During a special Council Presentation on January 22, 2014, Vice Mayor Stephen R. Shelley took to the podium to recognize local artist Roxanna Gottschalk-Garcia, the latest participant of his Artist in the Spotlight program. The program, which was created in 2010 by Vice-Mayor Shelley, seeks to identify local artists and gives them a chance to present their work to the local community. Roxanna is a Homestead resident who has exhibited her work in various Miami galleries as well as in Belgium’s La Spirale Gallery, where she sold a number of her pieces last year. Her work can be seen until the end of February at the William F. Dickinson Community Center, at 1601 N. Krome Avenue, which has recently been transformed into an art gallery for the enjoyment of the residents.
Roxanna is a painter from New York whose post-secondary fine arts education was completed in the Dominican Republic where she majored in Interior Design. Said the Vice Mayor about her work, “Her impressionism techniques have opened the doors for her in many galleries around Florida. She gracefully combines small dots of paint to create movement of shadows and light in her work.”
During her speech to council, Mrs. Gottschalk-Garcia spoke of her childhood and the road to the accomplished artist she would eventually become. “When I was growing up, art was everything. After hanging all my paintings on the walls of the house I grew up in, my mother took a hint and began to nurture my creativity. I was always drawn to water and still-life. When you paint, you tend to see colors, shapes and life differently. I try to show that in my paintings.”
She closed with words of appreciation saying, “I want to thank Vice Mayor Shelley because it’s very difficult for an artist to promote their work and to be recognized and the Artist in the Spotlight program is invaluable in that regard.”
For more information on artist Roxanna Gottschalk-Garcia visit her website at http://www.artmajeur.com/gottschalk/
If you are interested in participating or know of a local artist in the area from Broward, Dade or Monroe Counties, please contact Vice Mayor Shelley’s office at (305) 224-4454 or hpalmateer@cityofhomestead.com. Artists who live within or near the City of Homestead will be given preference over those who live further away.
