Meet thirty highly creative regional artists and craftspeople at the 5th Annual Martin County Open Studio Tour (MCOST) on March 6 & 7 , 2021.  This Free event brings art lovers to 21 different studios with a self-guided map. At the studios, watch the artists creating their work, interact with them, learn about how they create and see what materials they use. Some will offer refreshments and special surprises! Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of the thriving arts scene in Martin County!  Meet the artists, ask questions, explore new venues and see their newest drawings, watercolors, oils, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, and fiber arts that they will be displaying and selling.  The Rickie Report shares the details and some sneak peeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARTIN    COUNTY    OPEN    STUDIO    TOUR

 

 

MARCH 6 & 7, 2021  

~FREE   To   ATTEND~

 

10 am – 5 pm  each day

MARTIN   COUNTY, FL

 

MCOST.org

 

 

“Day Dream” by Torenzo Gann

 

 

A free tour booklet is provided by the Martin Artisans Guild that lists the artists and their studios with examples of their work.

 

 

 

 

Wearable Art by Jacquelyn Roesch-Sanchez

 

 

Art Explorers can see which artist interests them the most and plan their weekend accordingly.

 

 

Ceramics by Candy Walsh

 

These booklets can be picked up in several local businesses: CourtHouse Cultural Center, Stuart Art Supply, Elliott Museum, Kling Gallery, Wine & Décor, Red Barn Furniture, Palm Room of Harbour Bay Plaza, to name only a few.  You may go to MCOST.org to see a listing of all the studios. Each studio will have extra booklets to give out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Kay Darvil in her jewelry studio

 

 

MCOST TOUR  is held in the communities of Martin County including Hobe Sound, Palm City, Port Salerno, Stuart and Jensen Beach.

 

“Simplify Your Life” by Jim and Tess Dirks

 

Don’t miss this chance to discover a treasure of your own!

 

 

 

Mermaid’s Box by Barbara Bucci

 

 

 

The  Artists:

 

 

 

For more information:

info@MCOST.org

mcost.org

 

 

 

Barry Steven Greff details his journey up the Fine Art Photography ladder with plenty of name-dropping, a bit of adventure and a vision of what can happen when you give a kid an Instamatic and a few flash cubes!  The Rickie Report shares an overview from behind-the-scenes as well as his mind-blowing images. 

 

 

 

How     It     All     Started…..

 

Kodak Instamatic Pocket Camera with Flashcube

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRR:  Your photographs are truly awe inspiring!  How did you get started using photography as a creative medium?

BSG:

I grew up on Long Island, NY into a family that traveled a great deal. While I remember them having cameras (the old Argo which you looked down into the raised hood), it wasn’t until well after both of them had passed that I opened some of their old photo albums and realized that one of my parents, in addition to taking family photos, also took a significant amount of Landscape images. I can’t help but believe that my young impressionable self, saw them taking these photographs and subconsciously followed in their footsteps… 

 

 

 

 

“African Crowned Crane” by Barry Steven Greff©

 

 

 

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic with flashcubes. I remember feeling that those little cubes were so valuable, only getting four flashes per cube. While at the University of Miami I first rented professional Nikonos underwater equipment from Pro, Stephen Frink in Key Largo. He shot for magazines and National Geographic and was an early inspiration. After shooting for a while underwater, I eventually stayed top side and began shooting with Minolta equipment (7000i and 7xi film cameras, usually Fuji Velvia 50 slide film). If you fast-forward, National Geographic has recognized my work on their website.

 

TRR:  How did you transfer to digital cameras and how did you make this into your career?

BSG:

In 2004, the quality of digital cameras had finally matched or overtaken film cameras, so I purchased my first digital camera (a 6.3 mega pixel Canon Digital SLR). Digital was so liberating! I could see the images after I took them and erase what I did not like, saving on hundreds of dollars in film on each trip. While 6.3 mp was not a huge sensor, this camera took some beautiful images, many of which I can still use today. Canon Cameras USA has since licensed an image from me to sell their cameras.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had always been artistic, drawing since I was very young. So, after submitting a few images to my first photo contest, I was thrilled when I not only was recognized in the contest (twice), but the Editors used my image for a ½ page Ad inside the magazine (no credit, no payment, and the magazine soon folded, but that was the catalyst for me…seeing my work published, I was hooked.  

 

 

I continued to submit what I considered good “stock” photography at the time, for magazines, books and advertising. As a result, I became widely published (interior images, covers, advertisements, travel magazines and books, wildlife, and landscapes). My images were in many of those hard cover books you find in hotels. Digital photography changed the way images were sent, too. Instead of labeling slides and sending them with a delivery memo in a plastic sheet…now image files could simply be sent online – Wow!  That was so much easier and faster! 

