A profile of the Tampa-based Acme Jazz Garage ensemble before their performance at St. Petersburg's Palladium Theater on October 24, 2021. Written by Kurt Loft and published in the Creative Pinellas Arts Coast Magazine. Voiced and produced by Susan Wantuck. https://creativepinellas.org/arts-coast-magazine/

Arts In

Acme Jazz Garage Improvises on the New

Bestselling suspense novelist Lisa Unger is based here in Pinellas County. Her new book, Last Girl Ghosted, comes out on October 5 and was named one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021 by Crimereads. Unger’s critically-acclaimed thrillers have sold millions of copies and been translated into 30 languages. Her work has been on “Best Book” lists from the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, Goodreads and more. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Though she writes dark psychological thrillers, Lisa Unger is a warm and down to Earth working mom. Her conversation with Barbara St. Clair is rich in laughter, as she shares how stories and characters reveal themselves to her, and what she’s driven to explore as she digs deep into stories. You can explore Lisa Unger’s work at lisaunger.com

Arts In Podcast – Lisa Unger

Sheree L. Greer reading her short story, "Ghostbusters"

Award-winning poet Gloria Muñoz shares a soundscape of her poem “The Romantics” from her forthcoming poetry collection "Danzirly / Dawn’s Early." The soundscape was created for Nikke Pike’s installation “Totem” which was on tour at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center. The poem was originally published by Cosmonauts Avenue.

The Romantics by Gloria Muñoz

Brandie Dziegiel (pronounced “Diesel”) is a young artist embracing the age-old craft of printmaking. She tells Barbara St. Clair about choosing to get an art degree after serving in the Coast Guard. Brandie shares her passion for the physical craft of cutting away to reveal an image, and how she uses her artwork to process her experiences as a veteran. Growing up in a military family, Brandie moved around a lot. She talks about returning to Florida’s landscape and how the fragile natural world and Pinellas County’s indigenous heritage finds its way into her work. Explore Brandie Dziegiel’s work at https://brandiedziegielart.com/ Arts In is produced by Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair.

Creative Pinellas Brandie Dziegiel

Ray Arsenault’s Freedom Riders Book  Premieres as a New Opera

Ray Arsenault on Freedom Ride Opera

Cora Marshall can express herself in almost any medium. That’s thanks to teaching high school art for many years, where she had to show students how to do everything from drawing to throwing pots on a wheel. In this thoughtful conversation with Barbara St. Clair, Marshall explains how different concepts lend themselves to different artistic mediums. She shares her inspiration for the series she’s created based on newspaper ads hunting for runaway slaves, and another about older people who keep working at difficult jobs on their feet, to survive. Cora Marshall and Barbara St. Clair discuss the fine lines of political art, and her college years at Howard University during the Black Power Movement. Marshall details the artwork she’s created to explore her family’s heritage and history, and a new series designed to find a way out of our current negativity - artwork inspired by children’s faces. Explore Cora Marshall’s work here https://www.coramarshall.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=47105&Akey=X679CJP9&ajx=1#!asset76453 Arts In is produced by Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair.

Arts In: Cora Marshall

Muralist, painter, designer and all-over creative Daniel Barojas talks with Barbara St. Clair about the art of graffiti, the inspiration he draws from indigenous communities and his own Mexican heritage, experiments with Op Art-style patterns and illusions. . . and the stories behind two murals in St. Pete that are helping keep the city safe. You can explore the work of Daniel Barojas at https://r5imaging.com/ and on Instagram. This article explores his experiments with Chromadepth 3-D glasses - https://creativepinellas.org/analyzing-chroma-depth-and-geology-with-daniel-barojas/.

Creative Pinellas Daniel Barojas

St. Petersburg Poet Laureate Helen Pruitt Wallace reads her narrative poem "Pink Streets" and shares her memories of this offbeat neighborhood.

Helen Wallace Pink Streets

St. Petersburg Poet Laureate Helen Pruitt Wallace talks with Barbara St. Clair about growing up in St. Pete’s “Pink Streets” neighborhood and shares poems inspired by her rollicking childhood, the joys and grief of family, and her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s. With laughter and enthusiasm, she talks about her passion for the sounds of poems, the spark of playing with formal structure and how she’s not afraid to confront politics through poetry. You can explore Helen Pruitt Wallace’s writing at http://helenwallacepoetry.com/ and follow her on Twitter at @HelenPWallace. Helen hosts the Dalí Poetry Series - free and open to the public - typically the second Thursday of the month from September through May at The Dalí Museum. Details here.

