Arts In

Imaginative visual artist Kenny Jensen translates fallen branches, lichen and found objects into paintings, sculpture and strikingly beautiful installations. Trained in the precision of graphic design, Kenny learned to let unpredictable mediums lead him down new artistic paths. A Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Grantee, Kenny talks with Barbara St. Clair about the gorgeous piece he created after Hurricane Irma, using hundreds of fallen branches from around his house. He describes how he used a wall with an odd-shaped window to construct a view into a starry universe. And he shares his passion for taking what most people would consider trash, and revealing it to viewers as a thing of beauty. Check out Kenny Jensen’s June 30 pop-up exhibition, Solar Flare, made possible by a St. Pete Arts Alliance grant - https://www.facebook.com/events/1994945610817068/ Kenny Jensen details his artistic process on the Creative Pinellas blog - http://creativepinellas.org/kenny-jensen/. Watch a video of the space dio

Xavier Cortada is an artist who tackles climate change, endangered species, poverty, homophobia, Florida’s history and hard science with his artwork. And he’s a funny, engaging, vibrant guy from Miami whose art projects are seen by millions, and get people all over Florida participating. Cortada’s work is featured in school textbooks and publications, on National Geographic TV and the Discovery Channel. Xavier talks with Barbara St. Clair about marking the 500th anniversary of Florida’s colonization by Spain by working with biologists to find 500 native Florida wildflowers that he got 500 Florida artists to paint, while asking historians for 500 people vital to Florida’s history - who weren’t white men - and getting people around the state to plant 500 native wildflower gardens each dedicated to one of those people. Then he put the whole project and research online, where people could read up and share their own photos of natural Florida. Xavier Cortada was commissioned to create beautiful artwork explor

Coralette Damme’s distinctive handcrafted printmaking is inspired by trees, birds and the bees, flowers and butterflies in her backyard. . .  and colored by Halloween, her Midwestern background and her German heritage.  Keep an eye out for Coralette’s work at Florida CraftArt, St Pete’s Saturday Morning Market and Craft events and workshops around Pinellas County. Coralette Damme was chosen as a featured artist at American Stage, with a piece that’s inspired by Andrea Lepcio’s play, Straight of Gibraltar. In her lively conversation with Barbara St. Clair, Coralette shares her hands-on printmaking technique, her hands-on work behind-the-scenes at The Studio@620 - and welcomes you into her magical, imaginative art installations. Explore Coralette’s artwork at craftyhag.com Follow her artwork on Instagram - instagram.com/thecraftyhag @thecraftyhag and Facebook - facebook.com/craftyhag

Greg Byrd is an award-winning poet with a PhD in Literature, living in Clearwater and teaching at St. Pete College. He’s a Fulbright Fellow in poetry and literature, winner of the Yellow Jacket Prize and recipient of a Creative Pinellas Professional Artists Fellowship.   Greg explains that, “My poetry is often connected to placeness and to mythology, but is rooted in concrete things and often in working class life. My poems just as often mention Winslow Homer or Bach as they do dovetail joints or rusted pocket knives.” He talks with Barbara St. Clair about creating poems during cancer treatments and after his father’s death. Greg shares his experiences growing up in the Florida Keys and helping in his family’s appliance store, delivering washers and dryers before becoming the first person in his family to go to college. Greg Byrd teaches at St. Pete College, where he works with many Iraq War veterans. He’s working right now on a novel set during World War I. You can find out more about Greg’s work a

Kathy White is the Deputy Director of The Salvador Dalí Museum. Peter Tush is the Curator of Education. They met and married at the Dalí and have seen the museum from its early days to its glorious signature home on downtown St. Pete’s waterfront. You might think that a museum focused on a single artist would only be worth one visit. But the Dalí’s ever-changing offerings range from paintings to sculpture, fashion, photography, mathematics and filmmaking. Along with an array of film, theatre, music, dance, workshops and wide-ranging conversations, The Dalí is not just a destination for international visitors, but a compelling reason for repeat visits by Bay area residents. Kathy and Peter share the imaginative work behind the scenes at the Dalí, the importance of the volunteer docents and audio tours that invite visitors to deeply explore the exhibits, and the museum’s constant outreach to the local arts community, to local artists and to young creatives. Find out more about The Salvador Dalí Museum at

