Diversions 3.20.14

Diversions YourObserver.com

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Students learn artful lesson of coexistence.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

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by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

Mallory Gnaegy

“People just sit there waiting for those outfits to come out,” says Lisa Berger about Iconcept attendees. “They don’t know what those artists are going to come up with every year.”

LISA BERGER ‘MAKES IT WORK’ Art Center Sarasota Executive Director Lisa Berger encourages dressing in rags.

Anything nontraditional or recycled goes in Art Center Sarasota’s Iconcept fashion show.

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: TRASH TO TREASURE

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor (continued from page 1)

LISA BERGER ‘MAKES IT WORK’ Art Center Sarasota Executive Director Lisa Berger encourages dressing in rags. Anything nontraditional or recycled goes in Art Center Sarasota’s Iconcept fashion show.

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Photos by Mallory Gnaegy

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“I wanted to get more involved as a volunteer to help them raise money and promote the center,” Lisa Berger says.

t’s three weeks before Art Center Sarasota’s annual Iconcept fashion show, and Executive Director Lisa Berger is hunkered down in her office.

Outside her office, Art Center staff works to hang its new exhibit. Artists come in to pick up some of their pieces. In front of Berger’s door, a staff member paints pedestals white. Visitors come in and interrupt Berger with questions.

It’s as if today is Berger’s personal obstacle course. In addition to her daily routine, she is the woman behind Iconcept, the fundraiser for the Art Center featuring local artists’ fashion designs made of nontraditional or recycled materials. The show takes place Saturday, March 28, at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium.

Instead of leather, cotton and linen, the artists create detailed appliqué from wire hangers, two-pieced suits from newspapers and bridal gowns out of bras. Berger conceptualized and founded the show, which is in its sixth year.

The funds raised benefit the

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

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// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Art Center’s youth arts education program. Last year’s funds of more than $30,000 allowed it to hire a full-time education director.

Sitting in her cluttered office, Berger works to finalize the details of the event. The following day, she’ll coordinate a six-hour photo shoot featuring all 23 artists, 27 designs and models at Barbara Banks’ photography studio. She has at least 10 phone calls to return, and she still has to find time to finish her own dress for the show.

This is all in addition to her normal job running an art gallery and public art center. Her desk is buried under stacks of papers.

She has circles under her eyes.

Her cell phone and a Tervis tumbler of coffee with an orange lid are practically glued to her hands.

She admits she hasn’t slept much.

Adding to the hoops she must jump through before the final show, she’s run out of Purex laundry detergent bottles while making her mermaid-inspired, underthe-sea couture dress for Iconcept.

She’s already dug through all of her neighbors’ trash.

“They all use Tide!” she says.

Tide is the wrong color.

Even though it’s the last thing she has time for, she’s still excited to show a visitor the newest exhibition being hung. She takes the visitor behind the temporary wall to the gallery where “Confluence: Israel” is halfway set up.

As she walks past the pieces, she narrates the half-finished exhibit with a calm, collected excitement. “Check out the detail

Sumaya Ayad in Sharon White’s design.

Zara Barrie models the top half of “BRAdal Gown.”

Artist Ray Peper’s accessories

of this embroidery,” she says as she stands in front of one piece.

Pointing to a blank wall, she reveals a place where a 3D Hebrew alphabet will go. That is, after she picks up the artist, Ohad Zlotnick, from the airport Sunday.

The Arts Center is more than a job for Berger — it’s her passion.

Berger studied art prior to earning a fashion degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Berger worked a fashion designer in New York City, where she became the director of design at a high-end fashion wear company, Ellesse. In the ’80s and ’90s it was like the Gucci of activewear. Berger attended tennis tournaments in the Far East and in Europe.

Celebrities such as O.J. Simpson, President Gerald Ford, Regis Philbin and Clint Eastwood heralded her designs. She then worked as a designer for Wilson’s Tennis until 1999. The following

decade, Berger focused on volunteer work. And that’s when Berger’s relationship with Art Center Sarasota started.

Around 2007, Berger was taking classes at Ringling College of Art and Design and Sarasota County Technical Institute when she heard there was a life-drawing class Saturday mornings at Art Center Sarasota.

She got to know the regulars and volunteers and decided to join the board in 2008. The Arts Center did not have an annual fundraiser back then.

Berger thought a fashion program (using non-traditional items) with wearable art from local artists would help promote the artists and attract more attention to the center. The first few years, she did not design anything. Planning and executing the program was enough work.

But she missed fashion design,

and eventually put together some unique designs.

She likes the process because she does not have to sew when she makes her designs. Sewing was the only C she got in fashion school.

Yet the non-traditional garments come with their own problems. One year, Berger wove together plastic bags to make a Chanel-inspired suit. It eventually looked like something CoCo Chanel herself would send down the runway. Berger spent months weaving the skirt and jacket together. Then, they completely unraveled a week before the show.

She had to construct a new outfit in a week. It still wowed the audience.

That’s the goal, she says, adding that this year’s designs won’t disappoint to shock and surprise. “(I tell the designers to) go for the wow factor,” she says.

YOUROBSERVER.COM // See a sneak preview video of the artists and some of their designs online.

Courtesy photo

Emma Thurgood’s 2013 dress

IF YOU GO Iconcept When: 6 p.m. doors open; 6:30 p.m. dinner; 7:30 p.m. general admission; 8 p.m. fashion show Saturday, March 28 Where: Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail Cost: Dinner seating is $125; general admission (includes dessert bar) is $45.

Info: Call 365-2032 or visit artcentersarasota.org/ iconcept

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

CALENDAR A&E EDITOR’S PICKS THURSDAY, MARCH 20

nowHERE Gallery Performance: Todd Reynolds 6:30 p.m. at The Ringling Tickets $10. Call 359-5700.

‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ 7:30 p.m. at The Players Theatre Runs through March 30.

Tickets $25 to $30. Call 365-2494.

Great Escapes Series: ‘Come Fly with Me.’ Sarasota Orchestra. 7:30 p.m. at Holley Hall. Runs through Saturday. Tickets $29 to $49. Call 953-3434.

‘Man of La Mancha’ Manatee Players. 7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center. Runs through April 6. Tickets $27 to $37.

Call 748-5875.

‘Mama Won’t Fly’ 8 p.m. at The Island Players Runs through April 6.

Tickets $20. Call 778-5755.

FRIDAY, MARCH 21

Pineapple Antique Show preview party The Rotary Club of Sarasota Sunrise. 5 p.m. at Sarasota Municipal Auditorium. Show runs 10 a.m.

Saturday and Sunday. Tickets $15.

Visit sarasotasunrise.com.

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

ART SCENE

nowHERE Genre Creates Ghetto: The Artist and The Curator The Ringling. 6:30 p.m. at Mildred Sainer Pavilion. Tickets $5. Call 3607399.

‘Faces of Change: Growing America’ 7:30 p.m. at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Runs through Saturday.

Free, call to reserve. 351-8000.

‘The Barber of Seville’ by Gioachino Rossini. Sarasota Opera. 8 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House. Tickets $19 to $120. Call 328-1300.

Vince Gill with special guest Amy Grant. 8 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Call 9533368.

SATURDAY, MARCH 22

YouthArts Fest Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. 9 a.m. at Five Points Park Free. Call 365-5118, Ext. 304.

