Main Gallery-October 2012-Caldwell Visual Artists Competition

ABOUT THE JUDGE – BUD CAYWOOD studied furniture design at Randolph Community College in Asheboro, NC.  He is a freelance furniture designer and has worked in practically every creative area of the furniture industry since graduating college in 1971.  He has been creating art and word in North Carolina for more than thirty-five years.  He has been active in the arts communities in Catawba, Wilkes, Caldwell, and Davidson counties as well as Alexander County.  Caywood’s private studio and home is located on a quiet cove on a lake in the Bethlehem area of Alexander County, North Carolina.   

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS (Alphabetical Order)

"Annie" by Scott Kunkle

            As if she is panting and twitching with a most recognizable self-expression of, "I want my treat now!"— this piece is most enjoyable to look at and makes you smile.  I like the color combinations, especially the red background.  This is a happy piece.

 

"Big Zen" by Cathy Taylor

            This collage has strength and power—both delicate and "griddy"!  It is a union of circles and rectangles, a layering of geometry and gravity that depicts an architectural puzzle.  Even the colors have weight.      

 

"Flamingoes" by Vaun Healy

            The image here is collected and put on paper from what we cannot see in nature...only assume.  It has misty intrigue and wispy blurredness.  After all the quiet, the meditative shadows, and angles of light, the release of the moment to eye is joyful, like a tropical rebirth.

 

"Hallelujah" by Judy Greene Prevost

            This work offers a great lesson on the impermanence and transient of all things, including human feelings.  Two simple actions use the body to explore the soul—closed eyes and clasped hands—and challenges the way we think about movement, color, music and prayer.  Beautiful!

 

"Happy Valley Sunset" by Charlie Frye

            At first glance, this painting seems simplistic; but the longer you look, the more it reveals the complexity of its imagery, and it is about imagery—one that begins in the painting and extends into your space.  You know these musicians or some just like them.  Americana at its best!  Well done.          

 

"Hatfields & McCoys" by Cathy McCoy

            It is the twisted detail, the quick command of a most difficult medium in miniscule form, and the indisputable understanding of the human face that first draws you into the works of this crowd.  But it is the awe and sensitivity of each subject, each emotion, that pulls you further—and then the feud between them.  Monsters at play!   

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGE'S MERIT (Alphabetical Order)

 

"Gargoyle" by Carole Childers

            There is a feeling of embarrassment in this piece, but there is also a timid innocence.  The gesture of the figure trying to hold onto its emotions is a very subtle element.  There seems to be a need for being forgiven—a need for love or being loved.  The connection between it and the observer can satisfy that need.  A beautiful piece of work!

           

"Ralph Waldo Tomato" by Nelson Brookshire

            This piece exemplifies the never-ending air of creativity that clearly illustrates the ability to integrate knowledge, patience, time, and skill to realize personal vision in an art form.  The individual collections of segments in color, and then assemblage to form, conveys time stretched out as an artifact.  Great color work!

                       

"The Pedestrian Bridge" by Susan Powers

            This painting is perfect and complete by process.  It is exploratory and a naturally peaceful work that is beyond product.  It is grounded by place and yet imparts at least a hint of some world far from our own.  The use of light, a keen understanding of shade, and a quest for surreal elegance is consistent throughout this piece.

 

"Underneath It All" by Beau Lyday

            I love this piece!  It is like watching two characters, powerful but sullen, hopeful, vulnerable, or frightened—whose plotting has just been interrupted by your presence.  The effect is ethereal and unnerving.  It is an exhilarating contradiction and profound origin to a haunting moment.  Should the unchained captive lover leave or stay. 

Or, will the captor let her go at all?  It is a very powerful piece of art!      

 

BEST OF SHOW

 

"Like Clockwork" by Cathy Taylor

 

            The beauty of the simple shapes and confidently executed geometric abstract position of each piece seem to be guided by intellect.  At what point does the commonplace of rectangular or circular forms enter the world of simplicity?  At the same time, there is both consciously established scheme and spontaneous placement.  What makes this piece exceptionally special is not its detail, but its mystery.  As keenly as each piece has been pre-established it is equally abstract.  A narrative emerges the closer one looks at the work.  Where is this cathedral or is it one?  What is the significance of time?  Of cryptic letters and number sequences?   Within the layers imagination begins to define something, placing the viewer directly within the hallways between the seen and unseen walls while never stating the obvious—what is this place?       

 

 PEOPLE’S CHOICE

 

“Elephant Love” by Marti Kardol