The artist’s presence is most prominent when the artist is working through something. That artwork, for me, is the most impactful for the viewer. It is when the artist has the most influence and power to create change. This is how I juried this show. These pieces made the most emotional impact on me, had more depth and a story.

First Place:  Bonnie Lebesch, Love Letters #3
This piece is the ultimate expression of an artist’s emotional process. This is the outward expression of working through a rough time, turning it into something positive and beautiful.

Second Place:  Julie Janney, All I Want is You
Standing in front of this piece I could feel the sense of yearning. This piece sucked me in and did not want to let go.

Third Place:  Becky Hawley, It’s Complicated

This is such a strong expression of who she is as a person and artist.  It is difficult as an artist to let yourself be completely vulnerable and I admire her for it.

Honorable Mentions: 

Mickey Bookstaber, Heart Squared
Such beautiful craftsmanship, which I could not let go unrecognized.

Karen Cannon, Be Mine
Wonderfully done and even though I hate chocolate, I want one of these chocolates.  Now that’s expressive power!

Amanda Szopinski, Adored
Her loose expressive use of brush strokes and color seems to be done by being present in the moment allowing the painting to come to life.  Telling us their story.

Evie Tilley, The Color of Passion
A true expression of deep rich passion that is so inviting that I want to keep coming back to it.

Big Changes Coming to Your Favorite Art Center!

In the next few months, big changes are coming to the Poudre River Arts Center. The building will be getting a ‘facelift’ and a refreshed image, as well as a new name!

Attorney Tim Hasler, owner of the property at North College and Willow Street, hopes to re-energize the Art Center and better support its tenants by bringing more visibility to their communities. Designs proposed by Azur Ground Design and Landscape Architecture consider the proximity of the Poudre River while creating an artful gateway to the northern corridor of College Avenue. The plans have been approved by the City of Fort Collins, and work on the facility is beginning now.

The current Poudre River Arts Center houses the Center for Fine Art Photography, Poudre Studio Artists & Galleries, the OpenStage Theatre offices, Azur Ground Landscape and Architecture, and Bebelliet Studio.

The most noticeable change will be the color: the building will be painted a uniform, clean white, with a bold splash of color on the northwest corner identifying it as an ART center. The name of the facility will become the Art Center of Fort Collins. In its proposal, Azur Ground recognizes the unique location of the Center: at the intersection between Old Town and the Poudre River. There will be landscape improvements along Willow Street which celebrate the regional landscape. The parking lot and southwest corner of the building will be revamped to improve traffic flow, and bicycle racks will be installed along the College Avenue sidewalk. Improvements will be made to the courtyard of the Center for Fine Art Photography, including a striking new entryway.

The renovations will celebrate the variety and vitality of the communities within the Art Center of Fort Collins, and will give them more presence in the region. A grand re-opening is being planned for fall 2012.

—Gale Whitman, PSA president

My process for judging this show was based mostly upon the quality of artistic composition, overall design based on the theme of the show, originality, color and value, degree of difficulty, use of materials and textures, presentation, and somewhat on my initial reaction to the art pieces.

I am completely comfortable with the process I used and the decisions I have made. Please be aware that the results of my judging are my opinions, to be agreed with or disagreed with.

First Award: 1947 Ford by Jeff Gibford

Composition, color, value, and all of the other judging factors are very important, but there is something indefinable about this piece! ‘1947 Ford’ stands out, to me, the most and shows me that the artist has a complete understanding of all the criteria for successful artwork. This is a great piece of photographic work.

Second Award: Bowling Pin-up by Kelley C. Jones
This piece of three dimensional art is just plain fun! This work is one of the most unique I have had the pleasure to judge. I believe there is a great humorous story behind this wonderful piece.

Third Award: Flower Car for a Living Detroit by Stephanie Gallison
This is a beautiful painting with an inherent social message that brings attention to an issue that is important to the artist.

Honorable Mention:
Vast is the Sky by Ed Gauss
Looking by David Hartman
Wing Warp by Gene Michieli

To wrap-up this statement, I will recommend to you not to let a numbering system completely control your final decision when choosing award winners. Always follow your instincts and educated judgment in regard to good art.

Robert E. Matthews

Industrial Heart 1 by Barbara Gilhooly won the People’s Choice Award for Heart Art in February. Congratulations, Barbara!

I was honored to have the opportunity to jury the Heart Art show this year. The wide interpretation of this topic really offered the opportunity to appreciate the wonderful artistic process.

My intention was first to look for strong emotional responses, second, for that surprise and delight that comes from discovering spontaneous uninhibited creativity, and finally to look for the unexpected treasure that always shows up when a group of artists set their intentions to express themselvs on a topic for a show.

The variety submitted in this show made it very difficult to choose because they are all so wonderful in so many ways.

First Place: Golden Heart by Megan Tilley

Pure surprise and delight! So much love—this brings an immediate smile from the heart. The simplicity is perfect and wonderful—the small perfect nuances—the ears—the posture— the eagerness of those wonderful friends.

Second Place: Gatherings by Barbara McCulloch

This beautiful painting captured my emotions immediately. I found it hard to walk away. The imagery of the roses, the blue cat, the translucent woman—so many emotions: love, contentment, sadness, peace—mysterious and beautiful.

Third Place: Nigerian Madonna by Julie Nilsson

Such a powerful painting. The underpainting is understated and perfectly surrounds the mother and child which are so beautifully painted.

Honorable Mention: Prayer for Release by Gale Whitman

This was the treasure for me—it captures so much love and life. The intention is so strong it feels alive and light-filled—so from the heart.

Thanks to Poudre Studio Artists & Galleries, and to all the talented artists that contributed to this beautiful show. I wish you all Art from the Heart for the year to come.

Karen Bailey

The basis upon which I selected the following works of art for first, second and third place is a combination of elements. First, the work demonstrates a skill level for the media, in that the artist easily expresses an intention. Second, the artistic techniques add to the theme of the work. Third, the artist successfully expresses the theme of the show. Finally, the work has a presence, in terms of, it draws the viewer into the conception of the artist.

First Place: “Forgiven” by Carrie Johansing-Heintzelman

Second Place: “Dawn Mother” by Iryiel A. Cochran

Third Place: “First Love” by Evelyn Tilley

Honorable Mention: “Portal” by Annie Johnson

Honorable Mention: “Mother Earth”  by Tracey Kazimir-Cree

To see all of the winning pieces and to read more about them, visit our show page.

Jurors Awards

1st Place - “Still Life with Grapes”, oil
Patrick McKee
The glow of the pottery and cloth in relation to the golden leaves is spectacular. The composition uses the area very well.

Still Life, Patrick McKee

2nd Place - “Fruit Stand”, digital photo
Doug Johnson
The way that Mr. Johnson adapted the photo to look old is very well done.  Since I don’t know if he set up the Fruit Stand, whoever did it had a good sense of composition and variety.

Fruit Stand, Doug Johnson

3rd Place - “After the Summer”, marino felt book
Susan Reynolds
The wonderful colors of fall and a great use of texture in the felted wool makes this journal a joy to look at.

After the Summer, Susan Reynolds

Work in progress (circa mid-October 2011) by Barbara McCulloch

Have you seen the painting that our fellow artist and esteemed gallery administrator has been working on? Here’s a little taste – be sure to visit her in studio #100 to see where she is with it now!

What else has Barbara been working on? Scheduling her 2012 drawing classes and watercolor painting classes, of course! Take a look at what she has to offer – her classes are reasonably priced and jam-packed with information and one-on-one instruction.