Submitted by Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter
January 14, 2016 1:00 a.m.
Most of you are probably aware of the Island Art Association. Their gallery is the building on 2nd Street with the gorgeous designs on its stucco walls. The IAA selects an artist of the month every month. What you may not know is that every two months and in March, there is an art show – Nouveau Art. This month’s artist was Anne Oman. (Full disclosure here: Anne is a friend of mine).
To honor the artist chosen and the Nouveau Art, the IAA holds a reception where people can come to talk to the artist, admire the work, and tour the rest of the gallery to see the varied art. You will see oil paintings, watercolors, pottery, jewelry, glass sculpture, and photography throughout the gallery. To sustain you while you browse, there is wine, soft drinks, and nibbles.
Anne’s reception was last Saturday. The cold and rainy weather did not deter attendance. Anne’s art media is watercolor and the results were lovely. One painting that I particularly liked shows dark purple wisteria trailing down across the painting. Anne said she used to have a wisteria in her yard in Washington, DC. “It bloomed beautifully – for a week,” she added.
I had to agree on the beauty of the blooms. I had one in my yard in the Maryland suburbs of DC. Actually it wasn’t mine. It was my neighbor’s but it seemed to be trying to escape into my yard. When not blooming over my stockade fence, it was inserting branches through the palings. So we had a sort of love-hate relationship.
The IAA works hard to support art and foster artists. They feature artists, support Second Saturday Artrageous Artwalk, support the Shrimp Festival, and also provide a variety of art education programs. Their Art Nouveau receptions are usually toward the beginning of the month and are free. It is a great place to connect with art and other people who love it. Someone once told me that you will know you are a native of Fernandina when you go to Publix and run into three people you know. You can say the same thing about the IAA receptions. Look at their website – www.islandart.org for the next artist reception or Nouveau Art show and check it out.
Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts & Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on FSCJ’s Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.
Congratulations to Anne for being selected as IAA’s artist of the month and for being featured at this month’s art show. The reception Saturday night was the first time I had seen her work and I must say I thought it to be outstanding. I agree with Evelyn that the wisteria piece is a standout, but they are all very well done. Good job, Anne!