Donated Photos Have Come to City Hall

Back in December, Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Jacobs donated three beautiful photos that were taken by Peggy right here in Wellington. I'm pleased to announce that they are now hanging in the Wellington City Hall. You can see them on the second floor, right side. They are across from large windows that provide beautiful natural lighting.

Peggy Jacobs took these photos at the Big Blue Preserve right in the heart of Wellington. You can see at least seven species of birds, including the elusive roseate spoonbill. As you can see, Peggy is a natural artist with the camera.

A few of our Board members met at the City Hall so pictures could be taken for an upcoming article in The Palm Beach Post. As we were gathering downstairs waiting for the photographer, we got an unexpected surprise. It seems Jeremy Jacobs is the owner of the Boston Bruins hockey team. Since May of last year, they have been the proud owners of the Stanley Cup. While we waited, suddenly a firetruck arrived, with full lights and siren, escorting the Cup! It was brought in to the lobby of the City Hall, and we all took turns getting our picture taken with the Cup. We even got to try on Mr. Jacobs championship ring! Here we are surrounding the cup.

Left to right: Linda Rovolis (1st Vice President), Tony Baker (Director), Ilene Adams (Director), Leslie Pfeiffer (Director), Suzanne Redmond (President), Sandy Axelrod (Recording Secretary), Jean Talbott (Treasurer), Peggy Jacobs, and Adrianne Hetherington (Corresponding Secretary).

What's an ATC?

For many of you artists out there, you know exactly what it is. ATC stands for Artist Trading Card. I don't know who invented it, but I'm guessing it was a very generous artist. You see, Artist Trading Cards are small works of art, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" (the size of a playing card). The idea is to make a small piece of art and trade it with another artist. No money changes hands. You are giving your art to another, but then you are getting one of theirs in return.

Sometimes they are traded in organized swaps. If a dozen artists say they're going to trade, then you need to make a dozen ATCs to have to trade.

Sometimes you trade in person, and sometimes you trade through the mail. You may not ever meet the artist, but it sure is fun when you receive that package in the mail and you know it's someone's wonderful art. An artist may choose to be a host or hostess of a swap. Usually that means that all of the ATCs will be mailed to her home. She then splits them up so everyone gets one of each, and mails them back to each artist with the postage they have provided. At the Wellington Art Society, we go out to dinner together to swap. We get an idea of how many people are coming, and then we email everyone so they know how many to make. There are about 20 of us in the group who make ATCs, and 8-12 will participate in any given swap. Our latest swap/dinner was held at I'm Greek Today in Royal Palm Beach.

We choose a theme for our swaps. This time, the theme was Dreams.

Sometimes ATCs are interactive. They have some movement, an insert, a puzzle. This next one shows someone dreaming of inner peace.

This one uses a song lyric as inspiration. Who can remember The Eurhythmics singing "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" back in the 80's? I brought it forward to this decade and crafted the latest trendy treat, a cupcake.

This artist looked into the meanings of dreams. That generated a lively conversation over dinner.

Who hasn't at one time dreamed of flying?

We do 3 - 4 ATC dinners per year. We haven't scheduled the next one yet. Do you have any suggestion for a theme?

Wildlife Photos Donated to the Wellington Art Society

On December 15, 2011, Jeremy and Peggy Jacobs presented the Wellington Art Society with three photographs that were taken by Peggy in a preserve area near their home in Wellington. I was pleased to accept these photographs on the Art Society's behalf. They are now displayed at the Wellington City Hall. Here is the press release:

Wellington, FL - December 16, 2011 - The home of Peggy and Jeremy Jacobs was filled with guests on the evening of December 15, 2011. The reception honored their special gift to the Wellington Art Society, three stunning photographs representing the natural beauty of Wellington, and showcased other photographic images included in Mrs. Jacob's unique and personal collection.

The Jacobs are well known for their preservation efforts including those in Wellington and around the world. Mrs. Jacobs' collection of photos features the beauty of nature with local photographs as well as those from across the nation. It is obvious that she has a natural talent and a photographer's eye; her photographs capture the essence of the nature.

"My wife has a strong background and passion for preservation," Mr. Jacobs said. "The photographs that we are giving to the Wellington Art Society were taken at Big Blue. Peggy and I were supposed to be going out to dinner, and as we were headed out the door, she excused herself and drove off. When she came back, she exclaimed, 'I got it, the light was perfect!' And this is where the photos came from. When I saw them, I knew that these were something that needed to be shared."

The Jacobs are honored to be able to share the photographs with the Wellington Art Society. "I hope these pictures will remind us all what we need to protect in our community," Mrs. Jacobs explained.

