Prospective cyclists are finding a lack of bicycles and a scarcity of repair parts due to the global supply chain crisis and hyperinflation.
By Matthew Lee
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —The global supply chain and hyperinflation issue has increased both goods and professional services, and the bicycle industry is no exception to the worldwide economic phenomenon.
Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the United States were urged to social distance and to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus. Individuals took advantage of the situation they were dealt with to invest in new hobbies and extracurricular activities, resulting in people purchasing bicycles for exercise and enjoyment.
According to cyclist mechanic at The Bike Room, Bailey Arnold, the shop in St. Petersburg saw a decrease in business when the pandemic started.
“Midway through the pandemic, we noticed an increase in business because people wanted to go outside during lockdowns. It seems people remembered what it’s like to enjoy outside” Arnold said.
Bailey Arnold, a mechanic at The Bike Room in St. Petersburg, works on repairs for a customer’s bicycle. Photo by Matthew Lee
“As of right now, we are not issuing waitlists since we are unable to acquire new bikes for customers, so we are just sticking to repairs,” Arnold said. “Due to the current supply chain issues, bicycle manufacturers are trying to accommodate bike shops by giving each a fair share of bikes to sell to customers. When it comes to issuing repairs for customers, individuals who use their bicycles as their main source of transportation are priority repairs over causal riders.”
To adapt to the rise of inflation and increase business, The Bike Room instated a mobile mechanic truck to drive out to events and issue repairs by bringing the repair shop directly to their customers across the St. Petersburg area.
In a combination with the constant influx of new people moving to Florida every day and the rise in gas prices, some bike riders are opting for more bicycle riding to avoid the harsh traffic and to save some extra money.
“The recent increase in gas prices and inflation absolutely motivated me to use my bike more,” said University of South Florida student, Peyton Lebron.
“Whether or not I prefer biking as my main source of transportation really depends on where I’m going and what I’m doing, and if I have any cargo that can’t fit my backpack. I also have to rely on my car to get to my job and internship in St. Petersburg due to my home being an hour away by car. I tend to try and only use my car as a last resort, especially due to its age and gas prices.” Lebron said.
A cyclist enjoys the clear skies and sunny weather on a ride through downtown St. Petersburg. Photo by Matthew Lee
If you’re considering purchasing a bicycle or riding more frequently to save money on gasoline, please comply with bicycle safety regulations and learn tips to prioritize safety by reading bayfront health’s article on how to stay safe on your bike at https://www.bayfrontstpete.com/content-hub/bicycle-safety.
Life is hard enough for people who do not have an autoimmune disease, but it becomes even more complicated when you add diabetes to the mix.
Picture this: you and I sit down at a restaurant to eat lunch. You take a sip of your soft drink and munch on some chips while you wait for your tacos to come to the table. The atmosphere is chatty, and the weather is warm but not overbearing. You think nothing of what you are eating and drinking at this moment.
But as I’m sitting next to you, I have already done all the math on what I chose to eat and drink, prepped the insulin that I will need for this meal, and checked to make sure I have enough medication left to handle anything that might occur after the meal.
As a type one diabetic, there is a lot more that goes into simple, everyday tasks that someone without this disease would not even think about.
Type one diabetes is a genetic disorder that can show up in childhood and lasts through the rest of one’s life. Aimee Dougherty, a nurse practitioner at the Wellness Center at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, said is a long-lasting condition “in which your pancreas produces little to no insulin and requires insulin therapy, monitoring blood sugar levels, diet and exercise to maintain normal blood sugar.”
Some of the supplies a diabetic needs, including insulin, an insulin pump and insertion supplies. Photo by Shelvy Churchward
I use an insulin pump to help regulate my blood sugar levels instead of the typical needles you might think of. This pump essentially functions as an external pancreas, constantly adjusting the amount of insulin I have on board to maintain blood sugar levels.
Usually, when I tell someone that I have diabetes they assume that I cannot have things like cake or cookies. While that may not be the case, I still find myself avoiding certain foods.
