MacNider Art Museum, a North Iowa treasure

Area Show: 42

August 5 – October 16, 2010

Participating artists, MacNider Art Museum members, and members of the general public were in attendance on Saturday, August 7, at the opening, awards program, and artist reception for Area Show: 42 at the MacNider Art Museum. The exhibition includes a wide variety of works created by artists above high school age living within a 100-mile radius of Mason City.

Entering artists were competing for the opportunity to have their work featured in a solo exhibition and for $1,000 in cash awards. The Best in Show award was given to Larry Gregson, of Mason City, Iowa, who will be granted a solo exhibition in 2011, for his painting, Winter/Spring Nonobjective.

Three artists received a $250 Excellence Award; Brenda Backman, of Boone, Iowa, who won for her fiber work, Lines Threads Seedings; Barbara Fedeler, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, who won for her willow charcoal drawing, West of Sam Ridenour’s; and Richard Heggen of Ames, Iowa, who won for his metal piece, Metal Relief #1.

Two Merit Awards, each at $100, were given out, one to C. Arthur Croyle, of Ames, Iowa for his painting, Gorge 1 and one to Esther Cheng, of Cedar Falls, Iowa for her watercolor entitled Blue Glass. The $50 Most Daring Award was awarded to Steve Wilson, of North Mankato, Minnesota for his pen and ink drawing, Untitled (Black).

Two Honorable Mention awards were handed out as well. The first went to Audrey Weidman, of Waverly, Iowa, for her oil painting, Untitled. The second went to Rocky V. Hobbs, of Mason City, Iowa for his wooden sculpture, Reclining Box.

The competition for the show was open to all artists above high school age residing within 100 miles of Mason City, encompassing North Central Iowa and Southern Minnesota. Each entrant was eligible to submit up to two artworks for consideration. This year’s show drew a total of 144 entries by 78 artists. The final exhibition includes 51 artworks by 42 artists.

The juror for Area Show: 42 is Carol Faber. Faber is an Assistant Professor of Art and Design at Iowa State University. With regard to judging the show, she states, “There were many quality entries from which to select this exhibition. The final result shows a wide range of concepts and diverseness of mediums, which exemplified quality craftsmanship.”