Soap Lake art show continues this weekend

SOAP LAKE - What does a sculpted clay dog's head have in common with a drawing of a hardware store?

They're among the top prize winners of this year's Winterfest Juried Art Show and Sale, which kicked off last weekend and continues this Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. at Soap Lake City Hall, 239 Second Ave. SE.

The eighth annual event drew entries from 147 artists from across the region, including 24 students according to Al Lundberg, who helped organize the show along with other members of the Art Guild of the Soap Lake Area.

Art submissions came from as far away as Okanogan, Ellensburg and Wenatchee, and as nearby as Ephrata, Moses Lake, and Grand Coulee, Lundberg said.

"Once again the show brought various artists of all types vast distances," he said. "The quality improves every year."

This year's show was sponsored by EcoNomic and judged by Bruce and Kathy Clark, owners of Blue Rooster Gallery in Waterville, and Harlan Beagley, publisher of the Columbia Basin Herald, Lundberg said.

The $800 best in show prize went to L.C. Curtis for "Before Walmart," a pen and ink drawing of a turn-of the century hardware store. A $150 prize for best interpretation of the show's theme, "In my Backyard," was awarded to Dan Brown's wood and metal sculpture titled "Great Blue Heron." Another $150 prize went to the best student submission - Tanya Pierson with her clay sculpture of a dog head titled "One Track Mind."

The $150 people's choice award is still up for grabs and divisional award recipients are as follows:

Painting - Don Nutt, sculpture - Dan Brown, drawing - Riley Hoke, photography - Brent Blake and mixed media - Libby Sullivan.

Lundberg said the show doesn't differentiate between students and professionals because every year seems to bring a mixed bag of winners. Nutt, for instance, is a professional artist while Hoke is 8 years old, he said.

"It's a wide open show," he said. "The judges are always surprised by which works are submitted by students."

The show helps the Soap Lake art guild follow through on its purpose - getting more artists exposure. A big aspect of this is putting works up for sale, Lundberg said.

"Part of the development of being an artist is learning to share, then letting it go to someone who will enjoy it to the extent that they'll buy it," he said.

Among the works on offer this year is a painting by former Soap Lake Mayor M. R. Newell, now deceased, which Lundberg said wasn't eligible for judging but does have a tentative buyer.

"There's been a steady flow of people," he said of this year's show. "Word is getting out to Wenatchee, Quincy, Othello - if people have company in town before Christmas this is the place to bring them."

For more information call 509-246-0566 or visit www.soaplakeforlocals.com.