The Jacobs continue to restore and preserve on a daily basis, including within the city of Wellington. Special guest Thomas Herrera-Mishler, CEO of Olmsted Parks Conservancy, acknowledged his awe at the foresight seen to preserve the green space in the city.

"There are many cities that have become post-industrial and never preserved the green space for today and for the future, but I am so impressed by the community and the area that has been intentionally preserved in Wellington. The community has richness and a feeling to it that is really special. By taking steps to preserve the open space and what is special about Wellington, you are saving future generations from coming back and having to spend tons of millions of dollars to recapture what you are enjoying today," Herrera-Mishler said.

The Wellington Art Society will showcase the three photos at Wellington City Hall. The organization was founded in 1981 by Johanna Secor, a world-renowned artist from Connecticut. In the recent years, the Wellington Art Society has grown and become more visible within the Wellington community. The Mrs. Jacobs' photographs will provide an excellent opportunity to support the artistic and cultural endeavors in the Western Communities.

Nancy Tilles Displays Her Art at Whole Foods

Nancy Tilles displayed her sea life oil paintings at Whole Foods Market in Wellington from September 1 - November 30, 2011. Nancy is an award winning artist, well known for her portraits and paintings, which are often of marine life, and tropical trees and flowers. She is influenced by living in South Florida for over 30 years.

Nancy's work has been commissioned publicly and privately numerous times. Her underwater series entitled "Sea eScape" was purchased by the City of Sunny Isles in Miami Beach. Community participation is important to Nancy and she regularly donates work to various charitable organizations. In 2011 her painting "Gemstone Hawksbill Turtle" was chosen to represent the Art Fest by the Sea in Jupiter with a commemorative poster. Her portrait of a young rider jumping her horse in “Sheer Determination”, was awarded best of show and chosen as the cover of “Palms West Almanac” Magazine 2004. She is presently licensing many of her images to be used on various products.

On October 21, we held a reception in her honor at Whole Foods Market. Her newest 9'x5' triptych inspired by the Water Lilies at McKee Gardens in Vero Beach was unveiled and displayed that night only.

Over 50 people attended the reception. Here are WAS members Joanne Baker MacLeod, Suzanne Redmond, Leslie Pfeiffer, and Linda Rovolis enjoying the evening.

Joanne Baker MacLeod -- Whole Foods Artist

The Wellington Art Society was invited by Whole Foods Market in Wellington to run their Cafe Artist program. Their roomy cafe has plenty of wall space to hang art, and lots of windows to provide natural light. The program is open to Wellington Art Society members, and is offered as a three-month solo artist show. Members must apply to have the show, providing photos of at least 12 paintings to display. A selection committee chooses the artist, factoring in cohesiveness of the dozen paintings, and looking for Florida or nature-inspired paintings that would go with the Whole Foods Market. In the middle of the three-month period, Whole Foods hosts a reception to honor the artist. They provide wine, cheese, pastries, and invite a musician to entertain for the evening. We were pleased to choose Joanne Baker MacLeod as our first Whole Foods artist. Joanne began her art journey as a young girl, starting first with drawing. She went on to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where she earned a Fine Arts Degree with a major in Commercial Art. She began painting in college, and never stopped, developing a love of working in oil. After her three children grew up, she was able to spend even more time painting. She moved to Wellington with her husband in 1997. She loves painting realistic nature scenes, and inspiration comes from the many wildlife sanctuaries here. Here are a few of her oil paintings, as they were displayed at the Whole Foods Market Cafe.

Joanne had her paintings displayed from June 1 - August 31, 2011. Her reception was July 22, 2011. The Whole Foods Market is located in Wellington on SR7, just south of the Wellington Green Mall. The cafe is at the left side of the market, and you can visit there to see the art of the latest Wellington Art Society Whole Foods artist.

Painting and Collage with Adrianne Hetherington

Adrianne Hetherington spent two years as President of the Wellington Art Society. She lead us through the rewriting of our by-laws, the creation of a website, and two large outdoor art shows. When you're busy running things, you're not always able to steal time away to make your own art. Adrianne has made up for lost time, and is now creating beautiful mixed media art pieces. We were lucky enough to see her demonstrate her techniques at our January 12 members' meeting.

 

Adrianne uses acrylic paints and various papers to create her collages. She takes tissue, crumbles it, and adheres it right to the canvas using a gel medium and a brush. When dry, she paints over the paper. As she works, she begins to see shapes form. She hasn't started out with a picture in mind, but her combinations lead to beautiful outdoor scenes.

You can see more of Adrianne's art on her website.