HomeMy WebLinkAboutLocal Artists-1994/1996 ,
July 21, 1994
Local artist to share cartooning expertise
ii } ,1 - x - . T Deft Healy Winder Sprinis car- Otlhw proie a have ircluded a
u,, f ' 's; . , .& toonid extraordinaire,will be teach- .tire of rote cards,which have been
c }... ,; '•' */ `` ing a series of Basses at Hometown sold in gift shops at area attractions
,... - '. Country Crab and Antiques start- and department stores.In 1980 she
tr? ing in August. She also teaches became associated with a business
is cartooning and comic art at Semi- college in Orlando asanirstrudorof
• noleCommuhity College,wheeshe fashion merchandising and adver-
. has been on staff since 1991. tising. She - later promoted to
. . . � Healy began her career asafash- Director of Public Relations and Job
fie ion illustrator in New York City.She Placement, where her responslbib-
late became associated with alarge ties included dealing with local and
adventistrghtiamwy,whereshemoved national busses,guest speaking
��.. from staff artist to Art and Produc- and career muaeting.
• . + . . lion Editor. DedHealy's upcoming dasseswill
d Leaving the promotional world, be offered in a "mmd robin"fm-
she became anart teacher at micas mat,meaning that students will pay
i t�°8; > elementayand middle schools.She for each session individually. If a
has continued to do freelance i8re- session is missed It a be repeated
F • #I s, tratiore tuoughout her career, to- within a few weeks.
P ; - dudirg editorial mtmreand comic Topics covered in the classes will
. ... a. r strips. be an approach to
drawing,
djc tie,
++h+✓` -• __.f'. . _._. Smcarelocating to fbrida,Healy eples ofrtwketirgand syndication,
Dell Healey photo by Bernell Johnson has illustrated text books used in and development of ideas.
elemehtaysdwols,and has mated - _
a packet of spot drat.in for educa-
tiorial volunteer services. She also
wrote a series of children's books
which encourage artistic talents by
requiting yougstes to complete the
drawings,
9 V 211
An artist paints her way out of
Ms.Souchek tackled Amerilife
by Darrell Johnson with a vengeance. Family mem-
bers filled out a job application a corner
Dusana Souchek's plane touched for her, and she began work in a
down in 1968, she disembarked supermarket. She knew only one
and started looking for her rela- English phrase at the time, one
lives. What she had no way of that she says got her through ev-
knowing since she knew not one cry encounter with customers.
word of English,was that she was She would answer every ques-
in New York. lion with, "I don't know. Ask
Members of her family were him," or"Ask her."
patiently waiting in Philadelphia. When coworkers finally real-
Ms. Souchek spent the first
ized what was going on, they
fifteen and a half years of her life banded together and made En-
in Trutnov, Czechoslovakia, a gush lessons a company project.
sprawling rural community of Apparently they did well. One
40,000 not far from the Polish has to listen closely to pick up
border.Most residents of the area even a trace of an accent.
were farmers, and almost every-
She says she emolledinacom-
one was securely under the spell munity college in Holland,Penn-
of communism.
sylvania, "so I could support my-
Her family was not comma- self and not be a burden on my
nist, however, and any opportu- family."
!lilies for advanced study at the She met her husband, Robert
university were restricted to party Crostarosa_in that state. In 1988
members. Her father was one of a his job took him to St.Petersburg
long heritage of family artists, Beach, where his bride made an
and the proscribed nine years of important business contact of her
public education left her unpre-
pared for a career in that field. Dusana took her paintings to
When she was a child Dusana's the Madeira Beach Art Gallery,
father punished her much as where the owners told her that
American parents do, by making her colors were too dark and that
her sit in a corner. She always she should keep her day job. got in the mood to paint anything
Her response was to go home,
made sure she had a supply of that didn't move fast enough -
crayons, and with each punish- make some major changes in her walls,furniture,the house."
meet new art appeared on the e pallet and her subjects,and paint A fanciful mural in the family
constantly for one month.
