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We found the judge's remarks at the Cass County Regional Gallery artists' reception February 4th to be so interesting and right on the mark that we felt the public would enjoy reading them. Our judge, Robert Nowalk, went off-script several times and what he had to say was intensely relevant to arts and culture in Southwest Michigan and Michiana in general. Unfortunately we only have what he wrote for us, but you will likely find it apropos in his consideration of each piece. Enjoy!        
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 Winter is upon us, and that's a sure sign that we are preparing to host our 5th semi-annual Cass County Regional Gallery open exhibit. We hope to have more participants than ever this year as we continue to offer cash prizes and absolutely no fees ever! You can get all the information and entry tags by clicking on the "Forms" button at the top of this page. Saturday, January 28 is when we'll be taking in art for the show, so put that in your calendar and we'll see you then! This exhibit is made possible in part by a grant from MEC Building Vibrant Communities Grants 
Who could ask for more? Our opening reception for the Fourth Regional Exhibit at the Cass County Regional Gallery was held on Saturday, August 6, and from the looks of it a good time was had by all. $1200 in prizes were awarded to artists, and you can see the prize winners in this video. Our judge did a good job of explaining her criteria for winners, and admitted that a few of them were close calls in their categories. If our friends and followers keep donating (convenient donate button is at the top right of this post!) we may be able to give away even more next time. Awards well deserved by all!
 Winter Exhibit's judge Marie Remington explains her judging process to artists and art lovers. We'll see what our summer judge has to say on Saturday! Our Fourth Semi-Annual Regional Exhibit at the Cass County Regional Gallery will be on Saturday, August 6 from 2PM to 4PM. Awards will be presented by our judge at 3PM.
We have a great assortment of artwork once again, so stop by and get a good look while you munch some cookies and engage with the artists about their work. Sarah Ayers of Patch & Remington Gallery in Marcellus will be presenting our awards. And, this is your chance as a visitor to walk off with our customary door prize, a flower arrangement from Dussel's Farm Market in Cassopolis. See you at the Gallery, 120 N Broadway, Cassopolis, Michigan. You can download the 2022 summer exhibit application and rules now. Downloadable files are available on the home page in the box near the bottom, and on the "forms" page. We will be presenting the exhibit in the same vein as we did for our 2022 winter show, including cash prizes, peoples' choice awards, and everything FREE to artists--no entry fee, no jury fee, no commissions on sales! And we will have a different judge just to mix things up a bit! Intake Day is about a month away, so don't delay. And tell your fellow Michiana artists in Cass, Berrien, Van Buren, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties in Michigan and Elkhart, LaPorte, and St. Joseph counties in Indiana about this unique opportunity too!   Keep an eye out for our "Donate" button--it's a lovely shade of blue with a pink heart in the middle. We've had a "Donate" button on our website for a while, but hoped not to have to use it. Alas, we have had to accep the fact that funding is difficult for all small arts organizations. Members of Cass Area Artists are facing the necessity of reaching out beyond their own community, due to many factors but high on the list are the significant toll taken by the pandemic, seemingly runaway inflation, and the fact that so many organizations need help and are universally asking for monetary support. Cass Area Artists is collaborating with Donorbox.org to create an essential fundraising campaign to keep up their work through the beginning of next year. If you are reading this post, you probably already know about all the work we do to promote art and artists in Michiana--our free exhibits with cash prizes, our youth scholarships, and our work with 4-H®. We hope you will be one of the generous people who will help us continue by clicking that "Donate" button and sending a few $ our way. If you're reading this on your phone, here's a handy QR code which will take you directly to our fundraising page which is hosted by Donorbox.org. Thank you for any amount you wish to contribute, large or small!
The third regional exhibit at the Cass County Regional Gallery is history now, and we believe that it was the best one yet. We're so happy for all the artists who participated, those who won awards, and--we are happy to see several of these artists with work on display at the opening reception this past Friday at "Around the Bend", at the South Bend Museum of Art! To mark the South Bend Museum of Art's 75th anniversary, they invited Michiana artists of all experience levels to participate in the event they have titled "Around the Bend". Several of the artists at the Regional Gallery successfully entered this exhibition, among 220 chosen. Who knew there are so many truly wonderful artists right here in Southwest Michigan/Northwest Indiana? Scroll past this poster below to see some of Cass Area Artists' work which made it into the Museum, and also some others that caught the eye of your faithful scribe...   Cass Area Artist Kim Sawyer, "Triune Tides", acrylic collage  Cass Area Artist William Becker, "Hinges", raku ceramic  Cass Area Artist Alli Farkas, "Sky Pads 27", oil on canvas  Cass Area Artist Paige Linback, "The Guardian", acrylic, origami paper, metal leaf on wood board.  Paige also won first place in the Cass County Regional Gallery's People's Choice awards for a companion piece, "Shiro", also done in acrylic, origami paper and metal leaf.  Janice Purnell, "Cultural Legacy", oil on canvas. Janice showed this intriguing narrative piece in the Regional Gallery third exhibit.
 Anastassia Cassady, "Maine Coon in Gold", oil and gold leaf on canvas. Your scribe, being a cat lover, fell for this one big time. It's a great modern take on Gustav Klimt's style. And the cat's tail is the icing on the cake. This is a large painting, my guess is 5' x 5', and it was wa-a-a-y up high near the ceiling of the gallery. So, the lighting isn't as even as it could be, and trying to photograph something ten feet above me and fix the resulting distortion was somewhat of a project. I hope you can appreciate all the exquisite detail in this one! And here's a list of other artists in Around the Bend who were also in one or another of Cass Area Artists-sponsored shows in the past---hopefully we didn't miss anyone while constructing this list. We're just very pleased that Michiana artists are getting more and more publicity and attention for their work!
Jean Carter Ruth Andrews Mike Slaski Sharron Ott Robert R Williams Angela Rice Phil Gleissner Barb Freel Adriana K. Maxwell Princess McIllwain   There's one more month to go before the current Cass County Regional Gallery exhibit closes--that means participating artists have until the end of April to get their friends, family, and fans to vote for their artwork in the People's Choice CASH $$$ awards. There have been over 100 votes cast already, so here's how you can vote for your favorite artist: 1) Visit the exhibit at the gallery, located in the Cass County Administration Building at 120 North Broadway, Cassopolis MI. 2) When you get there, decide which piece of art is your favorite. 3) Look for the number printed in the lower right hand corner of the wall label describing the artwork. That's the number you will use to vote for your choice. Here's a sample label... 4) As you pass through the exhibit you will notice some instructions on the walls which include a QR code and an email address. You can scan the QR code with your phone, which will bring up a list of numbers. Find the number that matches the one on the wall label of the artwork of your choice, and click the button next to it. Then scroll down to the bottom of the list and click the "vote" button. If you can't figure out the QR code you can send an email with the number of your choice in the subject line to the email address on the instructions. If you are dazzled by all the art you see while you are looking for your favorite, consider making a donation to Cass Area Artists so we can keep bringing you fabulous art! There is a "donate" button on our home page just waiting for you to click and chip in. Every little bit helps us keep rewarding local artists with cash prizes and exhibit opportunities. Lets keep it going in Michiana--together! |
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