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With art classes galore and a wide-ranging faculty show, the Dunedin Fine Art Center is a happening place to be.
By LENNIE BENNETT
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 13, 2002
DUNEDIN -- With the advent of summer and the children's art program, the Dunedin Fine Art Center is bustling. The shortened summer break from school in Pinellas County means facilities like Dunedin must offer more classes at one time, rather than spreading them out, to get the participation and revenue they count on each year. That situation and the popular adult classes have created such a space crunch that one gallery now is being used as a classroom.
But the main gallery brims with the annual faculty show. David Shankweiler, the museum's curator, calls it "a sampler. It gives you an idea of the depth, talent and variety of what we offer." It's also an opportunity for prospective students to check out the work of the instructors.
Thirty-seven artists submitted one piece each for the show, one indication of its eclectic nature. Watercolor makes a strong showing here. Traveling Companions by Gwendolyn Gutwein and Kristine van Ingen's Flow (Newlandscapes), a brooding departure from the usual clear hues of a watercolor landscape, stand out among that genre.
Dream Come True, a lacquered clay bust by Kyu Yamamoto, is simply beautiful. And Melissa Miller Nece's sure hand with colored pencils results in a beach scene both realistic and romantic.
Among other work worth lingering over are a mixed media piece by Marie Cummings, once a student at the center and now a teacher; calligrapher Linda Renc's Exhilaration, which she drew on canvas instead of her usual paper base; Brooke Allison's Dance With Me; and Mitch Kolbe's proficient portrait of two sisters. Its subject matter and title, You're Looking At Me, will make most parents smile with recognition.
Like many small not-for-profit organizations, the Dunedin Fine Art Center is enduring a lean season despite solid community support.
"This had been a tough year, and I'm not even going to blame it on 9/11," Shankweiler said. "It's a tough economy. We're growing but we don't have a lot in the bank."
The museum is wise to build an endowment, which Shankweiler said is around $500,000; he adds it won't be "ready to tap into until it gets to be about $1-million."
A visit to the Dunedin Fine Art Center is family-friendly, too, with its David L. Mason Children's Art Museum offering a variety of activities, including a child-scale theater where kids can choose backdrops, costumes and lighting for their productions, a puppet theater and numerous video stations.
REVIEW: "Faculty Artworks 2002," through July 28 at Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Center admission is free; admission to David L. Mason Children's Art Museum is $4 general, seniors are $3.50, children 2 and under and members are free. (727) 298-3322 or www.dfac.org.