UNCOMMON GROUND

There's a beautiful art center in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, called the Cultural Center. Located at 50 Executive Way in this quaint beachside town near Jacksonville, it boasts great golf and hosts greater golfers (like Graeme McDowell, K.J. Choi, David Toms, Steve Stiker, Luke Donald and Jason Dufner), some of northern Florida's best sights, and wonderful art.

The Cultural Center was founded in 1994, on the site of an old Post Office, in order to promote the arts in this community and surrounding areas. It has blossomed since then into an 8,000+ square foot gallery space, housing great exhibitions, classes and opportunities for artists and art-lovers alike. All things considered, this art center has been a 'win-win' for Ponte Vedra Beach. Here is a link to their website: http://www.ccpvb.org/index.php.

The curatorial committee of the Cultural Center has invited me and four other artists - one two-dimensional artist and three three-dimensional artists - to exhibit our work in a first-of-its-kind show that opens on June 3rd, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. The show is unique for us all: the curatorial committee selected each of us separately and brought us together for this exhibit. The exhibition, UNCOMMON GROUND, will run through July 11th. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturdays, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.; and Sundays for special events only. Here's a small example of the work you may see in the exhibit:

Untitled (Grid) - 48X48, acrylic on canvas - copyright 2011 – patricia h.k. zalisko

hot from the studio - more heads

I am continuing to create new 'heads' in my studio. They remain an interesting theme and I enjoy exploring people as I paint. Perhaps, as Pierre Tristan of Flagler Live observed*, I've spent allot of time during my past life studying people and their facial expressions. I just think that I like and am fascinated by human faces, their endless ability to express so much, more by a certain look than any words that they can utter. I just returned from a visit to NYC. Sketching the people I encountered on the streets, on public transportation, sitting in a gallery or office, was refreshing. I had to work quickly and keep my work loose.

Here are a few new creations, entitled Natasha and The Head Guy, respectively :

This is not to say that I've abandoned non-objective composition. I like to divide my studio time between those two series and others. Using a method that I enjoy, I've created a few smaller works on heavy watercolor paper, like Circulating, below:

Before I forget, please save the date: on June 3, 2011, I am one of five featured artists invited to exhibit my work at the beautiful Cultural Center of Ponte Vedra Beach. This exhibit represents a first of its kind for the Cultural Center, which is located at 50 Executive Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. This time, the curatorial committee selected the artists without predetermining a theme. It will be wonderful. Here's a link to the website of this exciting art center located outside of Jacksonville, FL: http://www.ccpvb.org/. More details will follow, promise!

*http://flaglerlive.com/17807/pat-zalisko-karlene-mcconnell

Head Games

I don't know why this happened, but it did. It started with an abstraction. I turned a large piece of unstretched canvas upside down, saw a head, and a series was born. The 'Heads' number 10, so far. Many will be premiered at Hollingsworth Gallery, 160 Cypress Point Pkwy, Suite 210B, Palm Coast, FL on the evening of Feb 12th. Join us for music, art and some nibbles. And check out a preview of a 'head' inspired by my husband, which I've entitled Zee, below.

My art is also featured at the Artists' Workshop of New Smyrna Beach's 53rd Annual Member's Show. Robert Sindelir was the judge. This jurist hails from Miami-Dade and is the former Director of Miami-Dade's renowned Art In Public Places program. The luncheon was held yesterday at Sugar Mill Country Club, New Smyrna Beach. I earned Best of Show. Stop by Atlantic Center for the Arts' gallery at Harris House, located at 214 South Riverside Dr., New Smyrna Beach, FL (386.423.1743) to see a really cool show. Sara Higgins, the Community Arts Manager for ACA, curated the gallery for this show and did a stellar job. My winning piece, Imminent Threat I, is depicted here.

This piece was influenced by the events of September 11, 2011, an event that led to the demise of eight friends, my husband (a now-retired Jersey City police officer) rummaging through the remains of the Twin Towers in Manhattan for evidence and survivors as a first responder, the scare of a lifetime; and that influenced (in my humble opinion as a political scientist) a shift in American politics. Although it wasn't intended to be a political statement, it has been construed that way. I'm curious to hear your interpretation. Here are a few more photos from the awards luncheon and opening at Harris House Gallery:

And if you're in Volusia County next weekend, stop by the Harris Gallery - Art League of Daytona Beach on February 13th at 1 p.m. for the opening of Nexus, a collaborative show into which I've been juried. The Art League is located at 433 S. Palmetto Ave., Daytona Beach, FL 32114.

First Paintings

I'm finally off the road for a little bit and moved myself into the studio. It is better than I could have imagined. Karlene McConnell (http://www.karlenemcconnell.com) and Melissa Mason (http://www.melissamason.org) have started painting, too. We're cranking it out.

