Family Day At Creative Liberties Features 'Weaving With Things We Find' With Arts Educator Shelley Kishpaugh, February 25

Art and creativity don't always need special supplies. Objects found around the home, yard, and recycle bins make for great materials. In this month's Creative Liberties Artist Studios & Gallery's Family Day, youth arts educator Shelley Kishpaugh will show children and their parents how art and creativity don't always need special supplies.

This free event is Saturday, February 25, 9 a.m.-noon, at 927 Lime Avenue in the Limelight district in Sarasota. For more information, visit www.creativeliberties.net or call 941-799-6634.

"Family Art Day is a free event that is designed to be an intergenerational art-making opportunity," explains Creative Liberties co-owner and founder Barbara Gerdeman. "Families create an art project together led by a professional artist who has teaching experience with adults and children." She adds that all supplies are included, and projects are geared to be enjoyed by all age groups and all skill levels. This free program is made possible by generous funding from the Johnson Singer Foundation and Sarasota Arts Advocates, whose mission is to support community- minded art events and opportunities for Sarasota families, specifically children and seniors.

"This is the realization of an idea my co-founder Elizabeth Goodwill and I had that we were hoping we'd be able to offer in our new classroom space," says Gerdeman. "This is a way for us to reach out to the community around us and give something back."

"Thanks to support from the Johnson Singer Foundation and Sarasota Arts Advocates, we are able to offer this program at no charge to the families who attend," says Goodwill. "We are also able to pay the teachers a competitive wage. They are an integral part of this, which is consistent with our motto of artists helping artists."

Goodwill adds that January's Family Art Day was a great success. "We had eight families who created whimsical and unique mobiles. It was such a positive boost to the Creative Liberties community. The artists in their studios and visitors keep stopping by and admiring the projects. Everyone wanted to see what the end results would be."

Creative Liberties Artist Studios and Gallery was founded in November 2021 by Barbara Gerdeman and Elizabeth Goodwill, two artists and art educators. Goodwill explains that they launched this venture "to empower regional artists with a variety of business services and studio and exhibition opportunities." Creative Liberties is a collective, communal space that provides work and display space for local artists. There are also display walls available for non-studio artists to rent. Monthly artist markets provide an opportunity for local artists to sell their work-and run every second Saturday through April 2023.

"Thanks to a huge amount of support from the community-the public, artists, arts advocates and the media-we have been able to grow Creative Liberties in a short time period," says Gerdeman. "With the opening of the second location and the artists residency, we will be home to 21 studio artists, offer over 16 art display walls and be able to provide art education opportunities. We are deeply grateful and excited for the new year!"

Twenty-one artists have made Creative Liberties Artist Studios and Gallery their artistic workspace. These include: Elizabeth Goodwill (book art, fiber art and mixed media); Barbara Gerdeman (photography, acrylic painting, and mixed media); Donna Bergman (collage and mixed media); Jenny Berry (oil painting); Lisa DiFranza (acrylic painting, gouache, and mixed media); Drita Dawn Hajroja (painting and mixed media); Traci Kegerreis (acrylic painting, collage and mosaics); Mayer Kersun (acrylic painting, mixed media, and collage); Sandy Koolkin (acrylic fluid painting, watercolor and fiber art); Gary LaParl (oil painting); Judy Levine (jewelry design, collage and photography); Jay Li (portraiture pastel, charcoal portraiture and plein air oil painting); Henry Martin (photography and mixed media); Lee Oberlander (watercolor, acrylic paint and mixed media); David Sigel (oil painting and mixed media); Steve Schwartz (acrylic paint, mixed media); Swirly Painter (painting, canvas and mural); Cheryl Taub (acrylic paint, pastel and collage); Adrienne Watts (abstract painting); Sandra Wix (illustration, portraits and photography); and Jeff Vasington (landscape oil painting).

Creative Liberties Artist Studios & Gallery is now at two locations in Sarasota's Limelight district: 901-B Apricot Avenue and 927 N. Lime Avenue. Its third location, Creative Liberties at Gaze Modern, Artists Residency is located in the ARCOS Apartments in the Rosemary District at 340 Central Ave. For more information about Creative Liberties, visit www.creativeliberties.net; call 941-799-6634 or email info@creativeliberties.net. The Limelight studios are open to the public, Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sunday to Wednesday by appointment. The Rosemary artists residency is open Monday - Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

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