Longtime St. Johnian Lisa Etre has been painting for decades. As a co-founder of the Pink Papaya gift shop in Cruz Bay, her bright, island-inspired paintings, prints, place mats and coasters went to the states in many a suitcase.
Now, she’s moved on from supplying the shop, but she continues to create new works – which you can see on her web site (http://www.lisaetre.com). In an interview with the with the St. John Source, she described how she’s also moving into new media, including handmade books, jewelry and masks.
The Christmas City is going to get a dose of rhythm Thursday as St. John's premier reggae band, Inner Visions, takes the stage at Noon, part of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's week-long Musikfest.
"This huge festival is the bomb!," the band wrote on their Facebook page. "Had (us) a few years back, for a day, and requested us back for two years straight! By popular demand!"
Meanwhile, the band's annual summer tour has had the group at the Club Helsinki in the Berkshire mountains, at The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ, and Crosstown Station in Kansas City, Mo.
The band really liked the Asbury Park date, playing with other groups. "Was great to hear Dub Proof and Randomtest reggae bands do their thing too! Taking a few hours of rest before heading Upstate to Hudson NY at Club Helsinki. Should be a continuation of the madness we have been accustomed to with the awesome vibes there."
The picture above is from the group's Long Beach Island, NJ date – body surfing!
The big St. John Festival parade drew hundreds of colorfully-outfitted marchers and performers PLUS the video makers from Palm Tree TV.
Lyrics like “Shake, Shake It” and “Hands Up! Hands Up!” invigorated the more demonstrative marchers in what was a morning full of music, laughter and good fun. This video by the Palm Tree Charters people lasts about eight minutes and has a thoroughly-St. Johnian music track.
You can see many more St. John videos from Palm Tree on its YouTube Channel here.
The Michael Banzhaf Gallery in Cruz Bay is featuring the work of four island painters this month.
Kat Sowa has been on the island for nearly 14 years and has become well known was the Resident Artist at Caneel Bay. Her Web site is http://www.katsowa.com/.
Joan Farenkopf, when she's not creating art on the island, makes a home in North Carolina where she is a yoga therapist.
Bente Hirsch, has worked with Holiday Homes Real Estate and has a rental villa http://www.bentesfancy.com/. She is showing some of her watercolors.
The centerpiece at Michael Banzhaf's gallery this month is his own work. An example of the goldsmith's art is "Lily Pad," an 18 karat gold necklace which carries a small diamond on each "Pad."
Besides his own work, Banzhaf is also featuring the paintings of Monica Rios. Her work is inspired by dreams and tropical scenery and often includes cats. So it's not surprising that 10% of the proceeds of the sale of her work at the Cruz Bay gallery will be donated to the St. John Animal Care Center.
While merchants on the mainland are just hoping to get a decent Back to School season, Elaine Estern is already gearing up for Christmas. She’s taking pre-orders for her 2010 Calendar, and built interest by running a contest to name the item.
There were several winners who offered “St. John Citizens,” the chosen entry. Estern said she’ll give autographed copies of the calendar to them: Jim and Annette Harper and Sandy Dean. But rather than people of St. John, the "Citizens" depicted are animals: fish, peacocks, dogs, cats, and various beautiful birds. Each of the monthly pages feature one of Estern’s colorful, sometimes whimsical, and always entertaining watercolors.
I used to live in Chicago, where they DO say, “Vote early. Vote often.”
Well, in this case, it’s nearly the last minute, but, if you’re a VI resident you can support two St. Johnians whose photographs are finalists in the Territory’s “Share My USVI” competition, sponsored by the Department of Tourism. Deadline for voting is Sunday, May 17.
Lisa Etre, a longtime resident multi-media artist, is one of he island’s finalists, and Julia Pergolizzi from East End is the second.
Lisa’s entry is “Keepin’ de Beat” in the Culture and Heritage category.
Julia’s contribution is a picture of bananaquits at feeding time.
“Julia’s become interested in photography and took a bunch of pictures … and is now a finalist in her age group (ages 11-13),” wrote Louise, her mother. “She’s so excited about it.”
The rules of the contest say only legal VI residents can vote, and only people who are eligible to vote can see the finalist photos. But anybody can go to www.sharemyusvi.com and see many of the contest’s entries.
The International Caribbean Art Fair wrapped up its second annual exhibition and sale Sunday.
The three-day expo featured artworks by Caribbean artists—either living in or outside of the Caribbean islands. As many as 40 galleries and artists representing the best in Caribbean art were exhibiting, including St. John’sJanet Cook Rutnik.
The ICAF venue was The Tunnel in the Chelsea gallery district of Manhattan. It spans a city block and boasts 22,000 square feet of space. The Fair's Web site is http://icafair.com/attendees/index.html
One of the sponsors of the international fair was Virgin Voices, a tourist publication for the Virgin Islands.
The Artists Association of St. John debuted its third annual "Replicating the Masters" event. The theme is to have local artists try their hand at painting in the style of the great masters, like Monet and Chagall. The exhibition opened this week with dozens of pieces of art on display and an auction at the Association’s gallery in the Lumberyard. The show is scheduled to continue until Feb. 10.
Amanda Smith, the new Gallery Director for the Artists Association of St. John, is drawing up some big plans.
Suspecting there’s a little bit of artist in many locals, she’s hoping that, eventually, the group’s gallery will host not only regular exhibits of members’ work but also daily classes.
"Everybody thinks you have to be a pro, but that;’s not true," Smith explained in an interview. While she started painting nine years ago as a hobby, "When you constantly (keep at it), you improve." By having classes in many media ranging from oil painting to watercolor to sculpture to jewelry making, she hopes to "reach people who are even just looking for a hobby. I don’t want them intimidated."
You can listen to the interview with Smith. Press the "Play" arrow.
You can also download or hear the conversation by clicking here.
Smith signed on as Gallery director earlier this year, just as the group was moving from the Marketplace to larger space at the Lumberyard, where Polli’s Mexican restaurant used to be. The Association has 152 members, most of whom are full-time residents. Each is given 16 square feet each month to display their work.
Each month’s featured artists are given an entire wall. The current exhibit highlights photography and paintings by Janet Cook-Rutnik. December will highlight the paintings of Smith, the gallery director, and Lucy Portlock, a watercolorist. An opening reception is planned for Dec. 13th at 6 p.m.
Smith also plans to open a small art supply shop next month, adjacent to the Gallery, Pirates Paradise Art Supply. Inventory will include "better and best" lines of acrylics, watercolors, oils, brushes, canvases and paper.