I wanted to share my first two paintings from this space. These are being premiered in a show that I have coming up in Orlando, at the Gallery of Avalon Island, 39 S. Magnolia Avenue, (407) 312-0708, between January and February. Four poets have been teamed up with eight artists. Each is creating visual or written art in response to the other's work.

I am been paired with Susan Lilley, an extraordinary poet. A wonderful central Florida photographer, Rafael Torres, is also working with Susan.

The first painting, Bees In Mourning (above), speaks to Susan's poem by the same title.

The second, Nirvana (below), responds to Susan's poem, Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard.

The latter poem evokes a legendary Manhattan jazz club that opened in '30's and is still going strong. It has attracted the likes of such jazz greats as Evans, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Mann, Diana Krall and countless others. Nirvana focuses on the imagery and lushness captured in Susan's poem: that song was a recording made by Mann with the Bill Evans Trio.

We haven't decided which paintings will be exhibited in this Orlando show, but I'll keep you posted.

A New Studio!

I have a dear pal, who is a great painter. Her name is Melissa Mason. With the help of contractors like Austin Ross (pictured below with Melissa and me), Melissa has rehabbed a stable, converting it into a 900+ square foot studio. Construction on the space was patterned after a studio at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, where we both study a few times per year. Melissa's studio will be creative home to Melissa, Karlene McConnell,

and (of course) me. Check out Melissa's work at http://www.melissamason.org/ (just scroll over the blank to the left and her site will become visible & click - Melissa's site is under rehab, too);

and Karlene's

art at http://www.karlenemcconnell.com/.

The studio overlooks pastoral acres and horses. It is filled with natural light, lit by special artificial lights mimicking daylight, and the painting surface on the walls are a special, super-durable material.

Another dear friend of ours, Audrey Phillips (http://www.audreyphillips.com/), snapped the photos that appear above. I took the following shots while construction was underway:

According to Austin, the studio is now completed. All that is needed is to screw in the light bulbs and install ceiling fans.

Melissa has requested our help in naming this beautiful studio space. Kindly submit your suggested names for the space in the "comments" section, below, or by sending along a message on Facebook to me. The name that Melissa adopts for her new studio will be treated to a nice gift!

October News

On October 1, my art is featured in a solo show at Art Charlotte Gallery, 205 W. Worthington Ave., Charlotte, NC, between 6 and 9 p.m. If you are in the neighborhood, I hope that you can join me there! Carnivale, pictured here, is included in this exhibit.

On October 9th, the Museum of Florida Art, 600 N. Woodland Ave., DeLand, FL (386.734.4371), hosts Art Attack: Florida Artists Give Back, between 5 and 7 p.m., an auction to benefit the Museum. Some Florida artists (including me!) have donated their art for this benefit. You can bid on-line now and prior to Oct. 9th or bid live at the Museum on that Saturday evening. Here's a link to MFA's website and this particular event:http://www.museumoffloridaart.org/auction/. While we're on the subject, I'll be teaching a workshop at MFA from 11/13-/14, 2010, Loosening Up With Mixed Media. The weekend workshop is for beginner, intermediate or experienced realistic artists who want to freshen up their art. Please follow this link for more information: http://museumoffloridaart.org/pdfs/education/zalisko.pdf, or call Pam Coffman, Curator of Education, at (386) 734-4371.

On October 8th, the Crealde School of Art, 600 St. Andrews Blvd., Winter Park, FL is hosting The Art of Hope, featuring about 45 pieces of art that interpret and reflect the historic, social and global significance of the election of Barack Obama as the first African American U.S. President. Artists were encouraged to broadly interpret or confront the significance of this historic election and the idea and impact of hope as a spiritual, social, political and environmental force. Pieces were chosen by juror Bobby Scroggins to be on view at two Crealdé School of Art venues: The Jenkins Gallery on the main campus and the Visiting Exhibition Gallery at the Heritage Center, from Friday, October 8 to Monday, January 17. Best of Show, Second Place and Third Place awards will be given for professional and emerging adult artists, and six awards will be given to children and teens, as well as one purchase award for permanent installation at the Heritage Center.

The juror and curator for The Art of Hope is Bobby Scroggins, sculptor and Associate Professor of Art at the University of Kentucky and visiting instructor at Crealdé School of Art.

One of the three paintings juried into this exhibit is pictured here: Imminent Threat IV. This piece reflects upon the environmental and political implications of the Deepwater oil spill and this catastrophe.

Five Years Later

The disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is still fresh in our minds, five years after that deluge. People died, a legendary American city was vanquished, and Gulf coast natives lost their homes, property, jobs and loved ones. We are still recovering from this devastating event.

I have not forgotten it. I recently challenged myself to paint a series based on present-day disasters. One of those paintings sprang from Katrina. While painting, I remembered riding through Gulf states a few months after the hurricane, flying over the region when I left, and witnessing a ravaged New Orleans. I returned a few months ago and was pleased to see NOLA recovering, slowly but surely. Imminent Threat 3 perhaps represents my modest tribute to the families affected by Katrina.