2021 INNOVATIONS
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Gracie Award - Best in Show Dennis Salaty I usually work with acrylic, collage and assemblage. This piece was experimental for me because I used different materials to create an assemblage-type painting. I experimented using a canvas panel as a base to construct the piece. I also experimented by using new materials, such as the course pumice gel that covers the canvas, which I never used before. Mixed media assemblage, acrylic and found objects 12" x 12" x 3" $350.00
Second Place Award Kim Klabe I work in wine and beer pours, which means I pour wine onto #400 watercolor paper, swirl it around and let it dry. Once dry, I examine the pour to determine what I see in the shape(s). In this pour, I saw what could be a walking pig. Upon further reflection, I saw what could be wings. Adding the wings gave the pig a sense of whimsy, and his/her size is large and in charge, taking up nearly the whole sheet of paper. Because of the difference in each pour - some in wine, some in beer, some dark or light, splatter/no splatter, each pour is a discovery and experimental by it's own right. The wine or beer ""tells"" me what it will be and I am the the revealer of what lies within the spirit. Wine pour, marker, pencil 22" x 30" x 1" $550.00
Third Place Award Steven Purtee , Sally Hope, Deborah Forbes, David Banner, Jessie Walker, Bob Barnett, Dana Kenn, Richard Prouse This painting is a collaboration of 8 people, each doing 1 of the 8 sections of the portrait. Using a variation of Exquisite Corpse, each artist works independently with no knowledge of what the other artists are doing or the complete image. They are encouraged to try new materials and techniques. How the different pieces relate to each other is very much left to chance with the overall image being the force that hopefully holds it together. mixed medium 32" x 25" x 1" $3,600.00
Fourth Place Award Linda Slattery Sherman This is a gelatin print. Gelatin printing is always experimental. Nothing ever comes out the same. The background is made by using a hexagonal glue stencil and applying a layer of white over it. The subsequent images are made using a bee glue stencil. Acrylic gelatin printing 13" x 10" x 1" $425.00
Juror Award Beth Bynum “Hope Uncaged” is in my definition, experimental. First, what it is “not”. It doesn’t have innovative materials. It is made of paper, acrylic paint, tissue paper, painted deli paper, a book cover, a vintage photograph, acrylic skins, numbers, napkins, and chicken wire. The theme of caged children is not innovative although historically and presently a pertinent issue. However, the process in making this art was experimental. I randomly collaged papers. The idea was to use white paint to simplify the design. That was a venture into the unknown. Reacting to this white palette, it was uninspiring. I added the book cover and skins. Still seemed bland and flat. Added corrugated cardboard, more tissue, painted paper, letters, and numbers. Covered it up with white paint, added more layers. Then, in a dream, I saw the work with line mark-making and stenciled dots. Tweaked, reacted. Added, subtracted. It was a trial and error situation. It had endless possibilities- experimental. Mixed media collage on canvas 30" x 24" x .75" $475.00
ISAP Award Wendy Fee I began my artistic journey with watercolour, loving the unpredictable nature of the medium. With a desire to work in larger formats and eliminate glass framing, I branched into acrylics, learning with great pleasure how to use high flow, fluid and heavy body formats. Until recently, the longer drying time of oil paint in addition to the use of solvents has kept me from using this medium. Recently discovering water-soluble oils and cold wax medium, the clean-up and drying issue has been resolved, and the experimentation process has begun once again. Using a new medium, it has been very humbling to start at the beginning again, experiencing the highest emotion of joyful play to the lowest feeling of this is just not working for me. In the piece The Golden Ratio I have been challenged throughout the entire process, only to realize once more that experimentation is a must: the desire to discover all the creative possibilities that might be out there. Cold wax and oil on panel 10" x 10" x 2" $350.00
Merit Award Beth Bynum and Cherie Correll Exploration, two friends experimenting to create one collaborative art piece. We started on the premise that we both love rust and that we would meet and exchange a “surprise” brown bag of parts. First decision the substrate. Would a box wrapped in burlap work or would we use the backside cavity? After online discussion, we decided on the backside painted black and then collaged it with dressmaking pattern paper. Next, we each played with arranging our elements. There were several meetings in a parking lot halfway between our homes, through snow and sleet, rain and wind, to discuss possibilities and exchange our boxes. We also took pictures and sent many texts showing different arrangements. With mutual respect for opinions, we arranged, rearranged, added and subtracted, sometimes eliminating whole parts that we initially thought were essential. It was a matter of problem solving and adjusting. The final product has ample rust and our friendship didn’t come unglued. Assemblage/Mixed-media 35" x 21" x 3" $550.00
