“Lunch at the Rookery” by Theresa Beaubouef. Courtesy of Nancy Lowentritt
The Hammond Art Guild is seeking new artists for their 56th spring open exhibition in April.
The spring show is to open on April 6 from 5-8 p.m. and entry forms are available now for anyone interested. Works of art are not entered until Apr. 2 because the work will not be prescreened until then.
President of the Hammond Art Guild Nancy Lowentritt explained that they are expecting at least 100 entries for the judges to award first, second, third and honorable mention to. This year, Professor of Sculpture Jeff Mickey, will be the sole judge in all categories.
“We are thrilled that Jeff will judge the show,” said Lowentritt. “His 15 years of experience in many art venues, lectures and awards all over the country give him the wealth of experience needed to take on this job. He has also owned and operated a design company with over 20 employees, building residential homes, restaurants and industrial construction before he started teaching.”
Mickey’s past experiences operating his own business and being the curator of the culture sculpture exhibit at the Hammond Regional Arts Center led Lowentritt to invite Mickey to be the judge.
Students of the university are welcomed into the judged exhibition to help them understand what it may be like down the line in their professional careers.
“They might sell a piece or be awarded a ribbon and possible cash,” said Lowentritt. “They will begin to receive recognition and have their style and medium recognized in other events. If they become members, they will be invited to exhibit at our May show hosted by Oak Knoll Country Club at no charge where their art will be viewed by a totally different sector of the Hammond regional area.”
Retired computer science professor Theresa Beaubouef has been a member of the Hammond Art Guild since August 2014 and has participated in the spring exhibitions since then.
“The spring show has been in May each year that I participated, but this year it will be in April,” said Beaubouef. “Last year, one of my paintings, “Tidal Dance,” a watercolor, won the People’s Choice award for the show. This award is one that was voted on by all the people who come out to see the show at the opening reception. I was very excited to win the award because there were well over 100 entries in the show, and the artwork is all of amazing quality, so it is highly competitive.”
Beaubouef described how she thought this event is one of the best shows held throughout the year at the Hammond Regional Arts Center because of the environment at the opening of the event.
“Everyone has a great time, food, music, art raffle, voting for People’s Choice award, and hanging out with the artists and viewing some beautiful art,” said Beaubouef. “I look forward to this event all year, and am definitely planning to participate again this year.”
For prospects wanting to register in the event, artwork can be submitted under the following categories: two dimensional art, three dimensional art and image development. For more information on awards or for registration, visit www.hamartguild.com.
