A SPC intern’s day at the Dali

St. Petersburg College Digital Arts Program student Daniel Reyes has been interning at the Dali Museum this past semester.

Reyes applied for a videography position at the museum, earning academic credit and gaining career experience for his work. SPC instructor Eric Hulsizer mentored Reyes. Watch Reyes at work at the Dali in this video and read more about him on the college’s internship blog.

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Student Spring Charrette: Putting art on a pedestal

The 2013 Student Spring Charrette, celebrating its 11th year at SPC’s Tarpon Springs Campus, runs through April 28.

Judges named artwork from Betty Stallard as the Best in Show. Those who selected the student winners were:

• Lynn Whitelaw, Curator of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
• Maria Edmonds, Chair of the Hispanic Leadership Council
• Townsend Tarapani, Tarpon Springs City Commissioner
• Rod Davis, Associate Provost, SPC Tarpon Springs Campus

Other student winners:

Painting -

• First Place: Gene Prine
• Second Place: Gaile Prine
• Third Place: Tom Wilke

Design -

• First Place: Catherine Peshek
• Second Place: Jooli Mastrangelo
• Third Place: Katherine LaFayette

Drawing I -

• First Place: Michael Karaszkiewicz
• Second Place: Shelby Grafton
• Third Place: Dalton Hopkins

Drawing II -

• First Place: Angeline Neugebauer
• Second Place : Philip Humphreys
• Third Place: Caitlin Kern

Mixed Media -

• First Place: Dalton Malony
• Second Place: Patrick Smith
• Third Place: Toni Williams

Comments from the judges:

• “The works in this exhibit were first class due to the wonderful instruction we have on the Tarpon Springs Campus.” – Maria Edmonds
• “This work was even stronger than the past year and shows much exploration.” – Lynn Whitelaw
• “The work was inspiring, profound and expressive, clearly a reflection of great instruction.” – Rod Davis
• “I can tell you, there was much deliberation among the judges. This show is a clear reflection of the instructor’s abilities and a testament to the talent within the Tarpon Springs community.” – Townsend Tarapani

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SPC SEmmys showcase best in digital arts

The annual SEmmy awards this week honored the work of the best and brightest Digital Arts students at the college and in area high schools.

Participants competed in the event, held at SPC’s Seminole Campus Digitorium on April 23, in categories ranging from direction and video to song and video game creation. Judges including community members and SPC instructors selected winners from among 80 entries.

The program’s highlight was previewing a SPC’s Advanced Video class’s Emmy award-winning video “Away: A Story of Trash.” The event’s guest speaker was Regina McCombs, a faculty member of the Poynter Institute teaching multimedia, mobile news, social media and leading data journal seminars.

SPC Seminole Campus student Charlie Parker received the “Best of Show” award and a $500 check from WETA Public Television & Radio for his video “The Warehouse.”

Watch the award-winning video:

First place award winners were:

• Best Direction – Charlie Parker for “Picture This”
• Best Videography – Charlie Parker for “The Warehouse”
• Best Editing – Daniel Reyes for “Running”
• Best Digital Graphics – Jennifer Kilburn for “Antique Evaluation Saturdays”
• Best Digital Imaging – Alden Thomas for “Little Red”
• Best High School Digital Graphics – Arizona Spencer (Dixie M. Hollins High School) for “Words are Powerful”
• Best High School Internet Media – Annie Tonnu (Dixie M. Hollins High School) for “Rubik’s Cube”
• Best High School Video Production – Ben Ingham, J.T. Hockin and Ben Daubert (Osceola High School) for “Rise”
• Best Website Design – Christopher Hicks for “Interactive Media Developer”
• Best Video Game Creation – Christopher Hicks for “Star Wars: The X-Wing Wars”
• Best Interactive Music or Sound Design – Doug Leto for “Acoustically Grown Video Project”
• Best Song – Paul Kokesh for “King of the Moon”
• Best Thematic Composition for Film or Game – Jason Stevens for “No Pressure”

See more photos from the event on the college’s Facebook page.

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Nurturing future Grammy winners

St. Petersburg College is part of the Grammy Music Revolution Project, which selects 25 students for a free, monthlong summer program with the goal of nurturing future Grammy winners, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The college is supporting the project along with the Yob Family Foundation, the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the University of South Florida and Ruth Eckerd Hall.

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The Zen of doodling

The Tampa Tribune covered a Zendoodle demonstration held at St. Petersburg College’s Seminole Campus. Students were able to see a demonstration of Zendoodle by local artist and SPC art instructor Barbara Hubbard.

“When you doodle in the margins of the pages during a meeting, it relaxes you,” said religious studies professor and exhibit co-coordinator Brandy Stark in the article. “You actually get into a Zen moment.”

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Library pumps up the volume with jazz concert

The St. Petersburg-based band O Som Do Jazz performed a free concert at the West St. Petersburg Community Library on April 4.

St. Petersburg College hosted the Jazz in the Stacks event that drew a crowd to hear the Brazilian music. The concert was held in honor of Jazz Appreciation Month.

The band recaptures the spirit of 1960s-80s Brazilian Bossa Nova, samba-jazz and Música Popular Brasileira. It features Rio de Janeiro singer Andrea Moraes Manson and musicians experienced in Brazilian music.

The set list included:

• Batucada
• Ela e Carioca
• Samba de Orly
• Estamos Ai
• Tarde en Itapoa
• Sambou Sambou
• Nana
• Piano na Mangeira
• Alta Noite
• Madalena

“It’s a pleasure to share our favorite Brazilian music with American audiences,” said Dr. David Manson, a SPC professor and band member. “We hope to see some familiar faces at our next performance on the May 5 Latin American Celebration at Vinoy Park.”

