West Virginia Juried Exhibition honors

"Mumbles and Squeaks"

I am very pleased to report that when I attended the opening of the West Virginia Juried Exhibiton in Martinsburg, W.Va., on Nov. 24, I learned that I was among the award winners!

The biennial exhibition features 53 works created by 46 West Virginia artists. West Virginia Division of Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith told the group that jurors Samantha Wall and Julie Peppito reviewed more than 500 entries for the exhibition.

Of the 53 pieces, 18 won awards. The Governor's Awards (3) are valued at $5,000; the Awards of Excellence (7) are valued at $2,000; and the Merit Awards (8) are valued at $500.

I am proud to say that I was among the Merit Award winners.

Here I am, looking at my painting at the 2013 West Virginia Juried Exhibition!

Simply getting into this exhibition has been one of my goals since 2007, and this was the first year that I made the attempt. So just having my painting on the wall was my prize - that I won an award is a bonus.

The press release from the Division, which lists all the participants, can be found here: http://www.wvculture.org/news.aspx?Agency=Division&Id=2382

A gallery of the award winning pieces can be found here: http://wvculture.zenfolio.com/juried

And images from the exhibition's opening, including me receiving my award, can be found here: http://wvculture.zenfolio.com/juriedopening