Galleries - Butterfield and Beach
Butterfield Art Garage
By: Kate Happe
Butterfield Garage Art Gallery, situated in the quaintness of downtown St. Augustine, boasts a diverse mix of fascinating works by artists from all walks of life. Member artists of the Butterfield Art Garage have invited the artists they admire to feature their captivating work all October long in the gallery.
The opening weekend of the Butterfield Garage Invitational featured works from the Roberts Family, Katharine Evans and FiberArts Network artists.
Painter Dee Roberts invited her multifaceted family of artisans to feature their work ranging from pottery to photography, and glass work to metal casted soap. Dee’s work can be described as abstract, through her naturalistic drawings created from a multitude of mediums. The work of the Roberts family is sure to catch your attention.
Flagler College alumna, Katharine Evans was invited to the Invitational by Butterfield’s very own founder, Jan Miller. Evans’s exquisite graphite work leaves viewers enamored with its delicate detail and provoking imagery. Her evocative compositions display themes of femininity through soft, still-life images and in her words, “dealing with the female experience.”
Evans credits much of the inspiration for her compositions to intuition and a feeling she hopes to express through her work, such as the feeling of water on the tip of the nose, or the feeling of being stuck, as expressed through the fish on the plate.
She states, “A lot of my work deals with the feeling of reconciling nothingness after death, and trying to find meaning within life, even if there isn’t a concrete set of beliefs that I have...It could be as simple as the way the light hits the glass, it is beautiful and has its own profound meaning.”
The first weekend of the Invitational also displayed masterful works of contemporary fiber art and textiles from Fiber Arts Network Artists, Gretchen Jolles Taylor, Becky Stack, and Diane Hamburg. FAN has been spearheading the mission towards fostering awareness and appreciation for fiber art among the community for the last 25 years.
Other notable artists featured at the Butterfield Garage Invitational include accomplished photographer Sean Kelly Conway from Fine Image Printing, acrylic artist Angel Cox and professional artist and teacher Jo Sinclair, who’s series of mixed-media artwork have dazzled viewers throughout her professional career.
The event also featured artists Pat Kronover, who has won numerous awards for her poetry and photography, painter and Flagler College professor of the arts, Sara Pedigo, painter and printmaker, Maria Henele, as well as Valerie Pothier-Forrester, who’s work emanates en plein air painting, and who’s alcohol-ink florals attracted the attention of each viewer at the Invitational.
Butterfield welcomes all to visit the gallery and become immersed in their transformative world of art.
The St. Augustine Art Studio and Beach Gallery
By: Hannah Carlsward
As a lifelong artist moving to St. Augustine, Paul Slava knew he wanted to continue art in the nation’s oldest city. However, when he didn’t “fit in” with the local art scene, Slava found a place that he could help build from the ground up. While driving beachside one day, he saw a sign that a potential art gallery would be opening soon. He called that day, and was there the next helping build from scratch the art gallery of their dreams.
“We had a bunch of artists pretending we were construction workers and plumbers. I remember pulling wire and nailing drywall. It was amazing. It was truly a passion project.”
Located at 370A A1A Beach Boulevard, Slava has been there since the beginning helping The St. Augustine Art Studio and Beach Gallery get its name and its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. He soon became president of the Beach Gallery, and helped ensure it was a place that anyone could access. It was important to all the artists involved that anyone is able to show their artwork as long as they pay the $25 yearly membership fee and volunteer. Despite allowing anyone to show, this hidden gem has not suffered from a lack of quality and talent. With a completely new showing every other month, the building is filled with unique yet affordable art of every form.
The Beach Gallery is also a living art studio. While artists are volunteering and sitting in the gallery, they can also bring things to work on in-house. “That’s an extra bonus for our visitors. It’s not just a gallery or a museum. It’s not stagnant in any way. They actually see an artist at work.”
Currently, the gallery is open every day from 12-5 pm. It is also a part of the Art Galleries of St. Augustine (AGOSA) art walk that happens the first Friday of every month. Regardless of when people visit, Slava hopes they enjoy the views both inside and outside of the gallery. He dreams that for many years to come, people from the community and around the world can come and explore the art and culture in the place he loves most.
“It really is my home away from home. I love everyone involved and meeting all the people. It’s also not a bad day at the office when you’re sitting right there and you look out the window and it’s the Atlantic Ocean.”