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You may not have been keeping up with all the events going on at the Art League, Marco Island Center for the Arts, this summer — now you have one more chance to gear up, create and become a part of the summer of 2008.

The Center for the Arts has provided the community opportunities in the arts more than ever before. There are now three, rather than two, gallery exhibits and with the implementation of Orion Bank’s Artist Appreciation Series, a Summer Wine and Art Series was incorporated.

The “…scapes” exhibit finished up in early July (with a selection now on exhibit at Cedar Bay Yacht Club through September) to be followed by “Art Avante Garde” (currently on display through the end of July).

The Center has hosted three of the four Summer Wine and Art Series featuring artists in residence Stephen Muldoon, Malenda Trick and Angelika Kade. All of these exhibits had one thing in common — the concentration on artists who are members of the organization.

While the summer of 2008 continues, August at the Center for the Arts will kick off with the final Summer Wine and Art Series featuring Jo-Ann Sanborn along with the “Still Life: Further than Fruits and Flowers” exhibit.

A bit of history for all the artists who may not yet be members of the Art League Marco Island Center for the Arts. Each summer the Center hosts a gallery exhibit to feature work by member artists. They also provide the same opportunity to artists who are members of the UAC of Collier County or the Art Council of Southwest Florida for a nominal fee. This exhibit has traditionally been juried and this summer’s exhibit “Still Life Further than Fruits and Flowers” continues with the tradition.

This means a challenge to create a still life that goes further than the traditional fruits and flowers. Still life is the perfect composition to allow for a variety of subject matter. This is because the items, as well as the number of items, their arrangement, their subject matter, their story, is all dictated by the artist. It’s the artist who can select the variety of individual forms and create the relationships these forms share with one another. As with many juried exhibitions there are rules, subject matter is not necessarily one of them, but why not take the challenge and create your still life without the use of fruits or flowers.

Unlike the works that will be on display by Jo-Ann Sanborn as the August artist in residence, the “Still Life” exhibit is juried and judged. Some of you may not be familiar with this terminology.

What happens is a qualified judge, who is not a member of the organization, is hired to select the works that will be on exhibit. This may result in some works that are not selected for hanging. This same judge then goes a step further and selects those pieces that they feel are the award winning works of the exhibit. All of this culminates in a display of a juried fine art exhibit and a reception to recognize the exhibiting artists and special presentation of awards.

For artists to obtain an application, visit the Center for the Arts or the Web site www.marcoislandart.com. You will notice when you do this that the dates are just around the corner — intake of the artwork is Aug. 4 and 5 so don’t wait too long.

For patrons, you just need to save the date, because the reception to recognize all exhibiting artists is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Aug. 20.

For everyone, don’t stay still during these hot summer days, go out and about, there is always plenty to do and see in the arts or you may end up as part of a still life yourself.

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Christine Neal is the executive director of Marco Island’s Center of the Arts. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree in the Liberal Arts with emphasis in the Fine Arts and various certifications and designations in business and the arts. An award winning artist, with 20-plus years in management and sales. Marco Island’s Center for the Arts is located at 1010 Winterberry Drive 239-394-4221 mail@marcoislandart.com.