I have stopped drinking juice and soda. I no longer eat sweets or foods that contain a lot of complex carbohydrates purely because I have no desire to deal with the outcome. When I consume those foods, it is difficult to predict what they will do to my blood sugars. So as much as I might enjoy a goodPopTart or a Dr. Pepper, I no longer indulge in those things.
My little sister, Marley Churchward, has spent the past 10 years learning how to adjust certain aspects of her life to best adapt to her diabetes.
“I really have to think about how much physical activity has a larger effect on my sugar levels. Plus, the ways my levels being too high or too low can affect how well I make critical thinking decisions. This disease is all about learning from your mistakes. It’s not easy and you can’t let it control you,” Churchward said.
I work hard to maintain good health and appropriate blood sugar levels and I can tell you it is a full-time job. Every time I want to have a slice of cake, I have to figure out how many carbohydrates are in the cake and formulate a math equation to determine how much insulin I need to take. I then have to put that information into my insulin pump to be delivered to my system.
Every night when I lay down to go to sleep, I plug my insulin pump into the charging cord. This means that while the insulin pump is attached to me, I am attached to the charging cord on the wall. I can only roll so far away.
Many others struggle with this disease and the lifelong effects it carries. Many type one diabetics have had the disease for so long that they stop thinking anything about the differences that exist in everyday life. However, there are people who struggle to come to terms with certain areas of it, such as Rob Boehlein, who has been diabetic since he was 5 years old.
“There’s always a looming medical cost that takes a large toll, mentally, on me. Not to mention a feeling of burden that I might put on anyone who would choose to be involved with me. I almost feel like the psychological effects of living with an irreversible disease like this might be the biggest difference,” Boehlein said.
Maintaining a positive mindset is hard even without the added stress that comes along with Diabetes. Despite the challenges, many diabetic college students are making the best of their situations and staying strong.
The best way to take care of yourself as a diabetic living on a college campus is “Stay as active as possible and eat healthy low glycemic foods, stay on top of your labs and medical appointments. If you’re taking medication, take it as directed, do not skip doses or change how it is to be taken,” Dougherty said.
And diabetes among young people is much more common than you might think. Dougherty pointed to the recent National College Health Assessment for USFSP, which found at least 2.1% of students had been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes/insulin resistance by a doctor.
People who have been deemed “essential” by the states are continuing to show up for work, putting themselves at the highest risk for catching COVID-19.
For over two years, frontline and essential workers have been working hard to provide their services, including retail workers, doctors and nurses. Doing so has led many to catch COVID-19, leading them to quarantine and stay home.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, custodians, airport workers, SEPTA workers and other essential workers have been faced with a difficult question. “Can I afford to miss two weeks of pay? Or should I risk infecting coworkers and customers?”
Many essential workers after being exposed to COVID-19 still show up for their jobs because they can’t afford to quarantine. Juliana Reyes from the Philadelphia Inquirer interviewed Benjamin McMillan, a supervisor from the Philadelphia International Airport. McMillan has reported that just the thought of going home after his job and risking the chance of infecting his father is very frustrating.
“These workers, who make $13 an hour, have already lost hours and tips during the pandemic. And while they can use their paid time off to quarantine, many haven’t accrued enough time because their hours have been cut,” Reyes said.
Even if their work puts them at a higher risk of exposure, many aren’t getting paid extra.
Registered nurses at Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, Calif. Courtesy of Sophia Nieto
Sophia Nieto, a 29-year-old travel nurse from Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, Calif., caught COVID-19 at the beginning of January 2022. Nieto had already been in contact with COVID-19 once before January, leading her to the familiarity of recovery.
“I’ve had COVID-19 before, since this was my second time, I knew what to expect. Though this time, I was across the country stuck in a hotel room away from family. I tried to enjoy my few days off, catching up on sleep and Netflix shows,” Nieto said.
