Arts In

Mark Aeling is a master sculptor, a lifelong craftsman and, as he calls himself, a maker. His artistic practice is translating ideas into tangible, physical - and often very large - objects. Mark’s MGA Sculpture Studio is a mainstay of St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District. Through his work with the Warehouse Arts Association, Mark’s helping to create the new ArtsXchange, with affordable studio space for working artists. His sculptures are created in a traditional artisan studio, with apprentices learning the craft and assisting on Mark’s large-scale public art projects. He creates works inspired by shapes in the nature, and is adventurous in exploring new techniques. You’ll enjoy this fascinating conversation with an artist who thrives on the challenge of problem-solving and gets inspiration from constantly asking, how can I build that? Find out more about Mark Aeling’s work and the Warehouse Arts District: MGA Sculpture Studio - http://www.mgasculpture.com Warehouse District Arts Association

Master artisan and printmaker Holly Bird is working in the Arts & Crafts Revival, creating art through hands-on methods that haven’t changed for hundreds of years. She worked on the cutting-edge of digital design as those techniques were developing. And storyboarded the classic movie “Caddyshack.” Holly’s lifelong love of sailing and Florida’s waterways give her work a unique look in the Arts & Crafts Movement. She explains how homeowners renovating historic bungalows are keeping the work of skilled artisans in demand. Holly is a Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan-at-Large who practices her craft - and teaches it - at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center. Listen as she walks us through the fascinating process of creating woodblock prints and copper-plate etching. Explore the work of Holly Bird at http://www.studioibis.com The Roycrofters-at-Large Association - http://www.ralaweb.com More on the Roycroft Campus in Aurora NY - http://roycroftcampuscorporation.com/index.php Check out the many classes, art-ma

Carla Bristol runs the Gallerie 909 in St. Petersburg. It’s the only African American art gallery south of Atlanta. Carla doesn’t just display original works of art and sell them, she opens the doors of the gallery to her community, and invites young people who’ve never explored an art gallery or museum into a welcoming place of creativity and conversation. Gallerie 909 is in the historically African American neighborhood known as The Deuces. The gallery is home to music, poetry, festivals and more. In our conversation, Carla explains the importance of original artwork, and the role galleries and collectors play in an artistic community. She tells us how Gallerie 909 has shown that everyone can appreciate art if you share art with them. Find out more about Gallerie 909 at https://www.gallerie909.com/welcome-1.html Keep up with special events at the Gallerie, and the Annual Black Arts and Film Festival - https://www.facebook.com/gallerie909/ Explore St. Petersburg’s own African American History Trai

Peter Meinke is what he didn’t think was a real job when he started writing - a professional poet. The first Poet Laureate of St. Petersburg is now the Poet Laureate of Florida. He’s friendly and funny, sharp and engaging. And he’s passionate about the sound of words. You’ll enjoy Peter’s conversation with Barbara St. Clair, as he explains the special nature and appeal of poems, the hard work behind it and how poetry is part of life. Peter Meinke named Florida Poet Laureate, Tampa Bay Times - http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/st-petersburgs-peter-meinke-named-poet-laureate-of-florida/2233793 and Creative Loafing - http://www.cltampa.com/arts-entertainment/article/20761823/peter-meinke-named-florida-poet-laureate Peter Meinke’s Poet’s Notebook column in Creative Loafing - http://www.cltampa.com/news-views/poets-notebook Peter Meinke’s published works include: • Unheard Music: Stories (2007) • The Contracted World: New & More Selected Poems (2006) • Zinc Fingers: Poems A to Z (2000) • T

Dora Arreola and Andrea Assaf are longtime collaborators and award-winning theatremakers who create adventurous works that focuses on women, immigration, war and military veterans. Their projects blend music, dance and text to create theatre that is beautiful and powerful. It’s theatre as activism, and as healing. Dora teaches in the University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance, where Andrea is a frequent guest artist through the nonprofit group, Art2Action. In their inspiring conversation with Barbara St. Clair, they talk about borders both physical and metaphorical. They share the common ground they’ve found in Dora’s Mexican heritage and Andrea’s Arab-American identity. Dora and Andrea talk about the hope you need to create art out of trauma and pain. And the joys of sharing physical theatre, dance, Shakespeare and theatre techniques from around the world with students embracing this diverse 21st century. Find out more about Dora Arreola and Andrea Assaf’s work at: Art2Action: https://art

