All Creature and “Best in Show” Reception

The All Creature’s and “Best in Show” Reception was held Friday, January 31^st. The reception was very well attended by participating artists and the public. A new addition to this show was animal artwork created by the Bay School outreach programs. Many children coming to see their artwork came with their family. The “Best in Show” category of this show featured dogs only. At the reception “Best in Show” work was judged by Lester Van Winkle. Rita Cutler’s hooked art “Pup at Play” was picked as Best in Show. Lester brought two additional awards of merit to hand out also. The awards of merit were handmade by Lester who is an artist himself. Mo Bennet received an award of merit for her collage “Lilygirl” and photographer Phil Dunn also received an award of merit for his photograph “Bring it”.

All Creatures and “Best in Show” is on display from January 31st through February 25th.  All artwork depicts a variety of animals such as wildlife, pets, and horses. The “Best in Show” division is exclusively dog art. There is a wide variety of media on display in this show.  Artwork includes wall art, pottery, sculpture, glass art, collage, fiber art, photography, and jewelry. The artists participating in this show are both local and regional. Many of the artists exhibiting in All Creatures and “Best in Show” take custom orders for photography, painting and other media. A table is set up in the gallery with contact Information for anyone interested in custom work.

Meet the Judge

Lester Van Winkle is NOT only a very accomplished artist and sculptor BUT is also a long time Dog Agility competitor!!

Lester has a Master in Arts Degree, University of Kentucky. He was a faculty member and professor in the Department of Sculpture and Extended Media, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. Lester's accomplishments include Distinguished Teacher of Art Award, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and many, many more. He even judged the Art Speaks Juried Exhibition in 2018!

Lester has been competing with his standard poodles for more than 10 years and has earned many titles and awards in the sport. His wife Donna also competes in agility.

Click here to see the collection.