Nieto’s symptoms only lasted for about 24–48 hours, and they consisted of fevers, chills and body aches. Desert Valley Hospital required Nieto to quarantine for a minimum of five days with no symptoms for 24 hours. In order to take care of herself, Nieto rested, took lots of vitamins and stayed hydrated.
When it came to the virus, Nieto’s workplace took precautions by wearing N95 face masks and having proper PPE. N95 masks include a filter that contaminants dust, mists and fumes. Along with this, the mask ends in 95, meaning that there is 95 percent efficiency and it’s a non-oil mask. A non-oil means that if no oil-based particles are present, then the mask is allowed in the work environment. Other masks that are only resistant to oil for 8 hours or less couldn’t be worn. The PPE, personal protective equipment, in a hospital was reinforced by including caps, gowns, booties and face shields.
Working in a hospital automatically puts you at risk of getting COVID-19, and many were forced to call off, which created some conflict.
“My place of employment was short-staffed, and they had to find quick coverage for the days I was out of work. This automatically created conflict with nurse-to-patient ratios and charge nurses had to take on patients, as I was not the only employee affected by the virus,” Nieto said.
With working in such a hostile environment, those employed must be present. Not only are they responsible for their own lives, but the many lives of others in their exact position.
Emergency medical technician James Dylan Maxey, 25, had COVID-19 for three days. Currently working at American Medical Response in Miami, Maxey, along with other coworkers found themselves exposed to COVID-19.
“We are typically with hundreds of COVID-19 patients every single day. You can expect yourself to catch COVID at least once,” Maxey said.
Some precautions that Maxey’s workplace enforced was the requirement to wear masks and gloves on every single call whether it’s COVID-19 or not.
“On COVID calls specifically, we have to wear an N95 mask, a gown, gloves and we have the option of wearing a face shield,” Maxey said.
After COVID-19 calls, EMT workers would get 15 minutes to clean the stretcher, truck and themselves by providing disinfectant wipes, spray bottles and hand sanitizer.
Working as an essential worker in a position where your place is known to be needed, is difficult for many young people. Even though Maxey only had a sore throat and a cough, it forced him to stay home and recover. This caused many workers like himself to fill their lives with updated schedules.
“Others were affected because they had to work extra shifts in order to cover for me,” Maxey said. “This whole experience affected me personally because it prevented me from working and doing things that I normally would do on a day-to-day basis. Even after I tested negative again, it felt like I had fatigue for a couple of days and a lingering cough that lasted for weeks.”
Gianeylla Martinez is a team leader at Rack Room Shoes and was exposed to COVID-19 in January 2022. Her job was already short-staffed, so she had to recover and go back to work as soon as possible. Courtesy of Gianeylla Martinez
Gianeylla Martinez, team leader from Rack Room Shoes, had also been exposed to COVID-19 towards the beginning of January 2022. Martinez’s symptoms were spread out, including major headaches, a runny nose, and a cough.
“I had COVID for 10 days, and each day I had a different symptom,” Martinez said.
Where Martinez worked, they were already short-staffed to begin with. This meant that serving as a team leader, she had to go back as soon as possible.
“My work’s decision on COVID was that it was okay to come back even if you were still testing positive- as long as you were vaccinated. I didn’t go back. Considering I had obtained the virus from work in the first place, I did not want it to continue to spread,” Martinez said.
With catching COVID-19, it was recommended by the CDC to quarantine for five days. Martinez was planning on staying home during that time, though on her fourth day of quarantine, she had been put on her work schedule after still testing positive.
“It made me feel as if my work didn’t value my health,” Martinez said
“My work wanted me to come back a lot sooner than my body was capable of doing. I felt angry at my coworker who got me sick because of his beliefs he would share at work, not caring about the virus and refusing to wear a mask and get vaccinated,” Martinez said.
“The most important piece of advice I can give to anyone who gets COVID-19 is to avoid stress as much as possible. Turn your phone over and go outside. Because I was so stressed-out during quarantine, it was taking me longer to get better,” Martinez said.
