Contact:
Elyse Brady
St. Augustine Art Association
22 Marine Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
ARTISTS HONORED FOR CREATING TOUCHABLE ART FOR THE BLIND
St. Augustine, FL - (Oct. 9). The St. Augustine Art Association celebrated the opening of the 11th Annual Tactile Art Show on Friday, October 5, with the presentation of artistic achievement awards by show sponsor representative Mary Cay Brock.
Mari Carmen won the Jean Wagner Troemel Best in Show prize for her mixed media assemblage "Earth's Jacket." The whimsical creation was made with moss, banana leaves and grass. "It's 100% recyclable," stated Carmen, a first-time exhibitor at the St. Augustine Art Association.
Jill Cerulli won First Place for "Read," a wood assemblage. Second Place was awarded to Almadean Williams for "Winter Gatherer," a mixed media figure. Amy Dove received the Third Place prize for "Dreadlocks, Knots & Net," a fiber wall hanging. Scarlett Gieger's "Lithic Fingerprints" fiber creation was recognized with the Nancy Garrard Best Fiber Art Award, sponsored by the Textile Arts Guild of St. Augustine. Honorable Mentions were given to Virginia Pledger, Don Gieger and Jerry Peters.
Darlene Laibl-Crowe and Jean Light Willis judged the exhibit of all touchable art. "Jurying together was an enlightening experience because we each brought our own 'sense-abilities' to the process," said Jean Light Willis, artist and founder of the exhibition. "Although we live in a visual world, we still need to touch it to get the full picture," said Laibl-Crowe, program administrator for the Florida Deaf-Blind Association, who is deaf and blind. The judges praised the artists for reinventing their media to reach a wider audience.
Sponsored by Community First Credit Union, the Annual Tactile Art Show is produced in partnership with the International Art Education for the Blind/Art Beyond Sight initiative to make the visual arts more accessible. Students from Florida School for the Deaf and Blind created Braille labels for the exhibit and will participate in guided tours as part of their independent mobility training.
The 11th Annual Tactile Art Show is on display through October 28, at 22 Marine Street. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For information call the Art Association at (904) 824-2310 or visit www.staaa.org.
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Mari Carmen, Best in Show Winner with "Earth's Jacket" (l) and Mary Cay Brock, Branch Manager of Community First Credit Union, Show Sponsor
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