Gallery, 1525 State St., Sarasota

SIZE AND MEDIUM: 38 inches by 48 images. Mixed mediums with layered epoxy resin. the frog I saw yesterday sitting on the lit globe of my outside light as I am by the distant memories of a gray hut I once saw in China or a blue mosaic tile I saw 30 years ago when I lived in Israel. My biggest influences come from the many cultures I’ve deeply experienced,

nowHERE Genre Creates Ghetto: Curating in a Post-Genre World The Ringling. 6:30 p.m. at Mildred Sainer Pavilion.

Tickets $20; $15 members. Call 360-7399.

‘Jérusalem’ by Giuseppe Verdi Sarasota Opera. 1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House. Tickets $19 to $120. Call 328-1300.

‘Il trovatore’ by Giuseppe Verdi Sarasota Opera. 8 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House. Tickets $19 to $120.

Call 328-1300.

AMANDA HEISEY

ROLE: Christine Colgate in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” which opens March 20 at The Players Theatre.

WHERE WERE YOU BEFORE SARASOTA? Kansas City

WAFFLE CHIPS, DILL CREAM, HOUSE-CURED GRAVLAX AND CAPERS

INSPIRATION: “I’m as affected by

Arts Day. Margaret Barbieri Conservatory of Dance. 10 a.m. at 5 Points Park. Free. Call 359-0099.

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ON DISPLAY: At State of the Arts

New Stages 2014 — ‘Inuksuit: in the Capacity of the Human’ by John Luther Adams 7:30 p.m. at The Ringling. Tickets $30, $25 members. Call 360-7399.

E IN TH T

S CHEECF’IAL

‘FRESCO CIRCLES’ 2013 BY ANDREA DASHA REICH

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WORD? Smitten.

IF YOU WERE A CON ARTIST, WHO WOULD YOU CON? I would try to con

Steve Jobs into a ton of money and Apple Tech so I could con other people like Oprah into giving me all of her favorite things. Then Joss Whedon so I could be in the next “Avengers” movie — that’s what everyone would do, right?

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DAFTBIRD WON HUNDRED SPLENDID KATIN

from nature and from the legacy of art and invention passed through the DNA in the women of my family to me. These join together and feel like an invisible hand guiding me in my work, where it’s as if colors take over my whole being.”

PAPERBACK

COMUNE V I N C E ALL

COMING SOON ALL AT TO

WHAT IS IT? This small plate is featured on the updated bar bites menu. Gravlax is a Scandinavian appetizer. As opposed to lox, gravlax is unsmoked, cured salmon.

Jazz Juvenocracy – All Star Reunion Concert. 8 p.m. at Glenridge Performing Arts Center.

Tickets $20. Call 552-5325.

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

6th annual Sarasota Challenge 8 p.m. at Hyatt Regency Sarasota Runs through Sunday.

Visit SarasotaChallenge.com.

SUNDAY, MARCH 23

David Cleaveland. 2 p.m. at Bookstore1Sarasota. Call 365-7900.

Unplugged New Play Festival Asolo Repertory Theatre. 7 p.m. at Asolo Rep rehearsal hall. Call 351-8000.

Bijou cures the gravlax in-house from fresh Scottish salmon using sugar, salt and dill. It is then washed, leaving a flavorful healthy fish. A patron of Bijou had the idea to serve it on potato crisps — and it was a sudden hit.

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YOU HAVE TO KISS TWO ACTORS ON really-really-fantstic-so-come-see-it.

STAGE IN THIS PRODUCTION. WHAT’S I think I cheated a little.

YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ON-STAGE KISS? In high school, a character shot WOULD YOU RATHER BE DIRTY, ROTTEN OR A SCOUNDREL? A me in the stomach after we kissed. I scoundrel. It makes you sound like an old-timey rouge that robs trains.

Also, I imagine a scoundrel would wind up super rich, and I could definitely live with that.

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: SPOTLIGHT

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by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

School of Russian Ballet swims under the sea The School Of Russian Ballet is quiet. The orchestral recording of “The Little Mermaid” plays over the studio’s speakers. Handsome Cuban dancer David Martinez Corso lifts his American female counterpart Lauren Henry to her feet as if her legs are asleep and just beginning to work. This is the scene where Ariel (Henry) first encounters Prince Eric (Corso) for the first time since getting legs.

This is not the only first. It’s the first time the Ukrainian ballet “The Little Mermaid” will be performed in the United States.

Vadim Fedotova originally choreographed it for the Kiev Ballet.

It follows the traditional Hans Christian Andersen story.

This is why Darya Fedotova, former soloist with Sarasota Ballet, has permission to present the ballet at her School of Russian Ballet — she’s the choreographer’s daughter. Although, her dancers are much younger.

“This ballet is for professional dancers and for a professional company,” Fedotova says.

“And, our students are doing really well,” Sergiy Mykhaylov says.

Fedotova and her husband, Sergiy Mykhaylov, are co-owners and co-artistic directors of the School of Russian Ballet. They are also both former professional ballet dancers. Every year

IF YOU GO ‘The Little Mermaid’ When: 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5 Where: Braden River High School Auditorium, 6545 53rd Ave. E., Bradenton Cost: Ages 3 to 11 $11; ages 12 and up $20; VIP $25 Contact: Call 258-5277 or visit schoolofrussianballet.com

Lauren Henry, 18, and professional dancer David Martinez Corso they present three productions, and the spring performance always features a guest artist. The school has more than 100 other students, but only the nearly 80 students, ages 7 and up, will participate in this performance.

This year the 26-year-old guest artist is a former member of the

Cuban National Ballet, David Martinez Corso. He is commuting from Orlando, where he has been studying with Fedotova’s parents at their Russian Ballet School.

Since leaving Cuba, he’s been making guest appearances until he finds a permanent position.

He does not speak much English

Mallory Gnaegy

but, fortunately, the French terminology of dance is universal.

“It works out pretty well,” says Henry. “We make it work.”

Henry is 18 years old. She’s studying business administration at USF Sarasota-Manatee but has been a long-time student of Mykhaylov’s. She’s been a part

of the school since the couple opened it in 2010, but has trained under Mykhaylov for much longer.

Maybe it’s why she keeps securing the lead roles. Henry danced the title in “Cinderella” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and has played Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker.”

Mykhaylov and Fedotova made all the sets and costumes.

“It’s crazy — too much work,” Mykhaylov says. “Our garage is like (full of crafts and chaos).”

Fedotova says it’s a beautiful show. She says when the Ukrainian ballet performs it, even the little children in the audience pay attention for the full duration — they love it.

“Everyone loves ‘The Little Mermaid,’” Fedotova says.

Other exciting news The School of Russian Ballet is moving to the building next door just in time for its Summer Intensive program, which takes place July 7 through Aug. 1. The new space is almost 14,000 square feet larger, with two studios. One of the studios will have a large divider and can be split into two.

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DIVERSIONS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: BACKSTAGE PASS

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

Jeffery Cornwell’s students dig deep to illustrate coexistence

“Dad” by Nicole Pelletier

Mallory Gnaegy

“I really believe in coexistence,” Jeffery Cornwell says. “I really do believe in that message: working together with people no matter how different they are.”

