Society of Bluffton Artists in Bluffton, SC, Announce 2013 Naomi McCracken Scholarship Awards

The Society of Bluffton Artists in Bluffton, SC, is pleased to announce the 2013 Naomi McCracken Scholarship Awards going to three very talented student artists. Each year SOBA awards scholarships to deserving graduating seniors from Bluffton High School who have been accepted to an accredited art college and plan to major in the visual arts.

Christina Andrews

Alexandria Craig

Christina Andrews was the first place winner, Alexandria Craig and Alexandra Ball were tied for second place. Andrews works in mainly with acrylic and pen and ink, Craig in a variety of media, and Ball is an up and coming photographer. They were judged based on their body of work and interviews with the SOBA scholarship committee. These girls are inspiring and all three are sure to be successful in their next level of artistic endeavors. Congratulations to them all! We have no photo for Alexandra Ball.

For further info call 843/757-6586  or at (www.sobagallery.com).

City of North Charleston (SC) Announces Winners of Judged Fine Art & Photography Competitions

Fine artists and amateur and professional photographers from across the state were invited to participate in the “2013 Judged Fine Art and Judged Photography Competitions & Exhibitions”, organized annually by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department and presented May 3-11 as a component of the 2013 North Charleston Arts Festival in North Charleston, SC.  A total of 168 fine art entries were accepted in the categories of oil, acrylic, watercolor, drawing/pastel, and 2D mixed media. Cash awards totaling $3,250 were made at the sole discretion of the judge, Sara C. Arnold, Curator of Collections at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston.

After making her selections, Arnold stated, “The Lowcountry is fortunate to have such an event that displays the talents of our local artists.” She continued, “All the applicants should be commended for their entries. It is a pleasure to see such variety in both media and in style represented in the competition.”

A total of 230 entries were accepted in photography, which were split into the divisions of Professional/Advanced and Amateur and categorized as color or monochrome. Cash awards totaling $1,450 were awarded by a panel of three judges using the Photographic Society of America Print Guidelines. Each judge evaluated entries as a whole, considering the areas of impact, composition, and technique.

In addition to awards given by the judges, three fine art pieces were selected for City of North Charleston Purchase Awards. These pieces will be added to the City of North Charleston’s Permanent Public Art Collection, which is on display within North Charleston City Hall throughout most of the year.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Best in Show – Fine Art
“In My Mother’s Arms” by Nizar/Kelvin Blufton

City of North Charleston Purchase Awards
“The Stretch” by Bob Graham
“Due South” by Elliot B. West
“Green Wave” by Angela Smith

Fine Art – Acrylic
1st Place – “Festival Fiddle” by Brenda Gilliam
2nd place – “Study in Public” by Jean Spencer
3rd Place – “Insomnia” by David Helmerick
Honorable Mention – “Play On” by Pedro Rodriguez
Honorable Mention – “Ishmael” by Amanda McLenon
Honorable Mention – “Against the Odds” by Jack Vanderpol

Fine Art – Oil
1st Place – “The Promise” by Blaine Tailer-Kimball Dixon
2nd Place – “Waiting” by Sherri Bardsley
3rd Place – “Gullah Woman” by Denny Stevenson
Honorable Mention – “Strolling the Gardens” by Sandra J. Booker
Honorable Mention – “Decelerating” by Sally Accetta
Honorable Mention – “A in Green” by Judy McSween
Honorable Mention – “Street Crossing” by Peter Scala

Fine Art – Drawing/Pastel
1st place – “Second Glance” by Bob Graham
2nd Place – “Blended Trees” by Dolores Hayes Lott
3rd Place – “Pitcher & Pine Cone” by Sherry Bevins
Honorable Mention – “Live Oak” by Nancy Davidson
Honorable Mention – “Fishing Spot” by Mary Brigman

Fine Art – Watercolor
1st Place – “Kevina” by Lynda Lawrence
2nd Place – “Abandoned” by Becky Taylor
3rd Place – “Daybreak in the Town of Two Harbors” by Dorothy Shromoff
Honorable Mention – “Cosmos in Bloom” by Becky Taylor
Honorable Mention – “Evil Eye” by Charlotte Holman