Babs Reingold is a nationally-known mixed-media artist whose works and large-scale installations are displayed around the country more often than they’re seen near her home in St. Petersburg. Her work asks questions about poverty and climate change. She explores aging and animal rights through her creations. Human hair is a material she often uses in her work. And Babs Reingold’s work is beautiful. In this conversation sparked with passion and laughter, we explore Babs Reingold’s many inspirations, from growing up in public housing to Hurricane Katrina and the hair she pulled out of her brush today. Find out more about Babs Reingold’s work at https://www.babsreingold.com. Selections of her work will be on display this summer at the Museum of Fine Arts in downtown St. Petersburg, as part of the collaborative Skyway Exhibit shared by the MFA, the Tampa Museum of Art and the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. http://tampamuseum.org/news/ringling-museum-fine-arts-st-petersburg-tampa-museum-art-present

Paula Kramer is a dancer and choreographer whose graceful, powerful and adventurously creative. Tom Kramer is a dance photographer known for strikingly beautiful images of dance. The Kramers’ lifelong collaboration has made their life together a vibrant work of art. Now both in their 80s, Paula is still performing and choreographing and Tom is still creating vivid photographs of dancers and musicians. The Kramers are a vital part of St. Pete’s arts community, constantly collaborating with visual, literary and performing artists. In this inspiring and often hilarious conversation, they tell stories together and tell stories about each other. We’ll find out about the groundbreaking work Paula did to integrate dance into elementary school education, and hear Tom’s thoughts on capturing the ephemeral beauty of motion. You can see selections of Tom’s photographs on his web page tomkramerphoto.smugmug.com Tom is currently working with dancer Helen Hansen French on Capturing Dance. Sponsored by the St. Pete Arts

Catherine Woods has a visceral passion for color. She shares the possibilities of ever-changing light through large-scale glass sculptures that change from every angle, and shift their appearance by day and by night. In a conversation rich with laughter, Catherine details the work involved in public art commissions that combine art with engineering and construction crews. She explains the practicalities of leaving a secure job for a full-time art career, and the work required to push beyond simply ‘okay’ ideas to discover sparks that both scare and excite her as an artist. Catherine shares the lure of creating small-scale models and monumental sculptures, of using cutting-edge technology but knowing when to work by hand. She studies the history of art while constantly exploring adventurous new art around the world. Find out more about Catherine Woods’ artwork at: http://cglassstudio.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=2595&Akey=EGW9FJRW Artists mentioned in this Interview: Olafur Eliasson - http://olafureliasson.

If you’re near downtown St Pete, you’ve seen the cheerfully iconic Mr. Sun mural and Twiggy’s dreamy, gazing eyes. The striking Paris-London-Tokyo-St Pete graphic is now a proud city emblem. Many of the city’s signature images spring from the quick-witted mind of Chad Mize. Chad talks with Barbara St. Clair about the allure of mural work, and the draining physical labor of mural creation. He shares his many inspirations, the business sense that lets him earn his living as an artist and the sharp eye for design that drives his work. Explore Chad’s murals, paintings, design, logos, music mixes and more at http://www.chadmize.com/chadmize.html Check out the SHINE Mural Festival at http://shineonstpete.com Arts In is produced by Matt and Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair for Creative Pinellas.

The vibrant actor Becca McCoy shares her passion for Shakespeare and the sublime storytelling of musical theatre, in a jolly conversation with Barbara St. Clair. Audiences experienced Becca’s four-and-a-half-octave vocal range in her acclaimed performance last year as the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, and in the intimate cabaret setting of the Palladium Side Door. In recent months she’s tackled Tennessee Williams, nostalgic radio-style comedy and an experimental duo with a dancer at the Gasparilla Fringe Fest. As a hard-working member of Actors Equity, Becca’s realistic about life as a working actor and the need to make your own creative opportunities. She’s eloquent about the unique artform of cabaret, and the joys of lifelong learning and exploring. You can keep up with Becca’s varied work at http://www.beccamccoy.com. Arts In is produced by Matt and Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair for Creative Pinellas. Gasparilla Fringe Fest clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pOEK1928-Y

