Last week I built a website for Phase Eight Theater Company.  It's the first website I've built where a client provided me with a style guide before starting the project. 

Julian Robertson once had a fear of words.  As an elementary and middle school student Robertson struggled with reading and writing.  His life changed when his mother, upon his request, enrolled him in a summer theater camp.  There, Robertson learned the power of language and this influenced him to embark upon artistic and academic pursuits that harness that power.   

Robertson, who is now 19 years old, graduated from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in 2016.  It was at Douglas Anderson that Robertson challenged his reading abilities.  Being self conscious of his reading level, while in the 9th grade Robertson borrowed books from upperclassmen and would then read the books alongside a dictionary, which he would refer to when he didn't know the meaning of a word. It was in the 10th grade that Robertson, as a result of seeing similarities between hip hop and poetry, began to find his voice and overcome his fear of writing.  What's equally important is that during Robertson's formative years he had people around him encouraging him to cultivated his artistic craft and pursue his passions. ​

At the intersection of Roselle Street and King Street is CoRK Arts District, an 80,000 square foot warehouse that serves as art studios and gallery spaces.  Some of Jacksonville's best known artists currently hold, or once held, studio space inside CoRK.  One of those artists is Jeffrey Luque, an oil painter whose studio is located in the CoRK Labs.  

Luque, a self taught artist, started painting at the age of 23 while living in Black Mountain, North Carolina.  Luque has gravitated towards oil paints and oversized canvases since he first picked up a brush.  While living in New Mexico, Luque experimented with large scale floral paintings, which eventually led to his current series "Girl with Flowers."  

Luque's process is rooted in pointillism but explores the technique further by combining bursts of colors and geometric shapes such as triangles, squares, and circles. These macro details, which are only visible up close, give each piece its definition and character when viewed from afar. Luque has dedicated the last two years to his "Girl with Flowers" series, which includes 12 pieces in total, each piece measuring 72"x58." 

​In May of 2017 Luque completed the 12th painting in the series and on May 19th he will host an opening at CoRK to showcase the series.  The event, which starts at 5:00 PM and concludes at 9:00 PM, is free and open to the public.  Those who RSVP in advance will have their names entered into a raffle and one individual will win an original floral painting by Luque. ​

Jenna Rae Summa is a 22 year old emerging artist in Jacksonville.  She is a recent graduate of Florida State College Jacksonville (FSCJ), the Kent Campus. Summa studied under Dustin Harewood while enrolled at FSCJ.  Harewood is both a friend and an artist whom I have tremendous respect for.  

Harewood introduced me to Summa last week and informed me that she would be having her first off campus exhibition on Sunday, May 8 at BREW in Jacksonville's historic Five Points. I made it a point to attend last night's opening and even purchased a piece by Summa, which will be hung in my office after the show closes at the end of May. 

When discussing her work with me, Summa expressed that she lives with anxiety and often deals with bouts of depression.  Art has always been a creative outlet for her and allows Summa to be better in control of her emotions.  Her work, which is abstract in nature, represents beauty and calmness in the midst of chaos.  

The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville hosted the 41st Annual Arts Awards on Saturday, May 6.  We had nearly 600 individuals in attendance as we celebrated the advocates, innovators, educators, investors, and artists who comprise Jacksonville's creative community. 

Visual artist Lana Shuttleworth is best known for how she uses safety cones and post-consumer plastics as mediums. In 2008 Shuttleworth and her work were featured as an answer on television's "Jeopardy."  Host Alex Trebeck read, "Lana Shuttleworth created this 10 ft landscape out of these roadside safety devises." 

Shuttleworth has been working with non-traditional mediums for more than 20 years.  She creates through a transformative process that starts with deconstruction and then progresses to formation. One person's trash is another person's, well... art supplies, and Shuttleworth's artistic statement is linked to her belief that as citizens of the world we must act as stewards of the environment and reduce, reuse, and recycle to prevent catastrophic degradation of the Earth's resources and natural landscape. ​

Earlier in the year I received a book published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) titled "How To Do Creative Placemaking." I'm currently working with a small team to develop a five-year strategic plan for the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and cracking into this book has all the gears turning in my mind.