PAST PROJECT

Carlos Alves

Carlos Alves has been serious about art since he was a child and it shows in his passion for making things out of clay, glass, metal, salvaged artifacts, and recycled objects. Drawing from his Cuban roots and his Miami, Florida upbringing, Carlos' themes encompass love, hope, history, culture, politics, nature, animals and a kinship with the sea. Alves is now applying his artistry to large public and private artwork projects throughout the US and abroad.

He graduated with a BFA from the University of Miami and an MFA from Illinois State, with further scholarship at Scuola Lorenzo Di Medici in Italy as well as a Kohler artist residency. Alves kick-started his post-college career with a free flowing tile installation located on the floor and walls of Art Center/South Florida. The project eventually led to commissions by a number of public and private clients in the US and abroad, from London to Hong Kong. Carlos works closely with wife and partner JC Carroll for over fifteen years in all aspects of public art from concept, design to installation.

Alves enjoys art projects with children and is currently working on a public project at The Miami-Dade County Children's Courthouse. In Alves' mind, the artist needs to create work that can be appreciated by a wide range of people, and he feels successful art is appreciated by children. Carlos is also currently working on a series of porcelain books that range from 3' to 5' in height of the Poems of Jose' Marti in both Spanish and English. His studio is located in Little Havana; and as always, his series of 'Blue Bananas' is ongoing!.

Notable public works include the 16' Pineapple Sculpture at The Palm Beach Court House in Delray Beach, the terrazzo floor and mosaic in Concourse "C" of General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee Wisconsin, Fire Station #21 in Los Angeles, California, the Video Visitation Center in Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, and Verde Gardens in Homestead, Florida.

www.carlosalvesmosaics.com

JC Carroll

JC Carroll lives and works with her partner/ husband Carlos Alves in Miami, Florida. She is considered one of the original pioneers of South Beach gentrification in the late 1980's where she opened ART-ACT Performance Gallery. Having studied theater/ set design and fine art at FIU Wolfson Campus and abroad, she opened ART-ACT to provide a space to further explore the burgeoning art scene of the time. ART-ACT brought to Miami Beach new and exciting artists like Tomata Du Plenty, and group shows from NYC's Rivington School. The theater concentrated on plays of great significance to JC at the time many were based on Political/Civil/Gay rights and AIDS epidemic awareness holding countless fund raisers for the hopes of a cure. JC designed and created a majority of the set designs for these plays. The same values that went into the shows she produced goes into her visual art.

With the motto that everything and everyone was an art form JC produced and edited ART-ACT TV on WLRN Cable Tap. A 30 minute, weekly show highlighting the art scene, and countless local and international personalities.

After moving to NYC, JC Continued acting in off Broadway and experimental theater and exhibited in-group shows from Thompson Square to Soho, and CBGB Gallery. These exhibitions were primarily painting and sculpture.

She also co-produced Chatterbox Lounge, an Internet radio show at PSEUDO, based on the Swing music movement in the 90's. She kept busy working art department gigs for videos/ catalogue/ showroom and special events.

Throughout this time she continued to work with Carlos Alves when called in to assist on large scale Public Art Works. After years of this the two fell in love and JC moved back to Miami again in early 2000 and they have continued to work together collaborating and creating massive public and private art-works and installations throughout the country & abroad.

JC hopes to devote more time to hot glass blowing & to continue exploring with glass. JC Carroll is a true renaissance woman who is currently working on a cookbook of artist's recipes.

www.carlosalvesmosaics.com

Jim Couper

Jim Couper is a professor emeritus in Department of Art and Art History at F.I.U. He began his career as a pioneer faculty member in 1972 when the university first opened. During his tenure, Couper served as senior painting professor, founding director of the Art Museum (now the Frost), founding director of the graduate program, and a period as department chair. He retired in 2005 after 33 years of teaching and administration. He maintains residences in Miami and Tallulah Falls, Georgia, drawing inspiration from both locales.

Couper has enjoyed a distinguished career as a professional artist as well as in academia. He has shown extensively, with over 30 solo exhibitions, 7 two person shows, and over 225 group shows. Institutions such as the Ringling Museum, the (former) Metropolitan Museum and Art Center, the Fort Lauderdale Museum, the Boca Raton Museum, the Dunedin Art Center, the von Liebig Art Center, and the Frost Art Museum have featured and/or acquired Couper's works. Couper has also been recognized with the receipt of many grants and artist's residencies. His paintings are in numerous private, public, and corporate art collections.

Since his retirement from teaching, Couper has dedicated himself exclusively to full time painting.

Shirley Henderson

Shirley Henderson is a painter, courtroom illustrator, and educator currently living and working in Miami, FL. Henderson has exhibited both her paintings and courtroom drawings widely nationally and internationally and is included in the permanent collections of The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, the Kresge Art Museum in East Lansing, Michigan, the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, Florida, The Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland FL, and the Museum of Art of Fort Lauderdale, in Florida among many other institutions and private collections.

Ellie Schneiderman

Ellie Schneiderman is a ceramic artist. She specializes in sculptures that are one of a kind, functional, clay works. Ellie founded Art Center/South Florida on Lincoln Road in 1983 and served as director for ten years. She was also the Founding Director of Miami Artworks in the Miracle Center on Coral Way, and also the Founding Director and Resident Artist at Art South in Homestead. Now a full-time studio artist in Coral Gables, her art, influenced by travels in Greece, India and China, becomes part of important private lessons. She also shares the benefits of her decades of experience in classes and workshops conducted in her Coral Gables studio.

www.oolitearts.org