Fine Art – 2D Mixed Media
1st Place – “Ship High in Transit” by Denise Greer
2nd Place – “All the Earth” by Deborah Neal
3rd Place – “Equilibrium at Risk” by Lara Neece
Honorable Mention – “Home Grown” by Linda Wasielewski
Honorable Mention – “City Jail” by Shawn Allison
Honorable Mention – “See Through” by Paige Duvall
Honorable Mention – “Resting in Style” by Don Roberts

Professional Photography – Color
1st Place – “Bride of Magnolia” by Donnie Smith
2nd Place – “Daughters of Confederacy Building” by Vanessa Kauffmann
3rd Place – “Forster’s (Tern) Flight 39″ by Raymond Colin Murray
Honorable Mention – “Relics of the Past” by Raymond Colin Murray
Honorable Mention – “Edwin S. Fishing Pier at Twilight” by Raymond Colin Murray

Professional Photography – Monochrome
1st Place – “Studebaker” by Peter Ingrasselino
2nd Place – “Got an Itch” by Gloria Welch
3rd Place – “Abandoned” by Vanessa Kauffmann
Honorable Mention – “Shem Creek – Rigged & Ready” by Chris Rogers

Amateur Photography – Color
1st Place – “Snow Ram” by Rick Dandridge
2nd Place – “Osprey #1″ by Andy Reilly
3rd Place – “Dolbadarn Castle” by Rick Dandridge
Honorable Mention – “Henpecked” by Jim Miller
Honorable Mention – “Bumper Pool” by Jim Miller

Amateur Photography – Monochrome
1st Place – “Racer” by Andy Reilly
2nd Place – “Girl with Cup” by Mark Melcher
3rd Place – “Remembering Italy: Tempi Passati” by Gabi Simon
Honorable Mention – “Carousel Horse” by Kaitlin Carroll
Honorable Mention – “French Hugenot Church at Dawn” by Douglas A. Fraze
Honorable Mention – “Hold on to Faith” by Brenda Bihlear

For information about additional exhibition opportunities offered by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, call 843/740-5854 or e-mail to (culturalarts@northcharleston.org). For details on the North Charleston Arts Festival, visit (www.NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com).

City of North Charleston (SC) Announces Winners of “National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition”

Sculpture artists from across the nation applied to the “8th Annual National Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition”, displayed at the picturesque North Charleston Riverfront Park in North Charleston, SC, and presented as a component of the 2013 North Charleston Arts Festival. Organized annually by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, this unique, eleven month exhibition offers established and emerging artists the opportunity to display their thought provoking, extraordinary sculptures, as well as compete for up to $17,250 in honorariums and awards.

Nine out of 47 submissions were pre-juried into the exhibition by the juror, Janet Kagan, a Founding Principal of the Public Art Collaborative with more than three decades of experience in strategic planning with established and emergent art programs and management of projects representing both artists and agencies. Once installed at the exhibition site, Kagan then made her selections for Best in Show, Outstanding Merit, and Honorable Mentions.

“Bunny” by Jeff Brewer (Best in Show)

“I am honored to jury the 2013 National Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition at Riverfront Park. It is a privilege to contribute to the appreciation of art in a landscaped, public context,” Kagan stated. She continued, “Each of the 2013 selections eloquently speak to us and elucidate how the artists’ ideas translated into material form, the works’ relationship to both physical and human nature, and our evoked impulses for interaction and surprise. These nine sculptures create surface tensions that play with angled voids and intersections. No two perspectives are the same as we walk toward, around and in the works. There is also a heft associated with these artworks – not just in their material, color, and scale, but in their aesthetic request for connection and dialogue. I hope you will mingle with, touch, and listen to the voices the works articulate.”

