Glass photo: Josh Fuller / Building photo: Randy Van D uinen
/ B o a t
photo: Terry Rishel /
photo: T. Mills / Chairphoto: A
1
Zimmerman
Dale Chihuly s 12-foot-
long
F lo a t B o a t
(2010),
overflowing with glass
spheres, is among the
many dazzling pieces in
the Chihuly Collection.
Solom on G allery, w h ich dis-
plays e d g y sculptural ceram ics.
F lo rid a C ra ftsm en G a lle ry
sh ow cases the w o r k o f 300
F lo rid a artists - in je w e lr y ,
fiber, w o o d , glass, and cla y -
and o ffers region al and n ational
displays. U pstairs, artists occupy
18 stud io spaces. A lo n g C en tral
A v e n u e , near d o w n to w n and
in the u p -an d -com in g G ran d
C en tra l n eigh b o rh o o d , there
are m ore stud ios, co -o p s, and
galleries, plus cu p cak e, c h o co -
late, and b ro w n ie shops, an
o live oil sto re, cigar lo u n ges,
and bars and restaurants rang-
in g fro m ch ic to ch e e ky .
In a 1918 b u n g a lo w , C ra fts -
m an H o u se sh ow s the w o r k o f
m ore than 300 artists and offers
a full m enu served on p o tte r y
m ade on site b y three resid en t
artists. “W e g e t a lo t o f people
on arts v a ca tio n s,” says S tep h a -
nie Sch orr, one o f th e resid en t
potters. C raftsm an H ou se offers
readin gs, co n certs, celeb rity-
c h e f d em on stratio n s, and an
annual “ p o t ro ast” : B u y a p o t
righ t ou t o f th e kiln , fill it up
w ith com p lim en tary p o t roast.
In 19 8 6, N a n c y M a rk o e
o p e n ed her g a lle ry on St. P e te
B ea ch , ju st across th e C itylin e
on th e G u lf o f M e x ic o . T h e
scen e th en “w a s n oth in g like it
is n o w ,” she says. L o ca l artists
creatin g w o r k on site are “like
th e F re ed o m T ra il in B o s to n ,”
a real tou rist attraction .
T o u rists are also d raw n to
th e h o t shop at th e M o rea n
A r ts C e n te r, w h e re the furnace
holds 350 poun ds o f m olten
glass th at liquefies at 2,275
d egrees F . V isito rs fill the
bleachers to w a tc h g la ssb lo w -
ing, and the artists’ creations are
sold in an adjacent show room .
T h e c ity ’s sm all scale is one
o f its assets, says R uss G ustafson-
H ilto n ; he had a lo n g career as a
c la y artist and teach er and w as a
fo u n d er o f the St. P etersb u rg
C la y C o m p a n y , housed in a
form er train d e p o t (also hom e
to stud ios, a sh op , ga llery, d em -
on stratio n s, and classes in one
o f the largest cla y facilities in
th e S o u th east). H e ’s n o w the
stud io coord in ator o f the
M o rea n h o t shop.
In S t. P e te , he says, “y o u
p re tty m uch can see e v e r y th in g ”
in a short sta y, “ and the q u ality
o f things y o u ’re go in g to see is
really to p -n o tc h .”
+
ch ih u lvco llectio n stp e te.co m
cra ftsm an h o u segallery.com
dm glass.com
flo ridacraftsm en .n et
m in d vso lom on .com
m orean artscen ter.org
n an cvm arko egallery.co m
shapiro gallery.co m
stp e te cla v.co m
thedali.org
J u d y S t a r k i s t h e f o r m e r
h o m e a n d g a r d e n e d it o r o f t h e
St. P etersb u rg T im es.
Left: A
1
Zimmerman
(U n title d ,
2011) is among
the 300 Florida artists
showcased at the Florida
Craftsmen Gallery.
Right: Craftsman House
Gallery displays work by
local and regional artists,
including
R u ffle d J a r
(2009) by Gay Smith.
dec/jani2 american craft 079
