MSFF Juried Art Exhibition Winners Named
Award winners were announced and prize money was presented at the 2011 Mountain State Forest Festival Juried Art Exhibition October 5 at the Randolph County Community Arts Center in Elkins.
The winners, including artists from throughout West Virginia, were chosen from the one hundred twenty works displayed in the annual exhibit, which will run through November 16. The event was sponsored by the Arts Center, the Seneca Trail Artists Guild, the Mountain State Forest Festival and Parrack Insurance.
The Best of Show award was presented to Laurie Goldstein-Warren for her transparent watercolor painting titled It's Showtime. The First Place award went to Robert Musick for his acrylic painting titled Sunday Drive. The Second Place award was presented to Kenneth Waddell for his watercolor painting titled Structure. The Third Place award went to Robert Wren Smith for his oil painting titled Lee.
Merit Awards were presented to Christine A. Rhodes for her acrylic and mixed media watercolor work titled Ledge; Shane Wagner for his charcoal and graphite work titled Underwater (2 a.m.); Alice Neitzert for her pastel work titled Montessori; and, Betty Neely for her watercolor painting titled Shepherds.
The Arnold Schultz Memorial Award was presented to Dave Shombert for his bowl made of Amazuuke wood with inlace. The James A. Hartman Memorial Award went to Martha Reynolds for her colored pencil drawing titled Looking In.
The Ralph Michael Memorial Award was presented to Grace DePollo for her watercolor painting titled A Rocky Stream. DePollo’s same work also received the Davis Trust Purchase Prize Award.
The West Virginia Landscape Award went to Donell McCoy for her watercolor painting titled Dryfork Shadows. The West Virginia Watercolor Society Award was presented to Linda Elmer for her watercolor painting titled Moving Manhattan.
The QBH Frame Shop Award was awarded to Traci Higginbotham for her acrylic painting titled Color Evolution. The Talbott Frame Shop Award was presented to Deanna Gillum for her watercolor painting titled Summer Leaves.
Honorable Mention awards went to Christine A. Rhodes for her acrylic and mixed media watercolor titled In the Beginning; Barbara Mueller for her pastel work titled Stone Wall in Snow; Laurie Goldstein-Warren for her transparent watercolor painting titled Night View - Times Square; M. Grey Darden for her watercolor painting titled Southwest Range, Linda Elmer for her watercolor painting titled Walking the Stream; Carolyn Light for her watercolor painting titled Vendue Biker; Donell McCoy for her watercolor painting titled Walt's Home; Robert Wren Smith for his watercolor portrait titled Jim; Kenneth Waddell for his watercolor painting titled Cascade; and, Rema White for her watercolor painting titled Katie by the Window.
Maid Silvia LXXV Logan Gray Burke selected Sandra King’s pastel titled Autumn Fire for the Queen’s Choice Award. The winners of the Maids of Honor Choice Awards were Judy Matteson Reed for her watercolor titled Route 50 - Joe Pye chosen by Letitia Marie Propst; and Linda Elmer for her watercolor titled Moving Manhattan, chosen by Tayler Victoria Ross.
The exhibit also includes a student art exhibit for kindergarten through 12th grade students. Award winners included:
In grades Kindergarten through 2nd grades, First Place was awarded to Liam Duvall for his marker and watercolor portrait titled The Sharp Head while Second Place went to Lily Anderson for the crayon work titled Fall Forest.
In grades 3rd through 5th, First Place was awarded to Katherine Markley for her colored marker portrait tiled Multi-Me while Second Place went to Emily Marple for her colored pencil drawing titled Farm Country.
In grades 6th through 8th, First Place was awarded to Taylor Lee for her watercolor titled Pansies while Second Place went to Summer Turner for her quilled paper piece titled Summer Flowers.
In grades 9th through 12th, First Place was awarded to Andrea Heater for her drawing on scratchboard titled Lily; Second Place went to Mick Crim for his watercolor titled Poised for Liftoff; and, Third Place went to Shawna Clayton for her colored pencil drawing titled The Journey That Will Be Taken. Honorable Mention Awards were awarded to Cassandra J. Baher, Shawna Clayton, Moriah Dunn, Samantha Goff, Alexis Lanham, Kaitlyn Rizer, and Michael Stevens.
Other school students with works juried into the exhibit include Faith Aube, Katie Carowick, Destiny Dunn, Alex Fortney, and Alexis Lanham.
Artists with work accepted into the extended juried exhibit include Jo Ann Barlow, Doris Bright, Shawn Brogan, Bill Butler, Katherine Crim, Judy Curry, M. Grey Darden, Melissa Denise, Grace DePollo, Linda Elmer, Akiko Endo, Deanna Gillum, Laurie Goldstein-Warren, Don Hall, Reginald K. Hawver, Traci Higginbotham, Seth Hill, Alain Kieny, Sandra King, Michael Ledden, Carolyn Light, Chet Lowther, Judy Matteson Reed, Donell McCoy, Joe McInroy, Barbara Mueller, Robert Musick, Betty Neely, Alice Neitzert, Martha Reynolds, Christine A. Rhodes, Maggi Rhudy, Jeannine Romano , Dave Shombert, Robert Wren Smith, Amanda Sullivan, Linda JC Turner, Kenneth Waddell, Shane Wagner, Linda Walker Roberts, Rema White, and Kevin M. Woodcock.
The exhibit was juried by Naijun Zhang. Zhang, born in China, received a B.F.A. in Oil Painting from Nanjing Arts Institute, Nanjing, China in 1988 and a M.F.A. in Painting from West Virginia University in 2000. He has been included in numerous group exhibitions both in the United States and China. He currently serves as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Painting Program at WVU. Regarding the exhibit Zhang noted, “I choose work on the basis of expertise and accomplishment. First I look for artistic competence and mastery of technique. After that, I look for innovation of artwork that has intelligent content and ideas. I believe that this exhibition has a fair measure of art that meets all these criteria.”
