GRAND HAVEN
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AUTHOR BILL RYAN 2 FEBRUARY 2017
VOLUME 1, NO. 6
YOUR TOWN RAY SMITH WATCHES OUT FOR GRAND HAVEN
Pastel Precision Jacque Estes
Cathy Dorman works on a portrait she began in class at the Flagler County Art League.
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CDD board member Ray Smith researches every topic before he makes a decision, and moving to Grand Haven in 2001 was no different. Smith and his wife, Joy, often traveled to Florida on business from their home in Pittsburgh. “We started exploring both coasts,” Smith said. “We found the West Coast to be very nice, but during season it was a parking lot. We were disenchanted with the density there.” They discovered Grand in the 1990s when there were only 250 homes here and planned to move in a couple of years. But they sold their Pittsburgh house within three weeks to Plaxico Burress, a Pittsburgh Steeler at the time, and then winter arrived. “I looked at Joy and said, ‘I don’t want to do this. Do you want to do this?’” Smith said. The couple called the builder and their Grand Haven home began to take shape. Smith was recently reelected to the CDD and also volunteers with the AARP free tax service. “I have had a very good life,” he said. “If I can help out now, it’s part of giving back.”
JACQUE ESTES COMMUNITY EDITOR
C
athy Dorman joked that she was “invoking the spirit” of Fernando, a turtle she had as a child, in a painting she began at a two-day workshop, presented by international artist Lian Zhen, at the Flagler County Art League earlier that week. “I got Fernando free with a pair of sneakers when I was 10 years old,” she said. “My mother never let any animal die, and he lived for 37 years.”
Prior to moving to Palm Coast in 2004, Dorman taught in elementary schools in Pennsylvania and in a woman’s prison, where she said, despite their circumstances, she met a lot of nice people. Creativity was always in her soul but not in her schedule. Moving south changed that, and in 2007 she moved into Grand Haven, which could easily be renamed “Artists Haven” for the impressive number of artists who have settled there. “It is so much more fun here in Florida. You are retired, and there are so many opportunities,”
Grand Haven artist Cathy Dorman continues to learn art techniques.
Dorman said. “I am always taking classes and trying something different.” She also attends figure drawing classes with live models at FCAL. Ann DeLucia, president of FCAL, described Dorman as a “generous” artist with her time and donations and said Dorman is a fixture on Wednesday nights during FCAL open studio night. “She is a wonderful portrait artist,” DeLucia said. Stepping back from a pastel work in process, the thumb and two fingers on her right hand smudged with dark pastel, Dorman says, almost to herself, “I want darker, darker, darker,” and her eye and hand work as one, adding shadow to give the image depth. Dorman defines herself as an artist, but not a professional, though her art does hang in local medical and realty offices, and even at the Palm Coast Observer office on Florida Park Drive. “To me, professional implies money, sales, supporting yourself and pleasing others,” she said. “I please myself.” She shared her talent last December when a model took a photo of Dorman’s painting of her to show her mom, who was being treated for cancer. Over the holidays, Dorman gave her the original drawing for her mom. While she doesn’t have a “favorite” artist, when the question came up her eyes immediately rested on a small painting above her desk by Linda Solomon who died nearly a year ago. “She was a friend,” Dorman said. “She put all of herself into her paintings.”
Woman’s club gives back, welcomes new move-ins The second largest Woman’s Federation Club in Florida is within the gates of Grand Haven. Current President Karen Finder has been a member of the 225-member club since 2005. The club’s good works helped 24 nonprofit groups in 2016, including the Family Life Center and the Flagler Education Foundation. Students gave back in January, when they came to help the members with their iPads and cell phones. A new civic outreach program has begun within the community. Members meet with new residents to help familiarize them with the county and community. The group has a calendar of upcoming events to help their
members make a difference. “MardiBra will be on Feb. 27 to support women who have been victims of domestic violence,” Finder said. “Members bring bras and other feminine items that will be donated to the women at the Family Life Center.” The annual book sale will be at the Village Center on Saturday, April 8, to raise money for scholarships for two girls graduating from each of the county high schools. All Grand Haven residents can participate in “Painting with a Twist” from 6 to 8:30 p.m., March 15, at the Village Center. Tickets are available by emailing maureenpellegrini@gmail. com. Finder is especially proud of
Courtesy photo
FPC students visited Grand Haven to provide technology training.
the group’s “Cooking Grand” cookbook, available at the Village Center for $25. A recipe a month from the book is being featured by the chef at the Grand Village Center Café. “By contributing their time, talent and treasure, our members are making a significant
impact in Flagler County by supporting the women and families who are in need,” Finder said. Email jacque@ormondbeachobserver.com with other Grand Haven news. — JACQUE ESTES