Hot Works’ 2nd annual Asheville Fine Art Show held May 19 & 20, 2018 indoors at the WNC Ag Center’s David Event Center in Fletcher, NC, brought professional artists to showcase and sell their art in all forms of disciplines including: painting, sculpture, clay, glass, wood, fiber, digital, jewelry, photography and more. This fine art and fine craft show was juried by art professionals with an art education and/or art show experience. Many artists were in North Carolina for their very first time. All artwork was original and personally handmade by the artists who participated in the show. There was something for everyone, in all price ranges.
The Asheville Fine Art Show is sponsored by Hot Works, a professionally produced fine art fair with an outstanding national reputation for producing top-notch art shows. Hot Works has four other established quality juried fine art and fine craft shows in Fort Myers and Boca Raton, Florida and West Bloomfield, Michigan – all voted top 100 art shows in the nation. Institute for the Arts & Education is the associated 501(c)3 non-profit organization which focuses on visual arts, cultural diversity, community enrichment and fostering art education among youth.
As part of our commitment to bring art education into the community, the Youth Art Competition for students in grades K-8 or ages 5-13 was integrated into the art fair. This year included 22 entries from 9 schools and one home-schooled. Sponsored by Institute for the Arts & Education, there were four prizes with $250 in Youth Art awards. This program exposed students to the entrepreneurship of doing something they love for a living, which is creating their art. It also brought families to the art show who may not have otherwise attended, and exposed them to great art.
In order to recognize exceptionally talented artists in the show, there were seventeen Professional Artist Awards. Constance “Connie” Vlahoulis, a resident of Mills River and painter with 30+ years’ experience, was the “Artist Judge”. On Saturday, she judged the artists, with criteria centered on technique/execution, originality, and booth appearance.
Following the selection of awards, a “Prize Patrol” team distributed the awards. Included were:
· Constance “Connie” Vlahoulis, Artist Judge
· Mayor Rod Whiteside, Town of Fletcher
· Patty Narozny, Executive Producer, Hot Works Asheville Fine Art Show
Each of the 17 winning artists were met and greeted by the “Prize Patrol” team and provided with a beautiful two-foot long ribbon that they displayed in his/her booth for the remainder of the art show. It was a very positive experience for the artists to meet Mayor Whiteside, who took the time to attend the art show, be there to distribute ribbons, and to congratulate the winning artists in the show. On behalf of Hot Works and the artists in the show, we are very grateful to have had Mayor Whiteside present at the show; we look forward to returning to the WNC Ag Center for many more years to come.
May 2018 Asheville Fine Art Show Professional Artist award winners were:
Two – Best of Show – $500 Award Winners: Lily Engebretsen, Wood, Fort Mill, SC, and Kent Epler, Sculpture, New Albany, IN
Five – $100 Awards of Excellence: Amy Brandenburg, Jewelry, Asheville, NC; Michael Brennan, Mixed Media, Tallahassee, FL; Scott Deming, Wood, Butler, TN; Tanya Gerard & Rob Thomas, Wood, Beach Mountain, TN; and David Goldhagen, Glass, Hayesville, NC
Ten – Awards of Distinction – Non-Monetary: Derrick Crossland, Wood, Islamorada, FL; Holly Sue Foss, Printmaking, Minneapolis, MN; Raul Hernandez, Mixed Media, Hialeah, FL; Bill Hickman, Sculpture, Raleigh, NC; Craig Kassan, Wood, Franklinton, NC; Don McCoy, Jewelry, Salida, CO; Steve Miller, Wood, Black Mountain, NC; Sheree & Ken Sorrells, Fiber, Waynesville, NC; Kim Thompson, Jewelry, Waynesville, NC; and Kathleen Weir-West, Fiber, Hendersonville, NC
Save the Dates
Hot Works’ bi-annual Asheville Fine Art Shows
October 27 & 28, 2018 – outdoors at Pack Square Park, Asheville
May 18 & 19, 2019 – indoors at WNC Ag Center, Fletcher
For more info visit (www.hotworks.org).
Carolina Arts News 