Stetson University – Analog Artist Digital World

Stella Arbeláez Tascón had been invited to exhibit at the Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center at Stetson University (139 E. Michigan Avenue DeLand, FL) for Looks Good On Paper: Second Edition in the Foyer and Gary R. Libby Gallery.

The public was invited to the exhibit featuring Fine Art Prints from the Central Florida Printmakers and Handmade Books from the Book Arts Guild of Central Florida.

Central Florida Printmakers included Stella Arbeláez, Marina Burgner, Meg Carroll, Katy Farmer, Jennifer Harper, David Hunter, Mindy Lighthipe, Bronwyn Merritt, Trent Mouton, Rhonda Peyton, Fontaine Rodgers, Mary Wentzel and Mori Olowu.

Book Arts Guild of Central Florida artists included Holly Jefferies, Meghan Medina, Rachel Simmons, Catherine Cross Tsintzos, Marie Patrick, Rachel Jerusha Kinbar, and Stephanie Rodriguez.

Stella attended the exhibit opening and I tagged along. Before exploring the whole show, I sat in the second gallery where there was a bench to get a quick sketch done. The artist who created the 2 by 4 installation piece was on hand along with his family. His wife was taking photos, and I managed to get his teenage daughter and son in my sketch. I think the kids knew I was sketching so they lingered as they looked at the art. The installation had a deflated mylar weather balloon, a tiny snail shell and some boxes with blinking diodes. Bricks were stacked inside the 2 by 4 supports. What it all meant I can not be sure but it felt extra-terrestrial. The artist was explaining to someone about how he hoards things in his studio certain that someday they will make it into an installation. He talked about obsessively poking holes in a fuel can, which must have been empty and sure enough the hole filled can was in the piece.

On the wall across from the installation was a series of small black and white prints by artist Oscar Bluemner who lived from 1867 to 1938. Oscar worked as an architect, initially in Germany and later in the United States, before turning to painting full time in 1911. One of the prints was of the little red lighthouse that was in Washington Heights below the George Washington Bridge. I have sketched the same lighthouse from my old neighborhood. I identified with his work because these small sketched felt like they were right out of his daily sketchbook. Oscars work is in the Whitney Museum of Art along as at Stetson University. I love discovering an artists work that I identify with.

There were some gorgeous prints in the next rooms. Stella shared her favorites as I explored the rooms for the first time. Also exciting were the handmade books by artists. The exhibit was so inspiring and was sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Looks Good On Paper Exhibit ran from January 20, 2026 to March 21, 2026.

The Deland Sculpture Walk is a really nice partnership between Stetson University, the Museum of Florida Art and the City of DeLand. Linda Brant responded to the call for artists and was selected with her bronze and steel piece called “Beyond Fear and Desire.” Her sculpture, created in 2011, was installed last October in Pioneer Park on the corner of North Woodland Boulevard and East Rich Avenue and was supposed to be there two years. Rich and Lilis George sponsored the sculpture. An inverted rusty automotive leaf spring sat at the top of a thick steel base support, looking a bit like an oxes yoke. Above that a circular disk with a large central hole and many smaller holes framed the bronze which looked a bit like a female crucifix with two snakes.

Last week, the bronze centerpiece of her sculpture was stolen. Officer Wise of the Deland police was notified and a report was filed. He was supplied with close up pictures of what the centerpiece looked like. Ray Johnson of the Museum of Florida Art said that the museum carries insurance for such instances. The beautiful bronze centerpiece was obviously not “beyond desire.” I went to the location the day I heard about the theft. It looked to me like the 1/4 inch thick rod that held the bronze had been cut with a hack saw. Linda thinks they might have used a torch to cut the metal, either way this was a brazen theft done right in a public park.

Linda said, “I’m not sure what I plan to do about the damage – replace or rework it somehow, I guess. It was a one of a kind bronze, so no mold to fall back on!” This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of art being vandalized and stolen in Central Florida. This sort of stuff seems to happen all too often in the Sunshine State. I wonder why so many artists are leaving to go to larger cities?