The nine sculptures selected for exhibition are by nine artists from six states. Congratulations to the winners of the 2013/4 National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition:

“Bunny” (steel) by Jeff Brewer – Nacogdoches, TX (Best in Show)
“Tier II” (painted steel) by Anne Melanie – Greenville, NC  (Outstanding Merit)
“Transponder” (steel) by Gary Gresko – Oriental, NC (Hon. Mention)
“Life” (painted steel) by Adam Walls – Lauvinburg, NC (Hon. Mention)
“A Little Less Than Meets the Eye” (steel) by Bill Wood – Fairfax, VA (Hon. Mention)
“Ender’s Enigma” (corten/painted steel) by Davis Whitfield IV – Mountain City, TN
“The Burning” (carved limestone) by Paris Alexander – Raleigh, NC
“Cowl” (oiled steel) by Carl Billingsley – Ayden, NC
“Daddy Longlegs” (steel) by John W. Parker – Glendside, PA

“Tier II” by Ann Melanie (Outstanding Merit)

Sculpture sites are located throughout North Charleston Riverfront Park, located at 1001 Everglades Avenue on the former Charleston Naval Base.  The park is set on the banks of the beautiful Cooper River.  In addition the sculptures visitors may enjoy ten acres of walking paths, a performance pavilion, picnic shelter, a fishing pier and boardwalk, an oversized sandbox, and children’s play fountain.  The historic site is centered in the Noisette District, the largest urban redevelopment project ever undertaken in the US.

The 2013/14 National Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition will be on display through March, 2014. For more information or to be added to the application mailing list for the 2014/15 Competition, please call 843/740-5854 or e-mail to (culturalarts@northcharleston.org). Visit (www.NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com) to view photographs and artist statements.

5th Annual Charlotte Fine Art Show™ in Charlotte, NC, Announces Award Winners

The 5th annual Charlotte Fine Art Show™, took place Mother’s Day weekend, May 10, 11, and 12, 2013, Uptown at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC.

This show brings together the highest quality art and artists from around the nation in one, spectacular exhibition and art sale! Artists normally seen in the Miami, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta shows will be on site to personally discuss their work with you. Juried by a panel of art professionals, these artists represent the nation’s finest in all disciplines: sculpture, painting, fiber, clay, wood, jewelry, photography, and more.

Sponsored in part by the non-profit Institute for the Arts & Education, and by HotWorks™.

It was a beautiful show with the utmost quality of personally handmade and original art. Decision on judging was very difficult – it was based on technique/execution, original and booth appearance.

There was $1,500 in professional artist awards, as follows:

$500 Judge’s Award of Excellence

Michael Conti, Wood

Wycliff “Linc” Bennett, Mixed Media

$100 Awards of Excellence

Carl Crawford, Mixed Media

Julio Garcia, Mixed Media

C. Elizabeth Smathers, Basketry

Kathleen Weir-West, Fiber

Ali Wieboldt, Jewelry

For further info contact Patty Narozny, Executive Director, Charlotte Fine Art Show™ by calling 248/684-2613, e-mail at (Patty@HotWorks.org), or visit (www.HotWorks.org).

Pickens County Cultural Commission in Pickens, SC, Announces Winners of “Thirty-Fourth Annual Juried South Carolina Artist’s Exhibition”

The Pickens County Cultural Commission in Pickens, SC, is pleased to announce that the Pickens County Museum of Art & History’s “Thirty-Fourth Annual Juried South Carolina Artist’s Exhibition” reception and awards ceremony was held on Saturday Apr. 27, 2013. The competition was open to all artists working in any medium, 18 years of age or older and living in South Carolina. The exhibition is on view until June 13, 2013.

Kristen Watts, Director of Collections & Exhibitions for The Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, served as juror for this year’s competition. Watts has more than fifteen years of museum experience in areas of exhibition development and management, donor cultivation, collections care and management, and public speaking. A magna cum laude graduate of the College of Charleston, she also holds a Master of Arts in Public History and Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina at Columbia.

