The Palm Coast Arts Foundation along with sponsor Tomoka Eye Associates, announce the long-awaited unveiling of TURTLE #18 to the public art Turtle Trail Saturday, October 15 at 11:00 am at Tomoka Eye Associates, 21 Hospital Drive, Palm Coast.
Bill Watson, CEO of Tomoka Eye stated “When I found out about the opportunity of Tomoka Eye participating in the Turtle Trail, I immediately started thinking about how I can blend all our passions into one event. To our advantage the pandemic delayed our unveiling and pushed it into our 50th Anniversary year. No better way to celebrate than with a community event and to recommit our mission for another 50 years! We believe that sight is the most cherished of the senses and strongly believe in our communities and we contribute constant volunteer efforts into all our communities.
We commissioned a visually impaired artist to paint our Turtle and invited him to the event with his family. We have the kids from the Conklin/Davis Center for the visually impaired participating in our Turtle unveiling. We participate in two local free clinics, we have our own Tomoka Eye Foundation contributing yearly to local sight related charities, and for the last seven years I have been the Chair of the Board at Conklin Davis Center for the visually impaired. Our Turtle, “The SEE Turtle” represents Tomoka Eye’s commitment to complete Eye Care for our communities and making sure they have the needed resources to care for, educate, employ, and embrace the blind and visually impaired.
The “SEE Turtle” artist John Bramblitt stated “Art connects us to one another in a way that crosses all boundaries, languages, and limitations – and doing so in an explosion of color, emotion, and ideas that brings us all together. True vision has less to do with our eyesight, and more to do with our imagination, creativity, and passion in which we use to shape our world. I am honored the group at Tomoka Eye asked me to be the artist for their “SEE” Turtle. Their dedication and vision for the community are mirrored in the bright colors I used. After losing my sight I started painting to reconnect with people and working on a project like this where the art lives outside has meant so much to me. I really enjoyed the challenge of creating a composition that fit the shape and reflected the city and environment the “SEE” Turtle would live in.”
Nancy Crouch, Executive Director of the Palm Coast Arts Foundation, added “with my early discussions with Tomoka Eye, they asked that I find a visually impaired artist. My research brought me to John Bramblitt, one if not the, most acclaimed blind artists in the country. Despite being from Denton, Texas, he quickly said YES and so it began. This turtle has been anticipated about for months and we are anxious to show the public how amazingly talented he is and to learn his story.
The creative support of this public art project continues to spread increased pride our residents have in their community while visitors and tourists find the Trail a favorite in THINGS TO DO in Flagler County.”
Watch for news of more turtles to be hatched on the Turtle Trail in the coming months. A complimentary Guide to Outdoor Art created by the Flagler County Tourist Development office features the Turtle Trail and can be obtained at the Flagler Beach Historical Museum, 207 S. Central Avenue, Flagler Beach. Discover all the public art turtles on the Turtle Trail at www.palmcoastartsfoundation.com/the–turtle–trail
