By Todd Peterson
For Springfield Connection
Little did Gladys Bacon-Rust know what a success the national juried art show she started three years ago would be today. The Emerald Spring Exhibition at Springfield’s Emerald Art Center this month offers a selection of paintings that any city in the world would be proud to be showing in their art galleries.
Inspired by an annual art show she enjoyed while living in Taos, New Mexico, in 2005 Gladys said “lets do a national juried show” and set about to create it. “There had never had a juried show at the Emerald Art Center and I felt that competition is a great way to encourage artists to hone their skills” she said. “At first I think some artists were intimidated by the process but have since then gotten to understand how being juried can improve your work as an artist.”Working year-around on the event as a volunteer, Gladys and two other volunteers did all the planning and work on the show for the first two years. “I learned how to do it by the seat of my pants,” she said, “and with a lot of help from other artists at the center. This year I had a wonderful group of eight women artists to work with. I still did most of the money raising and spent untold hours organizing, overseeing, and handling details while incorporating what we've learned from past years. I'm learning to let go and rely on our committee of very talented women with special skills. The results have been amazing!”
The exhibition received a record number of entries from over 200 artists across the nation. It attracted 546 entries from thirty states. The juror selected 55 finalists representing fifteen states. Oregon topped all other states with 22 paintings in the final selection, 11 of which are from artists living in Springfield and surrounding communities.
The juror for the exhibition, Robert Burridge, from Arroyo Grande, California is a fine art painter and teacher who has been an international juror for many art organizations. His colorful works of still life, landscapes, and interiors in watercolor, acrylic, and oil are sold in galleries worldwide. He will be teaching a water media workshop at the art center in January 2009.
“We are very pleased to have such a talented artist serve as our juror,” said Cheryl Leontina, Executive Director of the Emerald Art Center. “He had a very difficult job selecting from the many truly world-class paintings we received this year.”
“I’m so proud of the work Gladys and her committee of volunteers have done to produce the spring exhibition, said Leontina. “They’ve given Springfield, Eugene, and Lane County an extraordinary gift of art that will give everyone who sees the show, I’m sure, a ‘wow’ experience. It’s the only national juried show of its kind in Oregon and, as far as I know, the whole Northwest.”
Among the many awards given to artists in the exhibition are the Joy Woodard Award of Excellence ($2000), Butler Family Gold Medal ($1000), PeaceHealth/US Bank Silver Medal ($750), DariMart Bronze Medal ($500), Sid & Debbie Leiken Award of Distinction ($250), Sanipac People’s Choice Award ($250), and $250 Merit Awards from Sterling Editions, PeaceHealth/US Bank, and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Special Recognition Awards of $100 each are sponsored by Evergreen Title, Vistra Framing, Bess Nobel, Marilyn Stauber, and Gladys Bacon-Rust. Wal-Mart contributed $1000 and Wildish Land Company gave $500 toward the publication of the exhibition catalog and the Springfield Utility Board gave $400 to be used for the reception. LaVelle Vineyard is co-sponsoring the reception by furnishing the wine for the event. Nine other Eugene-Springfield companies have contributed in-kind support for the exhibition.
Through the generosity of Cyd and Casey Woodard of the Woodard Family Foundation, their $5000 per year contribution for seven-years, along with a $500 per year gift for seven years from the Straube family, will assure a well-funded Emerald Spring Exhibition for years to come.
The Emerald Art Center is open from 11 am - 4 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Phone: 726-8595. There is no charge for art center visitors. Memberships are available for artists, friends, and businesses.
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Emerald Spring Exhibition Events Schedule
April 28th: Art Juror Robert Burridge - Demonstration & Lecture, 7 - 9 pm
April 29th: Exhibition Opens in the Art Center, 11 am - 4 pm
May 3rd: Artists’ Reception & Awards, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
May 30th: Last Day of Exhibition, 11 am - 4 pm
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Photos of Finalists from Springfield, Eugene, and Surrounding Communities
All art images and photos of the art are copyright by the artist.
Click on Photo to See Larger Image of Art
All art images and photos of the art are copyright by the artist.
Click on Photo to See Larger Image of Art
Lori Keets by Shirley Reade (Springfield)
Morning Light on Rhodies by Bev Partridge (Springfield)
End of A Beautiful Day by Genie Roberts (Springfield)
The Guitar Player by Linda Kaye (Springfield)
Chai by Jerry Dame (Harrisburg)
Bella by Jerry Dame (Harrisburg)
A Cut Above by Lavonne Tarbox-Crone (Eugene)
Garlic Dance by Lavonne Tarbox-Crone (Eugene)
Wolf Stare Down by Nadine Lord (Walterville)
Model and Artist by Sarkis Artikajian (Cheshire)
Julia by Sarkis Artikajian (Cheshire)
Samson in the Field by Vicki Fredericks (Eugene)
Wetland Path by Kate McGee (Eugene)
Sleeping Marina by Bernie Herr (Florence)__________________________________________________________________________________
Located in the heart of Springfield’s downtown at 5th & Main, the Emerald Art Center opened in 2002 after year’s of renovating the Gerlach Drug Store in the Sutton Block building dating from 1909. It is the cornerstone for the historical cultural district which includes the Springfield Museum, Wildish Theater, and the Academy of Arts & Academics.