Watts spent the day of April 12 looking at, and contemplating 394 works of art representing 214 South Carolina artisans. The vast array of paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, ceramics, fiber and other mediums made for the difficult task of selecting works for, and eliminating works from, the final show. The impressive final selection of 112 works of art represents 100 individuals currently creating visual art in this state.

About the jury, Watts said, “I was very honored to serve as the juror for the Pickens County Museum’s “34th Annual Juried South Carolina Artists Competition”. The 394 pieces submitted showed the extraordinary range of talent in the area.  I was quite impressed by the diversity of media – painting, ceramics, turned wood, sculpture, printmaking, photography, jewelry, recycled materials – as well as broad range of styles from traditional landscape and portraiture to contemporary abstract paintings, photography, and sculpture.”

Watts continued, “It was difficult in face of this broad range of diverse talent to make final selections. However, it was very rewarding for me to see the talent of these artists, and I look forward to seeing more in the future.”

First Place & Benjamin Memorial Purchase Award – Larry Seymour, Piedmont, SC; “Chui”, gouache

The awards for this year’s competition represent not only a cross section of what is taking place in the visual arts of South Carolina today, but are also a fair representation of the variety of artists actively “at work”. Watts chose the gouache painting, “Chui “ by Piedmont’s Larry Seymour as the First Place Award. Second Place was presented to Sam Wang of Clemson for his photograph, “Hanging Temple, China”. The Third Place honor went to Greenwood’s Kathy Hendricks-Dublin for her glass mosaic window, “The Tree of Completion”.

Second Place – Sam Wang, Clemson, SC; “Hanging Temple, China”, photography

Third Place – Kathy Hendricks-Dublin, Greenwood, SC; “The Tree of Completion”, glass mosaic window

Juror’s Choice Awards were bestowed upon Rhea A. Fletcher of Salem for her acrylic painting, “After Tea” and to Belton’s Kathy Moore for her encaustic, found objects & ink assemblage, “19 Oak Tree Lane – Junk Drawer Series”.

In addition to the above awards, Watts presented Honorable Mention Awards, denoting artwork of special interest, be presented to: Bryan Hiott of Greenville for his wet plate collodion photograph, “Untitled Tintype #2”; to Pelzer’s Cindy Landrum for her photograph, “Life Without Television”; to Amanda Long of Greenville for her photograph, “The First One”; to Seneca’s Ernie Norungolo for her photograph, “Broken Ribs”; and to Pat Owens of Taylors for the woodcut, “For All Your Photography Needs Kudzu Cultivator”.

Director’s Choice – Lucy Nordlinger, Anderson, SC; “Self Portrait on St. Valentine’s Day”, oil on panel

The Museum’s Director, Allen Coleman chose the oil painting, “Self Portrait on St. Valentine’s Day” by Lucy Nordlinger of Anderson as the recipient of the 2013 Director’s Choice Award.

Thanks to the kind sponsorships of Pickens County & the Pickens County Cultural Commission along with the Hiott Printing Company, Greystone Industries, Mary Howe Benjamin, Roger Benjamin, Sherrill F. Benjamin, J. Connie & June Bowers, Doreen Heimlich, Larissa Heimlich, Philip & Gilda Hendricks, Wayne Kelley, John & Judy Rozelle, Mrs. Shirley Sarlin, the Susan B. Benjamin Memorial Fund and the Seth Schafer Heimlich Memorial Fund, the Pickens County Museum selected six works that, within the scope of their mission directive, will be added to the museum’s permanent collection.

Sarlin Commemorative Purchase Award – Beth Munnings-Winter, Pickens, SC; “The Watcher in the Woods”, oil on canvas

The Pickens County Cultural Commission’s Purchase Award honoring Shirley Sarlin was presented to Beth Munnings-Winter of Pickens for her oil painting, “The Watcher in the Woods?”

The 2013 Susan B. Benjamin Memorial Purchase Award was presented to Larry Seymour of Piedmont for his gouache painting, “Chui”.

The 2012 Seth Schafer Heimlich Memorial Purchase Award was presented to Colleen McGhee of Greenwood for her “Untitled” graphic design.

