A great shoe is more than just footwear. It's art.

This month, you'll have a chance to make your own masterpiece. St. Petersburg's Morean Arts Center is holding two paint-your-own-pair sessions to promote the Chihuly Collection, which opens in July 11.

Bring a pair of shoes to the Morean during one of two drop-in sessions: this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or May 27 from 5 to 7p.m. All ages are welcome.

For a $5 suggested donation, you can splatter your footwear with acrylic paint, just as hundreds of St. Pete residents have done already. Even Mayor Bill Foster has two pairs of splattered sneakers. (The Morean staff made his, though.) Folks have decked out everything from sneakers to heels to cowboy boots.

So what do customized shoes have to do with artist Dale Chihuly, who's famous for his glass sculptures?

Sara McClarnon, the Morean's receptionist and curatorial support worker, explains:

"Chihuly is very well known for his glasswork, but ... he also is known for doing splatter painting where the canvas is laid on the floor, and he splatters the paint," McClarnon said. The artist wears special orthopedic shoes, which tend to get covered in paint when he's working. "He always has to wear those same shoes," McClarnon continued, "so you'll see him (wearing them) even at formal events -- he'll have these splattered painted shoes on."

You read it here first: Splattered is the new black!

Morean Arts Center is at 719 Central Ave., in downtown St. Petersburg. Call (727) 822-7872.

Deal Diva Dalia
 
Photo: Morean Arts Center