Pat Blocher is an adventurous artist who uses photography as a jumping-off point for experiments and explorations in the digital and physical worlds. An MFA candidate at the University of South Florida, Pat was one of the youngest artists featured in last summer’s Skyway exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Pat talks with Barbara St. Clair about building thoughtful portraits of a night shared by two people, making art by making software and hardware “misbehave” - and creating cutting-edge photographic art by mixing vintage processes with new digital techniques. Find out more about Pat Blocher’s work at - http://patblocher.com on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/patblocher/

Bob Barancik is an adventurous abstract artist who roams through a range of mediums, from painting and collage to printmaking, digital images, video, and three-dimensional boxes and books full of art. Bob talks with Barbara St. Clair about working on art inspired by current events, that viewers often aren’t ready for until years later. He’s created gorgeous artwork sparked by climate change, 9/11 and the Deep Water Horizon tragedy, exhibited around the country and has over 100 original works in the Florida Holocaust Museum’s permanent collection. Bob’s lived and worked in an array of creative communities. . . Portland in the 1970s, Palo Alto as the Silicon Valley boom was just beginning, New York City, Chicago, Maine and Philadelphia. He explains why he chose to live in downtown St. Petersburg, and why this creative community is one of the best. Explore Bob Barancik’s artwork at http://www.creativeshare.com/exhibits/. Find out more about his Art Not Hate project at http://www.artnothate.com. View Bob

Renee Piechocki Longtime leader of the Pittsburgh Office of Public Art, Renee Piechocki helped create a city full of vibrant and imaginative, exciting and interactive public art. Renee talks about the need for temporary public art installations, where artists can make bold and more experimental work that serves a range of changing audiences. She details projects that break new ground - and ways that artists can help neighborhoods find creative ways to tackle community needs. Take a listen to this conversation full of energy and wonderful ideas, and get inspired by new, exciting possibilities for public art. Find out more about Renee Piechocki http://reneepiechocki.com Trappings: What Do Women Wear That Makes You Feel Powerful? and Taking Stock: What Do Men Do That Makes You Feel Valuable? - http://www.twogirlsworking.com Explore Vibrant Public Art. . . Market Square Public Art - http://www.marketsquarepublicart.com/info Pittsburgh Art Places - http://pittsburghartplaces.org Conflict Kitchen - h

Marlene Rose is a glass artist who doesn’t make vases. Instead, she creates large sculptural works using the technique of sand casting. Developed in the 1980s, the process involves hours spent carefully carving a mold in sand, then pouring in molten glass heated to 2000 degrees. It takes a week in an oven to cool the finished piece down to room temperature. Sand casting is a physical and dangerous process, expertly carried out by Marlene and her team. The work she creates is unexpected, and you might not always think it’s glass - until you see the light hit it. Marlene talks with Barbara St. Clair about the surprises and challenges of practicing a technique so new that there’s no reference manual, and you’re figuring out how to do it as you do it. But, it’s so new nobody can tell you what’s impossible. Find out more about Marlene Rose’s work at - marlenerose.com. Explore St. Petersburg’s new Imagine Museum - imaginemuseum.com.

Fanni Green is an actor, director, playwright, poet and theatre professor. Gary Lemons is a writer, painter, musician and professor of African American literature and womanist studies. In this lively conversation, Fanni and Gary delve into the passion and activism at the heart of all their work and the joys of a marrying a fellow artist. They share stories of growing up with parents who weren’t able to go to college - and weren’t convinced that art or acting was a good career choice. And they explore the spirituality that informs their lives and their creative work. Fanni Green is a versatile actor, the heart of a terrific production of A Raisin in the Sun at American Stage and many of their August Wilson plays. A native of St. Petersburg and graduate of USF and NYU, Fanni is everyone’s favorite professor at the USF School of Theatre and Dance and has taught on the voice faculties of The Actor's Center in NY, the Yale School of Drama and the Juilliard School. Her professional work includes Mule Bone (Bro

