Tampa Art ,Tampa Art For Sale,Tampa Fine Art,Google Hongkongwillie

Location:

Tampa, FL

Description:

Tampa Art ,Tampa Art For Sale,Tampa Fine Art, Black Bird of Key Largo $98,000.00 https://www.etsy.com/listing/40496827/black-bird-of-key-largo?ref=shop_home_feat_1 Tampa Art Galleries https://www.etsy.com/shop/hongkongwillie Google Hongkongwillie Raised on Tampa city dump,like living in the Penthouse in the upper east side. It,(was the dump) that had all this media, and a young enterprising mind. Not enough time to capture it all. To Live a life in the art world and be so blessed to make a social impact. Artists are to give back, talent is to tell a story, to make change. Reuse is a life experience Art Hong Kong Willie's way Published in TB2 BY SOHINI LAHIRI http://hongkongwillie.blogspot.com/2014/04/weird-florida-roads-less-traveled.html http://hongkongwillie.blogspot.com/2014/04/weird- florida-roads-less-traveled.html Growing up in Tampa, I spent a period of time fascinated by a quirky, eye-catching landmark at Fletcher Avenue and Interstate 75. This was also the period of time I spent obsessed with making binoculars out of toilet paper rolls and necklaces out of pop tops. To me, this sight was the epitome of similar creative craziness, and I often found myself looking for it during car journeys, hoping it hadn t disappeared overnight. But time passes and so does the urge for pop-top necklaces, and observant eyes don t notice the same sights. It wasn t until recently that I once again took note of the scene, with its broken down orange helicopter, a tree made of what seems to be indestructible balloons and a blue-and-white house covered with trash remade into art. It s the home of Hong Kong Willie, artist of reuse. I finally paid a visit to this art gallery after many years of wondering about the story behind it. The pavement leading to the door is painted with handprints and splatters, the store edged with upside down Coke bottles. Streams of lobster buoys hang from the roof and also make up the tree I marveled at so often from my car window. Various shoes, bottles, clocks and signs are glued to the side of the store, and there s a tribute to Sept. 11 off to the side. No one seemed to be home, so I called the number on the WE RE OPEN sign, which brought a middle-aged man in a bright Hawaiian shirt from behind the store. After a few basic questions, Joe Brown begins to open up about the history surrounding his art. Brown, better known as Hong Kong Willie, says he was an artist from the start. Everyone is born an artist, he said. However some are granted the gift of being able to express that art. As a young boy, his mother decided to send him to art school, which he says changed the course of his life forever. At the age of 8, Brown recalls being heavily influenced by the lessons, which included transforming a Gerber baby bottle, something with no real value, into a piece of art. His teacher had spent an enormous amount of time and effort in Hiroshima, Japan, helping those affected by the atomic bombs. Brown learned many lessons about recycling from this teacher, who had come from Hong Kong. Brown added an American name, Willie, to Hong Kong for his nickname Hong Kong Willie. While Brown grew up to be an artist, he left the world of mainstream art to return to his background in technology. But on Nov. 13th, 1981 on a Friday at 1:30 in the afternoon, I had an epiphany, Brown says. I was at a friend s house right across the street, pausing to point at a row of apartments across from his store, and a series of events led me to rejoin the art world. With the help of two other artists, Brown set up his business in the Florida Keys in the early 1980s, then moved it to Tampa. Together, they believed that they were predestined for the Green Movement, and have been making art out of recyclables for close to 30 years. How s business? He smiles...

Category:

Arts & Crafts

Color:

Black

Posted:

March 31 on Claz