walls. room includes same-size guppies
When she showed her new
On her first day in the United work to the Madeira people they and areas,a manatee and a kinder,
States she felt punished in an- accepted her on the spot. She has gentler version of a shark.
other way. Every time she at- been represented by them ever Ms.Souchek paints almost ex-
tempted to ask for help, she says, since. elusively in water media. "I do
someone would push her into a Three years ago,just after the realistic subjects," she adds,
seat and tell her to be quiet. Crostarosas moved to Winter "Florida and nature subjects. I
natty the Philadelphia contingent Springs,theirson Lucas was bom. can go to a park with a sketch pad
figured out what had happened His mother has spent the majority and lose myself for hours."
and drove to the Big Apple to of her time caring for him and She said that her husband has
rescue her, had to rescue her from her rever-
Life in Trutnov had been primi- Painting in her new few square ies from time to time. That must
live, at least by American stan- foot studio. She did a much shows, be a characteristic of an artist
dards. Citizens there had heard, but says,"I pretty much fell out of who is doing exactly what she
of course, about the mighty So- the art world." wants to do.
vier space program,but it was not She is now back in action,ac-
until that first drive to Philadel- celerating her show schedule and
phia that Dusana first Sawa space- attending intensive workshops. q
q
craft. Or so she thought. She recently participated in the
A shiny new Corvette passed Winter Springs Art Festival,and
their car, and she was immedi- will be appearing in DeLand,
atcly convincedthat it was a mod- Maitland and Titusville this
ern spaceship on its way to per- spnLast summer," she says, "I
form some wondrous task.
j
G x
MV-..
DUSANA SOUCHEK ARTIST OF 19% TASTE POSTER
The charm of four cottages on Broadway,the main road in historic down-
town Oviedo, is captured in soft, watercolor pastels in a-painting by area
artist Dusana Souchek. The painting has been selected as the featured
work for A Taste of Oviedo.It has been reproduced into a limited edition
of 00 prints, all signed by the artist, and will be available for$15 each at Taste.
the The painting was inspired after the artist read a book on the history of
Oviedo. She spent time driving up and down Broadway in search of a
subject that would reflect the quaint charm of the city's past. "Wherever•
I looked, I was drawn to the cottages," Souchek noted. She sketched the
scene at various times of day to catch the effects of various shadows. •
Souchek, a resident of Winter Springs, emigrated to the United States
from Czechoslovakia in 1968. Her work has been shown throughout the
state of Florida.This year she earned three awards at the St.John's Riverfest,
including Best of Show,and was awarded Best of Show at the Ponce Inlet
Art Festival in March.
9& e 3'/�
Winter Springs artist Anna Chen
paints with an Oriental ft, 2./5//✓ Tuscawilla streets are too
By Dianne Copelon participates in at least 20 major regulated for mall traffic
SEm1NEL CORRESPONDENT festivals a year.
Outdoor shows are the prima-
1y place she sells her work. REGARDING THE proposed mall near Oviedo,
Mount Dora brings good luck
to Anna Chen, a Chinese-born On her large sheets of water- and Winter Springs' objection to an entrance from watercolorist who has won the color paper or on silk (she says Winter Springs Boulevard on the grounds that it will
Best of Show award it gives a softer impression to tnCrease traffic through the Tuscawilla subdivision: I
prestigious ddubt very much that anyone would shortcut
in the art festival the past two her work) Chen chooses items
years. such as mahjong tiles, fortune through Tuscawilla.The maximum speed limit is 30
y cookies or Easter eggs, and mph.Most of it is 25 mph.No passing is allowed,and
A modest woman with an art
career that spans both eastern weaves natural items around radar traps are everywhere.The only increase in traf-
and western worlds, Chen is them. She combines the water- `would be from the Tuscawilla residents traveling
to
amused by talk of a"threepeat." colors with Chinese ink she to and from the mall.Come ome c on,folks.Stop nitpicking
Born in a small village in Tai- makes herself in a serene studio and let's get on with the building.We will all benefit
i wan,Chen said she grew up sur- that overlooks the swimming by it.