Merit Award Gerry Dotto The piece I’m submitting is an artist’s book. What makes it experimental is that it was created by repurposing the function of a publicly sourced device - I wrote my book in a parking receipt ticket dispenser. The parking receipt tickets are the pages of the book. There’s an underground parking lot that offers free parking for the first 2 hours, but requires you to register your vehicle. There’s a space on the ticket to type in your license plate number – I used this unique opportunity to type the text for my book instead. I crafted a message that tells a story in nine pages, one word per page. I created pages for ten copies; this is one in a series of ten books. All are identical except for a different time stamp on each page. The cover is an envelope made of Tyvek, as is the flyleaf that folds over the text block. The pages are bound at the spine across the top with PVA adhesive and a red mini binder clip. Due to the nature of its creation, this is an impermanent work of art. Artist's book - mixed media 3.75" x 2.6" x 0.25" NFS
Merit Award Santiago Echeverry The volumetric capture of the human body decomposes surfaces and turns them into points connected through lines via code. These pixels give an illusion of the original surface, forcing the user to fill the empty spaces in order to complete the full intended representation of the original: in that sense, the art is happening ""between the lines"" and the interpretation is all possible thanks to the active participation of the user. I have been working with volumetric images, created guerrilla style with cheap and portable tools like the Kinect, for almost a decade now, and I still get rejected from traditional shows because fine arts curators do not understand that these images are created via code interpretation in real time, and not as a post production process in Photoshop or After Effects. The nature of the process, which requires a full control of the technology via trial and error is also another element that gives my works the attribute of being 'Experimental'. Digital Print 24" x 24" x 0" $1,000.00
Merit Award Lynda English This painting is entitled ""Passages Through My Memories"". It is an acrylic, collage, ink jet transfer, tea bag, pieces of magazine, and string, with rust and walnut ink stained papers. What made this so experimental was the size, 24.5 x 32.5. Up until this painting I had been working with abstract collage on a smaller scale, 12 x 12 and 17 x 11 being the largest. I wanted to see how to use the papers that I made cover large areas and look interesting. I needed to figure out how to enlarge my idea without making my shapes too big. Since I painted my own papers I had to make more of it and use different types of paper to cover my surface, so it would be interesting. I also like using letters and numbers so I had to incorporate larger ones in this piece. One thing I will never do again is use mat board as my base. It buckles and is almost impossible to flatten out. collage, rust staining, acrylic, ink jet transfers 31" x 39" x 1" $2,000.00
Merit Award Teresa Foster I have a Chinese Tallow Tree in my front yard and, over the years, I noticed that the fruit from the tree dropped onto my driveway and left a stain with a sepia tone. I decided to collect the fruit, soak them in water, and make a stain for use in my studio. A dear artist friend passed away and left me a large amount of heavy paper. I created a process of wetting this paper, sprinkling with powdered charcoal, and pouring my stain on it. The best results are achieved in the hot Texas August when the paper and stain dry quickly. When the paper is dry, then I rub oil paint onto the paper. This is an experimental process and it depends upon nature. Every piece brings surprises and is unique. Mixed media: tree stain, charcoal, oil paint, and encaustic 32" x 32" x 0" $1,800.00
Merit Award Dilys Jackson In this work I was working on experimenting with describing the exterior network and interior aspects of some pollen forms. I experimented with multi layers of cut paper and small paper cones to mirror these structures.. Gilding on cut paper 12" x 9" x 1" $480.00
Merit Award Rosemary Lee This piece is experimental because I have employed a new technique for me which combines a monotype print with painting and drawing. It also reflects my experiences of this past year and reactions to the devastations of the Covid19 pandemic with all the uncertainty and isolation that so many of us are feeling. Mixed Print Media 32" x 28" x 0" $700.00
