|
Lakefront Festival of Arts
|
2007 Award Winning Artists
The following artists were selected as award recipients at the 2007
Lakefront Festival of Arts.
Each artist received a cash prize of $1,000, a commemorative art piece and
was invited to return to the festival for the next three years without being
juried.
Lisa
Burge,
Taos, NM, Painting
“The beauty of the paintings created by this artist lies in the
graffiti-like markings the artist calls gestures and in the layering
upon layering of color and textured surfaces. Using a restrained
palette, at times almost monochromatic, the artist’s textures and soft
gestural marks are contrasted by tense scraffito markings on the top
layer. These deftly controlled colors, textures, layers and surface
markings are the hallmarks of the work.”
Melissa Dominiak,
Hannibal, MO,
Painting
“The artist’s paintings are like pieces of memory. In the quiet rooms
and exteriors she depicts, walls appear as abstract paintings in
themselves with furniture boldly anchoring the overall compositions.
Together, these elements add up to a striking combination of pattern and
place.”
Mike Dretzka, Delafield WI,
Drawing/Pastels
“This artist’s works are large pastels on board – on view are his wife
and children, Chloe and Sam, as well as a commissioned portrait of
Gabrille. His drawings are compelling and powerful, especially of the
children. They show the innocence of childhood, but at the same time
this innocence is combined with an undercurrent difficult to explain. It
is as if in their expressive eyes they possess a secret knowledge of the
world.”
Matthew Hatala,
Danielsville, GA,
Wood
“The natural beauty of wood is revealed in the gracefully turned wood
forms of this artist. Delicate lids and handles further enhance these
tactile forms created from specially selected common and exotic woods
that exhibit beautiful and interesting growth patterns. An unequalled
level of craftsmanship adds further visual and tactile delight.”
Daiga Henson & Sarmite Svilis,
East Winsor, NJ,
Fiber-Wearable
“In the wearable fiber division two sisters collaborate to produce
amazing coats, dresses and jackets brilliant in design, color, materials
and textures. The most striking pieces are very complex productions,
multi-leveled garments often requiring a knowledge of engineering to
fabricate. They, in fact, succeed aided by the engineering background of
one of the sisters.”
Mary Jackson, Johns Island, SC,
Fiber-Non Wearable
“The vital American tradition of coiled sweetgrass baskets is continued
and expanded by an artist, who, as she describes it, ‘wanted to make
something that had never been made before – to create new forms.’ While
her baskets at first appear simple in their designs, they soon reveal
boldness, innovation and strength in their complex forms.”
Aaron Kramer, Venice, CA,
Sculpture
“One of the great things about contemporary art is that artists continue
to identify the least likely and most interesting materials with which
to make art. Street sweeper bristles, for example – these harsh
industrial materials have been woven into the most elegant basket-like
forms, while wood, metal and found objects like pipes have been
transformed into exciting kinetic art and wall installations.”
Patricia Mullins, Flagler Beach,
FL,
Ceramics
“We love to see traditional forms with new design innovations. This
ceramic artist has developed her own unique style using carving,
incising, and stippling to imbue her ceramic vases with beautifully
intricate patterns and texture. The dramatic contrast of black and white
objects in her booth is striking and enticing from the first look.”
Jonathan Rutledge, Evanston, IL,
Jewelry
“A seeming simplicity belies complexity in this winner in the jewelry
category. A meticulous, painstaking application of 22-K gold granulation
results in a beautiful fluidity and feeling of movement as the granules
magically form the whole.”
Jose Sierra, Pella, IA,
Ceramics
“The undulating ceramic forms of this artist retain the fluidity and
plasticity of wet clay. They are exquisitely simplistic in form and
color, which yields harmoniously to surface design. The artist has
modulated the wheel-thrown forms and then created elegant geometric
patterns by incising the smooth surface to reveal the natural texture of
the porcelain body beneath. The artist’s restrained and sensitive
treatment of material and process creates a unique elegance.”
The following 10 artists were selected as Honorable Mention Award recipients
at the 2007 Lakefront Festival of Arts.
They are each invited to return to
the festival next year without being juried.
Marvin Blackmore, Delores, CO,
Ceramics
Renee & James Engebretson,
Hudson, WI,
Glass
Paul Eshelman, Elizabeth, IL,
Ceramics
Lisa Kristine, San Rafael, CA,
Printmaking
Marlene Miller, Washington, IL,
Sculpture
Patricia Palson, Contoocook, NH,
Fiber-Wearable
Mark Porter, Madison, WI, Mixed
Media 3D
George Raab,
Millbrook Ontario, Canada,
Printmaking
Stephen Sebastian,
High Point, NC,
Painting
Thomas Sheehan, Oak Park,
IL,
Painting
Jurors for the awards were Terry Coffman, artist and art educator in
Milwaukee, WI;
Dominic Molon, associate curator at the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Chicago, IL;
and Charles Parson, artist and senior chair
of the art department at Community College of Denver in Lakewood, CO
|