 

“Bent Banyan Way, Stuart, FL” by Barry Steven Greff©

 

 

 

 

 

As time went on, my desire to get more out of my photography grew. I believed that some of my best work could be considered “Fine Art”. I wanted to be considered an “Artist,” understanding full well that it is a subjective title. My goal, was to be considered such… by legitimate, well respected people in the industry. I remember visiting the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, CO and saying to the people I was with, that I would be exhibited there. Fast forward, I have since been exhibited there six different times. 

 

TRR:  We tell our readers that artists may live “locally” but many have a national or international presence, such as yourself.  Was there a pivotal moment when you saw your career change?

BSG:

To move my career forward, I attended top-of-the-line Photography Reviews, showing my work to the best in the industry. I chose the toughest critics first, the ones that other photographers avoided for fear that they would be brutally honest, and therefore, brutal. I, on the other hand, wanted just that. I was well past hearing how good my work was from family and friends. I wanted to hear the unvarnished truth from those that were at the top of their game… and their game was the Fine Art Photography world.

 

 

Barry Steven Greff’s photography in print

 

 

 

Then, it happened! I was attending Portfolio Reviews at Photo Expo Plus in New York City. Epson Printers had a special guest, iconic photographer, Joyce Tenneson. As an artist, it is important to know the Art history in your genre and I knew that she had over 150 exhibitions and numerous Photo Books with iconic portraits of the most famous people in the world. She was selling her latest book at the time, signed for $40 at New York City’s Javits Center/Photo Expo Plus. I stood on line, eagerly waiting my turn. But when it was my turn to have her sign her book, simultaneously, I artfully pushed my book of images in front of her and asked: “what do you think of mine?” Her immediate response was “Beautiful,” then she turned the page and said, “gorgeous”….this was from a world-renowned Artist…about my work. I will never forget that feeling. Pure, unadulterated VALIDATION.

 

 

She didn’t know me… I had just walked up to buy her book… She could have said “nice” or even “very nice” which I would have translated as “OK”. But she said “beautiful,” then “gorgeous”, those were real responses about my work, independent reviews from one of the best in the world…It was like having Michael Jordan tell you that you had a “sweet jumper” (jump shot, for you non-Basketball readers). Once we were done, I proceeded to walk toward the windows of the building and stepped behind the floor to ceiling curtains, …because this 6’0, 200 plus lb. tough guy, literally got weak in the knees for the first (and only) time in my life.  It was the best $40 I’ve ever spent… Joyce is not only one of the most talented artists on the planet, but one of the most generous, and has since placed two of my images into a Gallery Exhibition (in a juried event, not knowing they were mine and has also signed another one of her books to “Barry, a great photographer”)!

 

 

 

Detail from “Beaded Web” by Barry Steven Greff©

 

TRR:  Tell us more about “Portfolio Reviews” and why they are important to building a career and a body of work ?

BSG:

These are set up like “speed dating” but you bring your portfolio of images instead of your best pick-up lines. I attended portfolio reviews in NYC, Palm Springs, CA, West Palm Beach, FL, and more.  They were reviews by major Gallery owners, curators, and well respected  photographers. Since the day I met Joyce, 9 times out of 10, I didn’t just get a favorable review, but I often “blew them away.” I’ve had some very animated responses to my 17 x 22 Hahnemuhle prints in a clam shell box (the 400 year old Hahnemuhle Paper Company has since used my work to show off their Fine Art paper). Some verbatim examples of Reviewers’ responses were: the Publishers of Photo District News (PDN), the “Bible” of photography (“something I very rarely say at these things, I’m surprised” and “strong body of work”); Chris Pichler, Publisher of the most respected Fine Art Photography books on the planet, Nazraeli Press (Michael Kenna, Lee Friedlander) (“spectacular, the images are stunning”), Chris’s review was my favorite to date.

 

 

 

 

Barry Steven Greff’s SOLO Exhibition at 25CPW, New York City

 

 

When he came to my iconic animals, Of the Wild, he got so excited that he started cursing. “Holy S_ _t”, or something along those lines. He asked me to send him two prints and he sent me a box of signed collector’s edition books. The sales manager of the Howard Greenberg Gallery in NYC (he is one of the 10 most influential people in photography), which sells the Masters’ such as Ansel Adams, called my prints “magic”; David Fahey, of the famous Fahey/Klein Gallery (“if I gave him 18 more like my “Niagara,” he would give me a show”); renowned Curator/Collector WM “Bill” Hunt, formerly of the famous NYC Hasted/Hunt Gallery, actually juried “Niagara” into an exhibition in Seattle and Dr. Anthony Bannon, the Director of the Eastman Museum asked to use it in his next book; The King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s personal photographer, Harrison Funk, chose some of my work for a gallery exhibition. The late Hal Gould, (Camera Obscura Gallery in Denver, CO) was a contemporary of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. He told me a story of how Adams and Weston originally couldn’t sell their work for the asking price of $25.00. Their work now sells posthumously for as much as $500,000. Imagine, my work has hung in the gallery with that of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Sebastio Salgado, Ruth Orkin.  Iconic Photographer Robert Farber ,whose first book was with Jackie Kennedy Onassis, came to the Artist Reception at my Solo Exhibition in NYC. When asked why he was there, he stated, “why not, this work is beautiful”. Dr. Sylvia Earle, the foremost expert on Jellyfish on the planet at National Geographic called my Jellyfish “Magnificent.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Ascension” from the Series FLOW by Barry Steven Greff©

