The weekend of Saturday, Feb. 29 and Sunday, March 1 saw this year’s version of the Valley Art Association’s annual juried art show, The Carriage Art Show, staged at the Gene Bianchi Community Center in Oakdale.
Artists from throughout the region could apply to have artwork accepted for the show.
This year the Best in Show was awarded to Joan Cardoza for her portrait entitled ‘Remembering the Past’. The work is a photo-realistic portrait in pastel inspired by a photograph taken by her sister.
Other top awards went to George E. Simmons, Mayors Award, Spanish Dancer; Andrea Morris, Carriage Award, Bridled Power; Cali Roberson, Western, Meet & Greet. Judges this year were Eric Bjerke, Leslie Oksen and Georgia Herrick.
Artwork was featured in the following categories: Oil and Acrylic, Watermedia, Pastels, Graphics, Mixed Media, Photography, Fiber Art and Sculpture.
Each year the Carriage Art Show raises money for the Valley Art Association’s scholarship fund through entry fees and raffle proceeds. Each year the Association awards three $500 scholarships to high school seniors who go on to college to pursue arts education studies. The deadline for consideration is the end of March and, at the Association’s monthly meeting, the prospective candidates each give a presentation describing themselves and their work. The scholarships are awarded the following month. The scholarships are open to residents of the greater Central Valley. For more information contact Vonnie Muniain, president of the Association. Last year only a single student applied for the scholarship and subsequently was awarded the sum of the three available scholarships.
For those interested in the arts that would like to check out the Valley Art Association, it meets the first Tuesday night of the month, 6:30 p.m., at the Scout Hall, 3017 High St., in Riverbank. The group promotes a diverse membership representing all media. Each meeting features a demonstration and some members also offer classes. Along with Muniain serving as president, officers for 2020 include Marilyn Zinner, vice president; Sarah Korupp, secretary; Steve Park, treasurer.
The show this year was sponsored by the City of Oakdale, Valley Art Association and Oakdale Tourism and Visitors Bureau.
