Diversions 8.14.14

Diversions YourObserver.com

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Art Center Sarasota exhibits creative kids PAGE 4

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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT | ABSTRACT REALIST

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Ballet review: ‘The Secret Garden’ PAGE 8

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

Photo by Mallory Gnaegy

ready for her

CLOSE-UP Lesha, a visual artist, makes everyday objects appear extraordinary.

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: ABSTRACT REALIST

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

ready for her CLOSE-UP F

LESHA, a visual artist, makes everyday objects appear extraordinary.

Mallory Gnaegy

“I purposefully never title my paintings in a way that gives them away,” Lesha says. “I like to hear what people’s perspectives are on the paintings. … I think good artists don’t tell you what it is; good art asks questions and doesn’t give you all the answers.”

or six years Lisa Jacyszyn enjoyed celebrity status in Maui, Hawaii. Everyone knew the young visual artist, who goes by just Lesha, as in Cher or Madonna, for the mural-painted minivan she drove around the island.

The van she painted was her mobile advertisement for the four-hour en plein aire painting lessons she gave tourists. She painted the volcanic landscapes alongside her students — like Bob Ross. It was her dream fulfilled. That is, until the glamour of living on a tropical island eventually faded into the reality of the limited artistic opportunities of a small island; she needed more mental stimulation.

Although she taught others to paint landscapes, in her own work, the 38-year-old paints abstract realist work, or close-up portions of real subjects. So close, in fact, one might not realize what the subject is or think it’s surreal.

State of the Arts Gallery features one of her pieces, and you can occasionally find her work on display at Art Center Sarasota.

After leaving Maui in 2010, Lesha moved to San Francisco to pursue a graduate degree in Chinese medicine and create art on the side. She fell in love and moved to Sarasota to follow her heart and relationship. The relationship has since ended.

In December, she obtains her degree. Until then, she’s study-

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// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT PAYING THE BILLS: The odd jobs of art

Lesha’s “SiO2 Nano Crystals”

“Honey, Do Drop In” by Lesha ing for six national exams — she barely has time to paint.

When she does have time, Lesha works in a small studio set up on her glassed-in lanai. Her condo at Pelican Cove in South Sarasota reminds her of Hawaii — it’s a similar oasis with the way the light hits the palms.

She’s slowly working on a new painting of a close-up portion of an orange slice. It’s a subject Lesha has been meaning to paint since college. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s “Ode to the Lemon” inspired the idea with the words, “Knives slice a small cathedral into a lemon.” It’s this image — the one that likens the pulp to stained-glass windows — that’s been sitting in the back of the visual artist’s mind.

Lesha started making abstract realist pieces in school at California College of Art. There, she fre-

I thought it was amazing with the colors and shapes that are all bizarre and strange to me. I want to look at things I’m not used to instead of at the old cliché images.

— Lesha

quented a Thai restaurant every Friday. One day she noticed the light streaming through the trees caused a lacy pattern on the tabletop.

She thought, “I’m going to paint those patterns.”

Lesha took something ordinary, a shadow, and presented it so it looked extraordinary.

Lesha explains it like this: When she looks at a white wall, she doesn’t see white. She sees pinks, blues and purples falling across the wall, which is why she says she could make a roll of toilet paper look beautiful.

It’s looking at the ordinary in a

Lesha’s mobile advertisement in Maui.

different way.

“To me it’s not the subject matter of a painting. (The canvas) is just a place to hang the colors of the lights and shadows,” she says.

Her focus moved from shadows to produce — she’s painted close-up portions of honeydew melon and moody-looking asparagus.

A more abstract piece she recently finished hangs on her lanai — it’s a microscopic image of silicon dioxide. It’s earthy-looking with green, brown, iridescent gold and teal and looks like rings of a tree tunneling into similar lined regions with gold steppingstones interspersed between.

The piece was inspired from a photography contest Nikon held for scientists. What she didn’t know when she was painting it is that silicon dioxide is quartz, the same white sand that makes up Siesta Key beach.

“This is why painting is cool,” she says. “I’m discovering new things all the time.”

