greenmarket11As summer winds down and the growing season approaches the Alliance for the Arts GreenMarket will once again offer a series of expert presentations aimed at helping home growers of all experience levels achieve a bountiful harvest using organic methods. The series kicks off on Saturday, September 6 at 10:30AM with “Site preparation & seed starting for the fall garden.” This first workshop will cover fine-tuning the amount of sun, water and nutrients your crops need, selecting the right seeds for our part of the world, looking into non-traditional crops. If you’re new to the area, this will be a great chance to have all your basic home gardening questions answered.

The series continue on Saturday, September 27 with “Best herb and vegetable cultivars and varieties for successful fall season gardening.” It’s aimed at providing attendees with useful information about what really works for our climate, and best practices to keep it working well. The final workshop “Fertilization, and weed and pest control, the organic way” is Saturday, October 11.

All three seminars begin at 10:30AM and will be presented by local organic farmers and master gardeners. They will last about an hour, and be followed by a Q&A. They will take place rain or shine and will be moved into the Alliance Main Building if necessary. They are free of charge, but a small donation to help the continued existence of these activities is appreciated. The Alliance’s GreenMarket, now in its 5th year, has a mission to support local growers, bakers and artisans. It offers a full range of activities year round, including free yoga classes every Saturday at 9:30AM, live music, cooking demos with local ingredients, and environmental activism events. Visit ArtInLee.org or find the Alliance for the Arts GreenMarket page on Facebook for more information.

MAPromoBannerOn Friday, September 5 an exhibit opens at the Alliance for the Arts called “Modern Atelier: The Methods of Today’s Training.” The Modern Atelier (French for “school” or “workshop”) is an educational practice that attempts to revitalize some of the theories and methodologies of the European ateliers of the 18th and 19th century whose primary aesthetic was the pursuit of beauty through truthful depiction. This show is meant to be an exposition of one incarnation of the Modern Atelier and its students.

The show features work by six artists who are all alumni from the Grand Central Atelier in New York City, Carol Broman (FL), Todd Casey (MA), Carla Crawford (NY), Angela Cunningham (NC) Danny Grant (TX) and Gregory Mortenson (NY). The individual works included in the exhibit, many available for purchase, include preliminary drawings, color studies, transfer drawings and both monochromatic (grisaille) and color paintings that illustrate elements of the modern atelier methodology. This show is an opportunity to see the process of Atelier training in the masterful work of professional artists who have successfully applied their discipline to find beauty in the contemplation of their subjects.

The opening reception is Friday, September 5 from 5-7PM. It’s free and open to the public. Artist Carol Broman will hold a Gallery Walk & Demo at 10AM on Saturday, September 6. Tracy Owen Cullimore is in the Member Gallery during the Modern Atelier exhibit, and Martin Freling is in the Theatre Lobby.

Painted Girls coverThe Alliance for the Arts’ monthly Member Gallery Book Club continues on Tuesday, September 16 from 6:30-8:30PM with a discussion of The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan. The Alliance Member Book Club is a monthly exploration of art-related literature. It’s one of the many benefits of membership at the Alliance for the Arts.

The Painted Girls is a heartrending, gripping novel set in belle époque Paris and inspired by the real-life model for Degas’s Little Dancer Aged 14 and by the era’s most famous criminal trials. Following their father’s sudden death, the Van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opéra, where she will be trained to enter the famous Ballet and meet Edgar Degas. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds employment—and the love of a dangerous young man—as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola’s Naturalist masterpiece L’Assommoir. Set at a moment of profound artistic, cultural, and societal change, The Painted Girls is a tale of two remarkable sisters rendered uniquely vulnerable to the darker impulses of “civilized society.”

Alliance individual memberships are $50 per year, families can join for $75 per year and college students can become a member for just $15. Membership benefits include 20% discounts on all classes & camps, FREE class Try It sessions and open studio sessions, discounts on concert and theatre tickets and special exhibition opportunities. Click HERE to become a member now.

aMUSEd squareMark your calendar for Saturday, September 27 when the Alliance for the Arts will present its fall fundraiser, “aMUSEd,” which promises to entice and surprise attendees, and surpass last year’s Take a Nude Home extravaganza. Give homage to your muses and flirt with the processes of creation during this unique art party. Enjoy music, interactive art, amusing diversions, wandering muses and other titillating surprises. Dine on fine tapas from Southwest Florida’s best chefs. Explore, nurture & liberate your inner muse during this celebration of art and creativity. The amusement begins at 7PM. Tickets are $100 and are available online HERE or at the Alliance. Event proceeds benefit educational and outreach programs at the Alliance.

The evening is proudly sponsored by Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC), the Betty Bireley Foundation and Investor’s Security Trust, with media support from Florida Weekly, TOTI Media, Inc., Happenings Magazine and WGCU Public Media. The aMUSEd culinary sponsors include Caffé Toscano, Crave Culinaire, Gloria’s La Trattoria Cafe Napoli, Marker 92, Norman Love Confections, the Prawnbroker Restaurant Group, Webster’s Sauce Company, and the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village. Additional support provided by FineMark National Bank & Trust, Gora McGahey Architects, Richard Prescott and Alliance Financial Group. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, call 239.939.2787 or click HERE.