Wet Paint - The Best of 2005 opened to an enthusiastic audience on Saturday evening, December 10, in the Burnett Gallery at Gualala Arts. Northern California Artists from San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Fort Bragg, and the north coast area submitted 115 entries, of which 58 works were juried into the show. The entries included ceramics, jewelry, mixed-media, woodwork, glassworks, textiles, monotypes, sculpture, watercolors, pastels, acrylic and oil paintings.
The two jurors, Don Bishop and Tamsen Donner, were charged with producing a high-quality show by jurying the actual works of art, rather than photographs, and selecting five pieces for awards.
Artists in five different categories received equal shares of the $1000 of prize money. They were:
- Tom Eckles, photography,
"Yosemite Colors"
- Suzan Friedland, textile/mixed-media,
"Noh Code"
- Vivian Green, mixed-media/industrial arts,
"Everyday Art - The Office"
- Karen Kelly, printmaking/monotype,
"The Boot"
- Sheila Miles, oil on canvas,
"When the queen goes out I like to wash my feet."
The show's co-curators, Barbara Kelley, Iris Lorenz-Fife and Bruce Jones were assisted by a several members of North Coast Artists Guild in preparing the show and reception. Thanks go to: Hal and Jan Fogel, Tom Eckles and Suzan Friedland, Ann and Neil Berger, Jacquetta Nisbet, Kathy Edelbrock, Susan Rush, Ted Matz, and Gary and Marianne Baxter, all of whom worked to prepare the show and reception. Special thanks to Diane Cochran and Suzan Friedland whose contributions were invaluable in hanging and lighting the show.
In addition, local artists and arts supporters are docenting at Gualala Arts on Saturdays and Sundays through the end of the show. They include Russell Hardy, Jacquetta Nisbet, Claire McCarthy, Bruce Jones, Madeline Kibbe, Roy Austin, Scott Chieffo and David Donaldson. The show will be open to visitors during the week and on weekends from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m., with the exception of Saturday, December 24 and Sunday, December 25.
"We, and Gualala Arts, want to thank all the artists and art supporters who have contributed to this show. In addition to the artists who submit works, it takes approximately 25 people to create and support this event," said co-curator, Barbara Kelley. "We are especially pleased with the quality of art submitted from artists in the northern California area and with the support from art patrons who acquired several pieces during the opening reception. We hope the community will bring their friends and family to the show before it closes on January 8, 2006. Come at the weekend and meet one of our local artists."
