Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2773
August 11, 2022 - August 17, 2022
Shara Bunis Blooms After a year working as a fulltime painter and teacher, Shara Bunis finally feels comfortable calling herself an artist. Being selected as the 2021 recipient for the Gulfport Merchant Chamber’s Rise & Shine Emerging Artist Grant solidified this. She couldn’t have done what she does now, in her 60s, when she was in her 20s. “I’ve only been painting for three years now,” Bunis said. “How I paint is how I am; I’ve had to learn patience. Watercolor is about patience. When I was younger, I didn’t have the dedication or stick-to-it-ness that I have now.” Since receiving the $500 grant, Bunis has accepted a role as vice president of The Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society, taught watercolor classes at Gulfport’s Beach House 5317, and exhibited at the Gulfport Fine Arts Festival. The grant is not as much about the funds awarded as it is the publicity and platform that comes with the title. One of her signature creations, a sunflower that she painted before the Russia-Ukraine War, has been an icon of hope in local efforts to raise money for Ukrainian causes.
ABBY BAKER
By Abby Baker
“Flapping Friends”
Bunis sold prints of her sunflower to benefit the Gulfport-Ukraine Bake Sale in March, and her artwork was used in marketing and press for the event. “I did that sunflower on a whim,
HOME LOANS
and it was a natural thing to associate the sunflower with the cause,” Bunis said. A year ago at Gulfport’s Art in the Yard event (a city-wide sale for artShara continued on page 15
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