T

“Disconnect Technology, Connect People” by Jovana Cristiani

enth-grader Nicole Pelletier took a photo of her father’s burn scars. An accident on his job as an electrician in the Navy left 99% of his body covered in burns. It’s hard for some people to get past his appearance when they first

see him.

To the side of the photo, she wrote words: “Look deep, the ability to love has many faces.”

It’s an image of coexistence.

Acceptance is an idea Pelletier and the other students in Jeffery Cornwell’s 10th-grade Booker High School art class understand.

It’s in part because Cornwell participates in Embracing Our Dif-

ferences, an exhibit celebrating diversity and coexistence.

This year, the exhibition features 19 area artists out of a total 39 pieces from around the world — three artists are Cornwell’s students. There were more than 6,000 submissions. The selected work is enlarged to the size of a billboard and will be featured publicly beginning March 30 at

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“Hold Back Hate” by Kailey Nobles

Sarasota’s Island Park and the Bradenton Riverwalk.

Cornwell has participated in the program nearly every year since its inception in 2004. Every year he has submitted his students’ artwork, at least one gets accepted into the exhibit.

Cornwell uses the exhibit as an in-class, three-week-long assignment. He takes one week to teach the material by showing them documentaries, poetry slams and old advertisements. It’s an art lesson in conceptualizing ideas.

But, it’s also a life lesson. Cornwell tries to teach them what coexistence means.

“Some of the first things you get from them when you say ‘coexistence’ are race or economics,” he says. “Then you have to dive deeper, ‘What are some other ones?’”

Cornwell has his students observe where they see coexistence or its opposite. By the end of the week, they bring in videos, books and magazines to offer examples.

He hopes they tap in and make it personal. Pelletier is a great example.

“I’ve only seen that once or twice,” he says. “That someone really dug deep to something that was really personal.”

But, even if they don’t get personal, he thinks Embracing Our Differences leaves an impression. What he thinks really counts is when his students see one of their peers expressing how coexistence has affected them on a billboard.

“This is the age of kids that really make a difference because they are trying to figure themselves out,” he says.

DIVERSIONS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

7

Selling Sarasota Successfully

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: HIGHLIGHTS CREATORS AND COLLECTORS TOUR KICKOFF

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DIVERSIONS

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: HIGHLIGHTS

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DIVERSIONS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS

Charlie Ann Syprett and Jennie Famiglio

Isabel Mascarenas, Allison Kropff and Jim Van Fleet

SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL KICKOFF PARTY Wednesday, March 12, at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

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DIVERSIONS

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS

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For centuries, there were no conductors — not as we know them today, anyway. There were musicians who stood in front of an ensemble with a huge, rod-like staff, pounding it on the ground in time to the music.

Jean-Baptiste Lully, the famous 17th century French composer, died that way. In a moment of over-enthusiasm, he stabbed himself in the foot with his counting stick, gangrene set in and, a couple of months later, he was dead.

The world-renowned Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, a chamber orchestra founded almost 60 years ago by Sir Neville Marriner, is known as one of the finest “conductorless” orchestras in the world. Marriner, along with the esteemed violinist Iona Brown, usually led the group from the first chair (concertmaster’s seat), with a simple nod of the head, raise of the chin, full-body breath or signal with the bow.

A few years ago, Joshua Bell, the violin virtuoso, was named music director of the ASMF and, since that time, the ensemble and Bell have taken the group to an even higher superstar status among world-class chamber orchestras. Bell, something of a rock star in appearance and demeanor, is as much a showman as he is a violinist. His exaggerated gestures, while playing or leading, are both distracting and comical and, we’re sorry to say, he’s become a caricature of himself.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, on the other hand, plays better than ever, in spite of the machinations Bell brings, either in front of them or from the piano bench he uses when he plays first chair.

Last week at the Van Wezel, ASMF brought a program of varied works, starting with the E major Violin Concerto by Bach, a work for strings. Bell led and soloed at such a brisk tempo any other ensemble would have fallen apart. Not so with the ASMF, whose members

seem able to play at any speed with musicality and intelligence. Bell, for all his spastic maneuverings, plays like a god and, if you stop looking and simply listen, all is right with the world.

The ensemble’s interpretation of the Beethoven Symphony No. 1 was one of the cleanest, freshest I’ve heard. But, Bell — this time seated as concertmaster and leader — was terribly distracting, and his cavorting almost ruined a great musical performance.

Looking at him, one would never know his ensemble was playing with such incredible finesse because his awkward movements were crude, rough and disturbing. But the players were so engrossed and absorbed in making music, the results were mesmerizingly beautiful, even with Bell’s distracting mannerisms.

This is not to say Bell is not a great player.

His performance in Saint-Saens’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” was nothing short of brilliant. He and the ASMF had wonderful elasticity of phrasing.

Best of all was their reading of Schubert’s D minor String Quartet (arranged by Mahler for string orchestra), “Death and the Maiden.”

Here, Bell’s histrionics took a backseat to the music, and the results were spectacular.

I’m not usually fond of orchestral arrangements of chamber works. Mendelssohn’s famous Octet is, for me, much better when played by eight individuals than an entire string orchestra. In the same way, Mahler’s arrangement of “Death and the Maiden,” makes the music thicker and more dense. But Bell and the academy had a transparency of playing that was precise, sheer and extremely beautiful in sound and intention. The second movement, based on Schubert’s famous song, “Death and the Maiden,” was played with such translucency, it was like coming out of a forest and finding sunlight.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is a magnificent ensemble. Everything it touched last week turned to gold. Bell is still a rock star, and there’s no doubting his musicality or musical intentions. But his eccentricities are starting to overshadow his virtuosity, and it would be a shame if he were to allow that to continue.

— June LeBell

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“Freud’s Last Session”

// ‘Freud’s Last Session’ Mark St. Germain’s “Freud’s Last Session” imagines a battle of wits by two of the greatest minds of the 20th century: Sigmund Freud (George Tynan Crowley) and C.S. Lewis (Jeffrey Plunkett). Debate is now in session at Florida Studio Theatre.

The conceit? At the dawn of World War II, Freud invites Lewis to his office in London.

Therapy isn’t the goal; intellectual debate worthy of “Firing Line” is. Lewis advocates for God’s existence. Freud takes the opposing position.

Lewis, the famed Christian apologist, has three main arguments. 1. Conscience itself: The universal awareness of a moral law implies a transcendent moral lawgiver. We wouldn’t know a crooked line without the idea of a straight line. It’s a crooked world.

Where did our idea of goodness come from? 2. The human need for God: As the thirst for water implies water’s existence, the thirst for God implies the existence of its object. 3. Joy: As a child, the sight of a miniature garden in a biscuit tin gave Lewis an out-of-this-world experience of joy. It’s the “joy unspeakable” of the Bible, but also (as Lewis said explicitly) the joy of the romantic poets. Ironically, it’s the “freud” in Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.” To, Freud, the materialist atheist, this was all wishful thinking. Desire is all, and all desire is sexual. Our deepest self is a lawless ball of libido (personified forever for science fiction fans as The Monster from the Id from “Forbidden Planet”). To disguise and control this monster, discontented civilization has created social and family structures, moral codes, religions (C.S. Lewis’ brand included) and other defense mechanisms. Repression is necessary, yes. But let us face facts. The ugliness of the truth is no argument against it. Unicorns and God may be pretty, but that also is no argument for their existence. The psychological basis for Lewis’ belief system is painfully obvious.

