Local Artists Show Winners Chosen at Chandler Gallery

This fanciful three-dimensional work by Randolph artist Philip Godenschwager was the "Judge's Favorite" at this year's Local ArtistsShow at the Chandler Gallery.

From year to year the committee coordinating the annual Local Artists Show at Chandler doesn’t know until the last minute what kind of show it will be. Will the walls be bare? Or will the gallery be a cacophony of images and color? Somehow, coordinators Nina Gaby, Ken Goss and Andrea Easton concur, "it all works out."

Attendees at last Saturday night’s opening saw entries by over 50 artists in a variety of media, with a strong showing from the region’s photographers. Given the difficult task of deciding on the awards were judges Ronni Solbert, prominent local artist, Robin Palmer from Gifford Medical Center, and Ric Kadour of Kasini House, publisher of the Vermont Gallery Guide and regional reviewer for Art New England.

In honor of the Fiddlehead Festival at Chandler May 5, this year’s Committee Pick, an award given by the Committee for a piece that demonstrates skill and a sense of the locale, reflecting the theme of Vermont’s "working landscape," was awarded to Robert Eddy. His oil painting entitled "Randolph Center, North View" won for the best "Impression of Vermont." The artists who were selected as best in their category are given a group show in 2008.

Awards

The Judges’ Favorite: Philip Godenschwager, Randolph, "It Just So Happened that Day the Whole World was Watching;" Best Student Entry: Hannah Butterfield, Randolph Union High School, Father and Daughter; Best in Mixed Media: David Hurwitz, Randolph, Ingot Triptych; Best Two-Dimensional Entry: Kate Reeves, Woodstock, Lingering at the Pond; Best 3-Dimensional Entry: Dick Ellsworth, Randolph, Poisonwood Bowl.

Best in Photography: Emily Stone, Worcester, Blood Lines.

Honorable Mention: Bill Rice, Randolph, Butternut Blacksmith; Helen Johnson, Williamstown, Primitive Fruit; Galen Cheney, Middlesex, Forevermore Goodbye; Mary Jane Naylor, Berlin, Shadows at Berlin Pond; Wayne Fawbush, Montpelier, Fiddlehead; Nina Gaby, Brookfield, Shots with Spots; Janet Van Fleet, Cabot, Red Moon Rising; The Zimet Family, Randolph, Sea Life/Prehistoric; Gary Farnham, Roxbury, On Ice; and Ted Danforth, Bethel, Route 12 to Woodstock.

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