Dolphin Splash! Comes to South Walton County

Art no longer remains in the realms of museums or galleries. Tens of thousands of people are strolling the streets of American cities looking at colorful and whimsical animal artworks: cows, pigs, horses, moose, fish, turtles, lizards - to name a few. In this spirit, an exciting new public art extravaganza called Dolphin Splash! is finding its way to South Walton County. Fifty life-sized sculpted dolphins, generously sponsored by local businesses and painted and/or decorated by local artists will soon be seen throughout Northwest Florida. Eventually, after public display for several months, the dolphins will be auctioned, with a majority of the proceeds benefiting local charities and non-profit organizations.

An interesting story, by way of artist, Cindy Stephens, finds it's way to this area. She is the first artist in South Walton County to undertake a Dolphin Splash! project. Owner of Fish Tales at Uptown Grayton, in Grayton Beach, Stephens has the honor of decorating a dolphin in one of her mediums, mosaic glass. In her effort to raise awareness of the Arts, she asked the Cultural Arts Association to be the beneficiary of the auction proceeds. "Art is my life," commented Stephens. "I picked the Cultural Arts Association because I wanted to get involved and this is a part I can play to help make a big impact."

Cindy Stephens is a glass artist and designer. Primarily working with infused glass, the process of melting two or more pieces of glass together at temperatures of 1,600 degrees,
Stephens is a full time studio artist and creates commissioned glasswork for a variety of projects and clientele. Her work is displayed at her gallery, Fish Tales, in Grayton Beach and can be found in over 400 select shops, galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean.

For the Dolphin Splash! dolphin, Stephens is working with mosaic glass. Using 2' x 8' iridescent stained glass sheets, she hand cuts each piece into ½" squares. Then each square must have all four of its corners ground to knock off the sharp edges. From there, the squares are washed and ready to be attached to the dolphin. Stephens' dolphin will display a colorful underwater scene with tropical fish and coral, and a large mermaid that seems to emerge from the tale of the dolphin.

"The Cultural Arts Association is indeed honored to be selected as the beneficiary of the auction proceeds from Cindy Stephen's beautiful and unique dolphin," said Jack Abbit, president of the CAA. "We think the idea of public art exhibits is a wonderful one and certainly fits with the mission of our non-profit organization, which is in place to raise awareness of the Arts."

The dolphin can be seen as a "work-in-process" at Fish Tales, until its unveiling on April 26 th. On May 11 - 12, the completed dolphin will be on display at the ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival, during which time, the dolphin's beneficiary, the Cultural Arts Association will hold a "name the dolphin" contest. The Festival is May 11 and 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Eden State Gardens - there, visitors can enter the Name the Dolphin Contest at the dolphin exhibit located in artist Cindy Stephen's Tent #28. The winner will receive a one night deluxe stay in Biloxi, including dinner.