Artist Jules Burt opened a pop-up art gallery in October. Until the new year, she’ll teach classes and sell her art alongside fellow artists.
The kids are gathered around paint-spattered tables. Brushes and markers are flying as they bring their creations to life.
They are surrounded by art: from hanging wall-length portraits to painted jeans drying over a velvet rope. The studio space doubles as a gallery, every inch covered in brightly-painted glassware, handmade jewelry and festive wall signs.
As the children concentrate, artist Jules Burt stands above them, supervising.
Burt, a Plant City native and artist , best known for her “Glamour Girls” paintings, opened the Jules Burt Pop-Up Gallery in October in The Village off of James L. Redman Parkway.
“I’ve been painting since childhood,” Burt said. “I’ve been doing it professionally for over 20 years.”
The pop-up gallery will operate until New Year’s Eve Day, but locals are already begging Burt to make the shop a permanent fixture in the community.
For now, she said, she’s making her decisions day by day — much like the decision to open the gallery in her hometown.
Popping Up
The Jules Burt Pop-Up Gallery is not the artist’s first. She’s had galleries in Tampa and Atlanta.
“I’ve had three galleries prior,” Burt said. “But this is the most gorgeous gallery of them all.”
Burt’s “Glamour Girls” were discovered in Atlanta. Since then, her art was featured on the show “Friends.”
After deciding to open up shop in Plant City, Burt got to work. She negotiated a three-month lease in The Village. Within days, the floors and walls were painted.
Burt operates the gallery with fellow artists Shirley Pagliaro and Kristen Caldwell. The women sell handmade jewelry and decorative signs, respectively.
“Shirley, I’ve known for many, many years,” Burt said. “Kristen, I met at a restaurant. You’d think she saw Elton John or somebody, she was about to fall over. She showed me her signs, and I loved them.”
Burt returned to Plant City in 2001 to be close to her mother, but her roots have been here much longer.
“My dad was the principal of Turkey Creek High School,” she said. “My mom taught PE at Plant City High School.”
Now, Burt is making her own way in education. Besides displaying and selling her art out of the gallery, she’s teaching art classes to local students.
“I’m not really an official art teacher,” she said. “But I really have fallen in love with it. Art comes from the heart.”
Between the three days of classes, Burt teaches a total of about 20 students. They experiment with mixed media, painting and decorating jeans, ornaments, canvases and shoes.
“I save Mom all the mess,” Burt said.
Burt will be hosting a reception for students to showcase their artwork from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8. A free sip n’ shop for the public will follow from 7 to 9 p.m.
“The kids are super excited about the art show,” Burt said. ‘They’re sending out painted postcards about the reception.”
It’s not just kids who can don an oversized apron before the new year. Burt offers adult art classes, including glassware and canvas painting, as well as private parties. She also makes custom pieces upon request.
For those who are more interested in buying art than they are in making it, Burt will be hosting a holiday open house from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.
The event will serve as a chance for locals to meet Burt as well as the other artists who operate out of her gallery.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
