64 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • AUGUST 9, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Retired art teacher looks to brighten lives of former homeless in Queens
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
When artist and retired teacher Sheila
Blunt began going through a closet fi lled
with decades of her original work this
past winter, she knew she didn’t have the
space to hold onto every single painting;
but she also couldn’t bring herself to see
them thrown away.
It was then, drawing on her experience
as an arts educator, Blunt had an idea.
Th e Holliswood resident would save her
paintings and donate them to previously
homeless families, who may want to decorate
their new homes but are unable to
aff ord it.
Th e artist quickly got to work. A friend
referred Blunt to a group that works with
homeless families in western Queens.
Aft er connecting with the group, she
donated 13 framed paintings; 11 of them
found new homes.
“I felt good about that,” Blunt told QNS
in an interview at the Pink Lily Bakeshop
in Kew Gardens. “As soon as somebody
got into an apartment, an employee
would invite them down to the offi ce and
off er them a painting for their new apartment.
Th at was my whole concept.”
Looking to continue with the initiative,
Blunt reached out to Queens-based
nonprofi t Th e River Fund to see if they
were interested in taking any paintings to
off er to local low-income families. Blunt
worked with the organization in the past
in concert with Kew Gardens mainstay
Th e Potters Wheel, where she works on
her art at least three days a week.
River Fund founder Swami Durga Das
was “very enthusiastic,” and off ered to
send a truck to Blunt’s home for pickup.
“Art is dear to Das’ heart, so he said,
‘Sure,’” Blunt said. “Th e organization
comes in contact with low-income families
all the time through its diff erent programs.”
Blunt reached out to members of
her art organization, Douglaston’s Th e
National Art League, to seek additional
donations. Soon, seven other local artists
were involved, contributing paintings and
drawings from their original collections.
Two shipments have already been delivered
to Th e River Fund.
Today, Blunt is looking for more artists
willing to donate original works ready
to mount on a wall. She’s also looking
for local framing businesses interested in
helping her ready any unframed works
for donation.
“If I’m somebody who has been painting
all my life and have a closet full of old
paintings, I guarantee you there are other
people like me,” she said.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Blunt
moved to New York as a young adult
seeking to get involved in the local art
scene. In her near-40 year career as a
teacher, she taught at various schools in
Nassau County before her retirement 18
years ago.
“Th is initiative really matches with
my mission in life as an art teacher all
these years: to inspire students and to
make them love art,” she said. “Th at’s
really my motivation for this.”
Th ose interested in donating to Blunt’s
cause can reach out to her via email at
rockypotsatnyc.rr.com.
“My plan is to be swamped with so
many paintings that I have to spread
them all over New York,” Blunt said with
a smile. “Th is art can provide a sense of
ownership. It’s a dressing — it does nothing
to improve their fi nancial standing —
but it really can bring some joy to a person.”
CreArtBox’s classical music festival heads to Long Island City
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
A Queens-based music organization
wants to broaden the classical music fan
base, starting with Long Island City.
From Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, CreArtBox is
launching a classical music festival in collaboration
with Long Island City Artists
(LIC-A) and Th e Plaxall Gallery and supported
by the Queens Council on the
Arts.
According to Guillermo Laporta, artistic
director of CreArtBox, the idea of the
CreArt Music Festival is to “present classical
music to a wider, younger audience”
by mixing other creative disciplines with
each chamber music performance.
“Aft er many years performing in
Manhattan, and producing many shows
in America and Europe, we are fi nally
launching a music festival in our home,
Long Island City,” Laporta said about
CreArtBox.
Th e Plaxall Gallery (5-25 46th Ave.)
will play host to the event, which will take
place over the course of three days. “Folk
Culture,” “Awave” and “Just As Th ey
Are” are the names of the three concerts,
each incorporating elements like theater,
dance and visuals.
Th e participating artists of the inaugural
concert series include Josefi na Urraca
(piano), Guillermo Laporta (flute),
Mélanie Clapiès (violin), Julia Yang
(cello), Jonathan Cohen (clarinet), Jacopo
Rampini (artist) and Marissa Maislen
(dancer and choreographer).
Opening night for the CreArt Music
Festival is Friday, Aug. 31, at 8 p.m. Each
concert is open to the public, but all have
a suggested $5 donation. Th ose interested
in attending can reserve their seats on the
creartbox.nyc website. For more information,
call 646-820-5787 or email info@
creartbox.com.
Photo via facebook.com/creartbox
The CreArt Music Festival starts on Aug. 31.
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Sheila Blunt stands in front of The Potters Wheel in Kew Gardens
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