Additional Museum Purchase Awards were made to Salem’s Rhea Fletcher for her acrylic painting, “After Tea”; to Diane Hopkins-Hughs of Greenville for her mixed media work, “Beach Finds, Blue & Green”; and to Travelers Rest’s Steve Marlow for his Photograph, “Winterscape”.

In addition to the fifteen works of art singled out for special mention, there are ninety-seven others on the walls and pedestals throughout the museum’s Sealevel Gallery, G-1 Gallery and Focus Gallery. No matter where your individual taste in art may lead, you will find some satisfaction in this exhibition. The variety of work represented is a generous reflection of the community of artists presently at work in South Carolina.

The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, friends and members of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Located at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307 Johnson Street in Pickens, SC, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am until 5pm, Thursdays from 9am until 7:30pm and Saturdays from 9am until 4:30pm. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.

For more information call the museum at 864/898-5963.

Picture This Gallery on Hilton Head Island, SC, Announces Winners of A.R.T. Art Recycled from Trash Exhibit

Picture This Gallery on Hilton Head Island, SC, has announced the winners of the “4th Annual A.R.T. Art Recycled from Trash 2013 Juried Exhibit,” featuring original work, at least 75% recycled/ re-used/ re-purposed, on view through May 3, 2013.

The winners are:

John Sturm, Cigar Box Guitar (it works) 1st Place Winner

Susan Allison-Diaz, “Lady Gaga” 2nd Place Winner

Donavon Schmidt, #1 DOG Honorable Mention

Mary C. Leto, “It’s in the Bag”, Honorable Mention

Vivian Quattlebaum, Honorable Mention

SeaPines Montessory Academy, “TRASH to Trash-Chuly,” Winner Junior Division & People’s Choice Award

THANK YOU to our JUDGES!
*Deanna Bosselman, Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) Board of
Directors & Advisory Council, NE
*Judith Costello, owner of jcostello gallery, Hilton Head Island, SC
*Karen Elizabeth Davies of SCAD, Savannah College of Art &
Design, GA

Picture This Gallery is located at Cypress Square, 78 Arrow Road, Suite D, near Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island.

For further information call 843/842-5299 or visit (www.picturethishiltonhead.com).

The Society of Bluffton Artists in Bluffton, SC, Announce Award Winners from “Side by Side Show”

Photographers and traditional artists have teamed up – each artist interpreted the photograph they have chosen in his or her preferred medium. The photo and the accompanying art are displayed Side by Side of course! The work was judged on its own merit and there were prizes for both photographs and paintings, and one overall best of show.

The judges for this competition were Andrea Pejeau and Dennis Vernon. The reception and presentation of awards was held Sunday Apr. 7 with a wonderful crowd attending. The show will be on display though May 4, 2013. Please visit the SOBA Gallery, located at the corner of Church and Calhoun Streets in Old Town Bluffton. Call 843/757-6586 or visit (www.sobagallery.com) for more information.

BEST OF SHOW
“Peachy Keen”, Oil Painting by Michelle Maffei

1st Place Photo “Morning Quiet” by Art Cornell
1st Place Art “Working it Out” by Jo Dye
2nd Place Photo “Window on the Morning” by Wes Grady
2nd place Art “Local Textures” by Marilyn Dizikes
3rd Place Photo “Henderson Chief” by Martha Johnstone
3rd Place Art “Summer Morning on Casco Bay” by Tricia Gardner

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Photography
“Winter Sunrise” by Joan Eckhardt
“Denali The Great One” by Fran Hubbell

Art
“Footprints on My Mind” by Rosemary Meidenbauer
“Forsythe Fountain at Night” by Shirley Good Bacher

The Arts Council of Henderson County Announces the Award Winners of the “Artists of Tomorrow” Secondary Student Exhibition at First Citizens Bank in Downtown Hendersonville, NC

The Arts Council of Henderson County announces the award winners of the “Artists of Tomorrow” secondary student exhibition at First Citizens Bank in downtown Hendersonville, NC. The award winners were announced during the opening reception held Friday, Mar. 22, 2013. “Artists of Tomorrow” is the third and final exhibition of the “Mentors & Students” series, featuring Henderson County public, private, parochial, and home school students and teachers.