rounded by beautiful flowers, pool of her home in Winter Jean Sergeant
plants and fruit trees — three Springs. OVIEDO
subjects often depicted in her Two years ago she crushed
paintings. pages from the Orlando Sentinel
Schoolteachers told her she classified ads and painted mah-
had 7� WINTER SPRINGS
talent and advised her to jong tiles across them. The fn-
continue her art studies.At first, ished work won her several
marriage and motherhood gave prizes at shows throughout E7or- Thefts/break-Ins
her little time for it. ida and was sold to the Polk Mu- • State Road 434, 1200 block, 12:35
In the early 1970s,Chen's hus- seum in Lakeland. p.m.Jan.26. It was reported that a man
band Shun, an aerospace engi- pumped $10 of gas into his car and
neer, moved to New York to Examples of Chen's work are drove off without paying for it.
complete a doctorate. in the collections of Walt Disney
World, Orlando International
She followed and eventually Airport, Apopka City Hall and Auto thefts/burglaries
enrolled in the Art Institute of the Daytona Beach Museum of • Edgemon Avenue, 300 block, be-
Philadelphia to study both fine Arts and Sciences as well as in wean 8 p.m.Jan. 31.and 6 a.m. Feb.2.
and commercial art.After gradu- Someone stole a truck parked at a
ation, she worked as a freelance several private collections.Many house.
artist in advertising illustration range from$200 to$3,500.
and graphic design until the "No matter what I do, you'll • Lop .Anne Jan.Lane,a 100 block, be-
tween m e n bro.e into tod 1:30 am. d Jan.
couple moved later Florida he first always ai find
in an that represents in 31. Someone broke a n car parked at
Two years outdoor rt sh her at a my paintings that represents my a$25 and saw took d a $75. valued at
taste of outdoor art shows at a feelings for my heritage and my $2s act a saw valued at 875.
small park in Deland. She now culture,"she said.
Harassing phone cells
• Garden Drive. 100 block, between
9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Feb. 1. A man re-
ported
5 0 9 ported receiving several threatening
phone calls from a woman.
14-year-old
makes mark ,
as an artist .
17 Mandy Bernardi's 4
talent has transformed . �,I 3Z i
walls at Indian Trails ; -
Middle School.
By Mike Berry r '
OF ME SEMMa STAFF 1-
The walls of Indian Trails
Middle School are a better place
because of eighth-grade artist �:,
Mandy Bernardi. `.
As is the dining room wall of a '°-
family friend.And the fence DENNIS WA WTE ORLANDO SENTINEL
around the pool of another family
Eighth-grader Mand Bernardi's
friend.And her cousin's room.And Mandy
on and on and on. painting of Shaquille O'Neal on
The world is a canvas for 14- the move is at the entrance of
year-old Mandy,whose vibrant the boys' locker room at Indiary'
murals appear all over the Indian Trails Middle School.
Trails campus and points north. ,; - ,
Shaquille O'Neal is bursting out '^'''d �r :>�
of the entrance to the boys'locker s r j,./ ` "4.
room.The back wall of the music /' C A
room is graced by her images.And 4 -4 '4
Mandy brightened the walls of an .,,
assistant principal's office with "
subtle acrylic landscaping. ���
But her most ambitious effort to
the date is the school cafeteria.
Over i wall wi with a s she blanketed a Today's llfCIIt
long wall with a scene that l
whimsically blends food and
jungle imagery. SEMINOLE SCHOOLS
Mandy,a native of the Bronx,is
self-effacing about her artistic food groups.Mandy said it was her
talent,which her family began idea to spice things up a bit with •
taking seriously several years ago. tropical animals.
