To honor and celebrate all of the fabulous artwork and gallery shows that take place within Polk County, Tryon Arts & Crafts School will be hosting its second annual Polk County Gallery Show of the Year Award competition, with the award to be presented at their Red Carpet Artist of the Year Show on the evening of Feb. 2 from 6-8:30 p.m. at 373 Harmon Field Road in Tryon.

The public is invited to vote for the show of their choice between Jan. 25 at 9 a.m. and Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. online at http://www.tryonawards.org/. Only one vote may be placed per person. Additional votes will be subject to disqualification. 

The criteria of the show award is that the gallery’s show be a changing gallery show within Polk County with a theme and opening reception. All galleries within the county were contacted, and four galleries have submitted shows to be considered. In alphabetical order they are: 

Carri Bass Studio and Gallery

Seek Wonder: An Art Exhibit By Katee Hargraves, July 28 and 29 – Aug. 12

Using many interesting elements in her pieces, Katee Hargraves’ resin and mixed media artworks strived to take the audience by surprise, spark curiosity, challenge the norm and encourage everyone to Seek Wonder during their journey, no matter what challenges one must face.

Tryon Arts & Crafts School

CROSSROADS A Collaborative Gallery Show, April 7 – May 12 

This show was a dramatic, exciting unique collaborative installation by four regional artists —Christine Mariotti, Julia McIntyre, Doug Dacey and Barney Eiserloh — working together in different mediums to create a large central work on the theme of “crossroads.” The artists also teamed up for two-person collaborative works in their individual sections with pathways depicting their personal artistic journeys, leading up to the installation in the here and now. The show also featured single and collaborative works by other artists as well. 

Tryon Depot Room

double take, March 2 –31

double take featured the work of Lori Heckelman and Grace Lertora. Heckelman’s imagery draws from the bright colors and rich earth tones of the land forms and cultures of the American Southwest. She often uses the images of horses not only to establish scale but also as a symbol that embodies what she perceives to be the essence, spiritually and physically of the America West. Lertora was born in Argentina, with the love of vibrant color, pattern and textures. As a collage and mixed media artist she expresses her interest in colors and her interaction with the world evokes abstract and traditional. 

Tryon Fine Arts Center

The UNITY Project, May 7 –June 16

With The UNITY Project, members of the Foothills community — amateurs and professional artists, students and retirees, and residents of Columbus, Saluda, Tryon, Green Creek, Landrum and everywhere in between — came together to create unique collage panels that explored what “unity” meant to them. More than 120 small panels were then displayed as a “tapestry of Unity” in the region. Professional artists also created larger collages that have toured the community to keep the dialogue going.

Tryon Painters and Sculptors

The Fall Show, Sept. 16 – Oct. 7

The Fall Show was an interesting and interactive show where people could walk around the free-standing birdhouses while enjoying the artwork on the wall. Artists featured included: Gary Heim, sculpted wood; Rolf Holmquist, whimsical birdhouse assemblages; Al Junek, charming watercolors; Heidi Mayfield, colorful floral encaustics; Sandy Sibley, oils; Marie Colton Woodard, abstracts; and Karen Johnston, mixed media. (Karen, a dear long-time member/board member of TPS passed away just before the show, and her artwork was shown in memoriam.)

Upstairs Artspace

AMONG FRIENDS: Sixteen from the Art Bomb Studios, June 24 – Aug. 4

On Saturday, June 24, 2017, Upstairs Artspace celebrated a nearly 25-year relationship between the gallery and ArtBomb Studios in Greenville, S.C. with the opening of Among Friends: Sixteen from the ArtBomb. It had been 10 years since ArtBomb Studios had exhibited at the Upstairs, and the audience was invited to see what this group of 16 artists had created in the last decade. 

Neither Tryon Arts & Crafts School nor any of the other nominees is affiliated with or has access to the vote tabulation, which will be handled by an independent party, and upon the closing of votes accessed by the Tryon mayor’s office, placed in a sealed envelope and opened at the event on Feb. 2.   

– submitted by Cathy Fischer