VERO BEACH — Sweaters and jackets were taken out of storage for Friday night’s Gallery Stroll in Vero’s 3-D District. A slightly less than usual crowd was nonetheless appreciative of the talent displayed by local artists at the various galleries.
Donned with chef hats and aprons, members of the Artists Guild Gallery were launching their brand new cookbook, From Our Palette to Your Palate.
“We’re all starving artists here,” said Judy Burgarella with a smile.
Members were showing off their culinary skills with a selection of appetizers from several recipes in the book. Each Guild member had submitted a painting for the cookbook for use as face pages and section dividers, and those were all on display in their Guest Artist room. The exhibit will remain up through the end of November.
Christine Thomas, originally from Glasgow, Scotland, had on a colorful kilt apron, complete with sporran. She had packaged up home-made dog biscuits for people to take, from a recipe she submitted for the cookbook.
“I use my border collie-mix Emma as my test dog,” said Thomas, who also included other recipes, including one for her mother’s shortbread, and a whiskey-based Highland Gallic Punch.
“I think our cookbook will go over really well. It has a lot of European recipes,” said Thomas, commenting on the international background of many of the Guild members.
Businesses were also sporting a gallery-inspired flair, including The Brenner Collection which was enticing people into their shop with a display of vividly colored paintings by recent Satellite Beach transplant Cherie Cruden.
“She is premiering her art in Vero Beach at Brenner,” said owner Debbie Brenner.
Down the street, Gallery 14 artists were happily showing off their newly refurbished space, repainted and spiffed up over a two month hiatus. Regulars to the Gallery were anxious to view the additional pieces completed by artists during the interval.
Jewelry artist Deb Polackwich had come up with an impressive new way to show off her lovely earring and necklace combinations. Rather than laying them out inside the usual jewelry display, she had pinned them onto doilies which were then framed and hung on the wall.
“I got the doilies from my mother; they were my great-grandmother’s,” explained Polackwich.
This month’s guest artist at Gallery 14 is Carol Staub, whose mixed media experimental art had drawn visitors over from Sarasota to see her work.
“This area is really coming into its own,” said Gallery 14 artist Barbara Landry. “For a while there was very little to draw people downtown; we’re very pleased.”
At Tiger Lily Studios and Gallery, a protective Shotsi LaJoie was hovering over the five exquisite soup tureens being raffled this month through the First Annual Soup Tureen Show: Chicken Soup for the Potter’s Soul. The Soup Tureen Show is an offshoot of the annual Soup Bowl to benefit the Samaritan Center.
Despite signs to the contrary, people kept attempting to caress the fragile pieces. And who could blame them; the unique hand-crafted pieces created by pottery artists Nancy Blair, Sean Clinton, Rich Pierce, Sharon & Sean Sexton, Maria Sparsis and Glenda Taylor, are fabulous.
“We’ve never done multiple tureens before,” said Soup Bowl co-chair and Tiger Lily artist LaJoie. Yesterday we sold over $3,000 in raffle tickets.”
Tickets are being sold “Chinese Auction” style. People purchase as many $1 tickets as they’d like, and then put the tickets into one of five boxes, each representing a different tureen.
“The turtle is my favorite. He has a personality,” said Bonnie DeWaters of Rich Pierce’s tureen. “It’s so unique. I wouldn’t want to use it for soup though; it’s much too beautiful.”
Her comments were regularly echoed by others; with most indicating the pieces would be used as decorative works of art.
Across the street, in front of Tropic Art and Frame, a Barbara Sharp cut-out was waving to passers-by, perched inside Tropic Art owner Lee Orre’s 1948 Willy’s Jeepster.
“I wanted to do something to show people that Barbara was here,” explained Orre who made the cut-out from foam poster-board and a photo of Sharp. “My dogs keep barking and growling at it.”
A number of Sharp’s pieces are on display at Tropic Art, including a colorful new drink label she created.
“I made it for a new drink Alfredo [Versace] came up with for children,” said Sharp.
Galleries, restaurants and shops in the downtown area will continue to host the 3-D Gallery Strolls on the first Friday of every month, throughout the season. {igallery 294}
