Best in Show (Traditional)
Hunter Jay
Best in Show
(Digital & Photography)
Kay McBeath
Best in Show
(3-Dimensional)
Chelita Riojas
2nd Place (Traditional)
Leah Dockrill
Leah Dockrill”s art career spans over thirty years and includes painting (watercolour and acrylic); collage; and digital art. Leah explains that it is energizing to move from one medium to another, and inspiring to choose from a wide array of subjects. For painting she favours the natural world – landscape, and seascape, and all types of plant life – observed in the wild, or cultivated in her own garden. Leah is a self-taught artist, but acknowledges many iconic artists for their influence on her work. Her paintings and collages have been exhibited in Canada and the U. S. She has been an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists since 2000.
To purchase this award winning piece or to see more of Leah’s work please visit her website.
2nd Place
(Digital & Photography)
Shelley Benjamin
Shelley Benjamin, a resident of southeast Florida, is an award winning digital artist. She received a BS in Textile Design from Cornell University. After a career as a textile designer and weaver, she became interested in mixed media, and ultimately, photography. Ms. Benjamin’s experimentation and involvement with digital photography began after she purchased her first DSLR camera.
During the learning process, she joined an international group of digital artists. With the advanced training she was able to develop her skills, which has allowed her to transform her images to reflect her vision. The inspiration from the group opened up the possibilities of taking photos into a new realm. She is motivated by the art she sees in museums and galleries. From the time she was young she has always been an avid museum visitor. Her background in weaving exposed her to the art of fine crafts and the masters in those fields.
Shelley uses her photos as the foundation for a digital painterly approach, utilizing modern technology to enhance and transform the original image. Drawing upon her textile design background, she imparts a tactile feeling to her work. She is challenged and inspired by color, reflections, light, the changing seasons, nature and architectural elements. Shelley is always searching for the extraordinary visual imagery in very ordinary environments.
Ms. Benjamin states that her goal is to share the beauty around her and impart the uplifting feelings to the viewer that are the source of her inspiration. Shelley Benjamin’s work has been exhibited in local and international competitions and in online galleries as well as being featured in national digital photo and print magazines.
To see more of Shelley’s work, please visit her ArtBoja website.
2nd Place
(3-Dimensional)
Gaige Qualmann
BIO
Few people have known for their whole lives what they’d be when they grew up. For Gaige it was never a question. It was artist, or nothing. He grew up in the legendary Pacific Northwest tucked between Seattle and the Cascade mountains. Gaige never felt the need for formal education in the arts, as he exhibits an abundance of natural talent and has difficulty sticking to one thing. Learning directly from other artists and craftspeople has had it’s benefits. Gaige has amassed a library of skills including but not limited to: illustration and painting, glass lampworking, leather sculpting, wood carving/turning, ceramic sculpture, stone masonry, and MIG/TIG welding. Each of these disciplines build upon one another giving him access to uncharted territory. Gaige currently lives and works in Oakland, California with his equally artistic partner – his “artner” – Clody Cates and their cat Mangus.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As a person living with artism, I’m constantly compelled to make things with my hands. I buy my raw material from the recycling center – there is no shortage of quality affordable art material available if you just know where to look for it. Recreating delicate flowers from a common, post-consumer material like copper lends itself easily to flowery, cliched descriptions about “the soft ephemeral nature of flowers juxtaposed with the indelible resolve of metal”, I’m not really into it. I am passionate about my craft, but maybe a more honest description of my work would be “Copper is so awesome to work with, check out these orchids I made!”
To purchase this award winning piece or to see more of Gaige’s work please visit his website.
3rd Place (Traditional)
Stephanie Lawing
Stephanie Lawing lives and works as an artist in Virginia Beach, VA. Her painting career has followed a winding path to its current success. It started with a BA in Fine Arts from Roanoke College and then working in the publishing industry in New York City. She decided to refine her focus on painting, attending and receiving her MFA in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah GA. Although her painting career took a pause while fully immersed raising her three great kids, she continued to create original work, ran her own online business, conducted 8 military moves, and supported military deployment after deployment for her USMC aviator husband. Every twist, turn, and hardship along the way developed a drive to create works that simply bring out a lighter side of our lives. She brings out something colorful with big, fresh, beautiful blooms.
