MUSIC, DANCE, SCANDALS, MYSTERY & 100 YEARS of HISTORY
Many of you know that in addition to creating art, presenting art business workshops, and designing handbags, I’ve also been working with Arts at St Johns on design and marketing projects. One in particular took on a life of its own, went through several incarnations and a year of intense work by teams of people. That project, “Miami Beach – the MUSICAL”, premieres this weekend at Arts at St Johns’ home theatre (also the sanctuary in St. John’s Methodist Church) at 4760 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach, FL . Performances start at 8 pm on Friday, Oct 1 and Saturday, Oct 2 and there’s a matinee on Sunday, Oct 3 at 3 pm. Tickets are $25 at the door, but I strongly suggest you order in advance to save $5 and to be sure you have a seat!
$20 tickets online at www.miamibeachthemusical.com
This all original production is directed by David Kingery, who has incorporated historical research by Dr. Carol Hoffman-Guzman, dozens of real stories from WISH YOU WERE HERE – the history of Miami Beach Facebook pages and so much more into an entertaining and poignant story, complete with original music by South Florida composers Andrew Sargent, David Cohen and lyricist,
On October 1, 2 & 3, 2010, the Arts at St Johns presents the World Premiere of this all-original musical production at their theater (also the sanctuary in St. John’s Methodist Church) at 4760 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach, FL .
Performances start at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday night and there is a matinee on Sunday at 3 pm.
Time for me to get back to work!
Finishing a new series of mixed media paintings for my ‘wall’ as GroveHouse Artist of the Month. Opening reception is Saturday night at 7pm (so I’ll be in Grove Sat. night to meet you and share the ‘blues’ – sneak peak of art progress posted below) and we also have a new ‘RED & GREEN’ grid show opening that night plus the fabulous art of dozens of GroveHouse Artists!
If you’re an artist in the Miami area and would like to know more about the business of licensing your art, you may be interested in a workshop that I’ll be presenting in Coconut Grove and on Miami Beach titled: The Business of Art Licensing – A Workshop For Artists.
Sweet Sprouts -garden art by Debra Cortese
A bit of background information:
In 2009, I facilitated the highly successful 8 week ‘Art Marketing Salon‘ based on the book, “I’d Rather Be In The Studio.” by art business coach, Alyson B. Stanfield. Over two dozen people (artists, curators, and agents) participated in the Art Salons which culminated with an outstanding Summer Salon Art Exhibit and Fashion Show on June 6, 2009 at the Windisch-Hunt Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, FL.
As the Art Marketing Salon was coming to an end, we briefly touched on the subject of art licensing and about half of the artists said they would be interested in learning more about this topic. Since this is a subject dear to my heart and work, I made a verbal commitment to the group and myself to develop an art licensing workshop. After months and months of reading, researching, and networking, I realized one workshop would not even come close to covering the subject. So now, 14 months later, I’m putting the final touches on the first three workshops which will begin later this month starting with the introductory session: The Business of Art Licensing – A Workshop For Artists. I’m offering the introductory session at $15 per person because I want artists to have enough information to decide if art licensing is something they want to pursue. The progressive sessions will explore key topics more thoroughly with specific research and creative assignments to help each artist move forward and create a portfolio of work specifically geared to the business of licensing art on a variety of consumer products.
The material I’ll be presenting is based on my personal experience and a good portion is based on the work of artist Tara Reedand herArt Licensing Info business. I’ve been following Tara for over 2 years and highly recommend that any artist interested in learning more about licensing your art follow her blog and listen in on her free, Ask Callswhere she conducts live interviews with many of the top selling licensed artists in the country.
Tara Reed interview with artist Paul Brent
She’s interviewed Paul Brent, Mary Engelbreit, Jill Seale, Suzanne Cruise, many others and many more are coming up. In addition, Tara has been creating and licensing her own whimiscal art for over six years and regularly attends the Surtex and Art Licensing Expo trade shows where the majority of art licensing connections and contracts are made every year.
If you’re an artist in the Miami area and would like to know more about the business of licensing your art, here is the link to full details on “The Business of Art Licensing – A Workshop For Artists” which will be presented in two locations, one on Miami Beach and another in Coconut Grove, Florida.
If you are not able to attend the workshops and want access to some of the most informative and useful information available on how to get started in art licensing, I highly recommend Tara’s eBook, “How to Get Started in Art Licensing”.
