The 61st annual Mary Hoard Art Show featuring high school and adult entries is underway at the Hoard Historical Museum in Fort Atkinson.
The Fort Atkinson exhibition kicked off Tuesday evening, with an opening reception and awards program.
Winners, organized by category, follow.
High School entries
• 2-Dimensional: Varely Lopez, “Self Perception,” and Maia Price, “Hello,” tied for first place; Carla Hernandez Fercano, “Folia,” second place; Evanna Thao, “Radiance,” third place; Reese Hacht, “Ruger,” and Allison Prisk, untitled, both Honorable Mention.
• Digital: Ariel Miller, “The After Party,” first place; Allison Godvik, “Fire + Water = Polluted Water,” second place; Jennacee Wudtke, “Bronx Slave Market,” third place; Katrina Duncan, “Finality,” and Avie Vasquez, “Ruby Red,” both Honorable Mention.
• 3-Dimensional: Jessica Nguyen, “In Vain,” first place; Orion Chapman, “Dancing Flames,” and Sofia Portugal, “The Gilded Snail,” tied for second place; Daisy Heussner, “Lux Solaris,” third place; and Rae Carothers, “Trash Pack,” Honorable Mention.
• William Severin’s “Chamomile Composure” received the Robert Hase Best in Show Award. The honor for high school students is named for Robert Hase, a retired Fort Atkinson High School art teacher who, along with the late Mary Hoard, began the Fort Atkinson Community Art Show, which today is the Mary Hoard Art Show.
Adult entries
• Local Significance (Non-Professional): Eve West, first place; Tim Little, second place; Linda Hertig, third place.
• Local Significance (Professional): Angie Hamele Szabo and Sally Koehler, tied for first place; Jennifer Morris, second place, and Peter O’Hearn, third place.
• 2-Dimensional (Non-Professional): Jeannette Schroeder, first place; Miranda Aalto, second place; Liz Bowie, third place, and Alison Meschke, Honorable Mention.
• 2-Dimensional (Professional): Priscilla Heussner and Jan Holewinski, tied for first place; Derek Hambly, second place; Amy Weh, third place, and Peter O’Hearn and Janet Nelson, both receiving Honorable Mention.
• 3-Dimensional (Non-Professional): Ed Morris, first place; Michael Bennett, second place, and Ed Kasper, third place.
• 3-Dimensional (Professional): Tess Seichter, first place; Karen Gomez, second place, and Brian Szabo, third place.
Popular choice awards
• Named Popular Choice among the adult entries was “Bookworm Roadtrip” by Colleen LeVake. Among the high school entries, opening reception attendees voted Hacht’s “Ruger” their Popular Choice.
Opening reception
During the opening reception, museum Director Merrilee Lee welcomed artists and guests.
“The museum is proud to be able to continue producing the art show, which is dedicated to our vibrant arts community in Fort Atkinson and Jefferson County,” she said. “This show has been held since 1961, thanks, in large part, to the vision of the museum’s benefactor, Mary Cunningham Hoard.”
She noted that several of Hoard’s pieces of art are displayed in the Jones Gallery and the museum has a display about her history located in the gallery during her namesake show.
“The 266 entries in this show exemplify that art is something that can be created and enjoyed at any age,” Lee said.
She said that the artists hail from Fort Atkinson, Cambridge, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Ixonia, Palmyra, Rome, Sullivan, Waterloo, Watertown and Whitewater, making this show one that is countywide.
Judging the art were Robert Farrell, a Fort Atkinson artist with metal pieces in several museum’s permanent collections, and Margaret Forystek and Vicki Cottam. Both are retired K-12 art teachers from Milton.
Lee recognized some 50 volunteers who helped with the two-part Mary Hoard art show.
Volunteers numbered art, attached Velcro, hung ribbons, and hung the art, she said, adding that the Mary Hoard Art Show, and many of the museum’s other programs are made possible through contributions brought by volunteers.
Awards were presented by Lee and Karen Gomez, a retired Fort Atkinson art teacher and member of the museum’s board of directors.
Tuesday’s event was part of the second part of the Mary Hoard Art Show. The first part, featuring artwork made by youngsters in grades K-8, and ended March 25.
The high school and adult entries are on exhibit through Saturday, April 22. They may be viewed during the museum’s regular hours of operation, which are Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The show is open to the public and visiting the museum is free.