Judges for the exhibition were Sharon McRorie and Erin Shope, from the Education and Family Programs of the Asheville Art Museum. Awards were presented by Michael Brodnax, Arts Council Board member, and Lorelei Schutz, President of the Art League of Henderson County, which sponsored the Best of Show award. In addition, memberships to the Asheville Art Museum were also awarded to the cash prize winners.

The award winners were:
Best of Show ($150):  Michaela Orr, “Untitled, East Henderson High School, Robert Wallace, teacher.

1st Place, High School ($75): Sandra Newman, “Spirituality” East Henderson High School, Terri Northup, teacher.

1st Place, Middle School ($75): Summer Whiteside, “Self Portrait in the style of Frida Kahlo,” Juicy Art Classes, Costanza Knight, teacher.

2nd Place, High School ($50): Alexandra Stilber, “Meat Industry,” Hendersonville High School, Courtney Hoelscher, teacher.

2nd Place, Middle School ($50): Amelia Riddle, “Red Sky,” Juicy Art Classes, Costanza Knight, teacher.

3rd Place, High School ($25): Tierra Harris, “Untitled,” North Henderson High School, Ed Lewis, teacher.

3rd Place, Middle School ($25): Kailah M., “Perspective Drawing,” Flat Rock Middle School, Delena Jay, teacher.

Honorable Mentions were also awarded to: Sarah Boyette, “Dusk,” Hendersonville High School, Courtney Hoelscher, teacher. Jackie Siverly, “Teapot with Bird,” M’s School of Art, M. Rathsack, teacher.  Kelsey Walker, “Flat Iron Building with City,” West Henderson High School, Kelly King, teacher.  Charlotte Clark, “Untitled,” Hendersonville High School, Courtney Hoelscher, teacher.

The opening reception featured performances by the North Henderson High School Show Choir and Mixed Choir, directed by Richard Cagle.

“Artists of Tomorrow” offers the public’s last opportunity to enter a raffle to win “One Lonely Bird, Mon,” an acrylic painting by Martina Zinn, which was purchased by First Citizens Bank from the Mentors show, “Art Teachers Create”. You must be eighteen to enter and you do not need to be present during the drawing on Friday, Apr. 5, 2013.

“Artists of Tomorrow,” which is accessible to all, will be on display through Friday, Apr. 5, 2013, at First Citizens Bank, 539 North Main Street in downtown Hendersonville.  Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday, 9am-5pm and Friday, 9am–6pm.

“Mentors & Students” is sponsored in part by First Citizens Bank, Capital Options, Inc., and Henderson County Education Foundation.

The Arts Council of Henderson County is a community organization that promotes, advocates for and nurtures the arts in Henderson County and western North Carolina. Its office is located at 401 North Main St., 3rd floor, Hendersonville, NC 28792. (Entrance on Fourth Avenue West.)

The Arts Council is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources; several funds administered by the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Henderson County, and the Henderson County Travel and Tourism Bureau.

For more information please contact The Arts Council e-mail to (acofhc@bellsouth.net), call 828/693-8504 or visit (www.acofhc.org).

High School Artists Win Cash in Art Museum Contest in Myrtle Beach, SC

Thirteen area high school artists received cash prizes Sunday, Mar. 24, 2013, at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum’s “Horry-Georgetown High Schools 12th Annual Juried Art Exhibition”, sponsored by Carolina Radiology Associates, LLC. The 92 pieces of student artwork chosen for display from 324 entries will remain on view at the Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC, through Apr. 21, 2013.

Kirsten English, Socastee High School, garnered a Best in Show for her wire piece, “Survival.First”, second and third-place prizes in two-dimensional works went to Alyssa Scirroco, St. James High School, Madison Hoover, Myrtle Beach High School and Jeremy Walden, Carolina Forest High School.

