Congratulations to the Winners of Celebration: Thirty Years of Creativity
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Our Spring Student and Member Exhibition, Celebration, has come to a close. It was such an honor to have the talented work of our students and contributing members on the walls and pedestals of The Art Center, especially as we celebrated our 30th birthday.
For this showcase, we did things a little differently than we’ve done in the past. It was our first Student and Member Showcase called for a specific theme. We knew we wanted to do a big party for our 30th year of operation, and we felt it was most appropriate to have that party in conjunction with the works of the people who have gotten us this far in the community. It was very important to us to make sure people saw The Art Center’s best side, after all, and our students make this place truly special.
In place of our typical evening reception, we went all out with a big Birthday Bash for all ages. Our instructors held live demos of the painting and drawing classes they teach and answered questions from guests of all ages. Leslie Murphy, Summer Lowe, and Joan Zell each showcased their unique painting techniques, highlighting their unique talents and the different approaches you can learn to take even within the same medium. Joanne Easlick demonstrated her collage work, which appears in her workshops and the youth classes and camps she teaches here. She even had a collaborative collage out on her table and invited guests to add their own elements from her provided papers and magazines. Debra Yaun showed her scratchboard and colored pencil work, with a piece of scratchboard available for guests to try making their own marks, and she offered giveaways from Holbein and Ampersand at her table. Susan showcased her colored pencil work at her table and additionally gave two free watercolor classes for adults interested in the medium.
Gregory Hirsch, who will be teaching our circus arts, standup, and video production camps this summer, entertained with balloon animals throughout the event. Colin Skees, son of Rick Skees and a talented artist in his own right, demonstrated his craft on The Art Center’s printmaking press, giving away beautiful prints to the people who came to see him at work. Amanda Rountree, our improv and storytelling teacher, dropped by to run fun improv party games for kids and adults alike. Our clay studio was bustling all day, with live handbuilding demonstrations by sculpture teacher Kate Nahodyl. Lynn Pennington and Mary Hattrick demonstrated throwing on the wheel in anticipation of next year’s Bowls event. Ana Carillo ran crafts with air dry clay that both adults and kids flocked to all day.
Our guests were able to get their faces painted for free by Sophia of Gufo Productions. They could then commemorate their new style with selfies taken with our mascot, Art the Otter. The craft room also saw a lot of use from guests of all ages, who enjoyed making their own decorated party hats, cupcake wrapper flower bouquets, coloring pages, and rainbow scratch off horses (in honor our Executive Director’s personal annual birthday wish). Guests also collaborated on a birthday card that is now on display on the door of Room 1.
After a full afternoon of crafts, demos, activities, bubbles, ice cream, and free cupcakes, our guests joined us for a special game of Art Center Bingo while the staff and instructors flipped Room 1 into a reception space for Celebration. All the bingo cards contained references to The Art Center’s classes, history in the community, and some of the little things that make us happy here (like Marlies’s cheesecakes!). Debra Yaun, The Art Center, and Carman contributed a bunch of prizes and most of our players walked away with something cool.
The bingo game lasted just long enough to set up Room 1 for the more classic reception experience, complete with 3 birthday cakes covered with candles. Samson Tarpeh accompanied us on piano while we all sang Happy Birthday to The Art Center, and our crafters from the day hovered around the lit candles with their decorated paper fans and all helped blow out the candles. Samson then transitioned into other lovely piano pieces while everyone enjoyed slices of cake and a spread of fruits and Chick Fil A chicken nuggets.
Artists who couldn’t make it to the birthday festivities filtered in for the reception, and after some time to enjoy the show and the refreshments, we announced the winners of the show.
Gerald Burch had the unenviable task of judging this incredible and varied showcase, and we want to once again offer our heartfelt congratulations to the winners, and our gratitude for all who participated in making this showcase a truly spectacular mark of our 30 years as an Art Center in the community.
Member Category Winners
Our member category is reserved for artists who are not active students of The Art Center but contribute through memberships to our continuing operations.
First place was awarded to Marjorie Osheroff for the ceramic piece Flutter By. This impressive sculpture mixes textures and mediums to create the delicate moment between figure and butterfly, with a subtle expression that brings powerful life and character to the figure.
Second place went to Summer Lowe for the oil painting Ashanti. Rendered in Lowe’s signature style that mixes saturated realistic portraiture with textural and expressive abstract techniques, Ashanti turns a still and contemplative pose and centered composition into a piece that is still full of movement and active energy.
Third place was given to Ronald Sullivan’s Rock Story 2 – Lifted. Sullivan is known around the Atlanta area for his thoughtful and moving abstract pieces made with stone and wood. Rock Story 2 is a fascinating mix of geometric and organic forms with beautiful visual contrast created by the limited color palette of the sculpted stones.
Visual Student Category Winners
Our students comprised the vast majority of the show, so the Student Category was split between Ceramics and Visual students.
First place for our visual students went to Colleen Curran for Golden Memories. This still life in oil creates a warm and radiant atmosphere between the yellow tones of the wine and leaves, emphasized by the summery tone of the lighting. Bright specular highlights make the glass and metallic effects pop so that this still life ends up more life than still.
Second place was awarded to Shelia Moss for the acrylic painting Lovely Lady in Lavender. Chosen for our postcard, this painting evokes a pleasant dreamlike sensation with its soft finishes. Though the colors are primarily in the lavender range, pops of warm yellowish hues bring vibrancy and warmth that draws the eye to the focal point and pulls the composition together masterfully.
Third place went to Danielle Melas for the oil painting Kravitz. Melas excels at realistic portraiture and convincing lighting effects, both of which are on display here. The soft light brings out the bone structure of Lenny Kravitz’s face and the textural differences between his skin, his hair, and the silky petals of the flowers in the background in a way that makes them feel truly tactile.
Ceramic Student Category Winners
Our ceramic students’ work comprised nearly half of the student work on display and ranged from beautiful functional pieces to purely sculptural work.
First place in ceramics went to Carman for Featherbeast. This dragonlike bust mixes ceramics with real feathers and found earrings, using primarily underglaze to create a matte finish.
Second place went to Lynn Pennington for Green Tea. This beautifully thrown tea set blends the natural brown clay with a restrained use of a semi-matte glaze to create the decorative illustrations of branches, berries, and leaves. The glaze continues on handles, interiors, and the bottom portions of the teacups and pot for a lovely visual balance. A bird shaped knob on the teapot lid finishes the piece with great charm.
Third place was awarded to Corinne Rodgers for Waters of March. This more conceptual ceramic piece has an organic, natural feel to it, with shining stone forms that appear eternally wet placed in the center and tendrils that are reminiscent of an amoeba forming its outer edges. The tendrils in particular are an impressive feat; those are difficult forms to keep from cracking and breaking in the drying and firing process.
People's Choice
The votes are in, and we're happy to announce the People's Choice winner for Celebration. Congratulations to Jim Forester for winning the People's Choice Award for Second Breakfast, an idyllic oil painted scene of grazing sheep lit with invitingly warm tones.
The Student and Member showcase will be back in the fall with I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues, an exploration of the wide range of interpretations of the concept of “blue,” from color to music, mood to idioms. Royal Cerulean is The Art Center’s primary branding color, and we want to see how our students and contributing members take this concept and interpret it in their own unique ways. So sharpen your pencils, wedge your clay, and stock up on your Phthalo Blues to prep your own entry for the next showcase!
In the meantime, make sure to stop by The Art Center between April 20 and May 16 to view our next exhibit, Upcycled: Reclaimed and Reimagined.
