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Mango Tango Art Gallery welcomes the season with its annual Holiday Art and Gift Show, opening Saturday, Dec. 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The festive evening will feature live music by Sammy Watts and Ras Abu, with complimentary appetizers and spirits, creating a warm and celebratory atmosphere for art lovers and holiday shoppers alike.
The exhibition highlights distinctive fine art and handcrafted works from regional and international artists, including gyotaku fish prints by Becky Schmelter, paper quilling by Christel Fleming, and ceramics by Sara Lee Hayes, along with a thoughtfully curated selection of artisan gifts from around the world.
Gyotaku, an art form that originated in Japan in the mid-1800s, began as a way for fishermen to record their catches by pressing ink-coated fish onto rice paper. Over time, the practice evolved into a refined art form. Schmelter’s gyotaku works honor this tradition while expressing a deep appreciation for marine life, capturing the beauty, movement, and individuality of each fish in striking, organic compositions.
Christel Fleming brings exceptional precision and artistry to the ancient craft of paper quilling, a technique that involves rolling, shaping, and gluing narrow strips of paper into intricate designs. Though trained in watercolor, sculpture, and other media, Fleming discovered quilling in 2022 and was immediately drawn to its meditative focus and attention to detail. Her work centers on wildlife and natural landscapes, often using on-edge quilling, a sculptural, three-dimensional method that gives her pieces remarkable depth and texture.
Sara Lee Hayes, a cornerstone of the Virgin Islands ceramic community, has been a successful ceramicist on St. Croix for more than four decades. She teaches both adult and children’s classes and has exhibited widely through the Caribbean Museum for the Arts, fairs, galleries, and gift shops. Most recently, Hayes and Donna Rae opened Crucian Clayworks in Frederiksted. Hayes is best known for her functional ceramics—especially everyday tableware that is dishwasher- and microwave-safe. Her work stands out for its vibrant colors and imaginative tropical designs featuring turtles, coral, geckos, and fish. By blending beauty with utility, Hayes elevates the daily ritual of dining through thoughtful design, texture, and handmade detail.
The Holiday Gift Show also includes a diverse collection of functional ceramics by Jessica Rosenberg, handmade in the Virgin Islands, as well as Talavera ceramics from Mexico.
Visitors will find unique handcrafted gifts such as soapstone hearts, angels, and animals from Haiti and Kenya; Haitian metal art made from recycled oil drums transformed into fish, geckos, turtles, and moko jumbies; and carved olive-wood salad servers and appetizer utensils from Kenya.
Additional offerings include Haitian metal angels and sea life suitable for indoor or outdoor display, decorative gourds from Peru fashioned into ornaments, purses, boxes, and nativities, and bronze female figures from Burkina Faso, ranging from four to seven inches tall. Woven baskets from Ghana and wooden masks from across Africa round out a rich selection of artful holiday décor.
The Holiday Art and Gift Show offers a rare opportunity to experience fine art, global craftsmanship, and festive cheer in one vibrant evening.
Mango Tango Art Gallery invites the community to celebrate the season, support artists, and discover meaningful gifts that tell a story. The Holiday Art & Gift show will remain on view for one month at Mango Tango Art Gallery.
For more information, visit mangotangoart.com or call 340-777-3060.
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