Ozark Artery Art Show winners announced

Winners have been announced in the Second Annual Ozark Artery Art Show Competition at the Yellow House. August Earls was chosen by a panel of three judges as the Grand Prize winner with her best of show pen and ink entry "Summer Lights." She also won second place with her acrylic painting, "Onlooker." First place winner is Ann Kulpa with a mixed media piece, "Brown Dog." Third place went to Janet Weilbrenner and Stacy Benesh, with their copper and recycled glass sculpture, "Hercules."

In addition to the overall winners, five artists received awards of excellence based on the judges scoring point totals: Ann Kulpa for her colored pencil and graphite piece "I Will Set Your Stars," Michael McClure for his acrylic painting "Early Snow," Rebecca Earls with a mixed media piece "Philo Bruh," Christina Bontrager for a black and white photo "Turn the Page" and Donna K. Lay with a mixed media piece "Intense."

Three curator awards were chosen by show organizers: Garrett Melby, "Glowing Eagle," an acrylic painting; Dolores Winkler, "Bowl of Fruit," a watercolor and Angela Bullard for her acrylic painting "Phoenix Rising."

In all, there are 30 works in the exhibit by 12 area artists. A representative of the Artery says, "We want to thank all the artists who entered pieces in the show. We are so pleased with the quality of work. The variety in styles and mediums is wonderful. We encourage the community to see the show and to support local artists and crafters by purchasing their work this holiday season."

There is no admission charged to view the show, but visitors will have an opportunity to vote for people's choice. Each vote is one dollar, with proceeds to be split between the winning artist and the Yellow House to help with operating expenses.

The show can be viewed at the Yellow House, 209 W. Trish Knight St., during any scheduled events there through Jan. 10 and at special hours, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 6, 13 and 20. Additional viewing opportunities can be arranged by messaging ozarkarteryinfo@gmail.com. Images of all the entries are also on the Ozark Artery Facebook, but organizers encourage all to see the show in person, especially because several of the pieces are on large canvases and are best appreciated at full scale.

Ozark Artery is a West Plains-based not-for-profit organization established in 2018 to encourage creativity and give local artists and artisans another outlet for artistic expression, with the ongoing goal to help them to sell more of their work, including to a wider audience.