Merit Award Marilyn Jennie LeMay Patterson Where once there was,,,#1 began after having recently visited Palestine and while ruminating over the wars in the Middle East, I viewed a PBS Special on our military waging drone strikes from cubicles within the U.S. As a result of this revelation I became profoundly and emotionally provoked to illustrate the carnage, represent the stricken areas and to describe the method of destruction. This work, the first for me in this genre, was experimental for me as it held several hurdles. First: This pictorial essay stretched my ethical limits on laying bare wars' destruction - a now fenced in city smoldering in the afternoon light. Second: How to acknowledge the affected seven Middle Eastern areas - I chose to depict their national flags - Top, left to right; Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen, Center; Iraq and Libya, Lower: Somalia and Syria. Last hurdle: How to suggest the method - I rendered a banking reconnaissance drone craft that surveils the strike site and the aftermath. Watercolor, Gouache, Acrylic 32" x 40" x 1" $2,000.00
Merit Award Linda Reymore Composition 2(e) - Distance is a non-objective painting in which I experiment with composition as my primary focus. At first glance it may seem to break rules with two forms separated at opposite ends of a horizontal canvas. However, I believe the piece works through multiple smaller compositions that are available for discovery within the whole, as well as through muted color, and textural variation, and balance. Materials used include cheesecloth, modeling paste, wall paint, and acrylics on canvas. This piece is one of several that study composition through formal placement. My process in this series moves through an evolution of form, texture, line, and color in which I perceive each element craving a compositional pose, either “comfortable” or “comfortably uncomfortable.” Changing emphasis on these elements in my projects allows me a path for future exploration as well as freedom from a formulaic personal style. cheesecloth, modeling paste, wall paint, acrylics on canvas 24" x 48" x 1.5" NFS
Walking Out of the 4th Dimension
Merit Award Tom Wheeler This work is not Photoshopped. All of it is hand-created on location using long-exposure methodology and various custom-made light tools, such as acrylic rods, various flashlights, plastic sheeting, and pretty much anything that lights up. My emphasis overall is truly about experimentation. Generally my goal is to do what has not been done. Specifically for the pieces submitted: ""Walking Out of the 4th Dimension"" was a guess as to what would happen if I made a custom light square and advanced forward in a long exposure. For ""They Only Came to Disco"", I experimented with blowing out a model with light, wearing a white Tyvek suit and head covering, and having him move over several times in the frame. These are generally nighttime exposures, with tools such as acrylic rods, sheets, cubes, and anything else that lights up. I utilize the largest studios in the world, using grand, expansive backdrops of the vast, starry western wilderness. Archival Pigment Print 26" x 36" x 0" $2,400.00
L'Appelant (Greta Patterned With 7 of Her Songs)
Honorable Mention Greta Boesel My background as a pianist and an engineer informs my Cantograph series, in which I arbitrarily assign colors, shapes and other graphic elements to each half-tone on the musical scale to create visual representations of songs. Variability is enhanced with the selective manipulation of these properties, but each piece retains a ""map"" of the song such that the correspondence between artwork and notes can be observed. This piece is part of a new collection in which I create cantographs for multiple songs by a single musician (in this case, me) and use them to construct a portrait. While I believe the concept itself is inventive, what makes the work truly experimental is the process by which it is achieved. I begin with no image or pattern in mind; consequently, the result is always a surprise -- and exploring the effects of, say, doubling a note’s aspect ratio or rotating the glyphs in a chorus exemplifies the spirit of play that, for me, lies at the heart of joyful creative expression. Digital image printed behind 1/4-inch polished acrylic 36" x 36" x 0.5" $800.00
Honorable Mention Cheryl Correll This piece is a response to the global crisis of people seeking asylum. In recent years my artwork has aimed to express topics of personal relevance and universal importance. The media I choose to work in is simply a tool to translate my thoughts. With this piece I started with a photograph I took and developed in the darkroom and began and experimented by cutting images out of it. Next I knew I wanted to use a piece of shingle off the roof of a shelter, to be symbolic. It seemed appropriate to include a found object because I often work with things I pick up on the side of the road. A scrap of hardened tar from our driveway was the third element, although I had no idea how I would integrate these to complete the assemblage. That is where the experimenting comes in to finish the challenge. mixed media relief 11" x 14" x 1" $550.00