 

 

 

 

 

TRR:   This is all quite heady stuff!

BSG:

To be very clear, I am extraordinarily grateful for all of the recognition. I don’t take any of it for granted. I worked very hard, traveled many miles on the Road Less Traveled to create the work and with similar effort and fortitude, put it in front of the right people in the industry. I try to create images that capture moments in time, never to be repeated. I seek to capture transitory conditions of light and atmosphere, subtle moments where elements collide to form moody, ethereal and dramatic scenes. Then, with my close-up, intimate portraits of Animals, I confront the dignity, personality and identity of these magnificent creatures to remind the viewer why it is so important to protect them. If that sounds like my artist statement, it is! From that first publication of an animal image (the winning photo contest entry turned 1/2 page ad)…I have since been named in Popular Photography Magazine on their Editors List of Great Wildlife Photographers. From those early publications in travel guides for AAA and others…I have also been named in Popular Photography Magazine on their Editors List of Top Travel Photographers.

 

TRR Where do you go from here?

BSG:

 

So …from that wide eyed kid with a Kodak Instamatic with flash cubes, I have since honed my craft so much that the camera company that I use (Canon Cameras USA) and the Fine Art Paper upon which I print (Hahnemuhle) have utilized my images to exhibit the quality of their products. My images have gone from my childhood bedroom (with a Raquel Welch poster from One Million Years B.C.) in Long Island’s Elmont, NY to have been published throughout the U.S., to as far away as London, England and Brisbane Australia. My work is collected from NYC to Westchester, from Portland, OR, to a yacht in Baton Rouge, LA; Pennsylvania, North Carolina; Stuart, FL, and many others. Ogilvy and Mathers, one of the largest advertising companies in the world, has licensed an image of mine for an entire wall in one of their main offices. Recently, I have sold an image for a large piece of glass in Australia and been recognized by the Houston Center of Photography for images I took of the cruise ships off Miami Beach during the Pandemic. 

 

 

 

“Five Lined Up” from Series: Ghost Ships on The Horizon by Barry Steven Greff©

 

 

 

 

So far, it has been a very interesting career, but I am always looking to improve, to continue to create  images that move people. Now, again, I begin a new chapter in my photographic career. After having a Portfolio site for more than a decade where people could only email me to buy the work, I am starting a new, sales oriented Gallery site that can bring my work to more people due to new, more robust marketing efforts. And, while I will maintain the original site (www.barrystevengreff.com) and continue to sell my Signed, Limited Edition prints, this new site will offer more affordable Open Edition pieces on Print, Canvas, Metal and Acrylic. Finally, I anticipate that once we regain some normalcy in the word, I will again travel to pristine locations, to capture iconic images and share them with people around the world that care to see what exquisite beauty still exists on the planet. For my attempts at memorializing that beauty, I hope you will visit my website www.barrygreff.com.

 

 

 

“Super Storm Sandy, Coral Cove Park Tequesta, FL” by Barry Steven Greff©

 

“Neptune’s Reach” Gilbert’s House of Refuge Stuart, FL by Barry Steven Greff©

 

 

 

 

Awards:

2012 FotoDC International Awards Competition, Washington DC

2011 Black & White Spider Awards; International Color Awards, Photography Masters Cup

2010 Artslant, Contemporary Art Network; Black & White Spider Awards

2009 International Color Awards, Photography Masters Cup

2008 International Photography Awards

 

“30 Rock, Touch The Sky, NYC” by Barry Steven Greff©

 

 

 

 

 

A condensed overview of Barry’s Exhibitions / Recognitions / Publications:

2009 Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA (Clive Waring-Flood, juror)

 

Barry Steven Greff is a proud member of the Jensen Beach Fine Art League, Soul Arts Society of Stuart, and Martin Artisan Guild.

 

 

For more information about Barry’s images, how to purchase them, and how to connect with Barry, please visit:

 

 

 

 

For coverage of your events, to place an advertisement, or speak to Rickie about appearing in The Rickie Report, contact:

Rickie Leiter, Publisher

Rickie@therickiereport.com   561-537-0291

17019 SW Sapri Way   Port St. Lucie, FL 34986