Deck the Halls with Gorgeous Art

The new seasonal monthly Marco Island Art in the Park returns Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM in Veterans’ Community Park on Park Ave. Each month's juried art fair will feature unique artists and makers providing art enthusiasts with a marvelous opportunity to explore a wide variety of art in one setting. To keep it fresh and exciting each month space is limited to 50 artists. For December, the focus by the jury committee was to choose artists and makers with interesting and unusual creations. Are you someone who loves to find that perfect gift for that someone special? Almost four dozen little mini-galleries will be open to shop this month. Many makers with outside-the-box ideas. Take a break from the holiday stress and indulge and immerse yourself in a day of art. Discover delightful and unique wall art. Fill those stockings with glee and bath and body products. Plus shop for all sorts of sparkly baubles to delight the ladies on your list. The show appeals to people of all ages including families, art enthusiasts and serious art buyers looking to add to their collections with art in all price ranges. Admission is free and open to the public.

Several photographers will be at Art in the Park this month. Photographer Leigh Rees digital, drone and water photography taken from Southwest Florida and other beautiful places around the world is breathtaking. He uses multiple materials which include framed prints, metals, acrylics and canvases. Tony Brown is a travel/art photographer who takes original images and hand makes them into home decor. Glass coasters, breakfast/serving trays and jewelry boxes make the perfect hostess gifts. Local photographers Jim Freeman and Mary Goetzinger both capture fabulous wildlife and Southwest Florida scenery.

If you are looking for big art to fill those big wall spaces, Kelly Tracht uses Impasto acrylic on canvas creating a textured painting of wildlife or nature. Big, bold brushstrokes. Sviatlana Osborne likes to capture life’s moments and express their colors, movements, and flow. Her paintings are not pictures of actual places, they are made of memories, and they express her adoration for nature. She paints in two distinctive, different styles. Abstract and Nature. Elaine and Alan Mote unconventional use of upcycled natural beach side materials from coconuts to horseshoe crabs adds a delightful amount of whimsy to any wall. Their phenomenal finds lead to some surprising creations.

Giving back to local communities is part of Blue Ribbon Events mission. Every Marco Island Art in the Park event will benefit Our Daily Bread Food Pantry. Their goal is to offer nourishing food choices, encouragement and hope and reduce food insecurity. Last month over $2,100 was collected and 17 pounds of food at Art in the Park. You can help them this holiday season four different ways by stopping by their booth in December. Please help us double that number for them this month by donating nonperishable items, purchasing a brown bag or a cookbook, or have some gifts wrapped for donations. Help us to wipe out hunger in Marco Island and Naples. Blue Ribbon Events will also donate $50 Blue Ribbon Bucks that will be raffled off to be spent with any artist. Each donation will get a raffle ticket. Blue Ribbon Bucks may be spent with any artist at any Blue Ribbon Event.

Numerous other artists will be available with various mediums. All original art, handmade in the USA. Mixed media artists, jewelers, fiber artists, woodworkers, painters, and even one-of-a-kind hats. Stop by and ask them what inspires them or commission a unique piece. Many thanks to Cutco, Matrix Solutions and Murphy Chest Beds for sponsoring the event. Applications are still open for most months. For more information on future events or how you can participate as an artist, visit www.daniellesblueribbonevents.com or call 231-350-8277.