VERO BEACH — Tiger Lily Art Studios and Gallery will present the opening of the First Annual Soup Tureen Show, Chicken Soup for the Potter’s Soul, in conjunction with the Samaritan Center Soup Bowl fundraiser, Thursday, November 4 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Tiger Lily will be participating in the Soup Bowl, serving soup for $5 a bowl on the night of the 4th. Seven of the area’s premier clay artists, Nancy Blair, Sean Clinton, Rich Pierce, Sharon & Sean Sexton, Maria Sparsis and Glenda Taylor have created unique, one of a kind handmade soup tureens for this special event.
Raffle tickets ($1 each) will be available for purchase at each of the sites serving soup during the lunch hour on November 4. Tickets can also be purchased at Tiger Lily that evening and during the month of November while the tureens are on display in the gallery.
The raffle drawing will take place on Friday, December 3 at Tiger Lily Art Studios and Gallery during the Gallery Stroll. Gallery Strolls are held from 5 to 8 pm the first Friday of each month during season.
Maria Sparsis, a marine biologist by training and a scientist by inclination, has mastered the art of sculpting sea life in clay. Born on the island of Cyprus, where some of the finest examples of ceramic art were made centuries ago, Maria is inspired by what she knows intimately – nature, in all its forms. Her soup tureen is typical of much of her work in that it is both exquisitely functional and sculptural.
Sharon and Sean Sexton are very accomplished artists in their own rite, and their soup tureen is a rare collaboration of their exceptional talents. Sharon is a renown painter, sculptor, potter and tile artist, and Sean is an award winning painter, published writer, and has just in the past three years began working in clay. Their idyllic life on an old Florida cattle ranch is often inspiration for their art.
Richard Pierce has created a magnificent sea turtle soup tureen, hand sculpted in stoneware. His unique ceramic pieces are inspired by his love of sailing and motorcycling, and constructed with his engineer’s precision, the result being true sculptural art that is beautifully crafted. This very special tureen will hold over a gallon of your favorite chowder!
Glenda Taylor’s soup tureen showcases her penchant for detail and design in her wheel-thrown ceramic vessels. Glenda, former head of the ceramic department at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, has been a studio potter for over thirty years and her work is included in many private and public collections including the White House’s and has been the featured artist on the cover of an international ceramics magazine. She is one of the founders of Tiger Lily Art Studios and Gallery.
Nancy Blair is currently head of the Ceramics Department at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. She is a nationally known glass and clay artist, and her work is included in many private and public collections, including Elton John’s and the Museum of Glass in Washington. She has recently been selected to represent the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle for Nordstrom department stores. Her tureen is a beautiful example of her mastery in clay.
Sean Clinton is both a potter and graphic designer, and his hand-thrown tureen is proof of his brilliant ability to perfectly combine form and decoration. He teaches raku class at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, and has contributed to the Soup Bowl fundraiser for many years. Sean’s clay pieces are always vigorously sought after and, because each piece is unique, each piece is a treasure.
“The opening of the Tureen Show is a wonderful opportunity to come meet the artists and have a humble meal for a mighty cause,” said Tiger Lily artist Glenda Taylor.
Though winners need not be present to claim their tureen, you won’t want to miss this exciting event!
