Past Exhibits

"2013 Student Art Show and Competition"
Exhibit April 8-29 in the SAAC Galleries 
Winners Exhibited May 1-18 at Studio 207 Gallery Downtown

Sponsored by New Flooring Creations

Local artist Joe Nixon selected winners of the 2013 Student Competition from almost 200 entries. Nixon said, "It's always joyful to see children's art, and it's hard to make selections as to which are outstanding because the are all so exciting and innocent." Winners of the competition are:

BEST OF SHOW
"The Mason Castle" by Mason Scott, crayon resist
2nd Grade Smackover Elementary, teacher Lauralyn Ramsey

FIRST PLACE WINNERS
"Gas It Up" by Max Barrow, tempera
1st Grade Hugh Goodwin, teacher Karen Cooper
"S.A.A.C." by Erin Roblee, pen & ink
5th Grade Washington Middle School, teachers Katie Harwell working with AIE artist Maria Villegas
"Untitled" by Emilia Meinert, acrylic
11th Grade El Dorado High, teacher Kevin Haynie

SECOND PLACE WINNERS
"The Fall Tree" by Mir Ali, watercolor
3rd Grade Yocum, teacher Janice Roscoe
"Brainstorm" by Ashley Nielsen, mixed media
8th Grade Barton Junior High, teacher Helene Lambert
"Untitled" by Christina Lehew, watercolor
9th Grade El Dorado High, teacher Kevin Haynie

THIRD PLACE WINNERS
"Wavy Hills" by Tischarra Parker, colored pencil/marker
4th Grade Yocum, teacher Janice Roscoe
"Into the Woods" by Sierra Spears, melted crayon
6th Grade Homeschool, teacher Melissa Spears
"Untitled" by Hannah Hopson, watercolor
9th Grade El Dorado High, teacher Kevin Haynie



Print an Entry Form or visit the Competition page for more information
 

 

"2011 Student Art Show and Competition" Winners  •  May 3-26 Exhibit

Any art teacher will tell you that student artwork is priceless! Come and see the work done by one hundred students from eleven area schools and the South Arkansas Arts Center as they celebrate their creativity in the Student Competition. The display of one hundred twenty-nine entries showcases outstanding work done by students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.
 

Honorable mentions were given to Cameron Gardner for his "Blue Elephant" and Christina Lehew for the "Best Mistake Ever". In the Kindergarten through 4th Grade Division, third place went to Olivia Floss for "Tree", second place to Josie Dumas for her photograph of a blooming trumpet vine, and first place went to Jackson Crossland for "Smushtron". In the Middle School Division, third place was awarded to Kacy Mays for "Still Life", second place to Jake Lowrey for "Shattered Dreams", and first place to Kate Johnson for "Alone in the Night". In the High School Division, third place was Jewel Murphy's "Fallen Feathers", second place was Valerie Chavez's "Smell Flowers", and first place was Amber Mock's "Untitled". "Getting down to the live wire: Autism" by Holly Roomsburg was chosen best of show.

The Winners of the 2011 Student Art Competition were announced on Saturday, May 21, during the Frolic on Fifth Street event, in the Merkle and Price Galleries. The competition was sponsored by Great Lakes Solutions.  Cash prizes were awarded in each division for first, second and third place. One piece was selected from all the entries for the coveted best of show award.  "It was a very hard show to judge" said Rhonda Hicks, this years' judge. "There were many wonderful student works. It took me three trips to the Art Center to pick out the winners."

"Time Was" mixed media, metal sculptures and prints
March 1 - April 3 Exhibit in the Merkle and Price Galleries
by artist Kit Gilbert of Ruston, Lousiana

Artist Reception Saturday, March 9 • 6:00-7:30


About the Exhibit

Time Was is a series of paintings and sculpture I began when I received a gift of metal from the owner of a farm in Louisiana. These "found objects" consisted mostly of farming implements used by her ancestors in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Somehow, no matter how hard I looked at these pieces, they did not seem to feel mechanical or agricultural. Just as when we were children, the broom and mop became wild horses and plows and tools became forts and weapons, so these objects – as I worked with them in my studio, combining metal with canvas – became part of the series I call Time Was.

In 2003, I had gone to Tanzania and the lay of the land, the colors, some of the mountains and gorges reminded me of the Texas plains where I had grown up. Stone farmhouses in Italy with their worn tile floors and rusting farm implements also influenced the colors in this series. I started, in fact, to see my farm tools in a new way. I found that each object became like a piece of sculpture on its own. I would use only these objects to begin a piece. Some of the objects became a part of sculptural stick men, while others became part of the paintings. Perhaps I keep using the objects because they are teachers, evoking a past, yet continuing to change and challenge me.

Artist Statement

Because I was born in Louisiana and grew up in west Texas at the edge of the Edwards Plateau (the region of the Comanche Indians), my earliest influences were the wet, lush, natural world of Louisiana and the shimmering heat and light of the Texas plains. Also apparent in my work, especially in the Italian Notebook Series, are the landscape, architecture, and art of Italy to which I return year after year. Later influenced by abstract expressionism and by the modernist penchant for making art about art, my art concerns itself with both the forms of nature and the nature of modern life. It is both ordered and chaotic and used the broken grid as well as the lyrical circle and heart. In some paintings and paper works, the grid becomes something of a time frame, more or less like a strip of film, a moving story, a movement of cells and conduits. I use acrylic paint, photographs, and drawing and marks with pastels, pencil, ink and colored chalk.

www.kitgilbertstudio.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kit Gilbert
3510 Janice Dr., Ruston, LA 71270
318-614-4057

image above is an overlay of the piece "Red Line Series #14" with a picture of the exhibit in the Merkle Gallery

Reception • Saturday, February 9, 6-8pm
for "Pottery By Zach"
wheel thrown vases, tea pots, and ceramics
by Zach Graupner of Russellville, AR
in the Price Gallery February 1-27


"Creating is something that comes naturally to me. It pushes me to make new and beautiful things. There may not always be a point other than to make something beautiful, but when I look at my work I see control, design, and the joy I put into it. I find with ceramics it's a perfect outlet for my creativity. When making my work I enjoy every stage. I mix my own clay and glazes, I load and run the kilns, I even build a salt fire kiln. This provides a level of satisfaction that I can not put into words. I make art because it satisfies my need to create. Art gives me a chance to share something with the world. I wish I could share the joy I receive when I finish a work and the excitement I have for what I'm going to be creating next," said Graupner

find out more about Zach Graupner on his facebook page

Reception • Saturday, February 9, 6-8pm
for "Beyond Reality"
whimisical, fun, colorful and playful mixed media on paper and canvas
paintings by Dan Thornhill of Little Rock, AR
in the Merkel Gallery February 1-27 


"From my creative spirit comes an artwork that has a great feel and energy. As an artist, I think it is important to express myself emotionally in my work. I take my inspiration from my grandchildren and enjoy creating paintings that are filled with a sense of joy and freshness. A child-like imagination and playfulness can be found in my work. The viewer will experience the pleasure of seeing the uniqueness and originality of my one-of-a-kind paintings," said Thornhill.

see more about Dan Thornhill on his website

Exhibit February 1-27