Juror Andrew Glasgow named this year's eight winners of the Fall Celebration of the Arts competition held by the Toe River Arts Council (TRAC). At a reception at the TRAC's Spruce Pine Gallery on Saturday, October 15th, TRAC Executive Director Denise Cook handed two artists, Melissa Cadell and Jim Waters, prizes of $200 each. Six other merit award winners received prizes of $100 each. The Fall Celebration of the Arts is an exhibition and competition of premier area arts and crafts, held annually since 1991 by the Toe River Arts Council. The exhibition of Fall Celebration art remains up at the TRAC Gallery through Nov. 5th. Hours at the 269 Oak Avenue gallery are 10:00 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday

As Ms. Cook announced the awards, gallery staffer Pat Benard, standing before the winning piece, read aloud to the packed house the statements Mr. Glasgow had made about the reasons for his selections.

Glasgow's comments fully merit gallery director Kathryn Andree's response. "He was very insightful as he studied each piece and spent a lot of time looking." According to Ms. Andree, the juror's approach was to be receptive to the pieces that appealed to him personally. "His notes really show that process at work," she added.

Speaking to Melisa Cadell's arresting figure of a bound male prisoner, part metal, part clay, Glasgow felt drawn to the work's "emotional content." The agonized grimace of the man in "His Soul was Bound" struck Glasgow. "There appear to be layers of issues distilled within the figure's eyes,' he noted, also drawing attention to Cadell's effects with mixed media.

Jim Water's work in encaustic (a colored-wax painting process dating back to ancient Egypt) called "Tower II" has a stirring social and political resonance like Cadell's. As Glasgow observes, "Towers have been in all our minds in the past few months and have assumed an iconic place in our lives. Encaustic, purely as medium, appeals to Glasgow for its "mystical and ethereal" qualities and it fits Water's subject admirably."

Merit award winners include William Baker, whose "Square Jar" drew from Glasgow the cry, "For the love of a great pot." Baker's work is "a simple, well executed functional pot," notes Glasgow; this soda and wood fired piece hails from "the TRAC area that has a plethora of accomplished potters and is justly proud." Rolf Eric Holmquist's drawing "What is a Tree Asks the Future Child," finds Glasgow attracted by yet another medium. Holmquist's graphic skill impressed the juror as did his "conceptual play between the geometry and nature," which "engages the mind in a very satisfying exercise."

Kenny Pieper's eye-catching wall display "Satin Blue Goblet Study" featured a wall-mounted display of deep blue glass goblets. Glasgow admits to the seduction of the work: "collections, sets, groups, and multiples are all beguiling in the art world. When one pairs that with the technical acumen apparent in this work, the combination is visually quite powerful."

Jeweler Matt Willig broadened the sweep of media awaiting Mr. Glasgow's eye at the show. It was the "talismanic qualities" of Willig's piece called "Timeline" that struck the juror. What appeared to Glasgow at first to be a simple brooch came to unfold certain ethnographic hints "beyond the mere issue of body adornment." Initial impressions, for this keen observer, soon yielded way to a more provocative insight into Willig's art. Glass artist Rob Levin's "Fin" provoked a devil-may-care response from the roving contemplative: "Sculpture or craft? Who cares? Beauty trumps in this case." What Glasgow singles out about Levin's work is his sensuous and tactile materials. "Altogether pleasing," he notes with satisfaction. And photographer David McRary's work "Awakening" served as a "portal" into a story, into a world seen with "an enhanced focus." For the juror, "Photography is more than image; more than illustration;" for Glasgow it guides one to heightened perception.

The Toe River Arts Council heartily thanks Andrew Glasgow for his sensitive, appreciative remarks about the art he reviewed. He is retired director of the American Craft Council and now dedicates his time to volunteering with United States Artists, an organization that supports artists nationwide, and in developing the Andrew Glasgow Writers Residency Program at Penland School of Crafts. Glasgow is also a trustee of Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.

For further information call or email Kathryn Andree at: (828) 765-0520 or kathryn@toeriverarts.org. Gallery hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM from Monday through Saturday.

View Current Burnsville Gallery Exhibit >