Congratulations to the Winners of Summer Serendipity 2026!
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
We just said goodbye to Summer Serendipity, our annual regional exhibition and competition. Over 325 pieces were entered into the show this year, a new record for us. In the end, we accepted a little over 70 pieces thanks to the jurying efforts of Ric Skees. It was no small task to whittle down so many incredible entries into a show that we could fit in our facility, and an even bigger one to pick out the winners of the show. He spent several hours across several days examining the work closely before making his selections.
We announced the winners at our closing reception this past Saturday to a crowd of around 200 attendees, our largest reception to date. Our Guild did another fabulous job putting together a selection of delicious desserts, and the artist Emerson Meyers bedecked Executive Director Stephanie Donaldson and Curator Althea Foster in his handmade accessories for the occasion. The Jayhawk Songwriter Coalition (featuring Vic Burgess, Lars Nagel, and Jeff Jacks) played throughout the evening, and we had a lively and joyful time of it.
We’d like to once again congratulate all of those who were chosen to participate in the exhibition, and to thank them for sharing their beautiful work with us. Congratulations, also, to the winners of Summer Serendipity!
People’s Choice Award
The People’s Choice Award went to Rae Prall for her watercolor piece Surpassing Solomon. Visitors and students voted throughout the run of the exhibition, and many of them were drawn to this impressive large scale watercolor piece, with its rich colors and smooth, vibrant rendering.
Sponsor Ribbons
Sponsor ribbons were awarded on behalf of The Art Center’s sponsors, including our generous exhibition sponsor Fortune-Johnson.
The first sponsor ribbon was awarded to Bob Aldea for Who, Me? This white charcoal rendering of a woman’s face on black toned paper caught many visitors’ eyes during its tenure on our walls, and with good reason. It is a masterful use of the challenging medium and the technique of drawing light on dark. The subject’s gaze is direct and arresting with eyes full of life.
The second sponsor ribbon was awarded to Emerson Meyers for Always Love Me, a mixed media usable bag. It features lush fabrics and elaborate embellishments, making it a truly one-of-a-kind piece of functional artwork.
The third sponsor ribbon was awarded to Lory Macrate for Flight of Fantasy, a bright and vivid acrylic painting of a vintage car held aloft by a summery umbrella above a fantastical landscape featuring apples painted in a nod to Magritte. This cheerful composition also featured on our postcard and advertisements for the exhibition as an inviting and enticing introduction to the show.
Our final sponsor ribbon was awarded to Sharon Feldstein for Big Creek Greenway. This acrylic on canvas piece graced our front wall as an abstract tribute to the system of walking and biking paths in the Johns Creek community. It displays clear graphic design elements and an advanced understanding of compositional principles, with small areas of tight detail contrasting with large areas of abstracted rest.
Honorable Mentions
Our judge had an intimidating task in front of him. With such a diverse showcase of both 2D and 3D artworks created by such a large number of vastly talented artists, choosing show winners is a gigantic challenge. In addition to the placed winners, Ric chose three honorable mention recipients.
The first honorable mention went to Beth Brennan Grabish for Valkyrie, a highly detailed ceramic full body portrait of a woman. The ceramic finish made it look like a weathered bronze casting, adding to the classical impression of the piece. Ric felt that the sculpture was an effective composition from all sides with a natural, relaxed pose that gave a powerful impression of real body weight.
The second honorable mention went to Debra Yaun for the scratchboard piece Barn Owl Landing. Scratchboard is a medium that requires patient precision work with a knife, removing a black ink coating to carve out the image. Ric was drawn to the exceptional level of detail both in the feathers and the lichen-covered wood of the fenceposts as well as the use of negative space and masterful rendering of form through shadow.
The final honorable mention went to Joel Sturdivant for the graphite piece Children of Tomorrow, depicting a large fantastical dragon threatening a pair of frightened children. Ric was impressed by the compositional elements that draw you to the focal point of the children and the unique element of the rotated frames that supported the sense of slow movement from the dragon.
Third Place
Third place went to Lindy Blosser for the soft pastel piece Patience. The piece uses the sfumato technique of the Italian Renaissance, giving a soft out-of-focus effect to the parts of the figure fading into darkness. This technique was one of the things that drew Ric to the piece, as well as the simple diagonal composition and the soft shadow and bright light contrast that help pull focus to her face and the “lively use of many colors to render the fabric and skin tones.” Indeed, at a short distance this piece gives the initial effect of being a photograph until you step closer and see these details. Several of our visitors commented on that illusion and the incredible rendering that made it possible.
Second Place
Second place went to Marie Thomas for the photo diptych of Saturday Night Sinner/Sunday Morning Saint. This sepia toned pair of photos show the same model in two aspects, one with a coy contrapasso pose revealing a leg from beneath the hem of her flowery dress, the next a rigid pose in modest garb, clutching a bible to her chest. Ric was compelled by the contrasting story of the images, unified by the sepia finish and supported by the choice of composition for each photo.
First Place
First place went to Christiane Palpant for Chasing Light, Finding Peace, an oil landscape painting. Ric spent a very long time studying this particular piece, expressing to us that it had caught him by surprise. He kept coming back to it and had trouble getting it out of his head. He admired the movement throughout the piece, created through thoughtful use of textural variation and combination of warm and cool colors. He felt the piece had a sense of story, referencing an extraordinary sunset or an approaching storm, and that it was one you needed to sit with to absorb its full impact.
Thank you again to everybody who showcased their artwork and to everyone who joined us for the closing reception! While we’re sad to see Summer Serendipity go, we are excited to welcome our next exhibition. Beyond Borders II: Global Voices is currently in the process of going up on our walls and will open to the public on September 11. We are also hosting a Global Art Week in conjunction with the show during the Fulton County Fall Break, which offers a range of low-cost workshops exploring art forms from around the world. We hope to see you there!