Rose Marie Prins shares her thoughts on the beauty of abstract art, and the artist’s need to adapt to changing situations and available materials. Her work connects to nature and to healing, both visibly and viscerally, and below the surface. She explores subjects such as habitat destruction and Florida’s water. Viewers often experience an emotional reaction to her paintings and imaginative installations. Born in South Africa, Rose Marie’s paintings, sculptures and mixed-media works are in public, corporate, and private collections in the United States, Canada and Europe. The award-winning artist calls St. Petersburg home, and students at the Morean Arts Center have been studying with her for years. You can see Rose Marie Prins’ artwork in the exhibition, “Sanctuary, East and West” at The Studio@620 in downtown St. Pete, on display May 13-May 30. Rose Marie will give an artist talk at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 13. http://www.thestudioat620.org/events/sanctuary-east-and-west Find out more at http:/

Maureen McDole is a passionate reader and passionate writer. And passionate about creating opportunities for everybody in St Pete to read and write. As the founder and director of Keep St Pete Lit, Maureen has made her literary nonprofit a vital part of the local arts scene. And she’s woven literary arts into visual and performing arts, with the Fantastic Ekphrastic, the Museum of Fine Arts Book Club, the SunLit Festival, First Night and the 100+ writing classes KSPL provides each year at the Morean Arts Center. And along with that, Keep St Pete Lit hosts an annual children’s book drive, open-mic poetry and storytelling, a carefully-curated used bookstore, sunrise poetry and moonlit writing walks. Maureen’s a published poet, recipient of St. Petersburg Art Alliance’s 2016 MUSE Award for Literary Arts, and a true believer that reading can change the world. Keep up with Keep St Pete Lit’s events at - http://keepstpetelit.org Check out their low-cost, professionally-taught writing classes at the Morean

“We’re surrounded by materials. So there’s no reason to not make things.” If you’ve been in downtown St. Pete you have seen James Oleson’s work. The sculptor and muralist shares his infectious enthusiasm for creating public art that’s crafted as a gift to everyone who sees it. James talks about the sense of discovery in his work, and his collaborative projects with St. Petersburg’s Bloom Art Center. He explains in detail his process for creating Fire Sculptures, beautiful at every stage of their existence and especially when alive with 30-foot flames. And he gives us the philosophy of art he shares with children, “If you want to be an artist, you don’t need materials, you don’t need fancy things. You just are an artist and you make stuff out of stuff that’s around you.” You can find out more about James Oleson’s work at http://www.olesonart.com. Keep up with the happenings at Bloom Art Center at http://www.startbloomin.com. Arts In is produced by Matt and Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. C

Everybody knows Paul Wilborn. From jazz at The Palladium, newspaper pages, the emcee of countless arts events, the voice of “Noel Berlin, Cabaret Detective” and half of a beloved creative couple with actor and torch singer Eugenie Bondurant. But Paul is even more than all of that. In this conversation, he shares his experiences as a war correspondent and award-winning journalist, and as one of the mischievous founders of Guavaween. As Executive Director of downtown St. Pete’s Palladium Theatre, Paul explains how a performing arts center focused on local performers can sell out shows and strengthen the area’s music scene. As a tuxedo-clad cabaret pianist, Paul shares his passion for the vibrant songwriting of the 1920s-‘50s. And from his experience serving as Manager of Creative Industries for the City of Tampa, to becoming a mainstay of St. Petersburg’s arts community, Paul shares his thoughtful perspective on the past, present and future of the arts in Tampa Bay. Events at The Palladium Theatre - http

