By Scott D. Johnston
For The GH News Group
One of the longest-running annual events on the North Coast, the 45th edition of the Fine Art, Photography & 3-D Show will be presented by Associated Arts of Ocean Shores on June 28-30. The show will be held in the Ocean Shores Convention Center in conjunction with the Five Star Dealerships Sand and Sawdust Festival.
This year’s event is a completely juried art show with no open divisions as in the past. Artists from across the nation have been invited to enter up to five pieces of original work and compete for cash awards totaling more than $6,000, including a $750 Best of Show award.
Artists have entered more than 130 pieces in three divisions: fine art, which includes oils, acrylics, pen, pencil, watercolor, pastel, and two-dimensional mixed media; photography, which includes film, digital and electronic media; and three-dimensional, which includes fiber art, wood carvings, leather work, metal, stained glass and sculptures.
Entries have come from as far away as Florida and Kansas, as well as Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. Marissa Laubscher, project manager of the ArtsWA Art in Public Places Program of the Washington State Arts Commission, will be the judge. All entries will be judged from original works and will be for sale.
Show co-coordinator Kathy Harris said the question, “How did you do this and where do you get your ideas,” is one of the questions most commonly asked of the artists, and has inspired a new element to be featured in this year’s show. There will be live presentations from artists Jacqueline Horton, current AAOS president and jewelry maker, AAOS vice president LoniLou Laquill, an acrylic artist, and Karin Phifer, a color pencil artist.
The demonstrations will be ongoing throughout the three days of the show. Harris said festival-goers “will be able to observe the progress of artwork in its creation, ask questions about the media used, techniques and choices made during the process.” They will be able to learn about materials incorporated in each of the artists’ works, their preferred tools and tricks.
“This is a true peek behind the scenes of the creative process in three very different types of art,” she explained.
There is no admission charge for the show. AAOS leaders have long said they consider the show a gift to the people of Ocean Shores and the North Coast. It is funded by another long-running annual event, the AAOS Arts & Crafts Show at the Convention Center on Labor Day Weekend.
More information on AAOS is available at www.associatedarts.org. Information on the Sand and Sawdust Festival is at www.sandandsawdust.org.
