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Florida Craft Art

It showcases and sells art from all over Florida, but Florida Craft Art is headquartered right here in Tampa Bay – on Central Avenue in Saint Petersburg to be precise. This is quite possibly the most interesting gallery I have ever been in, which is really saying something considering how good some of the others are. The pieces are so unique, detailed, and brightly-colored. One can easily lose track of the time and spend two hours there, thinking you are in some emperor’s collection from all over the world.

The mission of the organization is to find great artists and introduce them to the community. All art must be three-dimensional (not paintings) and of very high quality. There are the textile abstracts of Leah Gillette, the furniture of David Calvin, the metal-ceramic pieces of Terry Andrews, and the clay sea life sculptures of William Kidd. It was difficult to find a piece I didn’t love.

Olive by Helene and Eric Bess is a rabbit with personality. According to the artist statement, she is bashful but knows she is braver than she feels. Throughout the gallery are other small statues coated with beads and accompanied by artist statements describing their various characters. This allows the personality of the artists to shine through, which is kind of the point of art anyways. I like how the beads are not only of different colors, but of different sizes and negative space is left between them for additional variety. You can’t get bored with this piece quickly. It reminds me of something left on the seafloor for too long, or is that my personality shining through?

The textile abstracts of Leah Gillette are different from anything I have ever seen. I’m probably being a weirdo, but my first impression upon seeing this one was of a set of historical timelines of causality running vertically connected by horizontal pathways of synchronicity into a temporal map of sorts. Perhaps it is a Feynman diagram. Okay, I’m definitely a weirdo. Normally, I prefer art of many colors, but the lack of spectral variety on this one is perfectly offset by the variety of texture. This is no painting. In fact, if it had more than three colors, I would likely consider it too much. I am very curious how Leah came up with the idea for this type of art.

The painted animals of Nancy Lauby are the ultimate examples of repurposing. What palm trees throw away when their leaves are no longer needed, Nancy turns into art. They become elephants, parrots, and pelicans. The animals fit in such a way that it makes me wonder why I never thought of doing this. I see patterns in random shapes all the time. I use palm fronds as light sabers and see animals in my chicken nuggets. Unfortunately, Nancy beat me to it. I just find the whole idea cute.
It’s amazing how something so simple and ethereal can add so much to a place. This transparent silvery curtain is beset with circular patches of intricate design reminding me of bubbles riding a waterfall. It adds a subtle, calming energy to the exhibition room filled with smaller, harder, more colorful objects, rounding out the already incredible variety and making itself the cornerstone of the whole exhibit. It is very different from anything I have ever seen that would normally be called art, but that is what it is. It quickly became my favorite. I had to know who made it and what they called it, but could not find a label. The lady at the counter told me she and another employee had actually made it and they did not have a title for it, telling me to come up with one. After thinking it over a couple days, I have decided to call it The Ghost Planet 1966. If you think you know why, leave a comment below.
The organization provides studios and classes upstairs from its roomy retail gallery and exhibition gallery. It has existed in its current location since 1995 and in Saint Petersburg since 1986, when it was known as Florida Craftsmen.

501 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL
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Written by Daniel Noe