April 15, 2002 – Because of V.I. Carnival, the April Da Da Wine Down at Cafe Amici will take place not on the last Friday of the month, but this Friday — April 19.
The artwork of painters Cammy Clark and John L. Chinnery and the wines of Baron Philippe de Rothschild will be featured at the gathering, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the restaurant in Riise's Alley.
The usual format will be in effect — original art on display, the artists on hand to talk about their work, complimentary finger food, a cash bar and a wine tasting and seminar to be presented throughout the evening by Bellows International, V.I. distributor of Baron Philippe de Rothschild wines.
Admission to the monthly social gathering is free and open to the public, with door prizes including dining certificates, wine and art. There is a $10 fee for the seminar, which includes the tasting of the featured wines. The restaurant's roving photographer will be taking pictures — which will be posted on the Cafe Amici web site.
Cammy Clark was born and raised in New York City and lived for a time in Manchester, England. In 1993, she and her husband moved to St. Thomas, where they own a business. Clark's interest in art was sparked by working on stage decorations for a theater group in junior high school. While in high school, she met Cliff Vaughan, then political cartoonist for the Newark Star Ledger, who was her mentor until his death. She worked with Western Union to set up its employee art exhibit and has shown her own work at Western Union and in gift shops in Long Island, N.Y. She will be exhibiting oils and acrylics Friday night.
John L. Chinnery was born on Tortola and moved to St. Thomas in the late 1960s. A 1972 graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School, he attended the Philadelphia College of Art (now known as The University of the Arts) on a four-year scholarship from the V.I. Council on the Arts, graduating with a BFA in illustration in 1985. After pursuing a career as a freelance artist and art teacher in southeastern Pennsylvania, he returned to St. Thomas in December to be able to work amid the beauty of the islands that says he once took for granted. His work has been shown in exhibitions in Pennsylvania and New York.
For more information about Da Da Wine Down, call 776-5670.

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