ART IN QUARANTINE

An exhibition of artwork that was produced to maintain normalcy, find new ways to stay busy, make sense of crisis and process stress and grief during COVID-19.

Sixty-four artworks were submitted to the “Art in Quarantine” exhibition by 35 artists including many paintings, drawings, prints and photographs, as well as sculptures, ceramics and digital media. Submissions were primarily from regional artists, but some came from as far away as New Hampshire and Montana! Five finalists were selected by our panel of jurors. Awards for these finalists were selected by popular vote on Facebook between August 2 - 7.

We are pleased to announce the winners of Art in Quarantine:

Best of Show - $500 cash prize - Agnes Turman, Water Birds
1st Place award - $150 Richeson Art Supplies Gift Certificate - George Kassal, Path in the Woods
2nd Place award - $125 Richeson Art Supplies Gift Certificate - Connie Kassal, Faith, Hope and Charity
3rd Place award - $100 Richeson Art Supplies Gift Certificate - Margi Hafer, Captive Summer
Honorable Mention - $50 Glenn L. Firme & Associates Gift Certificate - Jesse Johnson, Sacred Creation A Wake Up Call For Peace

Thanks to all who made art and submitted, our judges for reviewing and lending expertise, our donors and supporters, our volunteers for organizing, and to our audience for voting. This was a collaborative process!

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"Water Birds", Agnes Turman (Sparkling Plaster, Foam Putty, Garden Stakes, Scrap Wood, Spray Paint)

Voted Best of Show - $500 cash prize.
At the beginning of quarantine I watched a crane feeding at the waters edge out my back window. I was taken by his awkward grace. As if he was a ballet dancer. This moved me to begin sculpting Water Birds.

"Path in the Woods", George Kassal (Photographic Print on Canvas)

1st Place award - $150 Richeson Art Supplies Gift Certificate.
Since the quarantine began, my photo excursions have been limited to walking the dog in our neighborhood and making short trips to sparsely visited, nearby parks. This photo was taken during one of these visits to a favorite location, Bluhm County Park. The path reminds me of the position we find ourselves in, these days. Unsure of where the trail is leading, confined on all sides. and nothing to do but endure and persist.

"Faith, Hope and Charity", Connie Kassal (Reverse Painting on Glass)

2nd Place award - $125 Richeson Art Supplies Gift Certificate.
The first part of pandemic experience was too filled with too many distracting unknown dangers and changes for me to create artwork. Loss of in person contact with fellow artist and writer friends made me feel isolated, and I grieved for the absence of extended family. The news was filled with fear, anger, but also compassion. I eventually returned to drawing human forms, despite being isolated. Three classic female faces emerged in this glass piece. “Faith”, on the left, Is startled by a church and choir setting being the location of the initial spread of the virus. How will faith find a way? “Hope“, in the middle, never gives up, but is getting a little concerned. “Charity”, on the right, looks for ways to help from her isolated location at home.

"Captive Summer", Margaret Hafer (Watercolor)

3rd Place award - $100 Richeson Art Supplies Gift Certificate.
Entangled, yet separate, we struggle to survive. We strive to be free and return to what we thought was normal, but now there is a new normal and we are caught-up in a stagnant fear of death.

"Sacred Creation A Wake Up Call For Peace", Jesse Johnson (Oil on Canvas, and Mannequinn)

Honorable Mention - $50 Glenn L. Firme & Associates Gift Certificate.
We seemed to be scaling back to a time of uncertainty with race wars going on and systematic racism during this pandemic nightmare. I wanted the viewer to see what I see, to see what African Americans see with the constant threat of violence within our own communities. Black on black crime helps to stimulate these polar attitudes from the constant struggles plagued by our government, white supremacy and systematic racism. This oil painting, "Sacred Creations, A Wake Up Call For Peace," is uniquely put together to allow the viewer to gravitate to the beauty and joy of Africans at play in the water minding their own business when suddenly life as we know it is interrupted.The mannequin is used to inform these manufactures that this representation of a woman is disrespectful and tragic that they would have no head on the mannequin, which to me symbolizes no brain and as if this thing is the perfect woman. I used it to say to them this is my canvas I do not see anything else by painting over it, I reject it's use the way it is intended. Every woman is perfect to her liking. This has so many levels and layers with meaning that I also leave it to interpretation for the viewers.

