The adjudicator for the 35th annual Estevan Arts Council's art show was very impressed with the quality of work that was presented for her assessment over the past week. Judy Swallow, the guest artist and presenter who performed the critique duties for this year's exhibit that is displayed in the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM), said all 12 artists, who were required to provide five pieces of common theme work for judging, went well beyond her expectations.
Swallow said when it came to sharing insightful moments with each of the artists and within a group setting, "the artists were most co-operative and insightful. There was some great artistic exchanges going on."
The Alameda-based artist said she gave each one an opportunity to talk about their work, what was behind it and what motivated them.
"There was a wonderful quality among all the work. There was variety, and I noticed there was a wide variety in ages from someone who was in her 80s to one who was 14 years old and there was a good balance of men and women," Swallow said.
Aaron Solomon, a self-trained sculpture artist, earned first-place status in the Estevan show, and the nod he received from Swallow when the announcements were made on Saturday night caught him by total surprise.
"I've only been at this for about six months," he said, still shaking his head in disbelief while surrounded by family and friends who had made their way to the gallery to see the exhibits that attracted over 70 people for the Nov. 30 event.
The recent loss of his mother prompted Solomon to pay homage to her and with some grinders, chisels and other hand tools and learning about the different hardness of materials the hard way, he hand chiseled and sanded a granite and alabaster memorial sculpture entitled Mom's Last Years. It is the primary piece in his five-piece collection now in the gallery.
The native of Saltcoats, an employee of Wil-Tech Industries, said he just started with some regular Saskatchewan field rocks gathered at the family farm. A few days after his mother's death, he started reading and researching, finding a way he could pay her tribute with his new found interest. The results are now on display in the EAGM until the end of December, and Solomon and other artists whose works were singled out by Swallow, may now apply to have their work advance to a provincial adjudication level and perhaps be included in a travelling exhibit that goes on tour for about a year, courtesy of the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC).
Colourful and meaningful collage work using a variety of materials assembled by Marleen Vickary earned second-place status while Byron Fichter's photography earned third-place honours. Honourable mentions were issued to Eileen McKersie for her quilt work and Julie-Anne Wallewein for her gourd sculptures. All five have earned the right to have their work critiqued at the provincial level.
"The art here is obviously the artists' lifelines and the creativity, originality, techniques, expression and communication is outstanding. I commend all these artists for putting themselves out there in public," Swallow said during her remarks that preceded the announcement as to whose works could advance to the next stage.
"Artists know that the heart and the mind need to connect if they are going to create, and I saw that in all the work," she added.
Vickary said her collage work consisted of a lot of watercolours, coloured pencil work and montages from all media. The five exhibit pieces she had submitted for the show absorbed a couple of years of effort.
Fichter and Wallewein were unable to attend the event due to previous commitments.
Joyce Evans of the Estevan Arts Council, served as emcee for the program, noting that the EAGM has played host to the annual art show every year.
Amber Andersen, director of the EAGM, said they were pleased to provide the space and logistics for the event and noted that the gallery was celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.
Evans also thanked Shirley Andrist, the lead sponsor for the show and event as well as Swallow for taking on the significant commitment as adjudicator.