Director Kate Alexander presents their confrontation with pitch-perfect tone. Freud and Lewis are civilized, sophisticated intellectuals with good manners. They lose their tempers at times. But this isn’t a WWE shouting match. Crowley’s Freud is nuanced and witty, not a cartoon caricature. Plunkett’s Lewis is a fellow you’d like to have a pint with, not a moralizing prig.

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That’s it. Beyond that, rational explanation is impossible. As a philosopher once said, Tickets start at $19 | International Soloists | Historic Opera House | “God wasn’t pulling rank on Job.” He was telling Job, “You don’t have the math.” That’s Simultaneous English Translations Above the Stage cold comfort for a man who’s lost most of his family and living in constant torture. Lewis knows it, but faith is the only answer he has.

The play raises the ultimate questions. It leaves you to find our own answers — and never telegraphs which side the playwright takes. You’ll be thinking about it long after the actors take their bows.

Ultimate questions are like that.

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WINTER OPERA FESTIVAL

LAST CHANCE! Ends Sunday, March 23

— Marty Fugate

IF YOU GO “Freud’s Last Session” runs through March 29 at Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1247 First St., Sarasota. Call 366-9000 or visit floridastudiotheatre.org for more information.

YOUROBSERVER.COM // Visit our website to read Marty

Fugate’s review of Asolo Rep’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”

The Barber of Seville

Jérusalem

Il trovatore

The Flying Dutchman

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part of the verdi cycle

part of the verdi cycle

WAGNER

Fri, Mar. 21, 8pm

Sat, Mar. 22, 1:30pm

Sat, Mar. 22, 8pm

Sun, Mar. 23, 1:30pm

the festival closes sunday night with

The Verdi Concert Sun, Mar. 23, 8

, with soloists, orchestra & chorus

pm

(941) 328-1300 | SARASOTAOPERA.org Sarasota Opera House 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, FL 34236

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“Tim’s Vermeer”

FILM // ‘Tim’s Vermeer’

Tarpon Shores

125085

D E N TA L

Tim Jenison, a renowned technologist, spends five years testing a theory of how painter Johannes Vermeer created his masterpieces in the documentary “Tim’s Vermeer.”

It’s an obsessive, sometimes tedious and completely compelling piece of filmmaking.

The esteemed Dutch artist was known for his brilliant use of light and shadow. Jenison believes that Vermeer’s paintings seem almost photographic in quality. But, seeing as he created his work in the 17th century, 150 years prior to the invention of the camera, how could this be?

Jenison became interested in “Vermeer’s Camera,” a book written by professor Philip Steadman in 2001. Its premise was that Vermeer traced images via a lens onto a canvas (“camera obscura”). Jenison takes it upon himself to test the presumption that Vermeer may have been using technology to paint his masterpieces.

In his quest to replicate a Vermeer painting, Jenison leaves no stone unturned. He builds a copy of the artist’s studio (in a Texas warehouse) to reconstruct the room in which he

painted “The Music Lesson.” Painstaking attention to detail is overwhelming, down to using pigments available only during the 1600s.

He even erects a tower outside his window to mimic the church steeple outside of Vermeer’s studio. Because, bottom line, it’s all about the lighting.

To his advantage, Jenison is an old friend of Penn Jillette (of the magic team Penn & Teller), and Raymond Teller opts to direct.

Jillette conducts onscreen interviews with Martin Mull, artist David Hockney and Steadman, which provide the vast credibility and profound interest generated in the film.

And Conrad Pope’s haunting and vivacious score is the icing on the cake in this beautiful masterpiece.

“Tim’s Vermeer” is part detective story, part history lesson and just plain enlightening.

Jenison, who has never painted before, comments, “This project is a lot like watching paint dry,” as we’re watching his painting dry. His wit and openness are what make this film so watchable. We feel his pain, frustration and triumphs at the exact moment he does, and it’s fun.

“Tim’s Vermeer” asks the questions: Can art and technology meet? Was Vermeer cheating?

Does verisimilitude play any part in how we perceive art? After all is said and done, I think Jenison’s reply would be, “Who cares?”

Heart of Help BARBARA & AL SIEMER

Supporters of JFCS

Building Strong Families Barbara and Al Siemer have been helping Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS) with Building Strong Families for more than nine years.

Building Strong Families works to keep families together and prevent homelessness by providing financial and emotional support that focuses on self-sufficiency and sustainability through long-term planning. Thanks to the generosity of the Siemers, JFCS has served thousands of families and children.

Watch a short video of Barbara and JFCS staff discussing the program, and how you can help prevent a family with children from becoming homeless, at JFCS-Cares.org.

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// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS

CLASSROOM CRITIC The mission of Sarasota Film Festival’s education department is to inspire, educate and entertain students by promoting creativity, collaboration and community involvement.

Classroom Critic is a program for middle school students, in which

they learn to appreciate the art of film and analyze it critically. As part of the program, students screen youthFEST shorts and are taught how to write a film review based on SFF curriculum. Below, we feature four of the students’ reviews.

SFF provides its education pro-

grams free to students, and during the festival, April 4 through April 13, youthFEST films are free for kids ages 12 and under. Tickets are available at the SFF Box Office inside Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20.

For more information, visit sarasotafilmfestival.com.

Emmeline is different, the man was still nice to her, unlike many other people that would have been mean to her.

Every lesson goes back to the golden rule — treat others the way you want to be treated — and if you follow that rule, you will be very successful in life.

it’s about somebody who doesn’t fit in. The film has great cinematography and has won multiple prizes.

The film introduced Emmeline as a girl who doesn’t fit in anywhere, literally anywhere. The film’s climax is where she finds someone. The movie tells people who don’t fit in that you can still fit in.

The actors portrayed the roles excellently. They added everything to the film. The writer tells the story of a girl who finds life difficult.

Overall, the film is brilliant! The audience will love it. I highly recommend this. I rate the movie 10 out of 10 stars!

‘Emmeline’ Maxwell Ruschau

7th grade, The Out-ofDoor Academy Emmeline is the sweetly comic, absurd fabulation of a girl who isn't cute like everyone else.

Emmeline is a fantastic, happy, and sometimes sad short film. This film is creative and innovative. The director did a great job. Even though there was minimal narrative between the characters, the narrator did a fantastic job and the story was told very well. The characters were perfect for the role they were playing, and they were also dressed to match the character. Also, the cinematography and editing were very good. The sound effects and music were good, as well as the camera placements.

One thing that is great about this film is that there are no spoilers and it keeps people excited for what is going to happen next, unlike some other short films that make me fall asleep! Personally, “Emmeline” is a must-see, and not just because of how good of a film it is. “Emmeline” also gives a great life lesson, which is to always be nice and treat others like a normal person, even if they are a little different. Even though

Christian Ballard

7th grade, Booker Middle School The film “Emmeline” was very good. I liked the movie because it was timeless and a bit funny. Also,

‘Cap or Kippah’ Eli Koplin | 7th grade,

Goldie Feldman Academy

The film “Cap or Kippah” is an inspiring documentary, directed

by Susanne Engels, that tells an outstanding story about a young boy (Bram) who feels that he is different since he is a Jew. Bram and his mother are the only practicing Jews out of 3,000 people in his village in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The movie's mood was never really set throughout the film. At some times the mood would be sad because of what his schoolmates say about Jews.