Jim Rolston Jim Rolston’s abstract paintings are ferociously gorgeous explorations of color and form, while his deceptively simple statues are gentle and profound. Jim was a passionate artist and an energetic leader in St. Petersburg’s arts community. He created art throughout his life, while working a demanding job and raising a family. When Jim approached retirement, he went back to school and earned a degree in Visual Art from Eckerd College, to prepare himself to be a full-time artist. He was a prolific artist working at his peak and constantly exploring. In this conversation, recorded a few months before Jim Rolston unexpectedly passed away, he shares his thoughts on the energy of abstract art and the opposing tensions balanced in his work. He explains how deeply his artwork is influenced by the concept of yin and yang, and the Tao de Ching. Jim served on the board of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and was co-President of the Professional Association of Visual Artists, a group that Creative Pine

Fight director Dan Granke is a master of physical storytelling and a professional expert on violence. Dan teaches at the University of South Florida and choreographs stage combat for a range of Bay area and Sarasota theatres, and even the St Pete Opera. He’s also a Shakespeare expert who helped to found the Tampa Shakespeare Festival’s free outdoor performances. In a conversation full of laughter and surprising details, Dan explains the art of stage violence, the storytelling skills behind it and how to safely make it look like you just stabbed somebody in the neck. Dan takes us through the final fight scene in Macbeth - and makes Barbara St. Clair’s day when he analyzes the glorious swordplay in The Princess Bride. Society of American Fight Directors http://www.safd.org/MemberProfile/Details/31084 University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance http://theatreanddance.arts.usf.edu/content/templates/?z=0&a=3858 Dan Granke’s theatrical work https://www.jobsitetheater.org/portfolio-item/gra

While in St. Petersburg to direct the acclaimed production of A Raisin in The Sun at American Stage, the Artistic Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company talks with Barbara St. Clair about the teachers who guided him to a career in the arts and the relevance of Raisin right now. He shares an insightful analysis of the play, and of last year’s production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. From Peter Callender’s studies at New York’s High School for Performing Arts (honored in the movie, Fame) and Juilliard, a career as a classical actor led him to San Francisco’s African-American Shakespeare Company, where actors of color have the chance to perform works from A Streetcar Named Desire to Richard III. And he’s playing Richard III this year. As Peter explains, the works of August Wilson and Tennessee Williams aren’t “black” plays or “white” plays - these are American plays. Find out more about L. Peter Callender’s work at - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0130458/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

“I’m a nice guy, really!” laughs Gregory Green. The artist and pacifist teaches at The University of South Florida and is internationally known for his 3D installations of realistic bomb-making workshops and nuclear missiles. It’s art with a political edge and educational aim, seeking to spur conversations about violence - and alternatives to violence - and exploring how information and technology are tools of social change. Gregory Green shares the theatricality behind his work, which includes more than a dozen fully-functional pirate radio and TV stations in the US and Europe, his “Gregnik” re-creation of the first Earth satellite and a three-stage booster rocket that’s ready to launch if you’ve got the rocket fuel. Green tells of wrangling with the bomb squad, designing an installation for filmmaker John Waters’ home, and how he was rated one of the Top 100 Artists in the World before 9/11, and how after 9/11 artwork about violence suddenly became much harder. Green’s work is included in major publ

Steven Kenny’s paintings are startling and beautiful, and utterly unique. He’s an internationally-known Surrealist, and an anchor of the St. Pete arts community. His exquisite skill with oil paints may remind you of Old Masters, or Salvador Dalí. But the characters who look directly at you from his works are wholly original, set in worlds and costumes that blend the natural world with the very personal. In this engaging conversation, Steven Kenny talks with Barbara St. Clair about the surreal images he coaxes from his subconscious, his use of found photographs and his training as an illustrator. Find out more about Steven Kenny’s work at http://www.stevenkenny.com Don’t miss your chance to see “Internal Landscapes: The Mysterious World of Steven Kenny,” a rare exhibit of 50 of his paintings at the Leepa-Rattner Museum through April 15, 2018. . . https://www.leeparattner.org/explore/exhibitions-on-view/ Steven Kenny will also be leading a workshop titled "From Buyers to Collectors: Cultivating Relatio