"Citrus Pandemonium", Claudia Tummond (Ibis Paint X)

I had been working on this piece on an off for about a week, when one day my roommated decoratively assorted a pineapple stem into the fruit bowl. Which In turn fueled me to add a twist to what I already had been working on. Digital Media

"Serenity", Laurie Franke Polz (Oil on Canvas)

Artwork depicts treasured childhood memories.

"Someone Who's Anyone", Jessie Johnson (Oil on Canvas)

To be recognized not by the color of my skin but by the content of my character, this is open for interpretation by the viewers. I decided to paint this without details of a face and as a silhouette to discourage people from being so judgmental. I wanted to create this space that everyone is created equal, although we really don't get a sense that that statement is true.

"Let'Er Roll", Kathleen Wetstein (Collage using Acrylic Paint, Newspaper and Cardboard)

My piece is a salubrious reaction to the ludicrosity surrounding the perceived toilet paper shortage at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The newspaper clippings are in the shape of the Bridger Mountains, which is my view from my quarantine here in Montana. It is also a nod to the mountains of toilet paper hoarded. At the base of the mountain is an embellished newspaper clipping depicting a package of Charmin Toilet Paper using haystack rolls, created by some local kids. There are 19 floating toilet paper rolls just because it looks cool and hey, COVID 19, right? And yes, there is a vestigial representation of the Corona Virus in cobalt blue. I am not a trained artist, but I do enjoy creating whimsical, offbeat pieces. Thank you for this opportunity to share. Be Well!

"Bird on Flower", Carol Jeslis (Paint by Numbers)

Don't know if this qualifies, but fun to paint while quarantined.

"Bloom Iris", Carol Jeslis (Samsung s8 Cellphone)

Gorgeous iris blooming in my front yard.

"Rain Man", Michael Seefeldt (Paper negatives, homemade pinhole cameras, scanned and inverted, blended in Photoshop)

This image is the result of blending two pinhole photographs together. The first was an image taken during a rain storm with a homemade pinhole camera and a paper negative. The second image is a 365 day solargraph. The paper got moldy and resulted in an abstract image. I merged the two images in Photoshop. I kind of think of it as a Van Gogh Rain Man.

"Christopher Center Library", Michael Seefeldt (Paper negatives, homemade pinhole cameras, scanned and inverted, blended in Photoshop)

I used a beer can and a paper negative to create this anamorphic image of the VU Library.

"As the World Turns", Michael Seefeldt (Beer Can, Paper Negative, Scanner, PS Express)

This image is the result of a 155 day exposure facing south. Each white line represents the sun for that day. Breaks in the lines are cloudy days.

"Trepidation", Scott Miller (Photography)

When surrounded by chaos, what better time to discover isolated moments of tranquility. Turn off the TV, close out of social media, and take a walk out the front door. Don’t read about the world around you, experience it. Find yourself appreciating the little things all around you and from time to time, capture those moments.

"My Kind of City Life", Scott Miller (Photography)

"Carol's Pink Moon", Mariann Straw (Soft Pastel/Pastel Pencil)

My friend Carol took a picture of the April 2020 Pink Moon, and then tested it to me since we were all hunkered down and staying socially distant during the initial days of the pandemic. This painting reminds me we can find ways to appreciate nature together even when we have to be apart.

"Jodi and Jasper", Mariann Straw (Soft Pastel/Pastel Pencil)

As the stay at home order continued into spring, one way to feel connected to family was through capturing likenesses on paper, This is my daughter Jodi and her cat Jasper. Jodi is a nurse, and continues to work during the pandemic - she ends her workday with cuddles on the couch with Jasper.

"Lessons From Tomorrow", Nicholas Dapkus (Adobe Illustrator)

If you could go back and teach your younger self one thing, what would it be? There are always things we wished we knew earlier or could do younger in life. This pandemic tested us by forcing us to be more self sufficient since we had to go with living without a lot of things for a period of time. So from what you had to learn/teach yourself, what would you choose to teach a younger version of yourself if given the chance? To give a younger you a better chance at getting through dark times like this than you had. Are you able to teach what you would want to?

"Almost Spring', Mary Ann Pals (Charcoal, Graphite)

I've been doing a lot of hiking during quarantine, taking advantage of the many trails at the IN Dunes. I encountered this scene while hiking one cold day in early spring as all the snow and ice were starting to thaw. The stark stillness of the scene leant itself to my using only drawing tools, keeping the focus on the black & white drama. There was an anticipatory feeling in the air of spring's colorful burst just around the corner. It gave me hope.

"Fringe Jackets", Mary Ann Pals (Pastel)