For example, in the beginning there are chants that say "Gas the Jews." Then at other times it would be in an upbeat mood because he is at an AFC Ajax game (one of Holland's soccer teams). The plot of the film isn't really the most original idea for a movie because many other people have made articles or documentaries on addressing the topic of religion. Overall, I definitely enjoyed the movie and recommend this movie to people over the age of 12. For the film you really need to be mature because the focus of the movie is very intense.

Jenny Marcus 7th grade, Goldie Feldman Academy The film “Cap or Kippah” directed by Susanne Engels, is a documentary about a young boy named Bram who is Jewish and does not want to get bullied for his religion. He lives in the Netherlands and the film is set in the modern day. When I first saw this documentary, I was surprised to see that people were getting

bullied because of who they were. I liked this film because it has lots of detail and tells about the difficulties of his life. I think this should be shown worldwide because anyone of a different religion should not get treated this way.

The film started out with people chanting horrible things about Jews and then they bring up a boy named Bram who is a Jew. Bram had not gotten bullied in this film, but talks about different things like how he wants no one finding out about him being Jewish except when he goes to class for his religion with other people. Throughout the film, he is happy and some parts when he hears people saying horrible things about Jews he gets all emotional and it makes you upset to think how this could happen to you or anyone who is a Jew or any religion.

The film had more than enough detail and you could also understand him even though he spoke a different language. I had not liked how the screen was blurry at some points, but when I went back I realized they meant to make it blurry because it goes into the film. This film should be recommended for teens because they will understand more than younger kids. I would overall rate this four out of five stars.

Music Makes Community THURSDAY, APRIL 3 @ 8:15 PM VAN WEZEL PERFORMING ARTS HALL 777 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL

A celebration of Jewish music and composers from the stirring fanfare of Aaron Copland to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue; luscious Ladino folk songs to Ernest Bloch’s powerful and moving Sacred Service; Broadway hits of West Side Story and Carousel to the noble Kiddush of Kurt Weill. This is an evening of music exciting and fun for the whole family!

We are privileged to welcome Maestro Matthew Lazar – conductor of choral groups at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center – who will lead a festival chorus of 100 men and women, members of church and community choirs; and a 50-piece professional orchestra, which will delight you with its huge and wondrous sound.

Soloists include: Cantor Jeff Weber, Cantor Cliff Abramson and Cantor Deborah Jacobson; Metropolitan Opera soloist, Jason Stearns; and National Opera Association Winner, Adelaide Boedecker. Plus Genevieve Beauchamp playing Rhapsody in Blue.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// HOME&GARDEN: LIVING ART

by Heather Merriman | Black Tie Assistant Editor

SHOWPIECE AQUARIUMS IN SARASOTA For some Sarasota residents, living near the water isn’t enough — we talked to a few homeowners who have taken their love of the water (and what lives underneath) inside the home.

The Klaubers’ Peaceful Shrine Peace in the kitchen was what Terri Klauber wanted when designing her downtown penthouse apartment seven years ago.

“I wanted to bring some calmness into the kitchen,” says Klauber, whose life with husband Michael Klauber, co-owner of Michael’s On East, obviously involves cooking.

Home aquariums are known for adding a sense of relaxation to a space while also acting as a stunning feature to the design of the home.

“It was really me saying, ‘Let’s have a place where we can just be,’” she says.

The kitchen, and the house, was built around a fish tank, which is located on the hallway wall, facing the kitchen.

The couple’s fish tank has become a central feature of their home. The peaceful addition not

only provides the calmness Terri wanted, but has also turned out to be a source of entertainment, as well as a place to think.

“I love catching people just standing in front of it, looking at it,” says Klauber. “It’s cool to see them get lost in the moment.”

Seascape Aquarium designed the custom 350-gallon tank, which contains artificial coral designed by Ringling College of Art and Design student Daniel Marot.

The Klaubers’ tank is home to a variety of fish, including a midnight parrot fish, a white-spotted puffer fish, a Picasso triggerfish and a blue angelfish, to name a few. This collection of fish species classifies it as being an “aggressive tank.” The fish the Klaubers chose for the aquarium must be able to survive in a more aggressive fish environment.

“You can see all of these at the bottom of the sea, but I like them in my kitchen,” says Terri Klauber.

The Klaubers’ fish family From left: E.T., the puffer fish, is Terri’s favorite.

“He’s engaging,” she says; Frank (also known as Grandpa) is a clown grouper. “He looks like the size of a grouper sandwich,” says Klauber; Leo, the Lionfish, acts as the leader of the tank; the Klaubers call the Picasso triggerfish Huma Huma, after its scientific name huma huma nuka nuka apua a.

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// HOME&GARDEN The Jessens’ Coral As previous owners of an aquarium store in Connecticut, Chris and Laura Jessen’s experience and passion for fish tanks is evident by their Siesta Key home’s aquarium.

Chris Jessen, previously a custom aquarium designer, specialized in live coral, and still does, but now just for his personal aquarium.

The 300-gallon tank contains 35 varieties of coral, many grown by the couple. Large polyp stony coral, soft corals, polyps, Montipora undata coral and a 20-year-old stony coral are among the corals seen in Jessens’ tank.

The tank is completely natural, the rock itself being the filter. Other pertinent features for the tank are bright lights (which run 10 to 12 hours a day) and a lot of water flow.

“Water flow is very critical,” says Chris Jessen. The tank runs on a dusk-to-dawn cycle, much like humans.

The large tank has been the focal point of the home’s sitting area for four years now.

“We wanted it away from the water and the television. It’s moving, living art,” says Jessen, “It’s something people always talk

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about, and it’s a nice place to sit and relax.”

When choosing fish to inhabit the tank, Jessen notes, “Whatever won’t eat the coral.” Colorful breeds are what the Jessens have been choosing for the tank, adding to the already colorful and lively atmosphere the coral brings to the tank. Angelfish, Scooter Blennies, gobies, damselfish, Royal Gramma, two 12-year-old clown fish, hawk fish and Kole tangs are among some of the fish that inhabit the tank.

When meeting with the Jessens, not all of the coral in the tank were open. Coral retract during the night. During they day, they expand to absorb as much light as possible, leaving photo opportunities for only a few of the corals in the tank.

Chris and Laura Jessen’s fish tank is the centerpiece in their home’s sitting room.

Photos by Heather Merriman

Inside the Jessens’ fish tank From left: A variety of fish species (that don’t eat coral) live in the tank; the Montipora Undata coral is one of the largest corals in the tank; the clown fish use the sea anemone to protect their eggs — the clown fish pair (which they have had for 12 years) spawn about every two weeks; Jessen has been growing this stony coral for 20 years.

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// FOOD&COOKING:

COLUMN

TIDBITES

by June LeBell

A

Steamed mussels at MoZaic

Courtesy photos

VERDI’S ‘JÉRUSALEM’ MEETS MOZAIC

T

he Sarasota Opera has been offering prelude dinners: threecourse meals at choice restaurants within walking distance of the Opera House, with friends who are attending that evening’s performance and want to get together for a good dinner before the curtain. One of this season’s choices was MoZaic, just around the corner from the opera, and a destination, in itself.

