NEW: Artists display pieces at annual Fall Show

Posted: Saturday, September 5, 2009 12:00 am

Peter Adelsen Perspective staff writer padelsen@kokomoperspective.com | 0 comments

Many local artists are showing their works at the annual Fall Show at the Kokomo Art Center.

The show runs 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at the Kokomo Art Center, 525 W. Ricketts St, near Highland Park. The awards reception will be Sept. 13 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Fall Show has been an annual occurrence for more than 25 years. Non-members and members were invited to participate in the show.

"We were really fortunate this year that we have gotten a lot of new people to enter the show," said Sue Barnhart, Fall Show chairperson. "We received 46 pieces this year, which is better than average. These are really quality pieces."

This year's independent judge was Marlene Espinoza of Logansport, she said. Espinoza divided the art into professional and non-professional. The judge spent more than an hour analyzing and staring at every piece, she said.

She said the judge also provides a written critique of each piece to see what she was thinking when she looked at each piece of art. For the first time since the show began, the art association asked the judge and the artists if they minded if the comments were displayed, she said, and all but two said yes. So, they decided to display the comments.

"We can look at every piece that she looked at almost through her own eyes," she said.

The artists also provided a little story that could go with their piece on what inspired it or what technique they used, she said.

This year's awards reception will also be presenting the Betty Jo Lee Award. Lee died on July 2 and has been a long-time member of the art association. Lee asked that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the art association, said Celeste Seay, president of the Kokomo Art Association.

"We decided with these contributions we would dedicate a special award in the Fall Show because she always entered the Fall Show," Seay said.

The art association invited some of her surviving offspring to judge for the Betty Jo Lee Award. The cash prize is $50 rather than give out the entire amount received, Seay said. The association wanted to be able to do the award as an ongoing thing, she said.

Check out our photo album from this year's Fall Show.

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