"Look At Me !"

"CHARGE IT TO TOM ARNOLD'S ROOM !" We turned around as actor Arnold was ordering a coffee at the Casa Monica coffee shop. His voice is at a decibel level twice the normal and we realize that he has a big head. Not big in the egotistical sense, but big in hat size. Sharon Stone and Jimmy Fallon are featured with him in a movie entitled "Rocket", filming now in Jacksonville. (straight to video?) Fallon might make it here to bellow the Trogg's classic "Wild Thing " at the Tradewinds. We hear that he is hitting the dives in Jacksonville. Hey!.... he's young and enjoying his celebrity, why not? Just don't drink and drive, Jimmy.

Freedom River

Orson Welles narrates this 1971 animated story about a special river of freedom. Note the street artist along the river.

There once was discovered a land where freedom flowed like a clear, fresh stream..............

John Cuthbert Hare

John Cuthbert Hare, 1908-1978, was a watercolorist who painted boats, seascapes and harbor scenes. He was primarily associated New England, especially Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he spent his summers from 1938 to 1965. However, he also lived in St. Augustine Florida where he was a member of the St. Augustine Art Association. It is likely Hare was born in New York City. He first studied commercial art in Brooklyn at the Pratt Institute.
Mr.Hare died in Palm Beach in 1978.

Spanish Night Watch

Spanish Nightwatch, the re-enacting of soldiers securing St. Augustine for the night in 1740, will take place Saturday March ,31

Re-enactors in full Spanish military outfit will lead a torch-lit procession through the Plaza and downtown streets of this former military outpost.

Provocateur?

Photo by Sherri Adriano
A letter in the St. Augustine Record seems to protest the Peace March of last week. It doesn't take a close reading to deduce that the writer was taking an outrageous position in order to promote the Peace March. Kind of a reverse provacateur .Selected quotes verbatim include:

"These rowdy* dissidents dared to interrupt the free flow of commerce."

"Who needs to be reminded that more troops have been secreted home than people who died ...on Sept. 11 ?"

"Hasn't our president revoked that Constitutional right (free speech) yet? If not, why not?"

We are reminded of those wild eyed individuals back in the 70's who were at peace meetings (some were organizers) screaming for government overthrow, violence and mayhem. The old joke was that with the headbands, the three day beard growth and the fatigue pants you sometimes found a pair of perfectly polished oxford shoes. We didn't need to wait for the "Freedom Of Information" files to recognize what was termed as an Agent Provocateur.

If the letter writer is serious, it is ironic that he is exercising free speech rights by denouncing the marcher's right of free speech.

*You aint seen rowdy. Try The Tradewinds at 11PM tonight and tell us about rowdy.

High Rent

Granted, this candy apple is big and it is loaded with nuts.It is the epitome of candy apples. You can get one here in St.Augustine on St. George Street. How much would you pay for a candy apple? ..........is it just us?.....the poor artists, but doesn´t SEVEN DOLLARS seem like a lot of money to fork over for a candy apple!? If it seems reasonable to you, take a walk down St. George St. to buy your family a set.

Mary Badham Played 'Scout' in Classic Film

Mary Badham, who played "Scout" in the 1962 film ,"To Kill A Mockinbird" recently visited the area on an educational outreach program directed toward elementary students. You may link to the St. Augustine Record story Here. For some reason the reporter, throughout the article refers to Harper Lee's title as "Mockingbird". We suppose that this is in the interest of brevity. As huge fans of The film and the book we think that perhaps it would have been fitting to use the whole title. This movie was ranked #2 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. We may start referring to the local paper as "Aug Rec".

King George's Man

In Mid April 1783 British Loyalist Colonel Andrew Deveaux, a young Carolinian from Beaufort, left British loyalist St. Augustine with five of his own ships and 220 provincials, locals and Negroes. They headed toward Spanish occupied Nassau, landing without notice. After setting up "straw soldiers" to increase the perception of large numbers, they fired a few well directed shots at the fort. The Spanish governor capitulated and turned over the fortress, seventy cannon and six ships. Five hundred troops also surrendered. The British had already lost the American Revolution but regained the Out Islands called the Bahamas.The defeated Loyalist refugees were offered Crown Land free of charge for the first ten (10) years. Leasehold titles of 20 acre tracts were offered to each Black or White woman, man, or child in a family, and 40 acre tracts for each head of a family at an annual rent of 2 shillings per 100 acres. The Loyalists settled primarily on San Salvador, Cat Island, Crooked Island, Long Island, Exuma, and Abaco, engaging predominantly in large cotton plantations. Deveaux was rewarded with 1,000 acres on Cat Island. Source: East Florida As A British Province 1763 - 1784 ,Charles Loch Mowat, 1943

The Peace Fairy Was Here !