We joined about 25 other opera fans recently before the opening night of Verdi’s “Jerusalem,” and Dylan Elhajoui, MoZaic’s master chef who specializes in continental cuisine with a Moroccan twist, went all-out with a made-to-order menu just for us. The choices for our first course included sautéed escargots and mushrooms in boursin gougère or pumpkin and mascarpone ravioli in a brown butter-sage sauce with a Bailey’s Irish cream “owl” of golden hubbard squash potage.

The entrees included salmon with a goat cheese soufflé, glazed Cornish hen or jasmine tea duck breast.

THE SERVING SPOON’S OWNER EARNS HIS ANGEL WINGS

Contributing Columnist june@junelebell.com

s you may remember, a while ago we told you about Craig and Natasha Menke, the owners of The Serving Spoon on Osprey. We mentioned at that time that Craig had been waging a triumphant battle with cancer and that he’d been so upbeat, so optimistic and so joyous in his life, he’d helped me (and many others) carry on our own struggles with the disease.

A couple of weeks ago, we were about to enter The Serving Spoon when we saw a note on the door announcing that Craig had “earned his angel wings” a few days earlier. The restaurant was, of course, open and, although Craig and his aura of optimism and joyfulness were conspicuously absent, his sons and their loyal wait

staff were carrying on with a sense of purpose and determination, just as Craig would have wanted.

The funeral, at Church of the Redeemer, took place a few days later. We weren’t able to attend because we were booked to attend (and perform) at a music function. But, as we were entering the building where our event was to take place, we heard the bells of Redeemer chiming in tribute to Craig. It was a strange but heartwarming feeling because we knew, somehow, Craig was there, smiling, watching over everyone and telling us everything was going to be fine.

It’s not often you find a neighborhood restaurant whose owners become like family. Craig, his beautiful and gentle wife, Natasha, and their five children have given us

THE HONEY TREE CAFÉ OFFERS DINING ALL DAY

F Chef Dylan Elhajoui And, how do you choose just one from a dessert menu that gives you a choice of bittersweet chocolate espresso pot de crème or lavenderscented buttermilk panna cotta with Moscatto d’asti-apricot soup and vanilla bean ice cream?

Elhajoui set us up in the room to the side of the front door, and it couldn’t have been a more auspicious way to set the scene for the rarely performed opera we were going to hear a couple of hours later.

Bravos were being voiced at MoZaic, as well as the Opera House.

un, relaxed restaurants that open for breakfast and lunch are a dime a dozen in Sarasota.

But eateries that serve food starting in the early morning and continue through dinner are not that easy to find. The Honey Tree Café, located at 8315 Lockwood Ridge Road, reminds me of a combination of a New Jersey diner and a Manhattan coffee shop. It offers an enormous array of food, from eggs and waffles, to hot and cold sandwiches, salads and entrees such as steak, meatloaf and stir-fries.

We’ve gone there primarily for lunch and, seeing that its specialty sandwiches and wraps came in the form of pitas and gyros, we assumed the owners were Greek. Not so.

The Quni family came to Sarasota

from Kosovo, by way of Michigan.

They’ve been around for almost 50 years and, as File Quni (pronounced as if it were short for Phyllis, which it’s not), says, “We thought it was temporary, but we stayed.”

Good thing, too, because File, her husband, Zef, and their four children — three boys and one girl — turn out some pretty fancy food in a setting that’s as informal and relaxed as you can get. Even their menu speaks for them: “Welcome to the Honey Tree Café,” it says. “We take pride in our food and preparing it the way you like. We are family owned and operated. So, sit back, relax and let us do the cooking and serve you as family.

Enjoy!”

We like our eggs, whether they are omelets, scrambled or fried, on the

Craig Menke

Courtesy

— and so many others — a home away from home. We’ve returned several times since Craig’s passing but, every time, his spirit has been there. We wish his family the love and peace they continue to give all of us. soft side. Many restaurants refuse to serve them softer than a hard ball.

But, at the Honey Tree, they do our bidding without an argument or even that look that says, “Are you crazy?”

I’m partial to their albacore tuna pita because, when asked, they serve it in a fluffy gyro wrap with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and a hint of what tastes like pickle relish mixed in with the tuna salad, making it just a little more interesting than your runof-the-stream tuna. We had a smoked turkey club pita the other day with bacon, cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes and just enough mayo to make it juicy, rather than dry. We asked that they press the pita when they grilled it and, voila, they did it. Just right.

Oh, they also serve “Detroit Coneys and hot dogs.” Maybe we’ll try one of those one of these days when our waistlines give us a nod.

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INSIDE: ‘Caturday Night Fever’ PAGE 19

YourObserver.com

Co-Chairs Jamie Becker and Donna Koffman

Christine and Eric Robinson, Morgan and Alison O’Donoghue and Melissa Caldwell

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

Audrey Gafney with Jenny and Ken Pendery

BANYAN BASH ‘GROWING OUR FAMILY TREE’

by Heather Merriman | Black Tie Assistant Editor

Photos by Heather Merriman

Jane Giacinti and Brooke Chapman

The courtyard of The Out-of-Door Academy’s Uihlein Campus was sparkling with lights and cocktail tables for the annual Banyan Bash Saturday, March 15. Vendors of the finest cuisine in Sarasota lined the perimeter for guests to enjoy food and drinks while mingling among other parents and friends of the school and listening to live music by Clint Wiley’s None Other band.

During the event, a music video was shown, in which ODA students imitated Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” portraying their excitement and enjoyment of attending The Out-ofDoor Academy. The video was actually a sequel to another “Happy” video done in March to promote the event. The video received such great feedback, they decided to do another.

Something new for usual event protocol: instead of speaking at the event, Co-Chairwomen Jamie Becker and Donna Koffman and heads of

Beth and Paul Svilokos

Katie Abernathy, Morgan and Liz Bentley and Lori Lawson

Robin and Heather MacDonald

the organization gave their thanks and announcements via a nicely put together video, which was presented on a large projection screen. “We really went into the event thinking, how can we do things differently? Innovation is our theme, we put innovation in everything that we do and the video was one of the new ideas for this year,” says ODA Director of Communications Shannon Drosky.

More than $120,000 was raised during the paddle raise specifically for technology advancements. Valerie Leatherwood, president of ODA’s parent association, won the live auction for the St. Berdoodle puppy, bringing home a surprise new friend for her daughter Dylan.

The annual event raised more than $350,000 for the school.

“For the event only being a cocktail party, we broke records for everything. We are really proud and thankful for all of the parents and their support,” says Drosky.

Michael and Rebecca Moore

Shari and Doug Phillips with Dylan and Michele Johnson

Ernie and Patty Garcia with Tracy and Bill DeRamo

Stephanie and Eric Miller with Todd and Chris Martin

Sabrina, the St. Berdoodle offered in the live auction

18

DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// BLACK TIE: COLUMN SEX AND THEN SOME …

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, renowned octogenarian sex therapist, was the speaker at the Women’s Resource Center March 14 luncheon, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.

But she considers herself an educator and some of her best advice had little to do with sex. Examples: “Be an askable parent;” “Let bad stuff go; you’ll never forget it but don’t let it own you;” “A lesson taught with humor is a lesson retained.”