As the co-founder, chief marketing officer and director of communications and artist relations at Fairgrounds St. Pete, Mansion is passionate about art and wellness and works to bring the two together through her entrepreneurial endeavors.
“In my role, I have the pleasure of supporting our artists in bringing their artwork to life, telling the story of Fairgrounds St. Pete, and working with our founders to shape the direction of the company,” Olivia said in a Beyond the Conversations interview. “It is a love letter to Florida.”
Fairgrounds showcases the beauty that is in Florida so that we can collectively preserve it.
From upstate New York, Mansion and her family would vacation in Florida and, on one of those trips, she learned about the University of Tampa and knew it was where she belonged.
“I came down to Florida for college and then, just like any Latino family that can’t let their kids go, my parents actually ended up moving down to Tampa,” Mansion said.
Mansion has a master’s in education, English linguistics and cross-cultural studies from Brown University and a master’s in entrepreneurship from The University of Tampa, according to her profile on the Fairgrounds website.
On an exclusive tour of Fairgounds for the Tampa Bay Times, Mansion said “If you’re one of those people that loves mysteries, who likes digging deep into things that are curious, you’ll just love it.”
She and her business partner help employ artists at Fairgrounds St. Pete, which ensures fair compensation and equitable opportunities.
“We have a dream team. Everyone here is committed, they’re creative, they’re kind and we’re very collaborative. . . Everybody’s very talented and everybody has their own expertise,” she said.
Olivia Mansion is the co-founder of Fairgrounds St. Pete and said love of entrepreneurship and this city inspired her to help create the permanent, immersive art exhibit. Courtesy of Fairgrounds St. Pete
She considers their collective energy quite powerful.
Mansion is a big proponent of health and wellness, practicing self-love and self-care whenever possible.
“I believe wholeheartedly in wellness and being a whole person… I’m definitely a seeker so I’ve tried many different things, but I came across breathwork and I tried Wim Hof (a famous breathwork teacher),” she said.
Hof’s process became a gateway for Mansion to feel how powerful our breath is and how it’s a free tool when used wisely.
On Instagram, she calls herself the “boujie breathwork teacher,” with the tagline “Helping you have that Main Character energy using your breath.” She helps her breathwork clients de-stress and focus on being present more often than not, which is a feat in today’s overstimulating world.
Mansion even has a podcast called Immersive Breathwork. One breathwork technique is free, but her online course costs $11.11, which is considered a sign to become aware and conscious of your actions.
“Numbers are the universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth,” according to the late St. Augustine de Hippo.
“We have to prioritize ourselves and our well-being before anything or anyone,” Mansion said.
She swears by her routine of running, drinking lots of water, meditating, breathwork, journaling and taking a moment of gratitude outside surrounded by nature.
Her husband, Mikhail Mansion, is an interdisciplinary artist and engineer who uses technology to release creative expression and bring immersive experiences to life, according to ArtScape. His work can be experienced in a permanent exhibit at Fairgrounds St. Pete. Together, they founded OK! Transmit back in 2018, where one can attend talks, presentations, workshops and experimental performances focused on innovation and new media.
Chris Parks, known as Palehorse, and his wife have curated, then hosted and organized, the Shine Mural Festival since 2015. In 2018, he met Mansion who told him about Fairgrounds St. Pete and then, in 2020, they had their first Zoom call to kick off a prosperous partnership. According to Parks, Olivia is always in a cheerful mood and has a contagious charm. She’s very organized and professional.
Parks believes he was the first artist they contacted about the concept. What interested him about the opportunity was having the creative freedom to really imagine the space and bring his vision to life without working from a brief.
“She was really open to the ideas that I had during the lockdown,” he said.
Getting to create a full, immersive space with the help of producers and few restrictions were what sold him on working with Fairgrounds St. Pete. Posters, pins and stickers are a few items Parks has to offer in the gift store, but the items that have been moving the most are his printed shirts and hand-embellished skateboards.