Because of the detail in her work, this style of art takes her months to finish — and lots of materials. She used to teach art on the side to fund it, and it’s ultimately why she wanted to focus on Chinese medicine — as another means of survival.

“As it is now, I spend way more time, money and materials making the artwork than I ever get back,” she says. “It hasn’t been a profitable venture for me. It hasn’t happened — yet.”

For more information about Lesha’s artwork, visit lesha-art.com. Visit YourObserver.com for a video with the artist.

Here are some of the jobs Lesha worked to pay her bills. She usually juggled four part-time jobs at a time since she graduated art school in 1999.

“My friends used to joke with me when I was in my 20s that the reason there weren’t any jobs out there was because I had them all,” she says.

• Art specialist at a private elementary school in Oakland, Calif.

• As a mad scientist at Mad Science, where she taught in an after-school program teaching hands-on science experiments to preschool- and elementaryaged students • Waitress • Girl Friday • Personal assistant and chef • Housekeeper • Hawaii lei girl • Non-fiction book illustrator for “The Fire Escape is Locked for Your Safety” • Nanny • AmeriCorps teacher at a youth ranch teaching inner-city children how to respect themselves through riding horses (she had to learn to ride a horse herself) • Espresso demonstrator and saleswoman selling espresso pods • Art teacher at University of California, Berkeley Extension

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Walk into Art Center Sarasota, and you’ll see dragons.

You’ll see paper mache dragons, painted clay dragons with sharp teeth, and if you’re lucky, a real life dragon. Or at least a little girl pretending to be one with paper wings and a wand with warm-colored streamers that make for

great pretend fire breathing.

These dragons (and children) were part of the Creative Kids summer camp hosted by Art Center Sarasota.

The weeklong camp sessions ran from June 9 through Aug. 15, and the creative children explored art in various mediums. Every Friday, parents were invited to an “art opening” where campers could proudly display their art.

 Gabriel Yamada shows his grandma Judi Stafford that art can be fun.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

// HOME&GARDEN

THINGS

by Robert Plunket | Contributing Writer

LIVING THE RITZ LIFE

The Ritz-Carlton may well be the most iconic luxury brand in the world. And for more than a decade its mystique has added immeasurably to Sarasota’s image as a gathering spot for the rich and famous. We currently have three properties managed by the Ritz. Each is a little different in tone and atmosphere, but they all share an impressive array of amenities and services — including a beach club, golf course and state-of-the-art spa facility — that are available to owners through several membership plans. As for the apartments themselves, well, let’s take a look at what’s currently available in the rarified world of high-end luxury.

1. WHERE THE ACTION IS 1111 RITZ CARLTON DRIVE, UNIT 1701 The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, located downtown, is famous for its atmosphere, with wealthy visitors and celebrities passing through the elegant lobby, and Sarasotans dressed to the nines arriving for parties in the ballroom. The top seven floors of the hotel are condos, and Unit 1701, on the penthouse floor, is one of the most luxurious. With almost 5,000 square feet of living area, it boasts a formal living room and dining room, four terraces, a den, library and a spacious kitchen. The views of the bay and the city are spectacular — even from the master bath. All hotel amenities, including room service from Jack Dusty, are available.

Priced at $3.5 million. For more information, call Roger Pettingell of Coldwell Banker at 387-1840.

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2. QUIET LUXURY

35 WATERGATE DRIVE, UNIT 1501 Next door to the hotel is a building called the Tower Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, and here the feeling is just as luxurious but a little more sedate. Think of an ultra-exclusive building on Park Avenue. Apartments here tend to be larger, and they are home to many longtime Sarasota residents. Unit 1501, just below the penthouse level, has high ceilings (more than 10 feet), and its location at the southwest corner of the building gives it the edge

on some pretty spectacular views.

You’ll find 3,700 square feet of living area, three bedrooms, three baths and an eat-in kitchen that opens to a separate family room. All the hotel facilities are available, even though the building has its own pool and amenity level.

