WHITEFISH FALLS—The Whitefish Falls Community Centre was a buzzing hive of activity as the annual artists’ reception and award ceremony got underway on Friday, June 28. Little Current artist Cliff Jewell was once again nominated for Best of Show with his stunning ‘Between the Lines’ treatment of a Goat Island scene leading an outstanding group of artists that Artist emeritus Ivan Wheale, co-founder of the La Cloche Art Show, pronounced as “one of the best I have ever seen.”
“Seems like a heck of a long time ago,” said Mr. Wheale regarding the founding of the juried art exhibition in his address to the assembled artists. “I would just like to congratulate all of the artists that are here whether you are accepted into the show or not. We all began in the same fashion. Once in a while things really go the way you want them to, the rest of the time they don’t work out. But if you keep on trying, they always work out. Thank you.”
The Ivan Wheale Award was presented to Beth Bouffard for ‘Out of Our Element, while the other co-founder’s award, the Peg Forbes Memorial Award was presented to Paulette Stewart for ‘Chippewa Falls, Algoma.’ The Art Committee’s Choice Award was presented to Donna Kanerva for ‘Autumn Sun.’
The Patricia L. Meehan Award for elementary school art was presented to Lena Laasanen for ‘The Fishies.’ In the Grade 1-3 division, Zach Degrace was awarded first place for ‘The Sunset.’ Second place went to Lily Massicotte for ‘Pumpkin Patch.’ Honourable mentions went to Aivah St. Amour for ‘The Bird’ and Desmond Bussieres for ‘The Lake of Calm.’
In the Grade 4-5 division, first place went to Bronson Migwans for ‘Pink Flamingo,’ second place went to Brenna Pollard for ‘Fire Dragon,’ and honourable mentions went to Maddy Gilbert for ‘Galaxy,’ and Hunter Lecuyer for ‘The Love of Nature.’
In the Grade 6-8 division, Hazel Nicholas was awarded first place for ‘Flowers Gleam and Glow,’ second place was awarded to Estephany Cordero-Meija for ‘Stations of Emotions,’ and honourable mentions were awarded to Cassie Tilston for ‘Rainbow’ and Kihanna Toulouse for ‘Birch Trees.’
Schools participating in the juried exhibition include: A.B. Ellis Public School (Espanola), Sacred Heart Catholic School (Espanola), Shawanosowe School (Birch Island) and Little Current Public School (Little Current).
In the adult divisions, Robert Potvin took first place in the acrylic category, second place going to Cliff Jewell for ‘Settling’ and honourable mention went to Bonnie Hallay for ‘Tall Trees.’
In the drawing division, Christie Pearson-Anderson was awarded first place for ‘Barnyard Gossips,’ second place was awarded to Astrid Colton for ‘River Otter’ and honourable mention went to Christine Bassett for ‘Fossils.’
In mixed media, Linda Finn’s ‘The Ones That Didn’t Get Away’ took first place, with Raymonde Beland’s ‘Le Reine des Raines’ taking second place. Honourable mention went to Jody Pilon for ‘The Artist.’
In the oil division, Penny Bois took first place for ‘Summer Mood.’ Ms. Bois shared that the subject matter, her daughter who was then 14, was not amused at having her picture taken. Donna Kanerva took second place for ‘November Sun.’ Honourable mentions went to Paulette Stewart for ‘Chippewa Falls, Algoma’ and Fay Reid for ‘Solitude.’
In the pastel division, Beth Bouffard won first place for ‘Hidden Gems’ and Sally Assinewai won second place for ‘Old Friends.’ Honourable mention went to Donna Kanerva for ‘You Said Apples?’
In the photography division, first place went to Debbie Anzinger-McKay for ‘Eastern Screech Owl,’ second place went to Bob Blaney for ‘Moon Shadow’ and honourable mentions were given to Jocelyn Bousquet for ‘Raccoon Peek-A-Boo,’ Scott Anderson for ‘Fire in the Sky’ and Debby Anzinger-McKay for ‘Gray Wolf.’
In the sculpture division, Don Alemany took first place for ‘Chokecherry Wine’ and Vic Laberge took second place for ‘Forever Home.’ Honourable mention went to Shannon Farquhar for ‘Idolized.’
Rounding out this year’s awards were the watercolour division, in which Judy Boyd took first place for ‘Upper Chippewa Falls’ and Richard Edwards took second place for ‘Sunpoint.’ Honourable mention went to Laurie Brabick for ‘Cardero.’
This year’s distinguished artist is Martin Kotyluk, who has provided three pieces for this year’s door prize draws, sponsored through a generous donation by the Espanola Lions Club. Mr. Kotyluk’s works include two paintings and a letter opener forged from a railroad spike.
This year’s art show committee included Sue Miron, Amy Collins, Judith Mosher, Heather Nicholson and Irene Kivikink.
Jurors for the show consisted of Martin Kotyluk (fine art), Wendy Geden (fine art), Tony Geden (fine art), Paul Grimard (photography) and Brenda Houle (photography).
Mr. Wheale’s works on display, as artist emeritus, are not included in the judging but remain a highlight of the show. This year his works ‘The Fence,’ Rock Power’ and ‘Seagrass’ were presented. Mr. Wheale’s works can also be found at Perivale Gallery in Spring Bay and his work is currently the focus of an exhibition at the Gore Bay Museum.