“I’ve enjoyed having a little shop locally … and the immersive space online” to use as a showroom for his work, Parks said.
His work is based on Hindu mythology and meditation, as well as symbols.
“I’m a huge fan of his work professionally and his wellness work… He has a weekly meditation session that he hosts on Wednesday nights,” Mansion said.
“Entrepreneurship is an extension of ourselves… It’s such a creative medium. You get to just share your message, share your product, service, with the world and help people solve a problem,” she said.
Share about your business and learn to love sales. Be confident in your ask – we’re open for business; this is our product/service and this is the price, Mansion said. And, she recommends approaching these conversations with confidence.
Some of her other tips for aspiring entrepreneurs:
Focus on one idea and one concept, then change your strategy around that one thing. Entrepreneurs tend to jump from one project to another without spending enough time and energy on the first one to see it succeed. It’s easy to get discouraged when something isn’t working.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and/or ask a professional for their input. “Seek those around you and see if there is even a market need for what you’re doing. Our customers validate what we do.”
Focus on your health and well-being more than anything because what makes you a good entrepreneur is feeling complete and ready to make courageous, yet difficult decisions. Connect with Olivia Mansion on LinkedIn to set your entrepreneurial spirit on fire.
With weather predictions of rain and wind, many still showed up to Showtime Speedway to watch the races.
The rain didn’t stop racers and spectators from participating on Saturday night, Feb. 5, 2022, for drag racing and drifting at Showtime Speedway in Clearwater. The event, Street Wars, allows for everyday speed cars such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger and even a Jeep Trackhawk to show off their skills and race to the finish.
Even with the weather predictions, around 600 people showed and around 300 people stayed and watched the races in the rain.
Drag racing and drifting began around 8 p.m. and ran side by side until the rain began. For safety reasons with the weather, drag racing was shut down around 9 p.m., but drifting continued throughout the night.
“I’ve been here for nine years and I enjoy racing. There are a lot of good people out here. We don’t see many serious wrecks,” said Rick Wendling, a paramedic at Showtime.
Racers and spectators braved the rain for the “Street Wars” event at Showtime Speedway in Clearwater.
Many safety measures are taken for drivers including seatbelts, helmets, fire suits and roll cages
“We’re motorsports rescue certified, which covers the NHRA,” Wendling said.
The track enforces the equipment to be up to code, or the drivers will not earn points or payout and will be disqualified, according to Showtime.
The NHRA was founded in 1951 by Wally Parks. Parks’ goal was to “provide competitors a place to race,” according to the NHRA. Drag racing has evolved over the years; top performers ran at 140 mph in 9.0 seconds in the 1950s and now run over 330 mph in less than 3.7 seconds.
Showtime, a member of the NHRA and formerly known as Sunshine Speedway, opened its doors in 1960, just nine years after the NHRA was established. Generations of families have been racing here for years.
“My parents met at Showtime and have been together ever since. I grew up coming here a lot and it caused me to start racing too. I started in junior dragsters when I was 10, then I moved to big cars when I turned 16. My car is a full chassis roll cage car with a 302 small block,” Jamie Brannen a local drag racer, said.
Showtime has continued to entertain the community for years with races and events almost every weekend of each month. For more information and a schedule of events visit ShowtimeSpeedway.us.
A rainy race night at Showtime Speedway in Clearwater | Photos by Autumn Reinhardt
Florida’s first 2D restaurant has opened in Orlando, and more are opening across the state.
A 2D restaurant is a restaurant that is decorated with black and white decor to give the illusion and experience that customers are entering a book, cartoon or doodle.
A 2D restaurant was featured in Netflix’s “To All the Boys: Always And Forever In Real Life” at a cafe in South Korea known as Greem Cafe. 2D restaurants are common in Asian countries and those designs have inspired the trend to come to America.
