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December 3rd, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Gallery Walk to Kick Off Holidays
November 4th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: First Art Exhibit of Season
October 30th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Plans Children`s Art Classes
June 13th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Student Art Featured at Arts Center
May 2nd, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Highwaymen Movie Offered Thursday
April 15th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Enter the World of Connie Nelson
April 4th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Call to Artists
March 22nd, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Benefit Lunch for Children`s Art Program
March 7th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Plans March Opening
February 29th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: 3-D Show Coming Saturday at Arts Center
January 29th, 2008

Arts and Entertainment: Rock the Boat Art Show Displays New Talent
December 1st, 2007

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Opens Vibrant Show
November 12th, 2007

Arts and Entertainment: And the Winner Is......!
May 23rd, 2007

Arts and Entertainment: Rawlings Conference Continues Through Saturday
April 13th, 2007

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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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