DIVE CHARTER NEEDS YOU! Help fund a fun project!

“Dive Charter” is a locally-produced (based in Pompano Beach, FL) docu-reality web series that brings the viewer the story of a day in the life of a dive charter boat. In addition to showing the daily operations of a dive charter boat, there is also an educational component covering a different subject in each episode. The goal of “Dive Charter” is to make divers and non-divers aware of diving in the Pompano Beach area, and to consider Pompano Beach as a vacation destination.

We’re in the process of creating our next episode and our funding has RUN OUT!
Can we count on you, our fans, to help us continue bringing you new episodes?
Click here to see how you can support the show ( and pick up a reward or two in the process! ) Also check out DiveCharter.tv to watch the episodes.

I’ve always loved working large so this is a challenge. But one that I’m enjoying. I will still be working on my new series “Heart and Soul” and will look to exhibit those next winter. I’d love to hear your comments on this subject. Feedback is always welcome.

Not your average deck of cards….each card in this unique deck is designed by an artist from each state as well as D.C., Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The U.S.A. deck is printed in the U.S.A.

I’m so proud to have been chosen as the artist for the state of Florida. I painted a Flamingo named “Zelda” for this deck of cards. She will be the 2 of clubs. That is her there in the photo used to promote the cards.

This is a wonderful project that helps to promote artists locally and nationally. Their current city decks, The Charlotte NC Project, The Portland OR Project, and The Washington DC Project decks are proving to be an overwhelming success with artists, consumers and local retailers. And now with the launch of this latest deck, the United States Project deck, they will be able to ensure their artists will reach their widest audience ever.

I would love to see a South Florida Deck or a Broward County Deck. We have such dedicated talent in Broward.

If you are a local retailer interested in selling this deck, send me an email and I will connect you with the Publisher.

So two things excited me. First I saw Andy Warhol’s Judy Garland from the Blackglama ad Campaign. I worked at the ad agency that created these original ads and it brought back memories. I was an assistant to the Art Director and usually bought the shoes for these ads. No other styling was required. I knew that Warhol did his “What becomes a legend most?” but I had never seen it. It was the highlight of the evening for me.

I also found the work of Augusto Esquivel to be exciting. His sculpture is done with buttons strung on clear wire. In his words, “Like an atom in a molecule, each button serves and shapes the whole”. Visit his site to see more of his work.

Art Aquatic at Pompano Citi Centre
The corner of Copans and Federal Highway
Art Aquatic located on the second floor above Belis at the top of the escalator from the courtyard. Click here for a mall location map.

Opening night will coincide with Art Night Pompano, which will also be held at the mall. Live music and refreshments will be on hand opening night, May 21st, from 6:30 to 10 pm. Following the opening, the exhibit will be open 10 am until 6 pm Monday through Saturday through June 4th. There is no charge for admission.

Barkley, owner of Video Dude Productions and an avid scuba diver and well-known underwater videographer, has produced a number of underwater documentaries including one most recently for National Geographic.

Clifton’s desire to showcase the beauty of Florida’s underwater world led her to apply for the Broward County grant and hopes to expose the fishing / boating / water sports enthusiast to more cultural activities such as this.

“The beauty of the sea and life below the surface is nature’s art,” Clifton said. “I chose Pompano Beach for the project location because there are very few art exhibits in the area. I feel that an exhibit of this type…will help to educate the public and make them better aware of the beauty that can be found just off shore.”

A long time resident of Ft. Lauderdale with a successful business as a web designer, Clifton has been in the graphic arts field for more than 30 years. She studied art at the Philadelphia College of Art and Moore College of Art where she realized her talent as a painter. After college, she landed a job with a fashion advertising agency in New York where she worked with such photography icons as Richard Avedon and Francesco Scavullo. She later started her own advertising agency in New York and then moved to Florida in 1987 where she designed catalogs for a number of fashion retailers including Lillie Rubin and Swim ‘n Sport. As the Internet grew in popularity and importance, Clifton decided to focus on web design, and it wasn’t until five years ago that she started to paint again. Since then she has had several gallery shows and has been an active participant in the arts community serving as vice president of the South Florida Artists Association, and is committed to bringing new business opportunities to South Florida artists.

For more information about the Art Aquatic exhibition please contact Susan Clifton at (954) 782-9887, susan@clifton.com, or go to www.artaquatic.com.

A series of full-day sessions to be offered on four Saturdays,
starting June 4, 2011 at ArtServe Inc., 1350 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Broward Cultural Division, The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC), and ArtServe, Inc. announce The Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute (AEI) for South Florida artists to be presented on four Saturdays in June 2011, at ArtServe, Inc., 1350 East Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

The AEI is an artist-focused course of study designed to assist individual artists of all disciplines (visual, musicians, writers, media, theater, performing arts) by cultivating and advancing their business skills, and is designed at strengthening their operating infrastructure and expanding their businesses. To date, 250 South Florida artists have graduated from the Institute. AEI will be offered as 18 classes convening during full-day sessions (9:00 am – 6:00 pm) on June 4, 11 & 18, and a Business Plan Clinic and Workshop on June 25, 2011 (9:00 am – 2:00 pm).

Registrants will receive an AEI course book, an indispensable resource for artists. Developed by CPAC, the course book features exercises and readings to prepare for each session, and is tailored to the specific needs of artist entrepreneurs.

The Business Plan Clinic guides participants through preparation of a simple business plan, an essential tool for any artist. In addition, participants will learn how to work effectively with lenders to obtain financial support through the Artist Micro Credit Program, a community-based revolving loan program, designed to assist resident Broward County practicing professional and emerging artists.

Designed to help artists operate in the marketplace more successfully, the AEI course curriculum covers all aspects of developing an artistic business. It helps artists identify and develop their personal brand, develop strategies for communicating with target markets, raise capital and identify a variety of tools for protecting one’s work legally. “Taking the AEI course was the best thing I could have done for my art career, and esteem as an artist, says AEI graduate Liora Davis. “I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

AEI is led by a premier faculty composed of leading business practitioners and artists familiar with arts and culture from the South Florida region. Faculty members instruct artists through a series of lectures, panels and discussions.

“Art works” is a declaration that with two million full-time artists and 5.7 million arts-related jobs in this country, arts jobs are real jobs that are part of the real economy. Art workers pay taxes, and art contributes to economic growth, neighborhood revitalization, and the livability of American towns and cities.” Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman.

Participation costs $100 and includes light refreshments and free parking. Click HERE to register online or contact Broward Cultural Division’s Grants Management Specialist Adriane Clarke, at 954-357-7530 for more information.

For more information about the history of the course and its success in northeast Ohio, please contact, Megan L. Van Voorhis, vice president, Community Partnerships for Arts and Culture, Cleveland, OH, 216-575-0331; E-Mail: mlv@cpacbiz.org.

CPAC, program founder of the AEI, has provided comprehensive business training to more than 600 artists nationwide; this service is made possible by the generous financial support of Dominion, with additional support from the Cleveland Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Kulas Foundation, and the John P. Murphy Foundation.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Presented by Artistic Productions. Video by Doug Barkley.

Presented by Artistic Productions. Video by Doug Barkley.

Thank you to Charlotte Sundquist for your hard work putting this event together and including me in this talented group of artists.

Location: Pompano Citi Centre
Corner of Copans Road and Federal Highway (Next to Footlocker)
Opening Reception: Friday, August 20th, 2010
Time: 6:30 to 9:30 pm