Arts In: Helen Pruitt Wallace

Tenea Johnson is a writer of speculative fiction, a poet and musician. In this conversation with Barbara St. Clair she talks about her imaginative stories and novels, and how her childhood in Kentucky shaped her views of life. Tenea shares enticing details from her stories, and how she’s built a sustainable full-time career as a writer. She’s currently bringing printed words to life in multimedia creations. The Knitting Factory, Dixon Place, The Public Theater and others have opened their doors to this new form. Her work has appeared in Mothership: Tales of Afrofuturism, African Voices, Arise, Humanities in the South, Infinite Matrix, Contemporary American Women Poets, Shades of Blue and Gray, Whispers in the Night: Dark Dreams III and Necrologue, among others. She is the author of a poetry/short prose collection, Starting Friction as well as the novels, Smoketown, R/evolution and Evolution. Find out more about Tenea Johnson’s work at http://www.teneadjohnson.com Links to printed and recorded work: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1204168.Tenea_D_Johnson http://www.teneadjohnson.com/compositions/

Arts In: Tenea Johnson

Suzanne Pomerantzeff - or Ms. P, as she’s known to generations of dancers in St. Pete - shares her love of dance with movers of every ability. For 50 years, dancers of all ages have learned and flourished with Ms. P, sparked by her passion for all of the arts. Many who’ve studied with her at the Academy of Ballet or the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School have gone on to acclaimed professional careers. An award-winning teacher and choreographer, Suzanne shares how her own performance career was cut short by injury, which let her find a path to teaching. She tells us how the Academy of Ballet Arts grew from one rented room to their current home, covered in murals - and explains how vital St. Pete’s own “Fame” high school is, as Pinellas County’s arts magnet. Ms. P talks about how much the classic discipline of ballet and the idea of a ‘perfect body’ has changed and grown. She shares the Academy’s newest success, an adaptive ballet program open to dancers of differing abilities. A seasoned educator, she explains how as a teacher, she never stops learning. You can hear the joy and passion in her voice, on this inspiring conversation with Barbara St. Clair. Find out more about the Academy of Ballet at https://www.academyofballetarts.org/. The Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School serves public school students throughout Pinellas County - https://www.pcsb.org/pcca-gibbs. - Arts In is produced by Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair.

Arts In - Suzanne Pomerantzeff, 'Ms P'

As Florida CraftArt gets ready to host artists from around the country at their annual CraftArt Festival, Executive Director Katie Deits guides Barbara St. Clair through the varied landscape of Fine Craft. Katie shares her favorite experiences at Florida CraftArt - from exhibits inspired by the use of light and poets writing about work inspired by animals, to visiting Tibetan Monks creating, and erasing, a mandala. Katie talks about her own artistic journey from aerial photographer to curator, and explains the history of downtown St. Pete's vibrant Fine Craft center - a place where everyone is welcome to wander in and look at art. Find out more about Florida CraftArt at floridacraftart.org.

Arts In: Katie Deits

Saumitra Chandratreya is an adventurous visual artist whose work is political, but beautiful - and often created from unexpected materials. In this conversation with Barbara St. Clair, he talks about identity, immigration and the inspiration he takes from objects other people overlook or throw away. As he explains, “If I don’t make challenging work, then I’m letting down anyone who is of brown skin and queer, who might be interested in making their voice heard, but don’t have the tools - because I have the tools.” Saumitra Chandratreya’s work was chosen this month for the 2019 Visions of Health Equity project sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. His work will be featured at the Chad Mize Gallery in November. Link to the Foundation For Healthy St. Pete announcement: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/News--Events-and-Resources.html?soid=1120560768999&aid=BfoxUOerk8I Link to Mize gallery website: http://chadmize.com/exhibits.html Find out more about Saumitra Chandratreya’s work at https://www.saumitrac.com Instagram: saumiisawyou Facebook: Saumitra Chandratreya

Arts In: Saumitra Chandratreya

Arts In: Don Gialanella Don Gialanella can make a cow out of children’s toys, that’s the size of a cow. He made the giant twirly moustache in front of The Dalí Museum. Don creates huge and beautiful sculptures that have personality and humor. From a life-sized metal man tenderly opening his chest to reveal his glowing heart, to a diver arcing exuberantly into a dumpster full of plastic bottles, to remind us to recycle. In this conversation with Barbara St. Clair, Don Gialanella shares wild and wonderful stories of working with sculptor Louise Bourgeois, new projects involving sound and how he keeps up with more commissions than ever despite Parkinson’s disease. Don explains how he wound up on the cutting-edge of digital design for television and shares his enthusiastic passion for public art. Explore Don Gialanella’s work at donsculpture.com Arts In is produced by Sheila Cowley. Executive Producer, Barbara St. Clair.

Creative Pinellas Don Gialanella

Creative Pinellas is the designated arts agency of Pinellas County. We bring you the stories of artists, performers and creatives through our podcast and in our journal at creativepinellas.org.

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