While appearing somewhat familiar, Stephanie shows it from an uncommon perspective. Seeking daily inspiration through her backyard garden, the nearby Norfolk Botanical Gardens and a macro lens of an IPhone, she has the ability to make us pause on her work, and take a moment to focus on the detail of nature. She strives to bring the outdoors in, and fold nature into interior design – a contemporary take on art that is easily understood by all. Macro floral painting reflects and combines what she thinks is beautiful and what she would like to see on my own walls. She is intrigued and enjoys capturing the dichotomy between the flower’s fragility and dynamic explosion of color. In an increasingly difficult world, she hopes to express an experience that goes beyond current events – a universal desire to find a moment where the world fades away in favor of something simple, natural and beautiful. The aesthetic pleasure of a macro flower painting is something people respond to. It is an opportunity to slow down, let the mind and eye rest, and enjoy a moment of quiet beauty in a different light.
To see more of Stephanie’s work please visit her website.
3rd Place
(Digital & Photography)
Martha Nance
Martha Nance is a physician in Minnesota for whom taking photographs of pretty things provides a balance for the difficult things she does at work every day. She participated in several previous Fusion Art exhibitions in 2018, earning two Honorable Mentions!
To purchase this award winning piece or to see more of Martha’s work, please email her directly.
3rd Place
(3-Dimensional)
Julia O’Bryan
Julia O’Bryan began ceramics in high school and is currently working on her Bachelor of Arts in Ceramics and Sculpture from Southwestern University. She draws much of her inspiration from nature and her childhood growing up in the midwest. Nature Through The Windows was inspired by Eastern style arches and windows as well as the delicate dogwood blossoms.
To purchase this award winning piece or to see more of Julia’s work, please email her directly.
4th Place (Traditional)
Dianna Yakobson
I was born in and raised in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. In my youth, my mother, who was very chic and stylish, encouraged me to be creative in all kinds of artistic endeavors. Her photography from her travels also inspired me. In Russia, I became a commercial artist. I eventually immigrated to the United States in the early ’90s and now reside in Virginia.
In 1998-2000 I attended College and was awarded the degree in Communication design and specialization in Electronic Graphic Design. I have a tremendous passion for beauty and design and I can’t help but try to express it in everything I do. I am now constantly inspired by the writings of great poets, jazz musicians, and important films. Currently, I work at Shalom Education Center as an Art Educator and on my own time draw and paint mostly vintage style, graphics as blocks and lines style.
To purchase this award winning piece or to see more of Dianna’s work, please visit her website.
4th Place
(Digital & Photography)
Rebecca J. Case
Rebecca has been drawing and painting since she was eight. She has taken several painting workshops in floral and landscape. Artists that have inspired Rebecca include Buck Paulson, Jerry Yarnell, Michael James Smith for landscape and Gary Jenkins, Rodenta Soprano and Joanna McEwan for florals. Currently Rebecca enjoys photography, scratchboard, and oil and acrylic painting of wildlife, flowers, and landscapes.
Having moved to Michigan several years ago, she found an abundance of wildlife and exciting new subjects to photograph and paint in the woodlands near her house. Her travels throughout Michigan, the U.S. and Canada allow her to capture a variety of natural subjects for both painting and photography. Rebecca’s painting style ranges from close-up and detailed for floral paintings to photo-realism for landscapes and seascapes. Rebecca started photographing around the age of twelve with her grandfather’s old camera.
Currently Rebecca enjoys photography, scratchboard, and oil and acrylic painting of wildlife, flowers, and landscapes. She likes using her close-up lenses for a “bug’s eye” view of things. “I love going on photograph safaris to capture that certain feeling and mood that I am viewing through the view finder.” She loves foggy and rainy days to go out and look for that special shot. She is a member of the Mid-Michigan Art Guild, Shiawassee Arts Center and Lansing Area Artist Connection. She is also an Active member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (Juried).
To purchase this award winning piece or to see more of Rebecca’s work, please visit her Facebook Page.
4th Place
(3-Dimensional)
Clody Cates
Bio As a self taught artist Clody Cates constantly experiments with different processes and techniques to elevate her artistic skills to new levels and push her boundaries. This path is taking her on a limitless journey were she can create beauty out of anything. Whether creating art from her own original concepts or making someone else’s dream come to life, nothing is off limits – every new challenge is an opportunity to master a new medium.