When a music teacher points her Though her fame is in paint,the
out in front of a large classroom, pencil is her favorite medium. She
Mandy smiles,places her hand in wants to become a professional
front of her face and averts her cartoonist.
eyes. "I've liked to draw since I can
"She's her worst critic,"said her remember,"she said.
mother,Judy Bernardi. A while back,Mandy decorated O q �D
But she is not hesitant to take on her bedroom with graffiti,a collage
a project. of suns,peace signs,flowers and
"I'm timid and shy,and I'll back abstract geometric shapes.She
away from something,"said her lived with it for several months.
mother."She'll go,'So,well paint Then she grew tired of it,she said,
over it.'She's very confident about and painted it over.
her work." No plans for a new collage,she
When the school commissioned said.Sometimes even an artist
Mandy to paint the cafeteria,the craves the soothing simplicity of
principal suggested depicting the solid white.
Winter Springs artist's }work family affair
BY LINDA HnMRHaev q � yq tY�r L -
Rhetta Patten is a designing . ?
woman—literally.For more than l5yeais ,,. t.
•
Patten has used her artistic abilities to
create designs on all kinds of surfaces . ve
and objects, from walls to the dog's ;.
dish It was,however,only six years 40 # •' 'sue
ago that she discovered what itwasin S� e �,` .. ,• t.
life she really loved doing most—paint-
ing on fabric. That love has taken
Rhetta from instructing art classes and
creating masterpieces in her local stu-
dio,to selling her works as far away as
Hong Kong. Now,as international en-
trepreneurs, Rhetta and her husband ulna Humptny/THEOVIEDO VOICE
Terry,who works as her business and Rhetta and Teny Patten(right)with a group of young art students and
marketing manager,believe that the key their work.
to her sudden success was getting ex-
posure at the accessory marts in New spent four years in India when her fa- their plans are very simple:"Build a
York and Atlanta over the past two ther was a medical missionary. bigger studio and paint a lot more bb-
years. "That's where your work gets When she first began her fabric ric!"
seen by the buyers from all around the painting,she dabbed a few designs on
country-and the world,"said Rhetta linen,made them into pillows and table
The Winter Springs couple saw a napkins,and offered them to several
big difference in sales following Central Florida stores.They sold well
Rhetta's showings in the larger cities. and additional orders began coming
"At first,I just got small trial orders. in TO fill all the orders,the Pattens have
Now the big reorders are starting to hired sixartists,four full lime and two Broadway
come in When they reorder,you'mow part time "I create the designs;they
they really like you,"Rhetta said. copy them,"she whined in the past, Gymnastics
Being an artist has been in best selling motifs have included fruit, Center
Rhetta's mind since childhood,a time fish,palm trees.and animals,especially F ; •Quality Programs
in which many begin to dream but few elephants and®ts.The current favor- r"Y Chad is a`'`s •Air Conditioned Facility
fndtheiewaytoactuality"As far bark ilea are the celestials—suns, moons, • Professional Staff
as I can remember I have alwnntaI stars,and angels.
to be an artist As a child,I did all sorts Another way Rheas spends her 140 State Road 419
of painting and crafts,"she said. busydaysisinstmcting nil,acryliw, Winter Springs, FL 32708 •
Rhetta credits her parents for en- and watercolor to students of all ages.
mnraging her[oholdtnreto her dream One of her young proteges is Julia (407) 327-7200
of being an artist They purchased a Kebbel,15,who has been learning
very old home in West Virginia when Rhetta about four years. "She lets us
Rhetta and her two sisters were still express ourselves.The classes are oo-
very young. It was there the girls ac- alive outlets,"said•Julia. "She helps
complished the age old crafts of spin- us but doesn't do it for us. She's very
ring,weaving,pottery and chair can- supportive.Even if we don't like some-
ail thing we did,she always does.We are 9 G Q '/' 0 Y
Rhetta experienced other oppor- all really close friends,"she added.
trinities while young which expanded Rhetta said her husband is the
the breadth of her artistic and cultural brainbehind the business.Terry Patten
encounters such as visiting exotic sold his business a couple of years
places like England,Egypt,and India- ago in order to have time to promote
-her birth place. "I was born in his wife's talent and spend more time
Renachintala,India.And eventhough with Brimey,the couple's 8-year-old
I was quite young, I truly feel that I daughter. As the business grows and
was greatly influenced by the tremor- the number of art students increases
does art in India," said Rhetta, who almost monthly,Teny and Rhetta say