Onward | An emerging renaissance for the visual arts? Could be.

BY MICHELE MILLER
What’s What New Port Richey

February 2022

New Port Richey and its wider community have long been home to an enclave of artisans – a collection of painters, potters, stitchers, and gifted creators from near and far who make our community a whole lot more colorful and interesting with their eclectic talents, whether its the murals gracing downtown buildings or the diverse collections displayed in art centers, galleries and shops throughout Pasco County.

Over some 20 years I wrote a fair share of stories about some of those local artists as a reporter/photographer for one of the local rags. It wasn’t a bad gig – spending work hours at exhibits and observing classes held at non-profit organizations such as the West Pasco Art Guild and the Pasco Arts Council and Center.

Meeting people with admirable talents can be pretty inspiring, for sure.

Classes and open art sessions are up and running again at the West Pasco Art Guild and Gallery in New Port Richey. Here instructor Pamela Varricchio hands out art supplies to students during a recent class.
PHOTO | MICHELE MILLER

I wrote about art groups like “The Altered Minds” whose mutual interest was getting out of their comfort zone to learn the craft/art of fellow artists through instructional workshops, sometimes held around someone’s dining room table. The West Coast chapter of Plein Air Florida had me venturing out to treasured nooks such as Orange Lake in downtown New Port Richey and Anclote River Park in Holiday, where artists such as Jenna Star Friedman set up their easels to paint in these peaceful settings, nudging an appreciative perspective for the natural beauty that surrounds us.

I interviewed more than a few “featured artists” and previewed their openings at area galleries that have changed names or come and gone along with annual art shows. Among them was “March on Art” which was held in Sims Park during Chasco Fiesta and the Suncoast Arts Festival. It was a non-profit fundraising effort that brought in artists from all over the country to New Port Richey, and later on, Wesley Chapel. Until its sad demise in 2021, organizers behind that juried art show and multi-day festival doled out over $10,000 in teacher enrichment grants to help promote arts programs in Pasco schools and the community for over 15 years.

Add to that the Tampa Tour de Clay, a two-day annual event that invites day trippers to take a self-guided excursion to a handful of pottery studios in Hillsborough and Pasco County, with the “last stop” being Jack Boyle’s San Antonio Pottery on Curley Road in San Antonio. Traditionally held in December, the annual tour offers a backstage kind of view for attendees featuring staggered kiln openings, artist demonstrations, and the chance to meet studio owners as well as visiting artists selling their works. The tour also raised funds for WMNF public radio and a few other artistic charitable causes along with spreading the message to “buy local.” That event was postponed with Covid, but I am hopeful it will be back some time in 2022.

As with a lot of things, art gatherings exhibits and events came to an abrupt halt with the pandemic.

“It put us in a tailspin,” said Marilyn Wescott, president of the West Pasco Art Guild and Gallery, a membership-driven, local nonprofit that has long struggled with notoriety due to its off-the-beaten-path location on Jefferson Street in downtown New Port Richey.

“After all these years people still stumble in here saying, “I’ve lived in New Port Richey all my life and never knew you were here,” said Wescott, a former elementary school teacher who teaches children’s and adult classes at the art guild and at the new Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center in Odessa.

Even so, creativity could not be stemmed entirely with a pivot to virtual classes and art shows that entailed emailing a JPEG photo of the artist’s creation instead of hanging the real thing on the wall and inviting the community out to a special reception.

Now feels like a cautious re-emergence, said Wescott, who is eager to get things back on track, albeit not necessarily to the monthly exhibits of the past that take some effort to hang up and break down. “We’re limping along this year.”

The guild owns the 60-year-old building, which is both a blessing and a curse, because with that comes the cost of repairs and upkeep.

Membership dues, art classes, and exhibits as well as individual and business sponsorships are essential in offsetting those costs and keeping the guild open, Wescott said adding, “Our main purpose is to support the fine arts and what that means to our members.”

Special workshops are back on the schedule for those seeking instruction in watercolor, acrylic and portrait painting in addition to ongoing classes in pottery.

Open studio sessions offer a place for folks like Gus Frilingos to come by to learn how to paint a Black-Eyed Susan on black canvas under the direction of instructor and guild vice president, Pamela Varricchio.

“It’s interesting,” said Frilingos who brings his trusty pup along. “It gives us something to do so we know what day of the week it is.”

One recent loss to the downtown art scene was the shuttering of the Art Lover’s Boutique on Main in Dec. 2021, a brave effort by the owner Linda Smolski who opened the studio and gallery just months into the pandemic.

On the flip side, another gallery/ceramic workshop called Angel’s Art Attic is slated to open on March 1 in the former spot of Art Lover’s Boutique, and another downtown shop called Lis’s Pieces continues to grow and showcase the works of several local artisans and crafters who sell their wares in the two-story corner shop on the corner of Grand Boulevard and Missouri Ave.

Local artist Michelle Gates hosted a Grand Opening on Monday, Feb. 21 of her new venture, Coastal Creations in a small strip mall on the north side of Main Street. The gallery shares the mall with the long-established Pasco Camera Exchange and newer businesses such as Downtown Nutrition and a craft/scrapbook shop and workspace called Krafts by Kathleen.

Michelle Gates, owner of Coastal Creations in downtown New Port Richey, poses amongst her artwork.
PHOTO | MICHELE MILLER

Gates, a multimedia artist whose works favor a tropical flair, previously sold her work at Art Lover’s Boutique and was the gallery’s social media person who helped get the word out about classes and occasional art walks the former shop sponsored.

“When I heard she (the owner) was closing I thought, ‘Where are all these artists going to go that I’ve been promoting all this time?” said Gates, adding that 19 artists are currently displaying work at Coastal Creations, “and they’re still coming.”

It took a leap of faith spurred by a sense of purpose and the continued sense that things are still on the rise in downtown New Port Richey.

Businesses such as Dented Keg Ale Works, The Butchers Block, Rusty Bucket Baithouse, and the Coastline Salt Room have filled up spots west of the Main Street bridge and, according to local news reports, the fabled Hacienda Hotel will finally re-open in March after undergoing years of refurbishment.

That should help steer some foot traffic west on Main with a hopeful push from the evolving downtown gateway that so far features the newly built Keiser University and an adjacent parking garage, that on February 17, 2022, started offering the DART free trolley service to the downtown area during selected days and hours.

“I’m excited to be Trolley Stop number five,” said Gates.

Fostering a sense of a return to “normalcy”, the West Pasco Quilters Guild recently hosted their annual Quilt Show which featured over 400 handmade quilts at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center. The parking lot was jammed and the place was buzzing when I took a peek while on my way to swim laps – a very good thing in that this was a fundraiser for the recreation center.

Coming up on March 13 is an English Tea Reception for the “Heart and Soul” art exhibit at the West Pasco Art Guild.

There promises to be more events to come – fingers crossed.

Those wanting to support the arts might want to mark their calendars for those events and if you don’t know already, go ahead and put on the GPS and find out just where the West Pasco Art Guild and Gallery is. Maybe consider taking a class or attending a one-day workshop so you too can know what day of the week it is. Even if doing art is not your thing, you can be a supporting member or simply purchase a piece of artwork at one of these venues as a way to support local artists and nurture a community that is rich in the arts.

There’s also the option to make a monetary donation or give the gift of your time by signing up to be a volunteer at one of the non-profits.

Word is there are openings. Always.

Now onward.

Peace – M

Michele Miller is the creator and writer of the online blog What’s What New Port Richey. Contact her at mmiller@whatswhatnewportrichey.com