Join us on Friday, July 12, from 6–8pm, for our free, sneak-peek reception for our two newest exhibitions. Come meet local artists, Julie and Staci, enjoy light refreshments, and see their art before anyone else!

We’re opening two new exhibitions, “Flowers, Hearts, and Things That SOAR,” featuring the work of Julie Walton Radke, in our Miller Gallery, and “Art Designed by Nature,” featuring the work of Staci Doucett, in our Higby Gallery.

“Flowers, Hearts, and Things That SOAR”
Julie Walton Radke moved to Panama City shortly before Hurricane Michael and we’re so happy she joined our community! Her unique style of paper-cutting, often featuring flowers, hearts, and insects, sets her apart from other paper artists, and even won a Merit Award at the 56th Bay Annual Competition a few months ago.

What’s even better than an awesome paper-cutting art show? One that comes to life with projections of flying butterflies and dragonflies courtesy of the Public Eye SOAR team. Come see the projection and paper cutting magic in our Miller Gallery.

“Art Designed by Nature”
We first met Staci Doucett when she put her stunning photography in last year’s #ArtCityPC exhibit. We’re so lucky that she’s a part of the Art Center’s family now!

Staci specializes in nature photography often featuring birds, alligators, bugs, and flowers. We already have several of her purses and notecards on sale in our gift shop, and we’ve finally found a spot in our schedule to show her work! Come see her ode to nature in our Higby Gallery.

MORE ABOUT JULIE
Julie has created art all her life. Traveling and living all over the world to gain inspiration from other cultures, she’s dabbled in a lot of mediums. It wasn’t until eight years ago that she found her favorite style of art: paper cutting. Paper cutting has the white on white look she loved from her work in fabric art, and it allows her to use her building skills like when she worked in 3D art. In fact, she draws a lot of inspiration from people who do traditional paper sculpture because they use many of the same techniques she does, just on a much larger scale.

You can find her most days at CityArts Cooperative using her training as a creativity coach to help others find their passion, or cutting paper into whimsical things like little baby carriages, ice-cream cones, and cupcakes. Most of her work, though, is floral. And if you look closely, you’ll find little bees and dragonflies hidden among the flowers—like a botanical “Where’s Waldo”.

MORE ABOUT STACI
Staci Doucett is dedicated to her art. So dedicated that she once broke her foot running after a red-tailed hawk to get the perfect shot. She didn’t get that shot, and then she had to wait on the sidelines for a year while her foot healed! But she’s back at it—waiting patiently on beaches and running after birds. Only now she looks down.

That’s just one of the lessons Staci’s learned in her five years of taking photographs as a full-time hobby. Her journey into photography started online, when she began following Destin photographer, Scotty Lisenbe. Scotty soon became her mentor, encouraging her to get a camera and start taking her own photographs. After Staci had been shooting landscapes for a while, Scotty told her to get a telephoto lens and start taking pictures of wildlife.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, how boring!’ But I went ahead and bought my first telephoto lens,” said Staci, “and once started doing using it, I realized that I was so wrong!”

Now most of her work features pictures of birds taken with that telephoto lens. “I focus on birds mostly because I need things that are fluid and in motion. I find it challenging. I try to capture things that express a feeling and convey a message. And there’s a lot of things birds do that are humorous.”

Come see the humor of nature and the serenity of paper cutting in our two newest exhibitions open from 6pm on July 12 to closing on August 9.