by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
There’s a new space for art in San Marco called the 3 Eclectic Chicks Art Boutique. If you haven’t yet discovered it during Christmas shopping, you really should visit—not just because they carry some of the most unique items in town, but also because much of what they feature is useful art. Art can be practical as well as decorative. Here you can find art to wear, art to sit on or to wash your hands with. That’s right, wash your hands with. Who says that soap making’s not an art? It certainly is when it’s well-crafted and done in a mosaic style.
Art can be part of your everyday life, and that’s the feeling behind this place. It supports local artists who don’t just do the traditional canvas-paint stuff, but who are artists just the same. Lots of the stuff on display skates the skittery edge between art and craft, falling to one side or the other, depending on who’s looking at it.
I visited 3 Eclectic Chicks Boutique in December for their Trunk Show. Most weekends they have something interesting going on. I was sad that I was out of town the following weekend, when they had a chainsaw wood sculpting demo and a book signing.
While you might be able to wear the art that Heather Ferman creates, it is bona fide art. She makes glass beads, which often encase tiny, elaborate glass flower designs. Ferman is a local who has been featured in museums across the country and is known for her works of exquisite glass bead art. An entire display of her work as well as a video of the artist actually going through the glass molding process was featured just inside the door. It was an incredible video. “My goal,” says Ferman, “is to create functional works of art.”
Beth Sullivan had plenty of nature photos at the trunk show, with gorgeous flowers in close-ups and long shots of lush gardens. She takes the majority of her photos out West. It was pretty affordable to take home one of these little pieces of nature, both as postcard style art and as giclee prints of the photos on canvas. They can be framed or unframed, but she displays the framed pieces without the glass in front of them, as she feels it detracts from the canvas. The glass is included; it’s just tucked on the inside of the frame behind the piece. She was also displaying fabric art mostly in the form of neat little quilted greeting cards.
Fabric art is starting to gain respect in the artistic community. Newcomer to the scene, Nina Bridier, makes crafty art that is useful as well artistic. She sews various purses, enhances frames with collage work (pictures of grandchildren not included) and also makes intricate fabric dolls. They take a long time to make, but each doll is unique.
Also part of the fabric art on display and for sale (but not part of this particular show), are the works of Diane Hamburg, whose dyeing techniques are always riveting and experimental. She uses fabric as her medium, testing various dyes in quilting designs and more. “My art,” says Hamburg, “is created with the hope of capturing those times when one glances up through the leaves towards the sky or when one takes a big deep breath after trudging over the sand dunes and first glancing at the sea, sky and sun. That thrill of the vastness and beauty of Mother Nature is shared in my fiber creations.”
You’ll find the strange, the funky and the occasional traditional gift shop offering scattered about 3 Eclectic Chicks Art Boutique. It’s just as entertaining as a gallery show because there are so many different types of art, craft and styles represented in the many rooms. They’re planning to open up a coffee and tea room soon and I think it’s going to be a great gathering place for interesting artists.
Check them out at 1704 Hendricks Avenue or call (904) 306-0923.
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