Brandt Gallery

The 81st Annual McLean County Amateur Art Competition-Exhibition opens this Sunday, March 2, with a public awards ceremony at 2:00 p.m. The exhibition will be on view in MCAC’s Brandt Gallery through April 26, 2008.

MCAC received 208 entries for this year’s competition. The juror, Grace Sheese, selected 75 artworks for the exhibition and awarded 24 cash prizes for outstanding works of art by amateur McLean County artists. Grace Sheese recently moved to Bloomington from Eugene, Oregon. She is a studio potter.

This exhibition and awards are made possible by the generosity of the following sponsors: The Alamo II, Ron Bacon, The Copy Shop, Corn Belt Carving Club, Francois Associates Architects, Lynn & Kelly Gray, Ken & Jan Holder, JMC Photo & Digital Services, Sue & Bob Lakin, Rodney & Sarah Litwiller, Fred & Lois Mills, The Pantagraph, John & Paula Pratt, Louise Smith, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Stefl, Irving & Jobie Tick, Timothy Kent Gallery & Framing, Deb & Steve Wannemacher, Patsy & Lynn Webber, and Doug & Margaret Williams.

In conjunction with the 81st Amateur Show, MCAC presents an exhibition of recent artwork by area high school art teachers. Teachers Too highlights the artistic talents of these teachers and applauds their dedication to our area youth. An artists’ reception will be held on Sunday, March 2 from 3pm to 4pm. The exhibition is sponsored by Ron Bacon and Harry & Marlys Stern, and is on view in MCAC’s Armstrong Gallery through April 19, 2008.

Teachers Too features works by: Sharon Angello (Central Catholic High School), Mike Henning (University High School), Marica Hirst (Bloomington High School), Jennifer Kelly (Normal Community High School), Denise LeCount-O'Brien (Tri-Valley High School), Tracy J. Montoya (Hammitt School), Jim Reckard (Central Catholic High School), Jennifer Roseman (Lexington High School), Beth Smith (Normal West Community High School), and Grace Traynor (Normal West Community High School).

81st Annual McLean County Amateur Art Competition-Exhibition
McLean County Arts Center received 208 entries for this year’s competition. The juror, Grace Sheese, selected 75 artworks for the exhibition and awarded 24 cash prizes for outstanding works of art by amateur McLean County artists.

Juror's Statement
Pete Pinnell, a professional artist by just about anyone’s standards, recently claimed that all good potters are “eternal amateurs” because we are “constantly searching for more information from fields across the spectrum of human knowledge so we may develop as artists and better understand our art form.” Although Pinnell was talking about potters, I suspect this sentiment is true in any medium. Making art is about loving the process, about searching and struggling, and always developing. When I juried this show I was pleased to see so many pieces of art work that spoke of technical prowess, passionate ideas and above all else, the love of creating art. Pinnell says, “The word [amateurs] comes from the French `to love,’ because an amateur is someone who does something for love, rather than money. Because of this love, or passion, amateurs often bring an energy and enthusiasm to their studies that professionals can only envy.” In this sense, this show celebrates the amateur in all of us. Here’s to celebrating our eternal amateurism.

-Grace Sheese, Juror

Grace Sheese recently moved to Bloomington from Eugene, Oregon. She is a studio potter. Sheese was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved with her family to the United States when she was eight years old. She received a BA in studio art and elementary education from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. After teaching elementary school for 8 years, Sheese turned her full attention to pottery. Her porcelain thrown forms evoke the elegance of Asian architecture. Their surface decorations, achieved with a combination of hand carving and slip trailing, are inspired by patterns, textures, and carvings from many different Asian cultures. Sheese teaches ceramic workshops and classes as a visiting artist and instructor at community art centers and schools. Her work has been included in many invitational and juried exhibitions across the United States, most recently at Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY, The Clay Studio, Philadephia, PA, Crow Valley Pottery, Eastsound, WA, and Robert E. Wilson Gallery, Huntington University, Huntington, IN, and American Crafts Council San Francisco, CA. Additionally her work has been recently published in Emerging Artists: 2006, Ceramics Monthly, May 2007 and The Gallery, Clay Times, July/August 2007.