She had the audience of 400-plus men and women eating out of her hand and promised “Anybody who gives money to the Women’s Resource Center is going to have great sex for the rest of your life.” Betty Schoenbaum, who volunteered to help with an “ask,” made a similar promise, citing a University of Pittsburgh study that says that one of the benefits of giving … is better sex.

Kudos to everybody’s favorite technical director Brent Greeno who, with event chair Kathy Coffey, raised $16,300 in the WRC’s first-ever live auction. And, congrats to Executive Director Valerie Goddard for guiding her first Renaissance Luncheon to such success.

Photo by Molly Schechter

A flash mob appeared on stage and in the audience to celebrate Barbara Zdravecky’s 20th anniversary with Planned Parenthood Photos by Stephanie Hannum

Isabelle Crotsley and designer Camilyn Beth Leavitt

CREATIVITY AT ITS FINEST

T

hose Girls Inc. girls sure are creative. For this year’s Celebration Luncheon, the raffle items include things in which the girls have been involved in the process, learning along the way. One of the items to be auctioned at the April 3 luncheon is a custom pendant designed by Montserrat Alverez (after winning a design contest headed up by Carats Fine Jewelry and Watches owner Greg Twarowski). The one-of-a-kind, angular square-shaped pendant (valued at $4,650) includes a three-carat tri-color tourmaline as the center stone. Radiating from the center to the corners are diamond beads weighing a total of .36 carats. The 14

S TIDBIT

Bittersweet and beautiful … Melvy Lewis’s invitation was straightforward and to the point: “For taking such good care of me since Milford has been gone … a big thank you from Melvy.” And big it was … a March 9 dinner in the Water Club party room with 68 guests and a nine-piece band led by Simone Vitale, imported from the

carat rose gold pendant comes with a 18-inch strand of freshwater pearls.

The second item up for bid is a custom dress by local designer Camilyn Beth. Several girls helped design a 23-piece collection. With your top bid, you get to choose one of the dresses to be created specifically for you. The piece you bid on will even feature a message from the girls on the label, so it’s a true one-of-a-kind.

For more information and to bid online, visit biddingforgood.com/ girlsincsrq. The auction will also be available for bidding at the 26th annual Celebration Luncheon. To purchase a luncheon ticket, call 366-6646.

Lewis’s hometown of Detroit. Phil Mancini did the dinner but Melvy personalized it with her own, homemade Mandelbrot … Home again …

Dottie Garner is home from SMH after a bout with a nasty flu and Dorothy Jacobson is home from the Inn at the Sarasota Bay Club where she rehabbed from a fall. You can’t keep a good woman down! … Same time next year … The report from

CELEBRATING ‘CELEBRATE’

P

lanned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida had plenty of goals for its annual dinner this year: to honor president Barbara Zdravecky for her remarkably effective 20 years; to raise at least $50,000 to earn a promised match and exceed a million-dollar objective for the “BAZ (Barbara A. Zdravecky) Fund for the Future;” and to revitalize and reposition its annual dinner, this year being the 48th.

The March 13 party did all of the above, and then some.

Relocated from the Municipal Auditorium to a tent on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, attendance was at least 10% over the usual 500, $67,000 was raised for the fund and a good time was

the Sarasota Garden Club is that its first garden tour March 15 was a smash hit with more than 800 tickets sold … A moment to be treasured …

Anne Virag, AJC (American Jewish Committee) regional president, was part of a leadership delegation that had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Feb. 13.

AJC Executive Director David Harris and President Stanley Bergman

had by all.

Co-Chairs Rich and Clare Segall and their merry band with Planned Parenthood Vice President Jan Chester and staff put on a great party decorated with life-size photo cutouts of the honoree. They even managed to surprise her with a flash mob of more than 100 people on stage and in the audience moving to “It’s a Woman’s World.” Zdravecky acknowledged that she is unaccustomed to being surprised and got a good laugh by sharing that her guests included “My aesthetician, my chiropractor, my hair stylist, my massage therapist and my psychiatrist.”

See photos on page 22 and more online at YourObserver.com.

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

19

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY ‘CATURDAY NIGHT FEVER’ Benefiting Cat Depot Saturday, March 15, at Hyatt Regency Sarasota

Nancy and Greg Hambleton

Shelley Thayer and Lynn Rasys

Charlie and LDee Collins with Elizabeth Flower

Michael Bailey, Maria Wirries and Ilene Friedman

Bob and Nancy Colby with Mighty Lou

Photos by Heather Merriman

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Dr. Robin Hughes, Anthony the Cat and Michael Juchnowicz

Chairwoman Deborah and Rod Vaughan

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY RENAISSANCE LUNCHEON ‘THE GODDESS IN YOU’ Benefiting Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County | Friday, March 14, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

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Elyse Kuhn and Ann Friedman

Featured guest Dr. Ruth Westheimer signs books for guests.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

21

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY EIGHT OVER EIGHTY Benefiting KobernickAnchin | Sunday, March 16, at Michael’s On East

Beth Salzman and Harriet Fader

Lois and Eli Nefussy

The 2014 Eight Over Eighty Honorees — Top row: Ed Kalin, Sally Yanowitz and Herman Frankel. Bottom row: Ernie and Alisa Kretzmer, Jeanne Zabelle, Florence Katz and Sally and Sam Shapiro

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DIVERSIONS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY

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Dennis Stover, Judy Cahn, Ken Abt and Phil King

Photos by Heather Merriman

CELEBRATE! 48TH ANNUAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD DINNER HONORING BARBARA ZDRAVECKY

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DIVERSIONS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

23

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY ‘LATIN VARIATIONS’ GALA HONORING TERI HANSEN

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Benefiting Sarasota Ballet Monday, March 10, at Sarasota Yacht Club

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24

DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY

Photos by Heather Merriman

2014 Celebration Luncheon “She Knows Where She’s Going” honorees Ariane Dart, Whitney Wise-Verdoni, Courtney Wise-Snyder, Susanne Wise and Erika Wise-Borland

‘SHE KNOWS WHERE SHE’S GOING’ HONOREE LUNCHEON Benefiting Girls Inc. of Sarasota County | Thursday, March 13, at The Francis 

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

25

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY ‘AN EVENING AT CASINO ROYALE’ Benefiting Breast Health Sarasota Inc. Wednesday, March 12, at Longboat Key Club, Harbourside Dining Room

Photos by Heather Merriman

Co-Chairs Cris Meyers and Lynn Walters

Tracy Hatley, Angela Meyers, Bobby Blaikie, Sean Pettey and Megan Reynolds

3RD ANNUAL LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON Benefiting Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida | Wednesday, March 12, at Fête Ballroom

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Gabe and Bettina Rosica with Stu and Joni Ross  Gloria and Jerry Lionetti with Sandra and George Ceshker Jerri Vincent and Alisa Peters

Yen Reed, Veronica Miller and Emily Cruce

 Sarasota City Commissioner Susan Chapman and Sandi Stewart  Susan Stewart, featured speaker Blair Bloomston and Girl Scout Ambassador Samantha Wood

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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014

// BLACK TIE: FRESH FOR FALL

HOTFLASH

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STAGE III

Photo by Heather Merriman

Above: Fresh Salon Spa Style carries high-end women’s contemporary clothing. Right: Ashley Guttridge and Eduardo Anaya at Coterie Market in New York City.

