My birds and angels are rising at the Sightline Gallery inside the St. Pete Clearwater Airport (aka PIE) until June 15, 2026! It’s an incredible honor, creative catalyst, wide opportunity, powerful encouragement, and uplifting sight to see – if I may say so myself.
From February 19 until June 15, the Sightline Gallery inside the PIE Airport hosts the exhibit Rise, featuring grainscapes by Scott Solary, photography of birds and angels by me, ceramics by Charles Morrison and a poem by Letisia Cruz.
The exhibit, only the third in the gallery, was conceived and curated by Michele Routh and made possible in collaboration with Creative Pinellas and their staff, especially Allison McCarthy.
Read the Creative Pinellas article about the exhibit to learn more about the other artists and their work.
The majority of the hanging wall art (Scott’s and mine) can be seen in the Sightline Gallery, which is by gates 7 – 11 and requires a boarding pass or other security clearance. The majority of Charles’ ceramics and 2 of each of Scott and my pieces are found in the publicly accessible lobby near the newsstand. Letisia’s poem can be read in both areas. Lastly, a large monitor in baggage claim shows several of my “Moving Still” videos. For a long time, I’ve envisioned an airport showing one or more of those long-looped, camera-move-free videos that appear like windows into nature (or moving photos). Michele Routh and PIE made this vision a reality.
When Michele first presented us with “Rise” as the title (and theme) and knowing some of the restrictions of the airport, but also the importance and weight of this prestigious opportunity, I was a little unsure about what I would create and show. Working with Michele and Allison, and also seeing myself and my vision in Letisia’s poem, helped lead me to what I already knew deep inside but was hesitant to embrace. Ever since spending the summer with my father’s belongings and artwork in a storage unit in Hamburg after he passed away, I’ve wanted to turn my eyes, my camera, and my “canvas” on the birds again, capture and share their beauty, their freedom, their uplift, the hope and the fresh air all around them.
So for this exhibit I pulled my favorite flying birds – some classics from earliest Florida days, some I captured recently during a bird count as the Featured Artists for the Friends of the Tampa Bay Wildlife Refuges. And I turned to my angels to come keep us company, to hold our sorrows, and to guide us.
The element that connects all the visual art in the art exhibit is wood: Scott creates his incomparable landscapes from wood, Charles’ clay vessels are fired in wood which makes all the difference, and my photos are mounted on wood – with the larger ones in beautiful float frames built by Scott to match the float frames of his work. My photos have never looked as beautiful as they do in these frames and without glass – showing off the texture, vibrancy and liveliness of the Hahnemuehle Photo Rag Baryta 100% cotton paper I just adore.
Looking at this exhibit, I very much appreciate the creative catalyst to boldly step into the wider public with bird and angel photography – and go big and beautiful with these prints and wood mounts together with Scott’s grainscapes (wood landscapes).
It shouldn’t go unmentioned that Scott, Letisia and I all live in the Historic Kenwood Artist Enclave of St. Petersburg, Florida. And Charles and I both have creative studio space in the St. Petersburg Warehouse Arts District.
I am very grateful to Michele Routh, Allison McCarthy, Margaret Murray, Lashonda Curry, Maggie Duffy, Scott Solary, Charles Morrison and Letisia Cruz for making RISE happen. And I’m really proud of the exhibit the four of us artists created together. It looks and feels beautiful – natural and both uplifting and grounding and with the reality of darkness acknowledge. At least I see it.
And I hope you get to experience this art exhibit. As mentioned above, part of the exhibit is open to the general public. For the larger exhibit, you and either fly out of gates 7 – 11 or we might be able to get Michele Routh to give you a tour…
All the visual art in the exhibit is for sale via the Creative Pinellas online store.
