Artworks of Eau Gallie
The ArtWorks of Eau Gallie 27th Annual Fine Arts Festival will be on November 18, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and on November 19, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Always held the weekend before Thanksgiving, ArtWorks takes place along Highland Avenue in Melbourne’s Eau Gallie Arts District.
ArtWorks artist, Anne Schroeder, is this month’s cover artist. Her unique art is painting on feathers.
Her paintings are of wildlife. The images are hand painted directly on the feathers. The feathers are naturally shed and sourced from aviaries in the United States. The feathers are not dyed; and she rarely cuts them to trim or shape. Glue is not used on the feathers. The paint glues the feathers together, building layer by layer.
“Cheetah and Her Cub” is the painting on the cover. The cheetahs are in the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. The feathers are from an Argus pheasant, a rare bird in Southeast Asia. There are twenty to thirty layers of paint in this painting.
Anne grew up in the Florida Keys and spent most of her life there. She spent a great deal of time boating, snorkeling, and diving the reefs. After her home flooded during Hurricane Irma in 2017, she relocated to Alva, Florida.
Anne first became interested in drawing and painting when she was five years old. She is a self taught artist. As a young person, Anne learned from artists in her community who mentored youth who were aspiring to become artists. And she was encouraged by her high school art teacher.
While attending Miami Dade Community College, she was awarded a scholarship from Miami Dade CC and F.I.U. to study abroad. She attended the 1986 summer semester at the University of Bologna in Italy. There she studied art history and Italian.
Years later, Anne went through the exercises in Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. The purpose of the exercises is to open up creativity. After going through the exercises, she conceived the idea of painting on feathers.
In the summer of 2021, she spent five weeks overseas. She traveled to the Maldives, Tanzania, and the Seychelles. She snorkeled for hours and got to swim with mantas, sharks, turtles, and tropical fish in the Maldives. In Tanzania, she went on a ten-day safari. During her travels she took 5,000 – 6,000 photos of the landscape, wildlife and people that will provide her with inspiration for future paintings.
Anne’s first ArtWorks show was in 2012. ArtWorks is a unique art festival in Brevard that features artists who will be creating new artworks during the show. Or, they will have displays that show how their art is created. Anne will have a framed demonstration piece on the wall showing the steps in her process.
Brevard high school artists also take part in ArtWorks. They will be displaying and creating art on St. Clair Street. Hands-on art activities for kids of all ages will be on Highland Ave. in front of the Eau Gallie Florist.
ArtWorks is a juried fine arts show. ArtWorks advertises nationally for artists. Eighty artists will participate in this year’s Festival. Half of the artists are from Brevard. The other artists are from Florida and from out of state.
This Fine Arts Festival is presented by ArtWorks of Eau Gallie, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. The Committee members are all volunteers. ArtWorks is funded by public contributions. Information about how to contribute to ArtWorks is on the website.
The Brevard Porcelain Artists annual show and sale and the Authors for Authors “Meet the Authors” Book Fair will be in the Eau Gallie Civic Center. There will be live music and a food court in Eau Gallie Square. No pets please at ArtWorks.
For additional information about ArtWorks, please visit: artworksofeaugallie.org and facebook.com/artworksofeaugallie.
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