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Arts and Entertainment: Terriā€™s Book Corner
August 6th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Offers Summer Programs for Children K-12
May 15th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center to Host Reception for Art Teacher
May 5th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Announces Partnership with College of Central Florida
April 28th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Spring Arts Festival 2012 Date Set
April 24th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Local Artist Explores Culture, Humanity Through Masks
April 23rd, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center to Host Musical Afternoon Sunday
January 28th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Opening Night at the Arts Center
January 9th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Sam Kates Exhibit Opens Saturday at Arts Center
January 7th, 2011

Arts and Entertainment: Cedar Key Arts Center Schedules Many Artist Workshops
December 28th, 2010

Arts and Entertainment: A Special Night at the Arts Center
November 21st, 2010

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Plans Gala Season Opener Saturday
November 19th, 2010

Arts and Entertainment: What`s Happening in November at the Cedar Key Arts Center?
November 4th, 2010

Arts and Entertainment: Acclaimed Bluegrass Group to Perform Benefit Show for School Art Program
July 8th, 2010

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Festival Winners Announced
April 27th, 2010

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A View Under the Ocean with Artist Alda Leffew

A View Under the Ocean with Artist Alda Leffew

Maureen Landress

There are artists who imbue their work with hidden meanings, who bare their souls on canvas with swirls of shadowed darkness that leave us feeling somehow diminished. Then there are also those rare few whose work is so filled with the joy of life, that our own lives are enriched by having viewed it. Alda Leffew's work is infused with that kind of warmth and wonder, the kind that brings a smile to your face each time you see it.


Reticent to talk about herself and her work, she lets her creations speak for her, and they speak volumes. If you have never had the pleasure of seeing Alda's work, then stop by the Cedar Key Market and ask if you can visit their restroom. No, you have not misread that last line. When Tina Hooper, the market's owner, wanted to spruce up the restroom, Alda offered to paint a mural on the walls. What she created is an incredible view from beneath the ocean that covers the entire room from floor to ceiling.

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Floor and walls cleverly combine in a delicate coral reef.

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The room's floor transformed into the ocean bottom.

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The ceiling becomes a bird filled sky.

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A friendly octopus waves hello.


Working in her spare time, it took several months to complete the project. Everyone who witnessed the room's transformation got caught up in the creative energy, so Alda hung a piece of paper on the wall and asked them to jot down their ideas. The result is an unbelievably intricate mural depicting the creatures that live above and below the sea. Everywhere you look there is something wondrous and delightful to behold, like the octopus whose arms drape down from the wall, the small crab crawling up from the floor, or the sharp-eyed gull swooping overhead. The scene is so cleverly rendered that one can barely tell where the floor ends and the walls begin. It is like standing under the ocean, eye-to-eye with the denizens of the deep. It is the essence of joy, life, and laughter.

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