Art Empowersthe Community

When the residents of a community gather together to recognize excellence in Art there is a certain cerebral electricity that runs through the air, a sense of pride and camaraderie rises up as the artistic event draws together a meeting of the minds,  stripping away all thoughts of the everyday world and replacing them with a newly found epiphany.  The epiphany of great art and the artists that produce it was the overwhelming feeling that swept over the gallery space and courtyard of CMCArts as the Artists Guild of St. Croix presented their annual exhibition: The Art Show 2025.

When you walk amongst the packed room of patrons you can feel the sparks of excitement popping off in every direction as curious minds meet the creative powers that brought forth the wonderful selection of art that adorns the stark white second floor gallery walls. And there is no place on St. Croix that has the feel of the second floor gallery space at CMCArts. Its unique division of intimate rooms that look out from big, bold rectangular windows, gazing across at the golden sun as it sets gently over the Caribbean Sea; the grand piano beckoning one and all to sit down and tickle just one key; and the thoughtful, inviting staff that make it all come alive with every show. Indeed, the second floor gallery space at CMCArts leads all who care to come along on a deep dive into the creative beating heart of St. Croix.

J.A. Lordi’s The Promise, oil on canvas, could easily be a scene just outside the CMCArts gallery windows. Shimmering colors surround two swimmers who stand in the ocean water, their hands reaching out to touch one another, the sun gently setting down over the horizon in the background.

The inimitable Jane Akin, presenting: Birds of a Feather, Early Riser, and Pre Flight Check, acrylics, that highlight her embracingly sweet collection of gulls, in flight, at rest, in command of their space.

Cathy Booth’s unforgettable Tile Mosaics: All That Glitters, Under The Sea, and Sunset Over Great Pond, bring the stories of the sea to life in ways that beckon the viewer into a front and center seat that affords them the ability to see the underwater world in all its minute fascination.

The incomparable Lyn Voytershark, who blends colors that could not fit in any other landscape but the Caribbean presents: Boys on Waterfront, Golden Hour on Strand and Night Jumbie Shadows, photo edit, all of which shout to the world of the many splendors of Crucian Life.

Isabelle “Izzy” Picard’s Church Day, acrylic on canvas, steeps the viewer into the grace and enchantment of the holy day. 

Matthew Jarvis’s Somewhere East, oil on canvas, casts a spell on lovers and their desires, no matter how tiny a creature they may be.     

Marilyn Phillips May’s, pen and ink on paper, Roseway Underway and West Indian Trading Schooner, bring back the history of the seas and the myriad stories that lie across and beneath its waters.

Tamara Michaels, The Mistress of the Macabre, presents her No Words MOKO, acrylic on canvas, which pulls the viewer into her deep web of wondrous colors and slashing shapes, never letting go, tumbling the mind into a world of mystery and discovery. 

Joyce Hickok’s masks, her collection of five masterpieces: Call the IT guy, Charmer, Crowning Glory, Guardian, and Nature Speaks, hang on the walls of the second floor gallery and challenge anyone to walk by and not be astounded by an immediate electrified connection that zips through the body, the mind, the soul.

It was another unforgettable night at CMCArts. The food in the courtyard provided by Lang Stevens’ Hippy Dippy Personal Services was scrumptious: Italian Turkey Meatballs that were to die for, Veggie Jerk Skewers that hit just the right notes, and Walnut Stuffed Dates that couldn’t be finer. 

The Gallery Installations were brilliantly presented by that dynamic Installation Duo, Tamara Michael and the King of Wire Art, Waldemar “Waldy” Broadhurst.  

And the music, Whoa! Whoa! Stop the Show! Fifteen year old Yannic Elizee blew an Alto Sax in the courtyard that was oh so sweet you could almost believe that his “What a Wonderful World” if he played it long enough, could solve all the problems on Planet Earth.     

“God is Love,” Marilyn Phillips May told  Yellow Cedar Media as the night slipped away and the cool Christmas winds floated over Strand Street and across Frederiksted.  

The Artists Guild of St. Croix’s Art Show 2025 runs through Feb 1st.