The Rickie Report is honored to share the story with our readers.  It is the ultimate expression of art, local artists, a large corporation, and a local charity coming together.  We love it!  We know these kinds of events will happen during the year and are committed to bringing you not only the Call to Artists, but the venue information so the community will support these efforts.

From glass sculptures to photography, SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotels nationwide embrace creativity of all types this month with ArtNight SpringHill Suites, a brand program that celebrates local art and originality. Partnering with individual local talent, galleries and schools, ArtNight is a platform for artists to showcase their craft, to the delight of guests and neighbors. “ArtNight takes the guest travel and discovery experience to another level.” Embracing the local art scene allows us to connect with our communities and helps make hotel stays more inspiring.”

The Marriott’s Springhill Suites at Metrocentre Blvd in West Palm Beach is managed by some truly caring individuals. As Manager, Joe Dunan and Sales Manager, Becky Reincke told The Rickie Report, “We are proud to be owned and operated by OTO Development! They believe in a Commitment to the Community”!  “Actions taken on a daily basis form a sequence of events that define a company. OTO cares passionately about our team members, customers, and the communities in which we operate. Whether designing environmentally friendly new hotels or helping others in our communities, we intend to be an active participant in efforts to make the world a better place.”  Both Joe and Becky serve on the Board of the local Boys and Girls Club.

Each year, Spring Hill Suites has a program that celebrates local art and originality.  Joe and Becky partnered with local artists, Nina Fusco, Laura Willems, Betty Laur, Barbara Bailey, Flannery Winchester and Bill Jones.  They agreed to donate a portion of their sales to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.

Artwork on Display

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 youth development organization serving the County’s most disadvantaged youth.  The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County is to inspire and assist all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

Ensuring a meaningful education to help every child succeed inAmericahas never been more crucial than it is today.America’s young people are performing poorly in school. Despite decades of reform, the American educational system is struggling to meet the increasing demands placed on it. The 7,500 children served by the Boys & Girls Clubs annually attend, for the most part; the County’s lowest performing schools. The attention they are not receiving in school is multiplied by a lack of supervision at home.

Customers Looking Through Exhibit

Living in single parent or nontraditional family situations, at or near the poverty level, our parents and/or guardians are often left with few if any alternative, but to allow their children to go home alone. Consider, 83 percent of the members at the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Beach County are classified as latchkey children, compounding the alarming rates of academic failure among our area’s children.

In addition, the children we serve are living in the county’s most dangerous areas. There has been an exponential increase in the number of gangs, gang members and gang violence throughout the area. Children do not feel safe or secure.

Those children who attend the Boys & Girls Clubs; however, are given a safe, secure haven where they can be kids, build friendships, receive academic tools that will promote better achievement, and learn life skills that will enable them to successfully transition from childhood to adulthood, despite economic hardship and their community’s environment.

The programs of the Boys & Girls Clubs work. We provide core programming in six areas that are nationally recognized and outcome-driven, including: education and career development; character and leadership development; sports, fitness and recreation; health and life skills, technology; and cultural arts. Statistically, the majority of our Club members score higher than their same school peers in reading and math on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, as a direct result of attending the Boys & Girls Clubs.  The guidance shown our Club members help them learn to appreciate the intrinsic feelings of success that come from realizing their potential.

The Rickie Report urges our readers to contact Deb Warzin to see how you can help with this worthwhile organization.  They will be planning fundraisers and if enough artists and artisans contact them, it could have an art theme!  Deb is Vice President of Marketing & Community Outreach. Office:  561.683.3287 ext. 29 or Cell: 561.846.2881 ,  email her:  dwarzin@bgcpbc.org or see their website: www.bgcpbc.org

Fnnery Winchester’s “Heavy Hair”

Flannery Winchester, of West Palm Beach, Florida, has expressed herself through art since she was a child. She has concentrated on painting and printmaking, but has also worked with sculpture. She graduated from Dreyfoos School of the Arts and currently attends Maryland Institute and College of Art.

Flannery With Woman in Braids

Flannery’s recent work concentrates primarily on her fascination with French braids and hair. Through her paintings, she has attempted to express these as symbolic images, representing strength in femininity as well as a fragile dignity encompassing the female figure.  Her parents came to represent her work that evening.  But you can also see her at other exhibits in our area.  For more information contact : jon@logicworks.cc

In the meantime, Becky and Joe are looking forward to planning more art-related events in our area. Becky can be reached at:  561-207-3126 or Cell: 561-301-3660 or becky.reincke@otodevelopment.com  .  She and Joe oversee SpringHill Suites By Marriott at 2437 Metrocentre Blvd.  West Palm Beach, FL 33407 and Homewood Suites by Hilton 2455 Metrocentre Blvd. West Palm Beach, FL 33407

Nina  Fusco graduated from Kean University in NJ. She majored in visual communications and minored in graphic design. In her home studio, she developed branding for area businesses, wrote and illustrated a children’s book then moved to Jupiter FL.  Additionally, pencil drawings, collages and photography make Nina a well rounded artist. She photographs her creations and has a line of greeting cards. Palm Beach County galleries have exhibited her awarding winning pieces. Go to:  www.nina3dpaper.com.

