skills. They sell their own artwork and receive 50% of the sale, learn to set up gallery spaces and exhibit their work in other galleries in St. Petersburg.
The above pictures starting from left to right are the main gallery, the hallway gallery, and a CC students work who only draws with sharpies. On the right is a CC student who loves to paint high fashion ladies.
Go have a look! Check out their thrift store and pick up some art supplies. But while there make sure you take in the unique art in the front gallery and hallway. The student’s work is for sale so maybe you can find a unique painting for your home and/or make a donation to an important place in St. Petersburg.
For more information go to www.creativeclay.org
Rachel Stewart