An earlier story, featuring a history of the show and information about one of its cofounders is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/mary-hoard-art-show-returning-to-hoard-museum/.
Photos by Chris Spangler unless otherwise indicated.
Randy Schroeder documents his wife Jeanette’s participation in the Mary Hoard Art Show. The Fort Atkinson artist’s award-winning watercolor painting, titled: “Norwegian Ewes,” placed first in the adult 2-Dimensional Non-Professional category.
Hayden Olson, Fort Atkinson, a ninth-grade artist with works in the Mary Hoard Art Show, views “River Trips” by Sandy Koehler of Fort Atkinson.
Mary Hoard Art Show attendees view art found on panels in the Hoard Historical Museum. A reception for the show’s “Part 2” was held Tuesday.
Several of the late Mary Cunningham Hoard’s works, two of which are pictured above, for whom the show is named, are on display.
Two photos above: At top, Hoard Historical Museum Director Merrilee Lee, at left, assisted by museum board of directors member Karen Gomez, present awards during Tuesday’s reception. Above, the reception drew a large crowd of artists and their guests.
Winners in the High School 2-Dimensional category include Allison Prisk and Reese Hacht, both receiving an honorable mention, from left; Evanna Thao, who earned third place, and Carla Hernandez Fercano, who earned second place. Not pictured are Varely Lopez and Maia Price, who tied for first place.
Avie Vasquez displays her Honorable Mention certificate earned in the High School Digital category at the Mary Hoard Art Show. Also placing in the category, but not pictured, are Ariel Miller, first place; Allison Godvik, second place; Jennacee Wudtke, third place, and Katrina Duncan, Honorable Mention.
High School 3-Dimensional category winners include Orion Chapman, second place, from left; Sofia Portugal, second place; Daisy Heussner, third place, and Rae Carothers, Honorable Mention. Not pictured is Jessica Nguyen, who earned first place.
Eve West, the first place recipient in the Adult Local Significance Non-Professional category, displays her certificate. Other winners, who are not pictured, include Tim Little, who earned second place, and Linda Hertig, who earned third place.
Angie Hamele Szabo and Sally Koehler, from left, each display their Adult Local Significance Professional category first place award certificates. Jennifer Morris, at right, earned second place. Peter O’Hearn, not pictured, earned third place recognition.
Jeanette Schroeder, winning first place within the Adult 2-Dimensional Non-Professional category, at left, and Miranda Aalto, who earned second place, display their certificates. Not pictured are Liz Bowie, third place, and Alison Meschke, who earned an honorable mention.
Ed Morris, who placed first in the Adult 3-Dimensional art category, displays his certificate. Not pictured are Michael Bennett, who earned second place, and Ed Kasper, who earned third place.
Winners in the Adult 3-Dimensional Professional art category, including Tess Seichter, first place, from left; Brian Szabo, third place, and Karen Gomez, second place, display their certificates.
Bob Weh and his sister-in-law, Suzanne Rahn, both of Fort Atkinson, view the Mary Hoard Art Show entries Tuesday during the opening reception.
A steel and copper sculpture by John Lupiezowiec is among artworks on displayed in the Adult 3-Dimensional category.
Members of the Oakland Watercolor Guild, including Maureen Simon, Whitewater, from left; Eve West, Tina Springstead and Jeanette Schroeder, all from the town of Oakland, and Theresa Hartwig, town of Koshkonong, attend Tuesday’s Mary Hoard Art Show opening reception. The women have been getting together to paint for about a decade, they said. Two of them earned first-place honors in their categories in this year’s show.
Two photos above: At top, “Bookworm Roadtrip,” by Colleen LeVake, receives the Popular Choice award within the adult category, and “Ruger,” by Reese Hacht, above, receives the Popular Choice award in the high school student category. The awards were announced during Tuesday’s opening reception of Part 2 of the Mary Hoard Art Show. Contributed photos.
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Loved your article on the Mary Hoard art show. On may 20th the Fort Atkinson
Collage at 827 banker road in Fort is putting on an event called Metal Mania.
Several teams will use scrap pieces and build sculptures out of them that will be
Judged at the end of the event. Should be a fun event that is open to the public.
My grandson deagyn and my self will also be doing a blacksmith demo also. I had 3
Pieces of art in the Mary Hoard art show and one was mentioned in your article
Thanks for including me in your article. Just a heads up on the event.
Thanks John