#FOLLOWTHEBUYER: FRESH SALON SPA STYLE BUYS FOR FALL

Courtesy photos

This might come as a shock to those of you who are still trying to figure out what styles you like for spring, but the buying for fall has begun. Buyers headed to New York the week after Fashion Week to get a hold of the best styles for their stores.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

ays after the conclusion of New York Fashion Week, Fresh Salon Spa Boutique (1819 Main St., Suite 118) owner Ashley Guttridge and boutique Manager Eduardo Anaya headed to the big apple for the Coterie Market, a high-end women’s contemporary clothing market, which took place after what most fashionistas would consider the most important week of February.

The duo spent three days buying at market and then hit a few showrooms in the city. Buying is fast-paced.

“Back to back appointments every day,” says Anaya about the trip, during which four to five months’ worth of clothes are bought.

“You’re looking at pieces that haven’t been mass produced yet,” says Guttridge.

“Sometimes what you’re seeing is fresh off the runway.”

With some of the higher-end brands, buyers sit in an office (much like Guttridge’s office at Fresh) and clothes are brought out to them.

“It’s nice after buying for a few days, being able to sit and have people just bring you options,” says Guttridge.

When buying, there is a lot more than the obvious questions — “what looks good” or “what seems to be trending” — that play into buying the perfect pieces. Guttridge’s biggest challenge when buying for Fresh is finding options that cater to a wide variety of people.

“Because we are a salon and spa and boutique, we reach a larger demographic. It’s really about focusing on buying those versatile pieces that span different age groups,” says Guttridge.

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WHAT TO EXPECT FOR FALL “We have bought basically through October — 125 items, about 30 new styles each month,” says Guttridge. The boutique only carries about three to six pieces for each style. “Our clients want unique pieces, that’s why they are shopping at a boutique,” says Guttridge.

So what can you expect to be wearing in the fall?

Lots of layering can be seen in the upcoming fall trends, along with styles resembling 90s grunge with a feminine edge.

“There are a lot of extremely feminine pieces — higher waists, longer hemlines, florals,” says Guttridge. “Lots of blues, different shades of blues, lots of prints, lots of vegan leather,” says Anaya.

Styles always tend to go a little more formal in the fall, so with the more feminine pieces, there will be lots of sequins and more bling.

What can you plan on keeping in your closet?

Crop tops paired with high-waisted bottoms — “There’s only going to be more of it,” says Guttridge.

This style is gravitates toward a more conservative look however, with more “coverage” — looser crop tops paired with more feminine and conservative bottoms.

What item is Fresh owner/buyer Ashley Guttridge going to keep for herself?

The high-waisted, Marolli tea-length skirt covered in rosettes, paired with a blush colored crop top (top right).

FRESH BRANDS 7 for all mankind French Connection Lavender Brown DL1961 Botkier Greylin Peace Love World

 Ashley Guttridge, a Botkier rep and Eduardo Anaya in New York City. Botkier bags are a new item (and hot seller) at Fresh — Guttridge picked up a few more styles in the fall buy.

What is going to be a hot seller?

The Jamison “Fringe” Cardigan, left — perfect for a “Florida fall,” adding layers to any outfit and versatile in that it can be dressed up or down for any occasion.

DIVERSIONS

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by Heather Merriman | Black Tie Assistant Editor

DR. LAUREY STRYKER Walking through Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the interview location of Dr. Laurey Stryker’s choice, the Selby board member (as well as founder of Stryker Consulting and former CEO of USF Sarasota-Manatee, among other things) discusses her lifelong passion for education and her enthusiasm for hiking.

I TAUGHT political science — it was the 1960s, so it was a very big topic at the time because of civil rights and the politics around the Vietnam War. A lot of students were interested in politics then.

After that, I went on the public side and became the officer of the state for the next 20 years of my life. I went from teaching it, to doing it. Getting women elected early on was my main interest. I was active in politics to get more women appointed and elected.

ANOTHER THING I got in-

volved in early on was girl sports — when FSU was first trying to develop girl sports in the 1970s, I began advocating funding. It was a real passion of mine. There were lots of women donors — FSU was founded as a women’s school, so that was a great way to tap in to women donors. It was tremendous.

THEN AGAIN IN THE 1980S, I began advocating for fast pitch

I STICK WITH MY PASSIONS

for a long time, but really it comes back to the educational opportunities — the scholarships and lifelong benefits that come along with those causes.

What I see with women who have experience and involvement with sports, they have a certain confidence and an appreciation and understanding for teamwork.

I’VE ALWAYS LOOKED FOR CONNECTIONS. I’m a person

who thinks ahead about what I’m interested in, and also the serendipity — whatever comes along that is a match for my passion, which is really for kids and young people and innovation and education.

MY PASSION WITH SELBY is really about education — educating the next generation about the earth’s stewards. When I retired — well, I really didn’t retire — so, when I left USF in 2007, this was the only board I joined.

Photos by Heather Merriman

The dedication to education and the goal of building the rainforest was one I wanted to be involved in. Creating places is as important as people and programs, it’s something I enjoy doing. Building that campus was that for me, and The Children’s Rainforest Garden is another place that I’ve had the privilege to be a part of.

saying the entire time. To me, it’s not the destination it’s the journey.

It’s incredible, the places you see all over the world, along with the camaraderie you get with the people you’re with. And we always have a shopping day and a spa day — so it’s hiking, with a purpose.

I AM AN AVID HIKER. I’m in a hiking group, we call ourselves The Ya Ya’s; it’s a group of about 10 to 12 of women, depending on the year. We started hiking around 13 years ago — we hike one year in the states and one year outside the country. This is an in the states year. We are going to the Utah area, which will be great.

It’s really not something I would ever do by myself and my husband’s not a hiker. “Where are we going?” is what he’d be

MY HUSBAND Charlie and I

like to travel. He’s a history professor, so we love traveling and learning about different cultures and people. We try to get a more in depth experience with every place that we go by connecting with people that are into the deeper history, as opposed to traveling as a tourist.

And we both work out — I love yoga, my thing is yoga. It’s very centering. I have to do something every day, whether it’s biking, walking, yoga, or swimming

— that’s my mantra.

I THINK THE ONE THING that

I’d say I’ve done that will have the longest shelf life, would be the [USF Sarasota-Manatee] campus. I think that when you look back and then you look at the 5,000 students now, it’s exciting to know what that means in regards to the future. It really is the long term, building that campus — it’s what I would call my legacy project.

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I GRADUATED with my master’s in political science. I was hired as a charter faculty for Hillsborough Community College when I was 22 years old. My husband was totally shocked that they hired me fresh out of college.

softball in Florida. At that time the State Athletic Association was not supporting fast pitch softball for girls. Our kids were losing out on scholarships because of this, so I began to support it — eventually a bill passed to allow it. As it turns out, both of my granddaughters are very strong soft pitch softball players. To watch them benefit from something that happened so long ago, it’s wonderful.

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MY ENTIRE LIFE has really been about education. I’ve been a professional educator for 40 years.

WATTS HUMPHREY Florida Lic. No.CGC1506235

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