After Irene, Photography and Mixed Media by Fusco

Nina has a passion for paper. Self taught, she manipulates the flat surface of paper by cutting, scoring and bending it to bring it to life. Her art is about relationships. The relationship of light and dark shadows is displayed in her paper sculptures. Over the years the simple shapes have evolved to include texture and colors. She has also created a line of greeting cards.

Nina with Greeting Card Selection

Nina explores the contrasting relationship between working tight and loosely. The sharp point of pencils engage her in fine detail, whereas a large flowing piece of paper invites her to work loosely.  Her photo collages overlap captured moments in time, a slice of life. Intertwined relationships, time and space. Juxtaposed images fill the space like the memories in your mind.

Bill Jones with some of his Wood Carved Bowls

When people look at Bill Jone’s  hand carved wood pieces, they usually say , “WOW”.  Bill is a local woodturner with a workshop in Jupiter, FL.  Every piece he turns is made with not only a love of the wood, but also the delight in the craftsmanship of taking a log to a finished and unique artistic piece.  He is an active member of the Palm Beach County Woodturners and the Artists Association of Jupiter.  Bill spends his time teaching at adult education classes and creating a limited number of turnings to show at various exhibits and galleries. 

Burl Vase by Bill Jones

You can see Bill’s work at: The Art Loft on Dixie Highway in W.Palm Beach,  A Unique Gallery on Center Street in Jupiter, and at Original Elements at Gallery Square in Tequesta.  Contact him at: www.woodturningbybilljones.com  or  561-762-1031 to make an appointment to stop by his workshop on Cypress Drive in Tequesta.

Sunset on Solaris, Diptych by Laura Willems

Artist Laura Willems asks, “Have you ever noticed that looking through a microscope can be similar to looking through a telescope?  You can’t always be sure if the view is inner or outer space, a star or a piece of sand.  Surprisingly, scientists have only recently discovered the similar mathematics that explain the twin macro and micro worlds.  Particles, at the subatomic level, mimic planetary and interstellar motion.  This amazing symmetry is ruled by the laws of physics, and is the crux of the amazing paradox that to me comprises the beauty and majesty of the universe”.

Laura Willems With a Painting

“Relativity is entirely based on your scope of view – it depends on what you look through.  The matrix that underlies the surface of things is captivating.  A microscope shows you an entire microcosm on the head of a pin.  In context, a tiny detail could be an entirety, or a complete painting really just a small detail.  The interpretation is relative.  I strive to create the same condition in my abstract paintings.  My work is inspired by, as well as named after, the phenomena of the elemental world”. To contact Laura:  Laura.Willems@gmail.com  or 561-632-8225.

Alice Pearline with her Paintings

Prior to Alice Pearline’s art debut in Florida, while residing in Staten Island, NY, she hosted gallery presentations at many locations including the Staten Island Botanical Society, St. John’s University, and the New York Public Library in Staten Island.

“Through my years of displaying exhibitions in New York, I had been presented with several honors and awards from local competitions.  Since I moved to West Palm Beach in 2006, I have had two paintings displayed in the Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture in Delray Beach. I also displayed a watercolor painting, titled “Autumn Leaves,” in the Palm Beach Gardens City Hall, receiving an honorable Judge’s Recognition from the Palm Beach Watercolor Society, Inc. I would love to continue to display my work and partake in other local exhibitions”. To reach Alice: 561-683-8609.

Barbara Bailey With an Abstract

Long time artist, Barbara Bailey has so much to offer in terms of color and vibrancy!  Born in Manhattan, Barbara graduated Cum Laude from Mount St. Mary College in New York in 1994, and she studied watercolor painting at the Jacruso Studio in Rhinebeck. After several years of operating a successful Bed and Breakfast business in the Hudson Valley, she retired and moved to Lake Worth, Florida where she continued studying at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach.

A member of a number of art organizations including National Assoc. of Women Artists, National League of American Pen Women,Inc., Wellington Art Society, Boca Raton Museum Artists Guild, and Women in the Visual Arts (WITVA), she has exhibited in galleries, museums, and exhibitions throughout Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

In addition to watercolor, she works in acrylics and mixed media and is currently focusing on abstract paintings.  “I love the new abstracts,” she says with enthusiasm.  To contact Barbara: geezerthree@aol.com or 561-965-4721.

Boat Parade by Barbara Bailey

Betty Laur moved to Florida from her native Southern Illinois in 1978.  After a 25-year career in banking, she operated a home based business for several years as a business services provider/consultant while also working as an artist.   The majority of her time is currently devoted to creating art.

Betty Laur with Her Painting

Betty’s tropical and animal oil paintings are inspired by the beautiful South Florida skies, landscape and wildlife.  Her love of color is reflected in her realistic and abstract images. She is currently exploring paper and book sculpture as an art medium.

Betty’s traditional and abstract paintings have been exhibited in gallery and museum venues and in numerous solo and group shows.  A self taught artist, she works from a studio space in The Village Art Studios in Tequesta, Florida, where her work is displayed.   Her paintings are also available online and at the Art Attack Expo Center in Boca Raton, Florida.

Betty Laur’s Banana Trees

Betty has been an active member of Seabranch Art League, Hobe Sound, Florida, and North County Art Association, Jupiter, Florida.  Her art work is in public and private collections from Canada to South Florida. You can reach Betty at   www.bettylaur.com  or 561-889-7017.

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Rickie Leiter, Publisher

The Rickie Report

P.O.Box 33423

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420

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561-537-0291