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| Title: "Conine Chair" Description: FORT LAUDERDALE 8 artists wing it to support the arts Nonprofit arts group ArtServe will showcase embellished eagle sculptures created by South Florida artists in honor of the McDonald's Air & Sea Show. BY ANI MARTINEZ armartinez@MiamiHerald.com Debbie Sampson of Hollywood works on a sculpture of an eagle for ‘Eagles Soar: A Tribute to Liberty,' a special display and fundraiser. Debbie Sampson's home has more than just the usual sketches and unfinished work of an artist's studio. A sculpted eagle, with an array of paint brushes glued to its back like feathers, sits at the center of the room waiting for Sampson's creative eye. ''I got an image of an eagle covered in art supplies,'' Sampson said. ``It's going to be patriotic, yet fine art.'' Eight artists, including Sampson, were each chosen to decorate a fiberglass eagle for Eagles Soar: A Tribute to Liberty, a special display and fundraiser for ArtServe, a Fort Lauderdale nonprofit agency that hosts art programs. ArtServe will display the eagles at its gallery on Sunrise Boulevard. The display will be part of a larger Air and Sea Florida Landscapes exhibit at the gallery. This is the second year ArtServe and the McDonald's Air & Sea Show in Fort Lauderdale have joined forces. ''It's going to be a great opportunity to showcase local artists, which is what ArtServe tries to do with its programs,'' said Maureen Kohler, executive director of ArtServe. ''A lot of artists are sticking to what they know and what they are comfortable with, but others are taking this opportunity to hit another audience at the Air & Sea Show,'' she said. PANEL CHOSE ARTISTS The eight artists were chosen by a panel of judges. Twenty applied. Sampson, whose portfolio mostly includes oil-on-canvas paintings of pro athletes, is one of eight artists in South Florida stretching beyond their comfort zones to decorate their eagles for ArtServe's J.M. Family Enterprises Gallery. ''This was an opportunity to do something challenging,'' said Sampson, of Hollywood. ``It's going to have a positive flow of energy because of its colors and textures. 'I want people to look at it and say, `This is what America is about,' '' Sampson said. Sampson will glue more than 500 brushes to her eagle to resemble feathers, paint caps mimicking eyes and use other art supplies. A gold-leafed beak will hold the Declaration of Independence, according to Sampson's sketch. The eagle works serve as a fundraiser. Each eagle, which cost 0 to make, was sponsored for 0. ''About 0 for each eagle will go to ArtServe for additional programming for the arts community,'' Kohler said. BASE MATERIAL George Gadson, a large-scale sculptor and photographer from Tamarac, sculpted the fiberglass eagles, which are 30 inches long and 20 inches tall. ''Artists can do a lot more when there is a greater surface to be creative and implement ideas,'' Gadson said. ``It makes a greater impact.'' Gadson participated in last year's event when artists drew their hero on a fighter jet helmet. ''This also is a testament how art should be integrated to every event in South Florida,'' Gadson said. ``This also speaks to collaboration of artists working together. I'm proud to celebrate the idea of the Air & Sea Show through art |