Photo by Sherri Adriano

St. Augustine is a conservative community. Yes, very much so. Don't let the graying ponytails fool you, the baby boomer generation hangs on to the middle ground as tightly as they once gripped their roach clips. That said, when more and more citizens start showing up once a month at the Bayfront to hold signs demonstrating against our involvement in Iraq we must take notice.

Scott Raimondo

Scott Raimondo's oil of the Bridge of Lions brings on nostalgic memories of no construction, but progress is sometimes messy and we are waiting for the day, three years from now when the old bridge will be new again and the marble lions will be back on their pedestal. Scott has been absent from the Plaza most of January and February but now he's back with new paintings and prints. Come see his work on weekends. Have a look. Don't miss out.

Permanent Record

In 1963 JoAnne Martin Hughes was arrested at a pharmacy in St. Augustine for protesting racial segregation. She spent 60 days in jail in 1963 for following the call of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to protest racial segregation in St. Augustine - the only place in Florida where Dr.King was arrested.

Florida lawmakers want to make it easier for segregation protesters like Hughes to clear their records of crimes borne of a determination to end racial discrimination. Proposed legislation would speed applications to erase such convictions past other pardon requests to the governor and state Clemency Board.

"Erasing convictions from criminal records is a small step toward forgiveness of an era that still causes emotional strain," said Gerald Eubanks, chairman of St. Augustine's civil rights committee as reported by the Associated Press.

"It did a great deal of damage. You will carry that for the rest of your life," Eubanks said. "If we purge all of this negativity we can get past it and move on. It certainly is good therapy if you can at least have a fair record."

AITM feels that the passage of this bill is a "no brainer", though we gotta say that these heroes may want to keep the convictions as a "badge of honor". Thank you Sister Rosa And Ms. Hughes.
_

That Be Eustis, Mon !

Photo by Sherri Adriano

Eustis can be found on Cathedral Street facing the Plaza playing his steel drum. Hailing from Trinidad. (where the steel drum originated) he has an enormous repertoire from Amazing Grace to Ole Morgan's Mama,Scratch It! . He is a master maker of custom steel drums and a student of Life. We warn you.............Do not discuss politics or religion with Eustis! He will try to weave those subjects in to the talk ("O de traffic Mon ! It is the proletariat corruption dat is de cause. I'm telling you de absolute troot! !"), but keep away. If you like his music drop in a donation. "Don't call me no panhandler Mon! An Artist I am wit a capital A" ! Yes, he is most definitely.

An Elizabethan View of the New World

Drake's Raid On St. Augustine

An historic copy of the first printed atlas of England and Wales, a landmark in Elizabethan cartography, is coming on to the market for the first time in 200 years.Among the collection is an illustration of Sir Francis Drake’s famous expedition to the West Indies and America from 1585 to 1586, when he set out to attack the Spanish possessions there.This set of charts, depicting towns “visited” by Drake’s fleet, are of particular importance because they gave Elizabethan England the first glimpse of America. Among the charts is a view of St Augustine in northern Florida — the earliest printed view of any city in North America. More Here

* Post script: An anonymous bid of $1.29M won this chart and four others at the Sotheby's London auction.

Geico Has Her

Charo

If the City of St. Augustine is wishing to fly in celebrities (The Pope, the King of Spain) to help celebrate our 450th anniversary we gotta throw in our suggestion. To some, María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza de Rasten a.k.a. Charo, epitomizes Spanish achievement in the U.S.A. Many do not know that she has been named "Best Flamenco Guitarist" in Guitar Player Magazine's readers' poll twice. Charo is spending a lot of time entertaining on cruise ships and would probably be happy to visit the Ancient City. Contact Charo through her web page here.

And for the ladies ......Antonio Banderas

Seriously, We believe that it would serve St. Augustine well by counter balancing the anti Hispanic factions in this U.S. It is there, be assured (read the previous post and here). Celebrate the Spanish heritage aggressively ,apply for the grants and use ten million dollars as they did in Jamestown this year.Forget about the Pope (he's German ) he doesn't really have a bedroom at the basilica as the tour guides say.

The Pope is Coming ,Everybody Run!!!

click to enlarge
The City Commission last night, discussed possible attention getting ideas to celebrate the 450th anniversary of St. Augustine. Heresay is that one Commissioner thought that the Pope should be invited. We agree. It would be great if His Holiness would deliver an address on the "Bull of Borgia" whereby Pope Alexander VI announced to the New World natives that every three months, the Indians were to surrender a hawk's bell filled with gold dust. In return they were given a copper token stamped with the date. Those who were found without a current token had their hands amputated as an example to others. Others who resisted were fed to the savage Spanish dogs. More on the Spanish Inquisition in the New World. NOTE: We are not certain of the veracity of the referenced website.

