Please join us for our Plunge Into The Arts Artist Open House featuring the work of Michael Mills, Shahina Siddiqi & Karen Tondiglia! Friday, February 28th at 6:30pm at Plunge Beach Resort.

Complimentary registration and bar available with happy hour pricing!

Walk-ins are welcome!

About Michael: By the time Michael Mills began his life as an artist in 2009, he had already accumulated more than two decades of experience in areas related to the visual arts: as an editor at movie and video magazines, as a film critic at The Palm Beach Post (1987-1995), and as host of the 80-film series Tuesday Afternoon at the Movies (1997-2002). He has also worked as a freelance writer, editor, and consultant for multiple local, regional, and national publications.

Along the way he received awards in criticism writing from the Florida Press Association, the Florida Press Club, and two chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has also been a guest expert on radio shows focusing on the arts and has lectured on film and art at such venues as Lynn University and Nova Southeastern University.

Between 2004 and 2007 he worked at the Museum of Art / Fort Lauderdale as communications manager and senior editor, producing exhibition catalogs for nearly a dozen major shows and co-curating the 2005 South Florida Cultural Consortium exhibit. And for 15 years, from 1997 to 2012, he was the art critic at New Times Broward / Palm Beach, reviewing hundreds of museum and gallery shows from Palm Beach County to northern Miami-Dade.

His first artworks were analog photographs made with an old Canon 35mm camera, a gift from his parents soon after he moved to South Florida in 1986. Shortly before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, he started drawing on paper using metallic inks. Since then, he has explored digital photography and, more recently, collages and mixed-media works. His art has been featured in more than 200 group exhibitions, and in solo shows at Anne Kolb Nature Center, Aperitivo Gallery at Bona Italian Restaurant, Broward Art Guild Gallery, Coral Springs Museum of Art, and Stork’s Bakery & Café.

Among his more than two dozen recognitions are Best Photograph in ArtExplosion 2011 and four Best in Show awards, including one from a national juried biennial through the Gainesville Fine Arts Association. He is a longtime member of both Broward Art Guild and ArtsUnited of Florida. His artworks are in more than 40 private collections.

He lives and works in Wilton Manors, Florida

About Shahina: Shahina was born in India and moved to the United States in the 1970s. She found her passion for art at a young age, and while a pharmacist by trade, Shahina has managed to keep the artist in her alive over the years. Shahina is self-taught, which has enabled her to try new methods and develop her own style. She is best known for her work on large canvases. Painting gives Shahina a great sense of pleasure and soothes her mind. When she sees bare walls, she can hear them screaming for art. Her brush strokes are guided by her feelings in the moment, leading to some of the most inspiring and unique pieces of art. Shahina covers many different styles including abstract art, fluid art, and realistic art.

About Karen: Karen has been painting and making jewelry since 1981. Her award-winning paintings range from urban city scenes to local seascapes, flowers, and fauna. She draws inspiration from her travels and the environments she has lived in, including Northeastern Ohio, Chicago, and South Florida.

Her mission as an artist is to communicate the emotions and feelings evoked by the scenes she paints. Karen’s work is characterized by her ability to capture the essence of her subjects, whether they are basking in sunlight or set against a dramatic backdrop.