The Ringling College of Art and Design community came together this past Monday to celebrate the next step in the institution’s development with the opening of the new Alfred R. Goldstein Ringling College Library. To mark the occasion, a line of faculty, students, college officials and community supporters formed a human chain to transport books from the old library in the Kimbrough Building through the courtyard and across and down the street to the doors of the new facility in a ceremonial “passing of the books,” culminating in an address from Ringling College President Dr. Larry Thompson and the unveiling of a three-story mural inside the building.

Located on the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Old Bradenton Road, the $18-million construction opens just in time for the spring semester, and though the official ribbon cutting remains two weeks away, students and faculty will now have access to the new library 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Coming in at 46,000 square feet, the Alfred R. Goldstein library contains, in addition to 65,000 books and periodicals, a 24-hour computer lab on the first floor, group study rooms on all three floors and collaborative spaces where students have access to technology such as digital scanners and tablets.

To further feed inquisitive minds within its walls, the Goldstein Library also plays host to a monumental mural from local artist Julie Kanapaux entitled Momentum. Wrapped around all sides of a central rectangular column running three stories tall with paired sides measuring roughly 30 and 50 feet long, the abstract and striated mural changes colors as it ascends towards the ceiling, documenting different aspects of human discovery, from the mechanical gears of one side to the artistic renderings of neural synapses on another. Comprising myriad works from Kanapaux’s last 15 years as an artist, all were transferred to digital form for the creation of the mural, something Kanapaux sees as fitting for a library on a campus where the fine arts meet future tech. Bold and colorful, the sense of energy she also finds fitting. “Although the library is a quiet space physically, it’s certainly not a quiet space mentally,” Kanapaux says. “I imagine time spent there by students sketching ideas and I wanted to stimulate new thought. What I love about abstract work is it gives the viewer the opportunity to interpret.”

A Ringling graduate herself with the class of 2000, Kanapaux remembers spending time in the old Kimbrough library, flipping through art history books for ideas and inspiration, and sees only further opportunity for today’s students in the new space. “A new space will really inspire students to visit more frequently and hopefully for longer periods of time,” she says. “There’s a tremendous amount of resources available.” 

Pictured: View of Kanapaux's "Momentum" from the second floor of the Alfred R. Goldstein Library. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.

Whether you like them soft- or hard-boiled, poached, fried or cracked on top of your pizza, eggs make everything better. So what makes the eggs themselves the very best? Non-GMO, soy-free, pasture-raised chickens are the answer. Not only do Grove Ladder Farm's chickens pop out eggs with the most glorious apricot-orange yolks, but the flavor of each mottled orb outdoes even the finest grocery store dozen. Boil a few for 10 minutes and whip those golden centers with mayo and spices for sinfully good deviled eggs; separate the yolk from the whites and toss with linguine and cream for pasta carbonara; or, stick with the all-American breakfast of two sunny-side-up with bacon and buttered toast. Grab a half or full dozen of fresh eggs from Grove Ladder's stand at the Phillippi Farmhouse Market or the Downtown Sarasota Farmers Market, or order online and pick up from one of the local drop-off locations.  

Grove Ladder Farm, 941-928-5891.

For the medically underserved community of Newtown, the groundbreaking for a health care facility is a major milestone for its residents. Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) Internal Medicine Practice at Newtown is the culmination of a shared vision among the hospital, its academic partner Florida State University (FSU) and community leaders to bring a reliable source of adult primary care to the Newtown community.

It is a project that required leadership, foresight, careful planning and gracious, thoughtful philanthropy.

The medical practice is part of the newly created FSU Internal Medicine Residency at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, which will begin training its first class of resident physicians in July 2017. The practice will be located at 1825 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, between Links and Osprey avenues.

The vision and hope is that the Newtown practice will help to reshape the health of the community through the collaboration of many individuals and organizations. Reshaping healthcare begins with access to ongoing preventative care that will help patients with chronic conditions and other health issues avoid having to use the hospital’s Emergency Care Center as their primary source for health care.    

SMH Foundation

Becky Palmer, LMT has joined Point Lumineux Holistic Wellness Center to provide massage therapy and Zeltiq CoolSculpting treatments and consultations. Point Lumineux is a Sarasota-based contemporary holistic wellness center that opened in November. Palmer has been a licensed massage therapist for more than 16 years. A graduate of Finger Lakes School of Massage in Ithaca, NY, she also earned a bachelor’s degree in health science and is currently working on her graduate degree in Oriental Medicine to become an acupuncture physician. Her repertoire of bodywork techniques includes myofascial release, trigger point therapy, Tuina, Thai massage, sports massage, cupping, hot stones, craniosacral therapy and energy work. 

Point Lumineux

Keller Williams Realty Select made Christmas extraordinary for the children in foster care who live at Everyday Blessings in Sarasota. Thanks to their internal fundraising efforts, Keller Williams Realty Select was able to donate over $5,200 in cash, gift cards and bicycles for the kids of Everyday Blessings and the young adults of the Springboard Program. Springboard residents are young adults ages 18–22 who have aged out of foster care or are in danger of becoming homeless. The mission of Everyday Blessings, Inc. is to provide high quality foster care for sibling groups through a live-in caregiver model, partnering with community agencies and the children’s families to transition each child into a safe, stable and permanent home.  

Everyday Blessings

Kirk Pinkerton, PA recently welcomed Elisha Robertson as an associate attorney at its Sarasota-based office.She joins her father, Bill Robertson, CEO and personal injury attorney, at the firm. At Kirk Pinkerton, the sixth-generation attorney will practice law and assist the firm’s practice areas, including personal injury, divorce and family law, civil litigation, labor and employment law and real estate. The father-and-daughter duo is continuing the legacy and tradition started by Bill Robertson’s great-grandfather and grandfather, who opened their practice in Sarasota in 1925. Prior to joining Kirk Pinkerton, the Sarasota native worked as a legal intern at the Legal Aid Service of Broward County in Plantation, FL and as a public policy intern for the Children’s Campaign, Inc. in Tallahassee, FL.  

Kirk Pinkerton

The smell of baking biscuits flows out every time a customer enters and leaves through the doors of Buttermilk Handcrafted Food, the newest bakery/cafe to make steamy waves in Sarasota. Family owned and run, the operation is steeped in Southern hospitality, with recipes and attitudes handed down through generations of hot summers. Find out more about the treats inside their doors with this month's issue in Mother Tongue.  

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Nominations are now open for SRQ magazine’s 4th annual Women in Business Competition, recognizing extraordinary women who have made meaningful contributions to the Sarasota and Bradenton communities through their business, nonprofit and philanthropic endeavors. Know someone who deserves to be recognized? Nominate them today! Once nominated, individuals will be invited to submit a formal application to be juried by a panel of outside judges. The finalists and winners of the 2017 Leadership Circle will be announced at the Hear Me Roar Leadership and Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 27, 2017 at The Francis where we recognize the past years’ Women in Business Leadership Circle Classes as well as the new inductees. 

Nominations are open through Friday, January 27, 2017; midnight.

Best of luck and roar on ladies! 

Nominate Someone Today!