100+ artists will compete for $8,000 in cash prizes in a two-week, public and juried art contest in Grayling, MI, hosted by AuSable Artisan Village in partnership with Kirtland Community College.
The public will vote to determine one artist to take home $5,000. The artist whose work receives the most votes will win the Kirtland Community College Grand Prize.
The juror will award three artists $1,000 each for outstanding artworks.
The public will also vote to determine one venue to win $500 for an outstanding exhibit experience.
Detroit native Jef Bourgeau is an artist and curator who pioneered digital paintings on canvas using scanners and digital inkjet technology. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums across Europe, Asia and the United States.
AuSable Artisan Village is a non-profit art center featuring a retail co-op art gallery of dozens of Michigan artists, a live performance stage, and a Creativity Center for classes & workshops.
Our purpose is to initiate and support art & creative activities that stimulate economic & cultural development of the Grayling community & Northern Michigan region.
View our website here: artisanvillage.org
$5,000 Kirtland Community College Grand Prize
Some Gave All is a collection of life-size wooden figures depicting the artist's interpretation of the sacrifices made by United States soldiers, as well as a visual depiction of the "mechanical" psychological state of these men & women. Each figure is assembled from various individual pieces of different species of wood.
$1,000 Graying Promotional Association Juror Awards
Confidential Secret is an intimate and confrontational hyper-realism charcoal portrait drawing of a young African woman. According to the artist, this piece is a contribution to the Stop The Rape campaign in Nigeria, where abuse of young people is an ongoing epidemic.
Artist Kim Froese from Howard City, MI is a textile artist working with hornet’s nest paper. Crazy Paper, an abstract painting, stands over six feet tall, “painted” with various species of hornet’s nest paper and sealed with an ultra resilient, high-gloss finish. The multitude of paper swirls are reminiscent of Van Goh’s iconic impressionist brush strokes, in neutral and natural browns, grays, and whites, assembled into an improvised composition. Kim’s other work includes found objects and sculptures covered in bee paper. Two of her large sculptures are owned by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.
Lost & Found is a series of six multi-media illustrations. The series explores the theme of playful adventure as a prescription for the lost, and uses imagination to re-enforce a positive outlook for the lossee. The main character - a plush toy animal - shares a bond between the human world and the natural world. Diverse scenes of action incorporate a range of different Michigan wildlife. In the end, we learn that as long as we let innocence run free, we'll never be lost.
100+ artists competed for $8,000 in cash prizes in a two-week, public and juried art contest in Grayling, MI, hosted by AuSable Artisan Village in partnership with Kirtland Community College.
Read MoreDetroit native Jef Bourgeau is an artist and curator who pioneered digital paintings on canvas using scanners and digital inkjet technology. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums across Europe, Asia and the United States.
AuSable Artisan Village is a non-profit art center featuring a retail co-op art gallery of dozens of Michigan artists, a live performance stage, and a Creativity Center for classes & workshops.
Our purpose is to initiate and support art & creative activities that stimulate economic & cultural development of the Grayling community & Northern Michigan region.
View our website here: artisanvillage.org