Bob Devin Jones is the heart of St. Petersburg. The St Pete arts community revolves around The Studio@620, an imaginative arts space that is home to a wide range of visual arts, dance, jazz, kites, gospel, quilts, opera, boating, theatre, film, photography, workshops and lectures, poetry, puppetry and pretty much anything established and emerging artists can come up with. Bob’s a gifted director, actor, writer, artistic director and enabler of creative projects that bring life and joyous surprises to downtown St. Pete. Enjoy this exploration of The Studio’s community engagement and Bob’s passion for Shakespeare and storytelling. Find out more about The Studio@620 - http://www.thestudioat620.org Letters to the Future - https://www.cltampa.com/news-views/article/20763771/letters-to-the-future-bob-devin-jones In the Beginning: The Future of Stories (TEDx Talk) - http://www.vidinfo.org/video/709529/in-the-beginning-bob-devin-jones-at-tedxtampa

Zev Buffman runs Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall. With hundreds of major concerts in multiple venues each year, and an education arm that works with public schools and trains teenagers that Zev books to open for bands like Chicago. Zev spent his own teen years carrying a machine gun in the Israeli army. He invented dinner theatre in L.A. when he was in his 20s, owned a network of theatres in Florida and produced dozens of hit Broadway shows. Zev reworked Andrew Lloyd Webber’s only flop and turned it into a hit, and used his producer’s skills to create the Miami Heat basketball team. He wrangled with Lillian Hellman and spent years working with Elizabeth Taylor, and probably saved her life when he drove her to the Betty Ford Clinic. Listen to an amazing conversation with a true theatrical legend, who now calls Pinellas County home. Find out more about Ruth Eckerd Hall - https://www.rutheckerdhall.com Ruth Eckerd Hall’s Education programs - https://www.rutheckerdhall.com/hoffman-school-of-arts Music Rev

The detailed and imaginative paintings of Carol Dameron focus on allegories, unspoken stories and turning points. Her visual style echoes European masters, seen through American eyes. In this conversation, Carol talks about her European training, new techniques she’s using to re-energize old canvases and the discipline of working as a full-time artist. She details the visceral pleasure of painting on wood, and the allure of creating luminous colors in oils. She also tells us about a thriving studio shared by 42 artists that paved the way for the Warehouse Arts District, the late lamented Salt Creek Artworks. Find out more about Carol Dameron’s work at http://caroldameron.com. A look at Salt Creek Artworks - http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/st-petersburg-artists-displaced-as-salt-creek-artworks-sale-nears/1229621. http://saltcreekartworks.com Arts In is produced by Matt and Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair for Creative Pinellas.

Allen Loyd spends more than a year every year, putting together St. Petersburg’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration. First Night is a family-friendly celebration of the arts, a way to roll out the old year and swing in the new with music, dance, visual art, theatre, fireworks and even fire sculptures, now on its 25th year. It’s aimed at letting people of all ages play, and create art themselves. And it’s where Allen’s creative genius has sparked artistic collaborations for decades. Allen wrangled the parade that led The Dalí Museum from their old location to their beautiful new building. He organizes the St. Pete Science Festival every fall and is the longtime House Manager for American Stage in the Park. He’s an experienced set and prop designer whose busy schedule rarely permits theatre work these days, but he found time to design an imaginative set for Tampa Rep’s recent production of Flying. Allen has seen St. Pete change and grow since he started out as American Stage’s first intern. Hear how thi

Akiko Kotani’s art embodies the surprising power and attraction of simplicity. Imagination and a sense of play infuse her work, ranging from miniatures to the striking “Soft Walls” many viewers remember from the recent Skyway Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art in St. Petersburg. Her work contains a depth of feeling within an economy of means. Kotani’s work is in private, corporate and museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We’re grateful that after a teaching career up North, Pittsburgh’s Artist of the Year is now living and creating art in Gulfport. Enjoy this joyful conversation where Akiko explains the surprising inspiration behind “Soft Walls,” the beauty of creating landscapes from memory, and how and why traditional women’s work is part of her very non-traditional creations. Find out more about Akiko Kotani at - http://akikokotani.com/?page_id=2 Akiko’s new “Floating Cubes” are on display at the Art Center Sarasota through January 19, 2018 - http://artsarasota.org/currente