First, second and third-place prizes in three-dimensional work went to Luke Horowitz, Socastee High School, Christian Walker, Myrtle Beach High School and Autmn Lamp, Socastee High School.

Honorable Mentions, two-dimensional, were awarded to Bridget Kyles, St. James High School, Carolyn Gore, Myrtle Beach High School and TJ LeMasters, Myrtle Beach High School

Honorable Mentions, three-dimensional, went to Dustin Thompkins, Myrtle Beach High School, Caroline Silverman, Academy for the Arts, Sciences and Technology and Elizabeth Joyner, Georgetown High School.

Three unique awards were given this year, the Judges Award and two Patron’s Awards. The recipient of the Judges Award is Breana Rusell, Socastee High School and the Patron Awards went to Jenna Hix, St. James High School and Megan Bogart, Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology.

This year’s judge is international experimental watercolorist Mary Ann Beckwith. A recently retired professor of art at Michigan Tech University, Beckwith was instrumental in bringing the arts to engineering and science students. She has twice been the recipient of the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award and is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Watercolor Honor Society of Watercolor USA as well as many more.

Gallery hours at the Museum are 10am to 4pm, Tuesday through Saturday and 1-4pm on Sundays. Admission to the Museum is free but donations are welcome.

For further information, call 843/238-2510 or visit (www.MyrtleBeachArtMuseum.org).

Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County in Camden, SC, Announces Winners of the “2013 Youth Arts Month Exhibit”

More than 140 pieces of art by Kershaw County school children were submitted to the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County’s (FAC) “Youth Arts Month Exhibit” in Camden, SC, this year. After much deliberation, the winners have been announced. The juried exhibit of elementary, middle and high school artwork by students throughout Kershaw County in a variety of media, from colored pencil and watercolor to mixed media, photography, and sculpture will be in the Bassett Gallery through Apr. 5, 2013.

*The winners will become part of a traveling exhibit to be hosted by Kershaw County organizations over the next year. The exhibit will also make a trip to the State Capital before returning to the FAC. Congratulations to all of our talented participants and winners!

The winning student’s names are listed below in bold with the teachers listed in parenthesis:

Towns Redfearn, grade 1, Camden Elementary (Rebekah Welborn)

Seth Turner, grade 1, Lugoff Elementary (Debbie Garner)

Kinsley Roberts,  grade 2, Mt. Pisgah Elementary (Jennifer Manuel)

Savannah Stiltner, grade 3, Lugoff Elementary (Debbie Garner)

Hampton West, grade 4,Camden Elementary (Rebekah Welborn)

Sawyer Reeves, grade 5,Lugoff Elementary (Rebekah Welborn)

Chyna Dinkins, grade 6, Camden Middle School (Keith Tolen)

Dalton Truesdale, grade 6, Camden Middle (Keith Tolen)

Cameron Messindes, grade 10, Camden High (Marti Wallace)

Brianna Williams, grade 11, North Central High (Jeanne Scronce)

Taylor Griswold, grade 11, Camden High (Marti Wallace)

Michael Johnson, grade 12, Camden High (Marti Wallace)

Khalil McGee, grade 6, Leslie Stover Middle (Cassandra Mickel)

Sarah Jo Harrelson, grade 6, North Central Middle (Leslie Pate)

Mary Fountain, grade 10, Camden High (Marti Wallace)

*3-d winners will not travel with the exhibit due to risk of damage in transit.

Please visit the FAC website at (www.fineartscenter.org) and check out photos on line of all of our winners’ works.

“The Youth Arts Month Exhibit” is free and the public is invited to attend. For more information, call the FAC at 803/425-7676, ext. 300, or visit the FAC at 810 Lyttleton Street in Camden. Office hours are Monday through Wednesday and Friday, 10am-5pm, and Thursday 10am-6pm.

“The Youth Arts Month Exhibit” is sponsored by Target and the Kershaw County School District.

The Fine Arts Center is funded in part by the Frederick S. Upton Foundation and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding provided by the City of Camden, Kershaw County, and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina along with donations from businesses and individuals.