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Hernando Today

A Decade Of Bedecking

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By TONY MARRERO

Published: June 13, 2008

Hernando Today

BROOKSVILLE Mary Alice Queiros was shuffling along a second floor hallway in City Hall on Thursday when something caught her eye.

"Ooh, look at that," she said, walking up to a piece of art on the wall. A square of pink, seemingly tie-dyed quilted cloth hung from an oak branch. An explosion of fabric, flowerlike, sat perched in the top left corner of the fabric.

The piece, titled "Julie's Rouge" by Kathleen Wilson, is part of the City Hall Art Gallery's summer exhibit.

"I love to see things like that," said Queiros, an artist in her own right who tends toward two-dimensional pen and ink drawings.

It was more than Wilson's pieces that brought Queiros pleasure. The Brooksville artist who founded the gallery and ran it for nine years says she is thrilled to see it thriving under her successor, Rhonda Hancock.

"I'm full of joy, because it's going on," Queiros said of the gallery. "It's like my kids growing up. Well, my gallery's growing up."

Queiros will help celebrate the gallery's 10-year anniversary next Wednesday, June 18 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The event will feature "A Taste of the Arts," sponsored by the Hernando County Fine Arts Council. Eight local restaurants will provide samples of their fare: GM's Bistro, Jimmy Diablo's, Luigi's Pizza, Main Street Eatery, Mallie Kyla's, Mediterranean Pita Grill, Mykonos II Family Restaurant, and Rising Sun Cafe.

The Hernando Youth Orchestra String Quartet will perform classics; Wanda McVeigh and Gail Kerna will present show tunes; and Robert DeWitt will transform into his "Seminole Ben" persona.

The summer exhibit includes the work of David D. Dion, Thomas Hogan, Philip Kopiczko and Lynne Simone and the stained glass of Ann Madsen.

The exhibit also features the handiwork of the Hernando Quilters, Suncoast Ship Model Society, and the Spring Hill Camera Club. The Just Poets put their words to paper of the show, and the ARC Community Cafe Artists have contributed recycled art.

As Hancock showed Queiros around the exhibit Thursday, the two talked about the state of the gallery.

"I think it's getting stronger and stronger," Hancock said.

Queiros, a Massachusetts native and a frequent visitor to Hernando County, moved to Brooksville for good in 1994 after retiring from a 30-year career as an art teacher. She noticed the starkness of City Hall's walls and sought to take advantage of the space to showcase local talent.

She had an ally — and laborer — in City Clerk Karen Phillips. Queiros said she recalls hanging many a piece of art with the Phillips's help.

Queiros first served in the position as a volunteer, but the city decided to pay the gallery coordinator as an independent contractor. The post pays $6,000 per year.

The reception for the first exhibit took place on June 18, 1998.

Spring Hill artist Fred Mannarino was one of the artists featured during that exhibit. Queiros loved Mannarino's colorful, cubist work, but he admitted he was skeptical. He didn't think Brooksville would be receptive to his untraditional style, but Queiros "talked me into it."

No one bought any of his pieces during the exhibit, but Mannarino said he made contacts that have provided fruitful.

"City Hall was quite instrumental in opening a lot of doors for me as well as a lot of artists," he said, adding that he feels Brooksville's artistic horizons have expanded from the exposure of diverse art featured there.

Last year, as the symptoms of Parkinson's disease became more pronounced, Queiros passed her hammer and ladder to Hancock, a former math teacher who'd become one of the most active volunteers.

The gallery has four exhibits each year. Hancock estimates that more than 300 artists have had their work featured in City Hall.

When asked how long she plans to stick around Hancock, of Brooksville, said she plans to follow the example set by Queiros: "Until I can't."

If you go

WHAT: Reception celebrating the 10th anniversary of the City Hall Art Gallery.

WHEN: 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18.

WHERE: City Hall, 201 N. Howell Ave.

ADMISSION: Free

CONTACT: Rhonda Hancock, 544-5407.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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