A Yardful of Talent

By Abby Baker

Margo Dalgetty moved to Gulfport from Maryland five years ago in need of a lifestyle change, and she figured an “art town” like Gulfport was the place to do it.

Now, Dalgetty is working with the City of Gulfport and other artists to launch Art in the Yard, a citywide, permit-free art market conducted through residents’ lawns on Saturday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sound familiar? “It’s following the same template as the Gulfport Citywide Yard Sale,” Justin Shea, Gulfport’s Cultural Facilities Events Supervisor, said.

The event features around 40 residential locations, with many spots hosting more than one artist’s collection.

“Beach Boulevard events are great, but as people get older it’s a lot to haul everything and deal with inclement weather,” Dalgetty said. “Also it’s always great to see the artist get 100 percent of sales.”

A successful event could prompt Art in the Yard to become a quarterly classic between the city and the artists.

“Theoretically, this should be pretty easy,” said Councilmember April Thanos. “It’s a chance for people who might not be physically able to set up booths at street fairs, and these days it’s important that we support artists and help them make a little money.”

Feeding the Soul

“I paint whatever I’m guided to paint at that moment,” Dalgetty said. “Whatever appears on canvas and feeds my soul.”

She’s been wielding a paintbrush for 32 years, and her recent move to Gulfport fueled a revamping of Dalgetty’s brushstrokes.

“I went through a divorce. I was looking at my empty nest and I realized that I needed something different, something big,” Dalgetty said.

The head of the Art in the Yard idea, the Gulfport transplant is making moves in the arts community.

Her vibrant, freeform paintings featuring quirky birds and confetti-like shapes will be on display during the event at 3113 57th St. S.

From Yosemite to Gulfport

Gulfport henna artist and painter Lauren Brown started selling her creations while working in the mountains of Yosemite National Park in 2015.

She left St. Petersburg to work for guest services at Yosemite and got work as a waitress in the California countryside.

“At that point I was making like 200 dollars a week living in a tent and any extra money I made I would buy art supplies with,” Brown said. “I was constantly surrounded by people who wanted to be in nature in the best way. It was a really creative space.”

Brown realized her forté wasn’t realism, but cascading work with intricate lines and peculiar shapes. Henna was a natural transition. “When I started doing yoga 10 years ago it really got me into the flow of henna,” Brown said. “Cheesy, I know, but it really did.”

You can find Brown’s work at 4916 26th Ave. S.

Realism Meets Mixed Media

Nearing 70, Alice Pickett Lewis has been a fabric artist her entire life.

With a degree in textile design, she’s created quilts, rugs and blankets and now she digitally combines original photographs with painted foregrounds.

“I like impressionism; I like things to be soft,” Lewis said. “I’ve been exploring new techniques and people responded so favorably to them.”

Her photographs of southern and northern natural landscapes flow onto fabric as well as prints. See her work, old and new, at 2608 Beach Blvd. S.

"I think it's going to be great," Brown said. "People drive around for yard sales-why wouldn't they do the same for art?"

Lauren Brown

Brown will offer henna and jagua temporary tattoos during the event.

Lauren Brown

Families who create together, stay together. Lauren Brown, her daughter Dahila Soleil, and partner Shadd Risser will sell family art at their Gulfport home on Saturday March 27.

Lauren Brown

For a complete map of art hot spots, visit mygulfport.us/gulfport-art-in-the-yard or find them in the March 25 classified section online and in print.