Twenty Pho Hour in Orlando is America’s first 2D noodle bar and the menu offers a variety of items from egg rolls, dumplings, boba, noodles and much more. The cafe has gone viral on TikTok and has sparked an interest to many across the state.
“I saw the video and I was like oh I might need to go check that out,” Miles Franklin said.
The noodle bar is on International Drive near many tourist attractions in town. Since the viral success, the restaurant usually has a wait, but takeout options are also available.
The restaurant has tablets inside to place your order and the food comes out as soon as it’s ready. Indoor and outdoor seating options are available, and the restaurant is open every day of the week.
St. Petersburg is dipping into the 2D experience in a couple of weeks with the opening of the 2D Cafe. The cafe is going to be in the former Swah-Rey location on Central Avenue and provides a similar experience.
The @the2Dcafe on Instagram has provided a sneak peek to their followers on the design process of the establishment. Menu items that you can expect are coffee, pastries, croissants and more. The cafe expects to open in late February or early March.
As more 2D restaurants open across the state, they will provide a unique and Instagram-worthy experience to customers who visit.
TAMPA – Many people in the Tampa Bay area use Riverhills Park as a peaceful escape. The 10-acre park offers an array of different amenities. Then in 2012, a few eager community members put their minds together for a solution in sustainability by founding the Temple Terrace Community Garden.
The main founders and leaders are Elizabeth Leib, Travis Mallory, Grant Rimbey and Steve McBride. Quickly joined by others who were anxious to start gardening, their dreams began to bloom.
The members put their own money into the project and wrote a few small grants for tools and supplies. Tapping into local resources, they were able to get soil and compost for free, “well if you don’t count the sweat equity they put into getting it,” said Cheri Donohue, a loyal member since the start.
The City of Temple Terrace gave them the rights to garden the plot at Riverhills Park. The community garden had to invest in the plumbing and pays for all the water used.
Tools, compost and advice for gardening are also readily available for all. From green thumbs to green heads of cabbage, this community garden is equipped with all the necessities for success.
“This is a wonderful place for new gardeners to begin,” said MaryRose, one garden member who swears she beat cancer from the power of plants.
Tools, compost and advice for gardening are also readily available for all. From green thumbs to green heads of cabbage, the Temple Terrace Community Garden is equipped with all the necessities for success. | Photo by Julia Lorelli
The garden is accessible through a yearly membership of $10 with garden beds available for $35.
Fruit trees surround the perimeter of the garden so most members grow seasonal vegetables. Occasionally a newsletter is sent by the club coordinator to encourage members with tips and tricks for harvesting, what vegetables to plant during each season, natural pest control and volunteer opportunities.
“I am still in love with the idea of neighbors coming together to grow not only healthy food but to pass on their knowledge about best garden practices,” Donohue said.
A local organization is working on an initiative of material and financial reparations to demand the return of the 86 acres of land under Tropicana Field to St. Petersburg’s Black community.
The Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM) is a local organization of white people led by the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP). Originated locally under the leadership of St. Petersburg native and APSP co-founder Omali Yeshitela, the movement aims to organize the white community to build a mass movement for reparations to the Black community in solidarity with the Black community’s struggle for liberation.
The land that the Tropicana Field sits upon was once a vibrant Black community. Built between 1890 and 1900, the “Gas Plant District” housed over 100 Black-owned businesses, 800 Black Families, and numerous Black churches. In 1986, the city began the destruction of this community to build the Tropicana Field on the land.
The USM has crafted a feasible economic plan for the city of St. Petersburg to return the land back to its Black citizens—28.6% of which currently live below the poverty line. The USM is hosting a community rally to demand that these reparations are given to the local Black community, and they are also hosting a community teach-in to inform St. Pete locals about the tragic history of the Gas Plant District.