There’s a ship docked in downtown St. Pete with aerialists flying from the rigging. It’s a ship filled with actors and dancers and theatre crew, creating a visually spectacular story about climate change. Adriana Kelder started the Caravan Stage Company with Paul Kirby in the 1970s. They’ve been bringing original productions to small towns and cities around North America - and Europe - for more than 40 years. Adriana and Paul toured with horse-drawn carriages for 20 years before setting sail. They raised a family as they traveled, and built a network of creative collaborators around the world. And while the troupe lives together onboard with a library in the galley and lively shared meals, their website’s up to date and their shows use high-tech gear and video projections. Quiet, passionate and full of humor, Adriana shares the inspiration behind the company and their current production, the risks they take performing political theatre and the pleasures of wanderlust. Find out more about Caravan Stage

Internationally-known artists Robert Stackhouse and Carol Mickett share details of the evolving designs included in their Gateway Plaza commission in Richmond, Virginia. The building was constructed as their artwork was embedded in the structure. They talk about working with German mosaic specialists and how to install art in 8-degree weather while elevators are being installed around you. Find out more about their work at http://mickettstackhouse.com Arts In is produced by Matt and Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair for Creative Pinellas.

Internationally-known architect Yann Weymouth shares the practical ideas behind the Dalí Museum’s striking design, and why the glass pyramid he helped build at the Louvre was a beautifully simple answer to their needs. He shares the stories behind the new James Museum of Western + Wildlife Art that will grace downtown St. Pete this year, and how he let natural light into Miami’s Frost Museum using surfboard technology. Yann Weymouth was honored by French President Francois Mitterand for his work as Chief of Design for I.M. Pei during the Louvre project. He also worked with Pei on Washington D.C.’s National Gallery. In Tampa Bay, you can see his work at the Salvador Dalí Museum and Museum of Fine Arts in St. Pete, the University of South Florida campus in Tampa and Sarasota’s Ringling Museum of Art. Yann’s thoughtful philosophy of creativity and collaboration reveal the layered process of design. This professional who could live anywhere in the world explains why he and Susana Weymouth choose to live in S

Journalist Dr. Lillian Dunlap and actor/director Jaye Sheldon are co-Artistic Directors of Your Real Stories. Based in St. Petersburg, Your Real Stories practices “theatrical journalism.” After in-depth interviews with local residents, they distill each person’s story into a script that an actor shares onstage. Your Real Stories brings real experiences to life, to spark conversations across differences in race, gender and age - while creating a detailed view of local history from many different viewpoints. Find out more at http://www.yourrealstories.org. Check out a video of St Pete Stories - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpFP-keLjrE. And their popular Decades of Day Work series - (see Dropbox video?) StoryDays in Tampa Bay, their week-long storytelling festival, takes place every year in early October. You can follow the schedule of stories told by voice, text, dance, theatre and image on the Your Real Stories Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/YRSinc. Journalist Dr. Lillian Dunlap and act

Ya La’ford Painter, muralist, installation artist, community activist and teacher, Ya La’ford, shares her passion for creating art, and for nurturing the next generation of artists. Ya spoke with Barbara St. Clair after recent work in Thailand and China, and before a project where she’ll be working with children in Cuba. While her artwork is internationally known, Ya’s murals grace buildings throughout her chosen home town of St. Petersburg, including the Morean Arts Center, the James Weldon Johnson Public Library and a beautiful blue tunnel leading to the baseball stadium at Tropicana Field. Ya reveals her intense creative fire, her profound connections to her family and the world around her, and how training in engineering and law have shaped her art practice. Find out more about Ya’s work at http://yalaford.com Arts In is produced by Matt and Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair for Creative Pinellas.

Rebecca Penneys Internationally-acclaimed concert pianist Rebecca Penneys commutes between St. Pete and New York every other week, to teach at the Eastman School of Music. Her infectious sense of humor and the joy she finds in sharing music run throughout this vibrant conversation. Penneys talks about how training as a dancer - and almost giving up piano to pursue a professional ballet career - now shapes the way she plays piano, and the way she teaches even students with carpal tunnel and stress-related injuries to play the piano so it feels like they are having a massage. Rebecca shares her true love, the international piano festival she hosts each summer at USF Tampa. She hosts 40 students from around the world, for free, to learn in a non-competitive environment from a variety of world-class teachers, and to share their music in free performances all over Tampa Bay. rebeccapenneyspianofestival.org Music selections from: Rebecca Penneys & Steinway, Fleur de Son Classics 2005 Recital Gems from Chat