Originally from Montreal, Canada but destined for warmer climates, Clody moved to Oakland, California in 2001. During her time living in the US she has also earned herself a reputation as a facilitator of visions, creating art for private commissions, props & film sets for movies as well of consulting in a myriad of other projects both large and small.
Her latest project, CopperFlora, finds her teaming up with her partner Gaige who is also an artist. Together they create detailed flowers, plants and more out of used plumbing and other copper parts. Artist Statement It is the colors, the textures, the infinite nuances of light and shadow. It is the feel, the smell, and the touch. It is getting dirty like a little kid and using my whole body in the making of each piece. It’s creating beauty out of the mundane. It is not knowing, but channeling that allows me to create art which makes the viewer think and feel, these are the things that drive me to go further in my endless exploration of material and form.
Please visit Clody’s website to purchase this award winning artwork or to see more of her work.
5th Place (Traditional)
Diane Liguori
I was drawn to people and their idiosyncrasies as soon as I could motor my chubby little toddler legs to meet them. This fascination became both my vocation and my avocation, first as an advertising executive, then a senior executive in a public biotech company, and now as an author, illustrator and fine artist.
I have a Masters in Fine Art, Illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I work in a variety of media, ranging from pencil, pastel, pen and ink, to oil and watercolor, with richness and depth of color and detail. My fine art portfolio ranges from portraits and figurative work to representations of the abundant color and natural composition spontaneously discovered during time outside.
My paintings have been exhibited and sold locally at Art Bias (artbias.org), at The Society of Western Artists in San Bruno (societyofwesternartists.com), and at The Main Gallery in Redwood City (rwcmaingallery.wixsite.com). My work is also exhibited and sold through the privately owned Pea Island Art Gallery in Salvo, North Carolina (www.peaislandartgallery.com).
My stories tend toward realistic fantasy fiction and are intended to be whimsical, playful and adventurous, with a generous dollop of humor thrown into the mix. They are designed to reflect individual charm and character through dynamic, emotionally expressive illustration, and are meant to be read and shared aloud with children ages 3-8. Sometimes they are designed for those who read to them as well. The lead characters in the stories I create share a complicated mix of characteristics: vulnerability, courage, cleverness, and flaws. They are both extraordinary … and recognizable. The underlying message I would like to promote is that we are all unique, and ordinary lives can be transformed by self-acceptance and risk.
I have been a member of the Society of Children’s Book Illustrators (SCBWI) since 2012. You can find a sample of my illustrations at scbwi.org/members-public/diane-liguori. You can also find me at instagram.com/dliguoriartandstory or by email at diane@dliguoriartandstory.com
5th Place
(Digital & Photography)
Felice Willat
Felice Willat is an award-winning travel photographer and publisher, whose images from around the world, the United States and at home in California capture the beauty of the human landscape across cultures. Willat’s photographs have been juried into the Los Angeles Center for Photography, Photo LA, Photo Independent, TAG Gallery, the Brand Library, and numerous other venues across the United States and in London, UK and Italy.
In 2015 Felice won First Prize with “Molokai Maidens” in the LarkGallery competition “Solar Spectrum´- Juror – Tony Clark, Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Artset des Lettres, Member of the Board of American Association of Museum Directors. In 2014, Felice‘s image “Climbing Cardinals” won Best in Show at Captured 2, the second annual Photography Competition at the Santa Barbara Tennis Club. Juror, Henry Rasmussen, founder and past publisher, editor and art director of B&W Magazine.
In 2010, Felice won First Prize, for her Travel images in the Southern California Council of Camera Clubs’ annual juried exhibition. In 2009 Felice published The Quiet Between, Song of Burma, a book of photography and poems. Felice sees her camera as providing a sense of time expansion and stillness. She says, “I could capture a moment, something sacred or commonplace, an unconscious gesture, a tattered clothesline, a red plastic pitcher, or a worn prayer book. I like to leave the familiar, travel to far-away places, and find the gift of really being present.”
To see more of Felice’s work or to purchase this award winning piece, please visit her website.