Edge Center for the Arts: July 2018

This will be the fourteenth time that the Edge Center Gallery in Bigfork has invited visual artists to submit their work for judging by a juror. Peter Spooner, this year's juror, is an independent educator, art appraiser, and curator. Living in Duluth, he teaches studio art, art history, and first-year seminar courses at The College of St. Scholastica, Lake Superior College, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth. This year’s juried show will be on display in the Edge Gallery from July 5th to July 28th. The awards reception will take place on July 6th from 5 to 7 pm and will allow visitors to meet some of the artists and to vote on the People's Choice Award, which will be awarded later on during the reception. Admission to the gallery and reception is free. The Edge Center Gallery is next to the Bigfork School and is open from 10 am to 4 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Juror

Spooner has served as a grant review panelist for numerous institutions, lectured at universities and museums in the

U.S.

Japan

and

Canada

, and has juried many exhibitions locally and regionally. His current and past community involvement includes volunteer service for the Duluth Public Arts Commission, Duluth Public Library, Duluth DFL, The Artists Fund, Chester Bowl Improvement Club, and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council.

Samples of Exhibits

This year’s show includes a wonderful selection of artistic offerings in many different media and styles from 19 artists. This blog will not provide a photo of each artwork but will show a selection of them to give an overall sense of the exhibit. The artists selected this year are: Sarita Alami (photo), Thomas Anderson (colored pencil), Rein Boyd (collage), Susan Clandon (acrylic), Doug DeWitt (multimedia), David Dobbs (oil on canvas), Will Dinski (book), Reid Harer (photo), Ashley Hise (ceramic), Mary Jasper (photo), Jon Offutt (blown glass), Cathryn Peters (fiber/basketry), David Richter (colored pencil), Scott Rollenhagen (photo), Stephanie Stevens (watercolor), Christine Tierney (pastel), Yuta Uchida (oil on canvas), Michael Weatherly (multi-plate linoleum cut), and Coralyn Worth (charcoal).

Reception Details and Award Sponsors

The awards ceremony on the evening of the opening reception starts at 6:15 pm. A special thanks to the sponsors of the awards: Kocian's Family Market has sponsored the Best of Show award, Arvig Communications and First State Bank of Bigfork have sponsored two Awards of Excellence, and Bigfork Valley Hospital has sponsored the audience-selected People’s Choice Award. This is always a treat for the visitors. It gives them a chance to see how their opinions compare to the juror's opinion. And a general thank you to all who have supported and continue to support The Edge Center here in Bigfork without which we would simply not exist.