In the 1980s, the city of St. Petersburg displaced over 800 Black families to build what is now known as Tropicana Field. The Uhuru Solidarity Movement is demanding the city to give back what was stolen. | Photo by Sierra Laco
Jamie Simpson, an organizer for the St. Petersburg branch of the USM, is leading the task force to get these events organized and ready for the community to attend. As a former University of South Florida St. Petersburg student and frequent visitor to the school, Simpson hopes that more USFSP students will join the movement and its current initiatives.
“USF St. Pete is a great place to recruit for the Uhuru Solidarity Movement because students are often excited to find out there’s something they can do to advocate for change,” Simpson said. “There is a lot of participation and activism that can be won on campus.”
Some professors at USFSP have been vocal in their support of many of the movement’s initiatives. Julie Armstrong, a literature professor at USF and former professor of Simpson; and Chairman of the National Uhuru Solidarity Movement Jesse Nevel, encourage their students to take action with the movement.
Members of the movement often visit USFSP to inform students of what it’s doing and how they can get involved.
One of the students who has recently become involved with the USM is Paige LaMaster, a current pre-med student at USFSP. She met Simpson while he was tabling on campus, and she instantly became interested in the organization and what they stand for.
When asked what advice she would give to other students that are interested in becoming involved with the USM, she had a simple yet powerful answer.
“I would say 100% to get involved with the meetings. Just sit down for one and see some of the people from the committee, get to each other and from there you would realize that it’s actually a very open and welcoming organization you can participate in,” LaMaster said.
The USM hosted the “Reparations Now! Take Back the Dome” Community Rally on Feb. 9 at the Uhuru House located at 1245 18th Ave S. The USM will also host a “Take Back the Dome” Community Teach-in at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 at Booker Creek Park, 2300 13th Ave N.
Anyone interested in the movement can visit uhurusolidarity.org to learn more.
SAINT PETERSBURG – Downtown St. Petersburg is a center for art and culture, and the Morean Glass Studio is a spot for artists and visitors to view demonstrations and the products being sold.
Despite the fact that consumers utilize glassware nearly every day, glass as a medium for art is relatively recent in the American glass movement. According to the History of Glass, glass blowing dates back to the 1st century B.C. in Syria, but new techniques developed in the 1820s updated the process by mechanically pressing heated glass.
There are a variety of art collections and art workshops that any visitor should see when visiting the Tampa Bay area. Whether you want to go to the Hot Shop or the Dale Chihuly exhibit across the street from the studio. Jewelry-making, metal sculpture, mixed media, painting, photography, printing and more are all available to the public to take at the Hot Shop.
Bao Thao, the shop’s store manager, who has been there for four years gave an exclusive interview on the studio. Thao is a professional artist that worked as an independent contractor up into a position at the glass studio.
Thao pursued a degree in glass blowing at the University of Wisconsin Madison and longtime friend Matt Evanbrock introduced her to the Arts Center. Thao, at the time, was living in Alaska because of her position in the AmeriCorps. She had never heard of St. Petersburg and moved.
Being the “studio b****” for a year and a tenacious worker eventually landed her a full-time job as the retail store manager. Thao frequently uses the furnace and equipment, her art is even featured inside the store.
“People think that glass is a very mysterious, like a magical medium,” said Bao Thao, the store manager for the Hot Shop at the Morean Arts Center in downtown St. Petersburg.
Why should people come to the Arts Center?
Thao: “People think that glass is a very mysterious, like a magical medium.. The American glass movement is very young,” she said. “It’s really interesting to see how glass is made, especially if you have no history with it. You don’t understand all how it works, but we use glass every day… To have a place like an art center like this, where we have those resources to teach people about this medium that we use every day, is also really helpful,”
What is something about glassblowing that the average person probably would not know?
Thao: “You cannot master glass until you have over 10,000 hours or so of working with glass… It is very difficult to work with,” she said. “In the beginning classes, when I was teaching glassblowing, it was very intense and intimidating. The furnaces are 2000 degrees, so once you get used to that, and like, you know, you can start to form your bubbles and shape it, and it takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of time to actually really master the craft.
Why is art important to society?
