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'Faces Of Athena' Show To Benefit Homeless Female War Veterans

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

A group of about 30 artists will offer works for sale at a benefit Saturday to aid homeless female war veterans.

Called "Faces of Athena," the free exhibition opens to the public at 6 p.m. Saturday at Romeo's Art Gallery, 1515 Seventh Ave. in Ybor City.

"These are people who are having trouble fitting back into society and getting on their feet. Some are withdrawn and depressed," said Rich Frederick, an artist and U.S. Air Force veteran who co-chairs the event with Sara Romeo, co owner of the gallery and executive director of Tampa Crossroads, the beneficiary of the exhibit.

Tampa Crossroads, a nonprofit agency begun in 1977, provides a wide range of rehabilitative skills to adults. Through its Athena Program, it will provide housing and a variety of support services for 16 female veterans by November.

Toward that goal, the group has renovated a two-story red brick building in the Ybor Historic District that once housed returning World War II veterans.

"The building is 100 percent renovated, but we need to add some safety features to meet code," said Romeo, who wishes she could offer the services sooner than November. "We know there are about 300 to 400 homeless female vets in our community right now,"

Frederick, executive director of an online site called Tampa Artist, got on board with the idea right away and reached out to his more than 180 members to contribute art.

"An art show is something that's easily accessible to the public," he said. "It's imagery that can be expressive, and some of our artists are ex-military.

"Everybody I contacted wanted to pitch it."

Artists can choose to either donate their work outright, or accept a 40 percent split with Tampa Crossroads.

An artist herself, Romeo appreciates the artists' efforts.

"They have given their all for this show and have given their all to support veterans," she said. "Tampaartist.com was the first group to step up and say we want to help. And I think that's just a great statement about the quality of our art community.

"They typically have the least to give, and they have given the most."

Frederick stressed that the show's emphasis is not controversy, but cooperation.

"I didn't want to have anything negative," he said. "I wanted this to be a way to do something positive."

Boxes will be provided at the exhibit for donations of basic grooming items such as toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, dental floss, house slippers, T-shirts, etc.

For information about the exhibit, contact Frederick at rich@tampaartist.com. For a list of participating artists, go to tampaartist.com/athenaartshow.

To learn more about Tampa Crossroads, go to www.tampa

crossroads.com.

Ybor Hosts Monthly ARTWalk

Strap on those walking shoes and get ready to join the crowd at the next monthly YBOR ARTWalk, to be held from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday in the Historic District of Ybor City.

Sponsored by the recently formed YBOR Art Association, the event features open doors at 19 participating venues, including artists' studios, galleries, the newly restored Ritz Theater, the Frank V. Giunta Museum at the Italian Club and the Ybor State Museum.

Pick up a map of participants at Brad Cooper Gallery, 1612 E. Seventh Ave., or at any of the venues.

It is free, and many sites on the tour will offer refreshments.

For information, contact Walter Romeo at (813) 495-4649.

Flying Artists Display Works At Airport

When you look out of an airplane (and there are no clouds in the way), the medley of sites below can appear as a nonsensical configuration.

That's exactly what the flying photographers at Aerial Innovations noticed in the course of shooting more than 700 projects each month for the Tampa-based company that specializes in aerial images.

So they took their vision one step further. Hanging out of helicopters and small fixed-wing aircraft, they shot pictures that in print look like abstract art.

Nine of these surreal and sublime works have been enlarged to 4-by-5 feet in size and mounted from the rafters in Airside A at Tampa International Airport. The exhibition will be up through February.

Capturing a shot sometimes required death-defying stunts, as related by Aerial's president, Colette Eddy.

"The first flight, I went up with a helicopter buddy who happens to be a test pilot for the United States Navy," she said. "He took me out over the edge of St. Thomas Island and turned the helicopter on its side. I nearly lost my purse! I was only able to snap one frame, though. It was incredible."

That frame became "Virgin Blue" in the show, and shows the ocean shot sideways.

"Walking on the Moon I and II," by Tacy Briggs-Troncoso, are actually pictures of the mounds at the phosphate plant; "Movement" and "Reaching," both by Mike Fulkerson, show different views of a lake in Ocala that is being pumped out; "Migration" and "Froth," both by Matt Eichelberger, are shots of a waste treatment facility; and "Cellular Explosion" and "Squint," both by Julie Valdes, are photographs of wetlands seen on the high fly toward Orlando.

Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 259-7662 or ehammer@tampatrib.com.

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