Art Center Honors Rob Eder

The April 9th Center for the Arts 2nd Tuesday reception was the place to view amazing art pieces by students both from the Marco Island Academy (MIA) and adult students taking classes at the Marco Island Center for the Arts.

Hyla Crane welcomed a packed room of artists, family and friends and had a special announcement to share. MIA Fine Arts and Humanities Instructor Rob Eder, who has been teaching at Marco Island Academy for 12 years is retiring - this will be Eder’s last exhibit with his MIA students. 

Crane also had a special gift for Eder from his Art Center Family – a framed photo of the Marco Island Center for the Arts. Jane Watt, MIA Founder and Board Chair was also in attendance.

“Not only are the art pieces beautiful tonight but Rob has also been an exhibiting artist,” said Crane. “His time on Marco dates back a long, long time. While we were researching for our 50th anniversary, we came across articles his mother had written about the Art League more than 30 years ago.”

Eder’s website gives a history of his art journey. “I have a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Indiana University (Bloomington Campus) and an MA in Liberal Studies/Interdisciplinary Education from SUNY Empire State (Manhattan Campus). Though my background is in Drawing and Painting, the majority of my recent artwork has been created using Digital Photography and Collage. Basically, most of my recent pictures begin with digital photographs that I’ve taken of scarves and flowers. I then rigorously manipulate these images and their backgrounds using multiple digital image platforms.”

The Lauritzen Gallery was packed with 76 art pieces. The La Petite Galerie and Rush also showcased 24 pieces by MIA students. Each year MIA student art is featured at the Art Center under Eber. One of MIA’s newest programs is incorporating digital technology into the arts.

Florida Mystique was part of an assignment to capture the essence of Florida using the Photoshop crop tool to make sure the photos incorporated the rules of proportion, light and color saturation.

Last year, La Petite Galerie celebrated MIA’s ARTE VIVA collection with posters made by students from Mr. Eder’s Creative Photography Class and the Spanish National Honor Society. The exhibit included paintings and digitally manipulated portraits of Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina), Arturo Cisneros (Puerto Rico), and Miguel de Cervantes (Spain) just to name a few.

The 2024 Children’s Summer Art Program had a few spaces available for the summer. According to Patricia Mills, Communications Manager of the Art Center, “Yes, at this point each of the classes has extensive waiting lists. We may have a few openings for the older group. At this point C-18 (week seven) Polymer Clay with Marjorie Pesek has ONE opening for nine to 12 yr. olds; and C-18 (week five) Watercolors has FOUR openings in the same age group.” All classes are offered free of charge.

2024-2025 Season Art Center Theatre Audition Information

April 20, 2024

“Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)” by Michael Carleton, James Fitzgerald, John K. Alvarez

Auditions: April 20,2024; 1:00 to 3:00 PM

Directed by Andre Degas

Audition Materials will be available at the audition

“The Odd Couple” by Neil Simon

Auditions: Saturday April 20, 2024; 1:00 to 3:00 PM

Directed by Paula Keenan

Auditions will be held at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Dr. Marco Island.

For more information go to: at https://www.marcoislandart.org/arts-center-theatre-audition/.