2015 SC Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition winners announced

Fine craft artists and artisans from across South Carolina were invited to participate in the 14th Annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition, the state’s only juried fine craft competition and exhibition. Organized annually by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, the show was presented May 1-9 as a component of the 2015 North Charleston Arts Festival.

Following an extensive pre-jury process, 41 applicants were asked to participate and 104 entries were submitted in the categories of clay, fiber, metal, wood, and 3D mixed media. Cash awards totaling $5,000 were made at the sole discretion of the juror, internationally renowned jeweler and paper artist, Jocelyn Chateauvert. After making her selections, Chateauvert stated, “The exciting part about jurying this show was imagining the hand working each element and surface of the artwork. It is evidence of the hand and choice of materials to convey a thought or feeling that is most compelling whether the medium be wood, ceramic, or the stuff from everyday life.”

After awarding ribbons, Chateauvert also selected pieces from the show to assemble a South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Traveling Exhibition, which will tour the state through the South Carolina State Museum’s 2015/2016 Traveling Exhibitions Program. The Traveling Exhibitions Program gives galleries, museums, and art centers across South Carolina the opportunity to request the exhibit to tour their facilities, thus providing additional exposure for the selected artists.

In addition to awards given by the juror, four pieces were selected for City of North Charleston Purchase Awards. These pieces will be added to the City of North Charleston’s Permanent Public Art Collection, which is on display within North Charleston City Hall throughout most of the year.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 SC Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition:

Best of Show
Drawn Images from Garden (Mixed Media) by Cynthia Colbert (Okatie, SC)

Outstanding Merit

• Segmented Bowl (Wood) by Kenny Teague (Charleston, SC)
• In Box CXXXVII (Fiber) by Susan Lenz (Columbia, SC)

City of North Charleston Purchase Awards

• Draped Vase (Fused Glass) by Tanya Craig (Charleston, SC)
• Flower Pot (Clay) by Justin Guy (Trenton, SC)
• Ebb & Flow (Porcelain) by Annie Rhodes Lee (Folly Beach, SC)
• Mosquito (Forged Steel) by Sean Williams (Charleston, SC)

Honorable Mention

• Indigo in the Lowcountry (Fiber) by Arianne King Comer (North Charleston, SC)
• Cardinal and the Showgirls (Fiber) by Ron Hodge (Bluffton, SC)
• Vessel No. 370 (Metal) by Lee Sipe (Columbia, SC)
• In the Garden (Mixed Media) by Georgette Wright Sanders (McClellanville, SC)
• Oblong Piece (Fused Glass) by Tanya Craig (Charleston, SC)
• Nesting Firefly Bowls (Porcelain) by Miyako Fujiwara (Charleston, SC)
• Flower Pot (Clay) by Justin Guy (Trenton, SC)
• Tin Can Mitt (Mixed Media) by Dennis Vernon (Okatie, SC)
• A Tiger for James (Mixed Media) by Sam Garvey (Charleston, SC)
• Legs of Steel (Forged Steel) by Sean Williams (Charleston, SC)
• Seaweed Bowl I (Porcelain) by Annie Rhodes Lee (Folly Beach, SC)
• Meeting Street House (Mixed Media) by Deane Bowers (Seabrook Island, SC)

SC Palmetto Hands Traveling Exhibition Selections

• Segmented Bowl (Wood) by Kenny Teague (Charleston, SC) Indigo in the Lowcountry (Fiber) by
• Arianne King Comer (North Charleston, SC)
• Untitled (Re-purposed Plastic)by Tabitha Ott (Cayce, SC)
• Untitled (Re-purposed Metal) by Tabitha Ott (Cayce, SC)
• Spirit Horse (Mixed Media) by Brian McBride (Summerville, SC)
• Oblong Piece (Fused Glass) by Tanya Craig (Charleston, SC)
• Flower Pot (Clay) by Justin Guy (Trenton, SC)
• Seaweed Bowl I (Porcelain) by Annie Rhodes Lee (Folly Beach, SC)
• A Tiger for James (Mixed Media) by Sam Garvey (Charleston, SC)
• Bone Twig Votive (Mixed Media) by Kim Keats (Okatie, SC)
• Opening Day Jitters (Mixed Media) by Dennis Vernon (Okatie, SC)
• In Box CXXXVII (Fiber) by Susan Lenz (Columbia, SC)
• Meeting Street House (Mixed Media) by Deane Bowers (Seabrook Island, SC)
• Barn on McCleod (Fiber) by Arianne King Comer (North Charleston, SC)
• Necklace and Earrings (Silver) by Jo Ann Graham (St. Helena, SC)
• Intrinsic Memories (Glass) by William Austin Norvell (North Charleston, SC)
• Drawn Images from Garden (Mixed Media) by Cynthia Colbert (Okatie, SC)

For more information about the South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition and other exhibition opportunities, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854, email culturalarts@northcharleston.org, or visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com. Organizations interested in hosting the traveling exhibition should contact the South Carolina State Museum Traveling Exhibits Program at 803-737-4159 or tep@scmuseum.org.

Via: North Charleston Cultural Arts Department

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