CraftArt 2000 will come to Plant Park on Saturday, Oct. 28 and Sunday, Oct.
29. The fourth annual outdoor exhibit will feature works by 125 artists from
across the nation.
This year’s exhibitors will present a wide variety of nearly 50 types of
craft media, including luminous stained, fused and leaded glass, sculpture in
wood, ceramics and clay, fine fiber work, gold and silver jewelry, paper and
mixed media.
A public demonstration tent will feature artists at work in clay, jewelry,
wood and fiber, as well as demonstrations in rarely seen traditional Florida
crafts.
Award of Excellence winners returning from last year’s display include
basketmaker Mary Jackson, jeweler Kathleen Dennison, glass artists Fiona Clark
and Vincent DeLisle, ceramicist Tim Ludwig (who was a winner in 1998, as well),
and local mixed media artist Celeste Simon.
Exhibitors each year are juried into the show. Juror Andrew Maass, director
of the Mississippi Museum of Art and former director of the Tampa Museum of Art,
will present five $1,000 Awards of Excellence and ten $500 Awards of
Distinction.
The University of Tampa co-produces the event with Florida Craftsmen Inc. UT
and Florida Craftsmen share the proceeds and apply them to educational
programs.
This year’s major sponsors are Florida Power Corp., the Tampa Tribune, WSJT
94.1 FM, Time Warner Communications, the Arts Council of Hillsborough County,
Target Stores, Bayprint, RR Donnelley Financial Printers, Prudential Securities,
Good Humor- Breyers Ice Cream, Melitta, Westshore Plaza and Team Touch Massage
Therapists.
Exhibit hours will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. A
gate donation of $2 per adult will secure unlimited admission for both days.
Two-for-one admission passes are available at Florida Craftsmen Gallery, 501
Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Children 12 and under will be admitted free. Free
parking will be available on the UT campus and in lots adjacent to the park.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Information at publicinfo@ut.edu.