Artworthy: Undine Celeste Pawlowski

Name? “Undine Celeste Pawlowski.”

Occupation? “I am a fine artist and a writer, but I am also a licensed attorney.”

Artist or advocate? “Both. Every artist is an arts advocate, simply by continuing the creative tradition, but I have also spent much of my life contributing to various arts communities in active ways. While living in Boston, I created and managed for seven years, Artful Living Studios, which was a 4000 sq ft arts center that provided arts classes and private studio space for up to twelve artists at a time, as well as a wood shop and gallery for resident artists to use. I have used my legal training to help empower and educate individual artists and as a city volunteer and civic leader, I am always looking for new ways to bring more arts into our community and will continue to do so.”

Artistic Tool of Choice? “If we’re talking paint, I love the line from a brand new, long handled, round synthetic brush! If we’re talking writing, I love my thesaurus!”

First artistic memory? “The doughy smell of finger paint.”

Defining moment as an Artist? “Learning that my high school art professor entered my work into a national contest through the Corcoran Museum. I was studying abroad, in Woldingham, England at the time, and she called to tell me I won! I didn’t even know that there was such a contest or that she had so much faith in my work: i returned home after the awards ceremony and exhibit was complete, but her gesture gave me the confidence to attend an arts college and taught me the importance of inspiring such confidence in others. ”

Favorite art related object at the moment? ” it’s a piece of wood, a section of tree branch, shaped naturally like a horse’s head, complete with an arched neck and curly mane as though it is blowing in the wind. It could be considered found art: to me, it is totemic. i found it when I was four or five years old and still believe it is enchanted. As a child, I felt the need not to name it, but have cherished it all these years. Recently, I began painting it in still life compositions and have come to refer to it neutrally in my painting titles as ‘horse stick.’ view some of my paintings at www.undineceleste.com.

Inspiration or perspiration? “Where there’s perspiration, there’s inspiration: but it’s not necessarily true the other way around. Unless I’ve expired, I’m inspired to perspire!”

Why St. Johns County? “The light, the environment, the people.. ahhh, endless beautiful subject matter!”

For additional details on the cultural events reported to Historic City Media by St. Johns Cultural Council, visit their website at www.stjohnsculturalcouncil.org