Thao: “Art is a way of documenting our culture. Everything that we consume and use is artistic, everything that we use is artistic, even engineers and architects have created, so there is an art form to it. Everything is art it is and so, to be interested in art, to collect art, is collecting a piece of your own history and collecting a piece of our future as well.”
The Morean Arts Center and studio is the Tampa Bay area’s hub for learning glass blowing and shopping artisan glass pieces. | Photos by Emerson Taylor
Whatever your interests are, Morean offers something catered for you. There are classes and exhibits for everyone, whether you want to learn how to manufacture an ornament or just admire Dale Chihuly’s work.
USF St. Petersburg student, Sierra Laico, is a guest services associate at the studio. Laico stresses that her job has transformed into a learning experience for her. The Morean gives artists and those interested in art a place to come and enrich their minds.
“I’ve learned how much work they put into creating something—I consider myself lucky to work alongside some of the most hardworking and talented people in the city,” she said.
Artist Woes Martin paints a third panda bear on his mural at 2343 Emerson Ave. S in St. Petersburg. Photo by Lauren Wood
Armed with a palette of colors, a handful of rollers and the support of early 2000s Black Eyed Peas songs, Emily Ding begins her 10-day project for the seventh annual SHINE Mural Festival in downtown St. Petersburg.
She draws upon feelings of self-growth and rebirth to produce an image of a baby deer in a bed of flowers, inspired by the city and the Rob Graham Enterprises building itself.
“It’s like Bambi but extra, extra, extra large,” Ding said. “I heard a bunch of perspectives from people inside this building, Rob Graham Enterprises, and how they do their business through a lot of hardships.”
Her artwork, which explores the concepts of flora, fauna and human behavior, is illustrated in a gentle, painterly style. It is reminiscent of an animal folklore book she received from her father when she was younger.
“I usually like to convey human emotions by using animals. I like to focus on conflicting emotions, or tender emotions, or both,” Ding said.
Beyond her beginnings in Houston, Texas, Ding’s work stretches to places such as Bali, Indonesia, and Shanghai, China. As an American-born Chinese artist, this project was particularly special for Ding.
“It was really cool painting where I’m from. It was really close to where my dad’s from, and my aunt visited, and my grandma saw my tattoos and saw me as a muralist,” Ding said.
Ding has other murals displayed across the United States, such as in Nevada, Indiana, Texas, Florida, and Michigan, where she was a part of the Flint Public Art Project in 2019.
She has also completed some murals in Los Angeles, where another SHINE mural artist is based.
Aaron “Woes” Martin, born on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, has been creating graffiti art since the late 1990s. Though his first mural was completed in 2010, he has since worked with major international corporations like Disney, Kidrobot, New Era and even Fandango for the release of Kung Fu Panda 3.
Martin is most known for his linework and vicious panda bears, with fang-like teeth, vacant eyes and sharpened claws. They were the product of a friend’s mistake, leaving Martin to paint with only two colors: black and white.
“It was a mistake, actually. I was painting a grizzly bear, but my friend forgot to bring my paint, so I only had black and white, so I had to roll with black and white,” Martin said.
Since then, these paradoxical panda bears have been Martin’s staple, following him worldwide and repopulating places like Switzerland, Mongolia, Berlin and Japan.
“I kind of adopted the fact that pandas were on the extinct list … so I was like, forget it, I’m going to try and put pandas all over the place,” Martin said.
During his time at the SHINE Mural Festival, Martin estimated that he uses approximately 300 cans of spray paint for his warehouse mural. After finishing this year’s mural, he wishes to come back and complete more art for the city one day.
“You guys have a lot of cool murals, and no one disses them, you know? I love it,” Martin said.
Although the SHINE Mural Festival ended on Oct. 24, Ding’s and Martin’s work still lives at 100 Seventh St. S. and 2343 Emerson Ave. S, respectively.
Emily Ding’s mural in progress at 100 Seventh St. S in St. Petersburg. Photo by Lauren Wood
