DEGRAZIA GALLERY PHOTO ESSAY BY lARRY ELKINS - BIZZART GALLERY - HUGE SUCCESS

This is the first of three posts dealing with my three month exhibit, 'DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun'-A Photo Essay By Larry Elkins, housed at Bizzart Gallery, #41 Brewery Gulch, Bisbee, Arizona. As I pen this post on Monday (Martin L,uther King Day), I find it hard to repress my excitement over the huge success of the opening reception Saturday evening for my DeGrazia Gallery exhibit at BizzArt Gallery. Saturday, January 16th, was a magical day. That morning, I arrived early at BizzArt Gallery anxious to hang my show. By about 10:30, my show was hung. I then climbed Brewery Gulch to Youngblood Hill where staff members of the DeGrazia Foundation, which maintains and displays the late famed American artist Ettore 'Ted' DeGrazia's vast archive of artwork at the DeGrazia Gallery in Tucson, AZ., were hard at work hanging a show of seventeen of DeGrazia's original paintings. The exhibit, 'DeGrazia: The Bisbee Years', will be on display at Bisbee's historic Muheim Heritage House till April 16th. At 1:00 pm, I attended a DeGrazia film screening at the Copper Queen Hotel presented by film archivist George Hall. Then, at 3:00 pm,, the Muheim Heritage House Committee hosted a wine and cheese reception in the lobby of the Copper Queen Hotel. At about 4:00 pm,, the ribbon was cut on the hotel's newly designated DeGrazia room. By 5:00 pm, I was back at BizzArt Gallery as guests began to gather for the opening reception of my DeGrazia Gallery Exhibit. As more and more people arrived, it became apparent that the opening was destined to be a major success. Well before the official 6:00 pm start time for the opening, dozens of guests had arrived. Those attending included Ted Degrazia's daughters and grandchildren, the family of former U.S. Congressman Jim McNulty, former Bisbee Mayor Lyle Reddy, Lance Laber, executive director of the DeGrazia F and Carrie Gustavson, director of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. BizzArt Gallery provided refreshments and live musical entertainment. A great time was had by everyone. The show itself consisted of several photographs I took over the Christmas holidays at the DeGrazia Gallery in The Sun. I'll cover much more about the exhibit itself and the Gallery In The Sun in my next post. Larry Elkins Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography elkinsphotos.com