NOTE: I may earn a commission on products that you purchase from following a link that I recommend and I only recommend products or services that I personally use and believe in. This is another way for an independent artist/entrepreneur to earn money and continue doing the kinds of work you love. It’s also a good topic for another workshop 😉
Here are my newest designs! (click image for larger view and scroll down to see this design in Ocean Blues or Tropical Greens and Fruity Orange)
And just in time to donate a matching set of the Art Deco Pink Flamingo Casual Tote Bag and Clutch Purse for the Silent Auction of my favorite non-profit arts organization, the Arts at St Johns. In case you haven’t heard (and if so it may be my fault, since I’m working for ASJ in the marketing/pr/design department) they are KICKING OFF their biggest project ever, the History of Miami Beach. This includes concerts, workshops, play readings, art exhibits, the Annual Talent Quest, Divine Debris and Glorious Trash, Common Roots and….it culminates on October 1, 2 and 3 with the premiere of an all-original production, Miami Beach – the MUSICAL! Artistic Director, David Kingery and Creative Consultant/Artist/Author, Deborah Weed are creating and producing the Musical. Carol Hoffman-Guzman, Founding Director of ASJ has been interviewing people for months in person, and on Facebook. There are over 1200 fans for the Miami Beach stories on Facebook and more people are contributing their stories every day!
The KICK-OFF Party is tomorrow night, Thursday, April 22nd at the newly renovated Art Deco Welcome Center on South Beach. (1001 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach. That’s right at the intersection of Ocean Drive and 10th Street).
There’s always a parking challenge on the beach, so below is a list of parking lots and garages within walking distance of the Art Deco Welcome Center:
Here is a list of parking lots and garage locations on South Beach and a clickable map of 1001 Ocean Drive:
South Pointe Park
South Pointe Drive & Ocean Drive
Washington & Commerce
1st Street & Washington Avenue
4th Street & Alton Road
7th Street & Collins Avenue – Garage
11th Street& Jefferson Avenue
5th Street & Michigan Ave(Softball Lot)
6th Street & Meridian Avenue
9th Street & Washington Avenue
10th Street & Washington Avenue
6th Street & Collins Avenue
10th Street & Collins Ave
12th Street & Drexel Avenue – Garage
13th Street & Collins Avenue – West Side
13th Street & Collins Avenue – Garage
Art Deco 7 Flamingos in Ocean Blues and Tropical Greens/Fruity Oranges:
The Art Deco 7 Flamingo Design Bags will be available online very soon. If you can not wait, please email me at: cortesedesigns@debracortese.com, or call 305.298.2023 and you can be one of the first to own them 😉
Did you get the tickets and the costumes? I can’t wait to see the live preview of
Miami Beach – the MUSICAL at the KICK-OFF Party for Arts at St Johns
History of Miami Beach Project.
There will be decadent delights from different decades
(made by Val of Sandbar Lounge with organic veggies from The Market Company)
plus drinks made with organic Prairie Vodka.
I can’t wait to play the Miami Beach Trivia games by Seth Bramson
(hope you’ve read his books about Miami Beach ;-), oh, and there’s
a Celebrity Look-alike contest and I heard something about Magic Sand Bag Treasures.
Wonder what they are?
A Silent Auction too with all kinds of art, vintage jewelry, Marlins tickets, super
Gold’s Gym memberships, Cortese Design Bags
(heard Debra created an Art Deco and Flamingos design just for this event!),
Miami Food Tour, Art Deco Pillows by Dorit Norgaard, Paintings by Rosie Brown,
Pauline Goldsmith, Elizabet Chacon, an Arts & Business Council of Miami membership,
a Biscayne Nature Center membership, Jewelry by Deborah Ruggiero,
vintage pink glass bowl, vintage vase, incredible handcrafted masks by Barbara Donachy
and more items coming in every day!
Better get YOUR Tickets today!
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: www.artsatstjohns.com or call 305.613.2325
photo: Schnebly Winery
Just read the latestSchnebly Winery newsletter and they’ve included an article on the annual “Dinners in Paradise” at Gabrielle Marewski’s Paradise Farms. This is a lovely, local, organic farm that’s renowned among top Miami chefs for providing the best in microgreens, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, edible flowers and more.
This season Paradise Farms is donating 16 Ready to Grow garden beds to 16 public schools through The Education Fund for their Plant a Thousand Gardens Collaborative Nutrition Initiative.
Paradise Farms is normally a private space, but during the “Dinners In Paradise”, you have the opportunity to come in, take a tour, enjoy a delicious meal and help a charity all at the same time!