Arts, Beats & Eats Announces Winners of Juried Fine Art Fair

The Juried Fine Arts Show at Ford Arts, Beats & Eats presented by Citizens Bank today announced the recipients of several distinguished awards at a special artists’ breakfast held this morning at the festival in Royal Oak.

Lisa Konikow and Donna Beaubien, co-directors of the Juried Fine Arts Show, acknowledged nearly 140 artists for their talents and creativity. Cash prizes totaling $7,500 were awarded in multiple categories.

The fair is consistently recognized among the top art events in the United States, including ranking in the top 50 fair in the country for all of the fair’s existence by Sunshine Artist magazine. It is estimated there are more than 3,000 art fairs in the country.

Along with their prizes, they will enjoy an open invitation to participate in Arts, Beats and Eats in 2013.

Best of Show: Xiao Jiang–Painting–Scarborough, Ontario
First Place: Bruce Holwerda–Painting–Hoover, AL
Second Place: Michael Stephens–Jewelry, non-precious–Edinburg, PA
Third Place: Joyce Stewart (Jes Irie Wear)–Fabic/Fiber Leather–Central Islip, NY

Awards of Excellence:

• Celeste North Gerlach–Glass–Louisville, KY
• Allan Teger–Photography-Vero Beach, FL
• Steve Anderson–Sculpture–Cedar Springs, MI
• David O’Dell–Graphics/Printmaking Lake Orion, MI
• Bruce Green–Ceramics–Micanopy, FL

Other awards were presented to individuals who distinguished themselves in areas beyond a specific media. These included:

Spirit of the City: Sean McDougal (Dysfunctional Design)–Metal – Kingston, PA – for work that exemplifies urban life

Golden Dolly: Karyn Kozo of Rochester Hills–for supporting the efforts of an artist and dedication to the art fair industry for supporting James Parker

The selections were made with the assistance of an expert panel of four professional jurors: Ken Graning, former illustrator and painter from Holly, MI; Donald Calloway, Detroit painter and former Arts, Beats & Eats exhibiting artist; Christine Laikind, a deaf painter, teacher at the College for Creative Studies and owner of the Firebrick Gallery in Rochester and Mark Beltchenko, a Grosse Pointe resident and top 10 finalist in the Detroit River Days fine art show.

“We have been fortunate to attract an outstanding line-up this year of fine artists from across North America to Ford Arts, Beats & Eats. They have added something wonderful to this festival for all our visitors,” said Konikow.  “Importantly, this Juried Fine Arts Show continues to hold an important place in the art world.”