See more photos from the band’s performance on the college’s Facebook page.

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Auditions for SPC Theater Department’s summer production this month

Auditions for Neil Simon’s Fools When: April 23 – 24 from 4 – 7 p.m. Where: Arts Auditorium, Clearwater Campus What: Prepare nothing! The auditions will consist of readings from the script.

The St. Petersburg College’s Theater Department has announced that it is holding auditions later this month for its summer production of Neil Simon’s Fools.

The Plot:

Leon Tolchinsky is ecstatic. He’s landed a terrific teaching job in an idyllic Russian hamlet. But when he arrives he finds people sweeping dust from the stoops back into their houses and people milking upside down to get more cream.

The town has been cursed with Chronic Stupidity for 200 years and Leon’s job is to break the curse. No one tells him that if he stays over 24 hours and fails to break the curse, he too becomes stupid. But he has fallen in love with a girl so stupid that she has only recently learned how to sit down.

Roles available:

• Leon Tolchinsky (male) Early 20s. Bright, energetic and thinks quickly in an emergency.
• Snetsky (male) Early 20s. A very simple shepherd. He is an innocent.
• Magistrate (male or female) Age unknown. Stately and in charge.
• Slovich (male) Age unknown. The butcher. He is one sandwich short of a picnic but a very nice guy.
• Mishkin (male or female) Age unknown. A postal worker.
• Yenchna (female) Age unknown. A bit of a shrew. A good business woman. Possible Yiddish accent.
• Dr. Zubritsky (male) 30s or 40s. Very matter of fact. Thinks he has it all figured out. He doesn’t.
• Lenya Zubritsky (female) 30s or 40s. The doctor’s wife. A hard-working mother who is a bit scattered.
• Sophia Zubritsky (female) Late teens, early 20s. A lovely, simple girl. Just recently learned to sit down.
• Count Gregor Yousekevitch (male) 30s or 40s. Confused villain. He just doesn’t understand why no one likes him!

Rehearsals start May 21 and performances will be June 26 – 30. A detailed rehearsal schedule will be provided at the auditions.

For more information please contact: Scott Cooper at cooper.scott@spcollege.edu.

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Museum and education faculty, students team up on artistic publication

From left: Sandra Paulik, Cher Gauweiler, Kimmera McCarthy. From left standing: Jessica Grandmaison, Michelle Sutera

The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art celebrated St. Petersburg College Night at the Museum on Thursday, March 21.

Part of the festivities included a display table with a publication that Dr. Cher Gauweiler, Elementary Education Professor, and her students created in collaboration with the museum.

The publication, titled Awakening the Artistic Spirit Within: From a Whisper to a SHOUT, was the culminating project from a FGO Creativity Grant Gauweiler received for 2012-2013. Students who participated in the publication visited the Leepa-Rattner Museum as part of a college course. Then, they selected one piece of art that they felt connected to. After that, the students created an original piece of art or wrote a poem.

Copies of the publication were given as a gift at the event and also distributed to the SPC community. Gauweiler will present the outcomes of this project at the International Conference for College Teaching and Learning Conference in Ponte Vedra Beach on April 10.

“This project is such a complement to the museum’s mission and purpose and a great expression of student creativity sparked by works of art,” said Patricia Buster, Education Coordinator at the museum.

Mary Matlick, a SPC exceptional student education major, praised both the book as well as the creative process behind it. “The book was so thoughtful and I love reading the poetry and looking at the art,” Matlick said in an email. “Thank you so much for encouraging me to do something creative. I have always been into some kind of artistic expression – growing up with two glassblowers for parents left me little choice. It was a good feeling to take a little time and awaken that which has been put on hold for a little while now.”

Before visiting the museum, students also participated in a half-day workshop with Donna Wissinger, a professional flutist and artist-in-residence. She instructed them on how to integrate the arts in their future classrooms through an interactive workshop that incorporated dance, visual art, movement and drama. The purpose of Wissinger’s presentation was to help the students reawaken their own possibly latent creativity and to become more comfortable with the arts.

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SPC professor to do dramatic reading based on her new novel

St. Petersburg College faculty member Jacqueline Fancher Marn will perform a dramatic reading from her semi-autobiographical novel, I’ve Been Inaudible, using verse, song and interpretive dance. She will be accompanied by the Mt. Carmel Mass Choir, the Million Dollar Steppers and modern dancer Jay’Lynn Bryant.

The book addresses themes including feminism, culture and spirituality and chronicles the personal growth and self-discovery of an African-American woman growing up in the segregated South. The performance is at the Seminole Campus on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m.

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Spring Art at SPC’s Seminole Campus

The Exhibiting Society of Artists (TESA) presents its second annual spring-themed art show at St. Petersburg College’s Seminole Campus.

Artists have hung works throughout the halls and lobby of the United Partnership Center at the campus. The artwork will be on exhibit through Friday, April 12. The show is open and free to the public.

Art in the Park:

The show also will include Art in the Park where TESA artists will answer questions during a live artist demonstration on Wednesday, March 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Artists will set up stations along the campus’ nature trail and boardwalk. Students and the public are encouraged to enjoy the scenic offerings of the campus as they view the art and talk with artists about the creative process.

Zendoodle Day:

Local artist and SPC faculty member Barbara Hubbard will present a brief discussion and demonstration of zendoodle on Monday, April 8. Zendoodle is a new art form where participants allow the process of creation to become a form of meditation. Student participation is encouraged. Artwork created during this event will be hung along with pieces on display during the Spring Art show. The event will be held in the campus’ University Partnership Center Lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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