ST. PETE BEACH – Featuring thousands of handmade, creative items from more than 100 craft artists available at affordable prices, the 29th annual St. Pete Beach Corey Area Craft Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7-8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Corey Avenue and Gulf Boulevard in downtown St. Pete Beach.
Presented by American Craft Endeavors, the event is free and open to the public.
Benefitting the Corey Avenue Merchants Association, the outdoor craft festival offers attendees an opportunity to peruse and shop for practical and whimsical works of quality, handmade art while enjoying the beautiful Florida weather. The event is pet friendly for leashed animals, and includes a full green market of live plants, handmade soaps, delicious edibles and more. Each artisan is on-site during the entire festival, allowing patrons to meet and discover the techniques and inspirations behind each piece.
This juried outdoor craft showcase boasts a wide selection of original crafts handmade in America along with unique and affordable gift items. More than 100 crafters will display and offer their wares for sale with prices set to suit all budgets — ranging from as little as $10 to $3,000. The participating crafters have been hand-selected from hundreds of applicants and all crafters remain on site for duration of the festival. Festivalgoers can expect to find a vast array of artistic media, including folk art, pottery, personalized gifts, handmade clothing, basket weaving, beaded utensils, candles, cork assemblage, fabric design, fiber quilts, fused wax and glass, hair accessories, handbags and accessories, handmade cards, leather, mosaic, wood, painted wood, plaster craft and stained glass.
A portion of the proceeds from the festival will benefit the St. Pete Beach Corey Area Merchants Association.
Among the Florida artists taking part in this year’s festival is Corrina Leidy of Sorrento.
Leidy is an abstract realist painter. Originally from upstate New York, her parents encouraged her artistic skill at a young age. She studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute where she met her husband David, a sculptor from Pennsylvania. For their first 17 years of marriage, they created art together, starting with a line of unique furniture for cats and then moving on to fused glass wall vessels.
Leidy always felt the desire to return to her love of painting. Once their sons grew old enough, she dove right into exploring and trying to find herself again as a painter. After a few years of experimentation, her distinctive personal style began to be revealed.
She uses the natural beauty of pour painting to give energy and life to her figurative and nature inspired work.
“It is exciting to see how each person, animal or object has interesting surprises created by the lines, splashes and dots full of color that were once only naturally flowing paint,” Leidy said.
Leidy’s artwork has been shown in exhibits throughout Florida and the Northeastern United States. She has won awards throughout the years and is featured in Studio Visit Magazine.
Bradenton’s JoAnn and Michael Manusco craft hand-made soaps incorporating skin-rewarding ingredients in their “made from scratch” personal care products. JoAnn has taught soap making at the Folk School for nearly a decade.
Chandler Adams makes her St. Pete Beach debut bringing macrame bracelets and necklaces. Using the ancient weaving technique for the past nine years in Hernando, she finishes the pieces of high-quality fiber with a resin coating. The jewelry is then set with authentic crystals and semi-precious stones.
Seminole resident Barrie West is a regular at American Craft Endeavors shows who has more than 30 years of experience as a professional artist. She has participated in art shows for more than 20 years, specializing in underwater, beach and Harley Davidson motorcycle scenes as well as light switches and murals. She works mainly with acrylic paint to create intense personal moments masterfully created on murals, canvas and other media.
According to West’s profile from American Craft Endeavors, she is “in her studio literally from sunrise to sunset.” Her dedication to her work is shown through every piece of her art.
“My philosophy of life and art are the same to create and enjoy,” West says in the press release. “It’s important to me that my art bring joy and happiness to all.”
About American Craft Endeavors
American Craft Endeavors produces some of the nation’s finest high-end juried craft shows in many of Florida’s vibrant downtown areas and popular tourist destinations including the Downtown Dunedin Art and Craft Festivals, the Siesta Fiesta Craft Festival and the Downtown Stuart Craft Festivals, among others. For information on the St. Pete Beach Corey Area Craft Festival and other American Craft Endeavors craft shows, visit www.artfestival.com or call 561-746-6615.