J.L. Chuites

Take a look at this tabletop sculpture by Art In The Market artist, Jaxon Chuites. Not only is it a fantastic creation but the media is somewhat unusual. Jaxon a.k.a, Leather Shaman uses the hides of creatures for sculpture. Hand dyeing, forming and shellacking is all part of the process. Read more here http://leathershaman.com/

Civil Disobedience and Consequences

Henry David Thoreau

Our Plaza is a place where all are welcome. This is the first and oldest "public space" in the nation. A part of the artist's assertion of freedom of speech rights has to do with the fact that our founding fathers specifically stated that the public "fora" is the prime place for freedom of expression. Only recently (Bery v. N.Y.C. 1997) has the court decided that visual art qualifies as protected speech.

This federal court did not leave this open for interpretation by local or regional courts. The language is clear. Interpretations continue on both sides. Here in St. Augustine we have hair wrappers and bead stringers insisting that they are protected under the First Amendment. They are correct in that respect. No one can stop them from practicing their expressions. The collection of money as compensation for their expression is another thing. Art In The Market has always wondered why those "artists" who whine about their constitutional rights at Commission meetings do not simply exercise those rights and accept the consequences of being cited and go to court to defend those rights. Do your reasearch first !

Last Friday, a woman unknown to the rest of the artists set up a table at the eastern end of the Plaza. She had somehow come to the conclusion that if she attached jewelry to Barbie dolls and teddy bears she could skirt the "is it art" issue that confounds some. Ok , nice try ,but this action was based on misinformation. When the police informed her that this wasn't going to work she became combative (extremely so) The officers did their best and asked her to leave, she would not. @&?##^ filled the air of the Plaza. Parents were hustling their little ones away, the homeless scattered,and the gawkers couldn't help but watch the drama. The poor woman had to be led away kicking and screaming in handcuffs. Yes ,she obviously she felt strongly about her position but the argument that she gave was delusional and wrongheaded.

The civil disobedience espoused by Gandhi.Thoreau and Dr. King does not involve taking a swing at police officers.

Two Old Altar Boys

Bishop Victor Galeone and Artist Suvo

His Excellency and Art In The Market artist Suvo pictured here trading Latin conjegations. Guess who was better at it. Upon later reflection Suvo believes that though he had the words correct," Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est" he really did not mean to say, "Yes ,That is quite a large load of corn". "I could've quoted from the Latin Mass but the good bishop caught me off guard by testing me", said Suvo. He hopes that the bishop understands that it has been forty years since Latin class from The Oblates. Mea Culpa.

We hope that the bishop bookmarks Art In The Market to keep informed about what goes on on the Cathedral's "front lawn".

Oldest Schmoldist !

1935 Movie Newsreel

A Walk Back In Time

Artist/Historian/Archaeologist, Dean Quigley and Native American Inform Schoolchildren

The Florida Agricultural Museum Invites You to Attend
A Walk Back In Time: "Life and Times on the Old Kings Road"
March 24 & 25th, 9am to 4pm

At the Florida Agricultural Museum, 7900 Old Kings Road
At the Intersection of Old Kings Road and Hwy US 1 North Flagler County

Join us for a "Walk Back in Time" an opportunity to walk the 3/4 mile trail and visit historic camps arranged as a time line historic periods, as they might have existed along the Old Kings Road. You will meet and talk with Timucuan Indians, Spanish Settlers, British Colonists, Seminoles, Florida Pioneer Cowhunters and visit the excavation site of a turn-of-the-century Archaeologists complete with recovered artifacts. In addition to the historic camps, there will be vendors selling historic reproduction items and food at the Caldwell Dairy Barn. State archaeologists will also be set up in the dairy barn to discuss Florida archaeology as part of the Archaeology Month celebration. Saturday the 24th will also include our Old Fashion Barn Dance. So don't miss the

Old Fashion Barn Dance & Cake Walk
Saturday March 24th 3-5pm

All Day Admission:
Adults $5.00, 12 & Under $3.00, 2 and under Free
Please wear walking shoes

Call 386-446-7630
for more information

Discover Florida's History:
Founded before Plymouth
Settled prior to Jamestown
St. Augustine Founded in 1565

A Great Family EventFull of Fun & Learning

Amanda..... Amanda

This is the lovely Amanda gracing the balcony at Tripp Harrison´s Gallery on Cathedral Street facing the Plaza De La Constitucion. Amanda was watching the re-enactment of Searle´s Raid but we thought that her photo would be more interesting than a group of guys playing pirate.

Rebels Without Applause

Sailors Paul and Piper (The Delphine) have been gone from St. Augustine for a month or so. Paul sculpted these wonderful copper creatures and Piper was the creator of nice jewelry and knit purses and hats. We miss them. Read about them here. We wish them well on their adventures and hope to see them again.

The Creation Process

How do we come up with ideas for a painting? We do not "come up" with anything. We just begin. This is Suvo emptying his mind to begin a new work. Sometimes he appears to be sleeping.......... but he claims that he is actually "working" and can hear every word said within earshot. We sometimes can hear his "creative process" at work. It sounds a lot like snoring.