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Arts and Entertainment: CEDAR KEY ART FESTIVAL JUDGE SELECTED
March 10th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Cedar Key Poets 2013 Reading
March 9th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: March show at the Arts Center
March 7th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: LAST CHANCE THIS WEEKEND TO SEE LOCAL TALENT IN "LITTLE SHOP..."
March 6th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: "Bird in Hand" Awarded Blue Ribbon in CKAC`s 3-D Show
March 3rd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: March Workshops at the Cedar Key Arts Center
March 1st, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - FULL OF OUR MULTITALENTED CEDAR KEY FOLK!
February 27th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Mosaic Marvels and Textile Treasures Show at the CKAC
February 26th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Cedar Key Poets Annual Reading 3/7
February 23rd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: LAST CHANCE TO SEE MOSAIC EXHIBITION, SARAH WESTENBERG RETROSPECTIVE
February 23rd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Suwannee Valley Players Presents "Little Shop of Horrors" Beginning 3/1
February 19th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: PALMS MEDICAL GROUP RENEWS TITLE SPONSORSHIP ROLE FOR CEDAR KEY’S 49th ANNUAL ARTS FESTIVAL, APRIL 13-14
February 16th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Storytelling Theme a Success at Art Festival Fundraiser
January 30th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Next Opening at the Cedar Key Art Center February 2, 2013
January 30th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Coming Up at the Cedar Key Arts Center
January 29th, 2013

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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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