Priced at $3.25 million. For more information, call Joan Dickinson at 914-0496 or Beth Afflebach at 7371756, both of Michael Saunders & Co.

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There are no hotel rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences on Lido Key, just a spectacular beach club (for guests of the hotel and members) topped by a luxury condo building. Unit 401 has three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths in more than 4,000 square feet. This heavily upgraded apartment — check out the Versace window treatments — has an elaborate kitchen with a separate family room and

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several terraces perfect for sunsetwatching over the Gulf. There’s a glamorous bar and restaurant downstairs, plus a wide variety of beachoriented recreational activities. Pets are allowed. With its Ritz pedigree and focus on an elegant but informal sand-in-your-shoes lifestyle, this is a world-class beach getaway.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS

DANCE // ‘The Secret Garden’ Will Tuckett’s “The Secret Garden” was absolutely genius. The choreographer’s creative vision brought Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel to life with gorgeous sets, costumes, lighting, puppetry, narration and dancing. The production transported this critic back to childhood with the magic of those pages being performed on stage — truly a delight for all ages.

The musical score composed by Jeremy Holland-Smith was accentuated by the narration written by Alasdair Middleton and performed by Edward French. The narration only emphasized the emotions and feelings usually only expressed through mime and dancing and made quite the impact. It didn’t hurt that French had a nice English accent and is quite a handsome bloke. Even a minor microphone incident didn’t deter his excellent acting skills — one might even wonder how he managed to memorize all those lines.

The sets and costumes designed by Tim Meacock were absolutely gorgeous. From the many-windowed mansion scrim, to the moving walls that transformed as the cast of characters danced through the hallowed halls, to the iron-wrought secret garden, the sets complemented the choreography and made it even more exquisite. The costumes were incredibly detailed and reflected the time-period.

The oversized puppets designed by Toby Olié were extraordinary. What was even more incredible was the fact that the dancers had to learn a new skill with this ballet — puppetry. Kristianne Kleine, Daniel Rodriguez, Calvin Farias, Dagny Hanrahan, Patrick Ward and Daniel Pratt were terrific with their respective puppets — the crow, fox and robin.

The dancers, dressed as gardeners, managed to disappear behind their puppets and bring them to life. An exceptional moment

was when Farias and Ward danced through flowers in moveable bowls as the fox, making it look like a fox running through a real meadow of blooming flowers.

Jessica Cohen danced the lead role of Mary Lennox, which was an incredibly taxing role, seeing as though she was on stage almost every minute of the ballet. She handled it with ease and grace, exhibiting strong technique and elegant lines. Her stage presence and acting skills were spot-on with comical expressions and emotions.

Ricardo Graziano was Mary’s pal, Dickon.

He portrayed the role of a young, curious boy quite well. Graziano’s character was a buddy with the fox puppet and he interacted with the puppet like it was a real fox, making the story even more believable.

Taking on a role of a sick child could have been a challenging part, but Alex Harrison embraced the part and morphed into a healthier Colin throughout the ballet.

Harrison demonstrated some fantastic leaps and jumps in this performance.

Kate Honea and Ricki Bertoni have always delighted audiences with their knack for acting and comedy. Both were excellent in their roles of the miserly and harsh Mrs. Medlock and the grumpy and bitter Ben Weatherstaff. Bertoni even made a surprise appearance in character during intermission in the lobby.

The entire ballet was a magical experience and concluded with glittering flowers unveiled from the ceiling that hovered above the now open and not secret garden.

This ballet will enchant people of all ages.

The show continues from Aug. 13 to Aug. 16 and will be performed again Oct. 24 to Oct. 26. This is a must-see.

— Anna Dearing

YOUROBSERVER.COM // Visit

our website to read film critic Pam Nadon’s review of “The Hundred Foot Journey” and theater critic Marty Fugate’s review of “Talking With...”

Photos by Frank Atura

Top: The Sarasota Ballet performed the world premiere of Will Tuckett’s “The Secret Garden.” Bottom: Calvin Farias, Patrick Ward, Jessica Cohen and Edward French in “The Secret Garden.”

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