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© St. Petersburg Times, published April 11, 2002
Tensions that provoke thought
Betsy Orbe Lester brings the sometimes mutually exclusive themes of femininity and feminism together in her canvases in her latest show New Works in Mixed Media at Merrick Gallery, 330 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg. Those familiar with her work will recognize the images of frivolity -- shoes, handbags, gloves, hats, flirty dresses -- juxtaposed against prison-gray backgrounds. In Last Dance, above, the figure, constrained by a leash, transforms it into a tease. Are women liberated by their power to seduce or enslaved by it, these works seem to ask. No answers here, but an interesting point of discussion.
Also at Merrick, Herb Snitzer: Faces and Voices, St. Petersburg Up Close. Both shows run through May 1, when Merrick Gallery will close permanently. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. For information call (727) 896-2787.
Tarpon Springs draws 225 artists from around the country to the edge of Spring Bayou this weekend for the 28th annual Tarpon Springs Arts and Crafts Festival.
The artists' work is wide ranging, from acrylics to wood, from serious to whimsical.
A festival patron, above, takes a picture of Ronald Lemoine's hand-forged copper sculpture Off the Hook in 1999. Lemoine will be exhibiting again this year.
Also among the exhibitors are Bill Kwok Tchui of Alta Loma, Calif., photography, who won a $1,500 Award of Excellence at last year's Mainsail Arts Festival in St. Petersburg; Katherine Parker of St. Augustine, graphics, and Charles Chrisco of Rural Hall, N.C., ceramics, both Mainsail $750 Award of Distinction winners; Tim and Erika Peters of Winter Haven, ceramics, $700 Award of Merit winners at last year's Dunedin Art Harvest; Dave Bruner of Sarasota, graphics, and May Yang of Newton, N.C., fiber, both $1,000 Award of Merit winner from last month's Gasparilla Festival of the Arts.
Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Craig Park on the bayou, Orange Street just west of Alt. U.S. 19. Admission is $2. For information, call (727) 937-6109.