Honorable Mention Haley Joseph Creating a visible connection between the lives of our ancestors and our own with the use of common and precious elements. I sought to symbolize the fragility of memories as they are handed down from one generation to the next while pushing my perceived limits i.e. sewing through stone (mica sheets) and woodworking. I used common materials of cardboard/tacks/tar /thread and precious ones such as, encaustic wax/found objects/images printed on silk/thin sheets of mica and antique text. Allowing the book to be displayed, as it rests gently on a stand. Mixed Media 15" x 8.5" x 4.5" $450.00
Honorable Mention Mary Keefer Watching whales migrate off the coast of Oregon was a glorious experience. I was born and raised in the upper Midwest, I connected with whales after watching them so joyously play in the Pacific. I decided to join in the adventure of “playing with whales” in this painting. The emotions I experienced when I witnessed these whales were unexpected and unpredictable as my painting. I wanted to play with the whales but the quandary of how to paint what I felt pushed me to take lots of risks. I gave my imagination full reign to what happened as the composition developed. My first question was “How will I find my way through the painting or is it better to get lost?” This question plagued me as I began the painting but ultimately I chose to take the adventurous route and go without a map. Color and shape emphasized the feelings of joy, playfulness and surprise I felt. My imagination was the conductor. Mixed Medium, 140# D'Arches, Acrylics, Gouache, etc. 16" x 12" x 0" NFS
Honorable Mention Dan Simoneau I am known as a traditional realist. Working with pastes, embedded objects, dimensionality, and abstract mark making is very out of my usual work process. This work was one of a series created to see what I could do with the newly acquired materials. I used some of the concepts learned in college when printing collogaphs to create the texture in this piece, embedding string into the molding paste, letting it set, and then removing the string to leave an impression. Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 24" x 2" $2,000.00
Honorable Mention Linda Vroegindewey I continue to work with multiple mediums and to achieve their harmony in working together. There is appearance of movement of the fish through the gears and the propeller, which has replaced the fins. This particular piece is clay - for the base and the fish body, metal gears on a metal rod, connecting it through the clay and incorporating the wooden propeller. Preplanning the holes for the axle was critical. Assembly after the firing is always a challenge. CERAMIC - MIXED MEDIA 10" x 4" x 10" $175.00
Patricia Abraham I saw this idea in my mind's eye and knew I had to paint it. It was to be a vertical abstract with a geometric design beside the nude. Some of this design was to be a bit repeated in the figure. As I painted I began to feel an influence from Klimt. Oh! Oh! I didn't want that so I changed my design. Then I felt DuChamps' Nude Descending the Staircase' becoming apparent. More changes. Now I'm hoping the finished painting in 'mine' as it is meant to be. The overall design can be explained but I want the viewer to enjoy the artist's idea. Watermedia 20" x 15" x 1" $1,800.00
Marie-Ange Ackad This piece consists of painting in transparency with pigment and gel over a photomontage created with books and notebooks and journals that I have in my studio. It was a real challenge and the first time that I experimented with this type of composition.A compostition created with a very large dried flower and painting it in transparency over a large surface of the photomontage print that contains words and drips etc... pigment, oil, liquin, gel, inkjet ,canvas/ birchwood panel 40" x 50" x 1" $2,400.00
Christine Alfery Painting figures is very foreign for me and whenever I attempt to paint a figure it is always an experiment and always a surprise. The idea for this work was not to paint a figure. As I was exploring possibilities of a landscape with the colors I had chosen to use ""she"" emerged. I want to be able to think differently about things so I let her talk to me - and let her stay as the main idea of the work. I was able to explore, discover and yet at the same time make it very clear the ideologies developed in my work my work, these ideologies exemplify experimentation. Independence, individuality and freedom, she exemplifies all of these. This is not an easy task because of the broad spectrum of understanding surrounding these concepts. But they along with the concepts of discovery, exploration, uniqueness, one of a kindness are the baggage I carry with me when I begin to paint. I am not successful with every work, and this was one of them, she is obviously not a landscape. She didn't fall paper 40" x 30" x 0" $1,800.00