The Wellington Art Society is thrilled to present Cynthia Zmetronak as guest speaker at their next meeting on February 8, 2023. The meeting and presentation will take place at the Wellington Community Center, 12150 Forest Hill Blvd, Wellington. The meeting will open with a meet and greet at 5:30 p.m., followed by the member spotlight and a brief meeting. The event will conclude with a presentation by ceramicist, Cynthia Zmetronak where she will share about the joyful life of being a maker and teaching others how to navigate their medium of choice. For more information contact: Laura Jaffe, presidentofwas@gmail.com.
Cynthia Zmetronak began her artistic journey by creating delightfully tactile mud pies as a small child. She continued to develop her skills with clay at Girl Scouts as well as in the wonderful art programs in the New Jersey Public Schools System. She went on to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Art Education with a concentration in Ceramics from Montclair University and Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Her passion for teaching led to a career teaching art to students from age 4 to 99.
A life-long-student herself, Cynthia’s retirement only fueled her passion for learning, as she pursued clay-based workshops online and in person. She has studied at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado and Penland School of Crafts where she also earned a winter residency.
Locally, Cynthia is the current Vice President of the Ceramic League of the Palm Beaches and an alumni and active member of the FAU Potters Guild. In addition, she teaches at the Boca Raton Museum of Art School and the Levis JCC Sandler Center in Boca Raton. She says, “I enjoy teaching students how to manipulate an ancient material and make an original piece of their own.” When she is not teaching, she can be found creating in her home studio in Parkland, Florida or her summer studio in Canada.
Cynthia believes in using her art to make a difference. Because of her love of animals, she has held fund raising events to help organizations providing care for wildlife affected by wildfires in both the US and Australia. The proceeds from the sale of her pottery at these events have been used to support organizations such as the UC Davis Burn Unit for Animals, Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Wombat Rescue and Koala Rescues.
Another way that Cynthia and her students give back to the community is through an organization called Empty Bowls. In February, FAU Potters Guild is holding an Empty Bowls event where students, staff and alumni will be donating their ceramic bowls for purchase with soup and bread. Proceeds will be split between the Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach and The Tri- County Animal Shelter of Palm Beach County, helping to feed both our two- and four-legged friends.
To see her work, visit Cynthia’s upcoming exhibition during the annual JCC show and sale, beginning on March 9th at the Sandler Center. She will also have works displayed in the Sandler Center Gallery. She also exhibits her work twice a year in a show for alumni, staff and students of FAU. Their next show and sale will be in May. Her work is also on display at the Boca Raton Museum of Art School gift shop and on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/theghostorchidart .
Learn more about Cynthia Zmetronak and her classes and works by visiting https://bocamuseum.org/art-school/instructors/cynthia-zmetronak and follow her on Instagram @cynthiazmetronak.
### The Wellington Art Society is a non-profit charitable organization in its 41st year. It is open to artists of all mediums and patrons of the arts, allowing both local and regional artists to display their artwork in local galleries, interact with other artists and serve the community through their art. For further information about the Wellington Art Society, please visit www.wellingtonartsociety.org.
