A local citizen won honorable mention in the Sumter County Fine Arts Council Annual Art&Photography Exhibition. Thomas Melton of Demopolis entered three different photographs into the competition.

Melton won honorable mention and a $50 merit award with his photograph entitled Shared Chores. The overall winner of the contest was Mary Jane Everett with her Coleman Center Easter Basket.

The Executive Director of the Coleman Center for Fine Arts Amy Horst said I really appreciate all of the local media’s help in promoting this wonderful event. Thanks to their help we had one of the largest shows in the history of this exhibition.

“We had 84 different pieces of art entered into this year’s show. Everything from photographs, baskets, sculptures and many other things,” Horst said.

She also said that all of the pieces of art would continue to be on display until the end of March.

Andrea Stanislav judged this year’s SCFAC exhibition. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since 1991.

“I would like to extend sincere congratulations and the warmest thanks to every artist in this year’s Sumter County Fine Arts Council Annual Art and Photography Exhibition,” Stanislav said.

She said the jury process was extremely difficult, and I wish I could have extended the awards further. She also said I based my award selections on the ambition, completion, exploration and commitment to each artist’s unique individual vision, and their technical ability.

Stanislav received an MFA in sculpture from the School of Art and Design at Alfred University in 1997 and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990. Her art practice is strongly grounded in the craft elements of traditional sculpture while simultaneously exploring the new sculpture in all its aspects: installation, video, interactivity, multimedia and conceptually.

Ms. Stanislav will be on residency at the Coleman Center until the end of March.