Visual Arts
Through the gifts of the talented members of
First Presbyterian Church,
our halls are blessed with His glory.
"Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And He took the children in His arms, put His hand on them and blessed them." Mark 10:14-16
Artist: Lynne Hughes
Our Town
Four artists donated their renderings of Grover's Corners: Ellen Chastain, Jackie Hanson, Christy Mitchell, and Julie Stone. Proceeds from a silent auction benefited the Peace River Center in Bartow. The Mission of Peace River Center is to improve the mental health of individuals in our community to achieve our vision of a higher quality of life through treatment, education and advocacy.
Julie Stone (Perspective from the Steeple) resides in Lakeland, Florida. She has taught Visual Art in the Polk County School System for 17 years. She has shown her paintings in various art shows such as the Lakeland Art Guild, Winter Haven Art Guild, Florida Southern College, and the Peggy Brown Building. She has recently published two instructional Art books Kick it Up and Art and Literacy featuring personal works of art. Her favorite style of painting is Impressionistic because “It gives you the freedom of movement”. Julie’s favorite artist is Claude Monet even though she is always influenced by current artist who use different painting techniques. Perspective from the Steeple -To be auctioned Sunday, September 27- is an asymmetrical painting that focuses on perspective by looking up toward the steeple as well as in the background of the town. The evening sky reflects light as it plays on the land and steeple creating beautiful tints and shades all around. The warm mood of the painting is intended to create a calming, peaceful place.
Christy Mitchell (Our Town) is a graduate of University of South Florida '04 with a degree in Studio Art (concentration: ceramics). Since 1998 she has worked with Parker Street Ministries on numerous art projects helping the children who attend the PSM after-school program and Summer Camp. Christy has collaborated on several art projects which were auctioned off to benefit PSM. Our Town -To be auctioned Saturday, September 26- was inspired by a previous painting Christy worked on with Connie Lutter and the children at Parker Street Ministries. Christy loves children's books and the illustrations in them. She is very inspired by the work of people like Tim Rollins and the Kids of Survival. She is always thinking of projects that will allow children to express themselves through art. For several years now, Christy has also painted pictures for the women's ministry at Trinity Presbyterian Church. Several of her paintings can be seen on display there.
Jackie Hansen (Grover’s Corners) resides in Lakeland, Florida. As a teen and young adult, she took oil, acrylic and calligraphy classes. She also spent a season of her life designing art stamps and creating unique cards and projects with hand made papers. Jackie has picked up her paintbrush again in the last few years. She primarily paints textured, vintage, earthy backgrounds with inspirational verses. Grover's Corners -To be auctioned Friday, September 25- depicts a small town tucked away on a hillside. The soft, hazy shades of green on the hilltop and the deep sky give the illusion of dusk. The mill on the outskirts of town represents a hard working community and the sprinkling of churches portrays life and faith.
Ellen Chastain (Mapping Our Town) resides in Lakeland, Florida. She has been on staff at Polk Museum of Art as the Education Coordinator for 6 years and has assisted as the Art Director for Platform Art for the past 3 years. Though she has an appreciation for classic artistry, she favors the inspiration of new emerging art. "Art continues to reinvent itself...as it should...and the master artists for the future are alive today. Now is the time to embrace it.” Mapping Our Town -To be auctioned Thursday, September 24- The colors are bold and the lines are defined but where's the detail? The simplicity of this piece gives the viewer the tools to envision what "Our Town" looks like to them. The idea is to set the tone and let the imagination run free, such as when God places a cloud in front of a child's eyes and the child shouts, "I see a dog!" The lines create the parameters and the texture slowly morphs itself into once unseen images.
First Presbyterian Church, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801. (863) 686-7187.