Please consider us in your year-end giving.
Your donations create meaningful, life-long experiences for others. From the artists whose careers we foster to educational exhibits, workshops and lectures to the CraftArt Festival to our mural tours, Florida CraftArt is vibrant and vital to the cultural life of Floridians and visitors.
Your gift to our Annual Fund 2021 supports the exhibitions and education programming of Florida CraftArt. We are open seven days a week and admission is free of charge. With your donation, you are improving the communityโs quality of life through art.
Your 100% tax-deductible contribution creates opportunities for people of all ages to experience and learn about art!
Dear Florida CraftArt Supporter:
We hope that this letter finds you well. Please let us know how you are doing. It has been a challenging time for so many people. We are grateful for you and also to share that our Florida CraftArt family of artists, staff, and volunteers are doing okay.
At Florida CraftArt, we are working hard to help the artists of our state thrive. Itโs their stories that keep us goingโthe retirees who we helped launch new careers, the young artists whom weโve mentored, the established artists who depend on income from sales of art in the Gallery. Visitors love looking at (and buying) the art and comment often on how much they enjoy our free educational programming.
Iโd like to share a couple of stories with you that are especially meaningful.
Shelly Stecke Reale and her husband Nick are Florida CraftArt Gallery Artists and often participate in our call-to-artists exhibitions. Nick retired from the fire department after 30 years of service to concentrate on his passion for woodturning. Shelly left a career of nonprofit marketing to embrace her love for art and ceramics. She is an Emerging Artist in the Florida CraftArt Festival this year.
Artist Shelly Steck Reale: Nick and I have always believed that the success of any artist relies on more than just talent and skill. Creativity cannot exist in a vacuum. Truly inspiring art grows from a community that allows for cultivation, encouragement, and collaboration. Florida CraftArt is that community.
For us, starting out was an overwhelming task of not only creating art, but of networking, marketing, and trying to understand our place in the Florida art scene.
Florida CraftArt stepped up to offer invaluable mentoring and support. Theyโve been instrumental in guiding us through the nuts and bolts of developing a successful arts career. They have provided a sounding board for talking though conceptual works that, through their input, have blossomed into extraordinary projects.
Their encouragement and connections have opened up opportunities for us that would not have existed if not for their tireless advocating on our behalf. It is without a doubt that their support and mentoring has been invaluable in cultivating the trajectory of our careers.
Florida CraftArt and the people who make up their staff set the example of how an organization can create an extraordinarily creative culture that is supported, encouraged, and enriched through their involvement.
My name is Kianga Jinaki. I am a fiber artist, visual storyteller, and a proud member of Florida CraftArt.
Florida CraftArt has been a part of my growth and development as an artist since the โ90s when I was first starting out as an artist. My work has not only been exhibited at Florida CraftArt Gallery but it has also sold and been awarded there! They have been able to connect me with a community of artists and collectors who support my work. The team at Florida CraftArt has always been there to offer support and guidance during my artistic career.
In 2019, I had the distinct pleasure of showing my work along with master craftsman John Mascoll in the exhibition: Soul Utterings: Creative Works by Kianga Jinaki and John Mascoll held at Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park, Florida. That show opened doors and opportunities for me. I can honestly say it has also been one of the highlights of my artistic career. And, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County just selected me as a 2022 Artist Innovation Fellow.
I have grown and flourished with the support of Florida CraftArt. I am very appreciative of all that theyโve done for me and other Florida CraftArt artists. Florida CraftArt Rocks!
Doesnโt helping these artists thrive and survive make you feel great? We love to feel that what we are doing is meaningful and helpful to others. We hope that you will join us and other art lovers in sending a donation to Florida CraftArt. Gifts like yours help us accomplish life-changing effects for artists and visitors alike.
Please join us in making this a season of hope and prosperity. We are wishing you well and sending warm thoughts of gratitude and appreciation. Your 100% tax-deductible contribution creates opportunities for artists and people of all ages to experience, engage, learn, and connect through art!
Katie Deits, Executive Director Tyler Jones, Board President
P.S. Please donate now, your gift makes a difference! Also, your gift may be eligible for a match by your employer. If you have any questions, call Katie Deits or Janie Lorenz at (727) 821-7391. Please consider including Florida CraftArt in your planned giving.
Florida CraftArt is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization soliciting tax-deductible contributions. The organizationโs EIN is 23-7375994. It is registered to solicit charitable contributions with the State of Florida Registration #CH11933. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state.
