AWARDS

The Awards

Best In Show:
Gwen Waight | @gwaightee
where are you from?
36″ x 38″ x 8″
Found object assemblage
$1,500

Artist Statement: This piece uses found object to address the micro aggression of being asked constantly Where are you from? I was born and raised in Iowa but I am half Japanese. People were not very satisfied when asked I would reply ‘Iowa’ .

First Place:
Will Wilson | @willwilsonart | site
Sharks and Other Sea Creatures
36″ x 36″
Acrylic on canvas
$1,500

Artist Statement: The diversity of the sea is vast and bizarre.

Second Place:
Robert J. Putka | @rjputka_finearts
Dans le Jardin d’Ete, Arles
48″ x 48″
Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
$3,200

Artist Statement: This painting was inspired by a recent trip to Arles, France, where I visited the “Summer Garden”, in which the memorial to Vincent Van Gogh is placed. It was a serene and moving experience. I found it to be healing and inspiring enveloped in the cooling and contemplative powers of the green that surrounded me.

Third Place:
Ashley Kouri | @ashleykouri | site
Portrait of my Father
5″ x 7″
Tintype
NFS

Artist Statement: Photography, for me, is a way to engage in a dialogue with the past, exploring the profound power that places and memories hold. I work primarily with tintypes—a process steeped in historical significance—creating images that connect the contemporary world to something deeper and unseen. Each piece becomes an object infused with personal meaning, much like the landscapes and spaces I revisit in my work. The act of making these photographs is a ritual, one that allows me to summon lost moments, forgotten histories, and versions of myself that have faded with time.

The resulting tintypes form a kind of shadow world, a space suspended between the past and present. Their dark tones and fragile surfaces evoke the presence of what has been lost while holding space for what remains absent. My work extends beyond capturing a single place or moment; it becomes a dialogue with the unseen, exploring how the weight of history and memory lingers in both the spaces we inhabit and the lives we live.

In addition to my tintype practice, I run a business where I photograph portraits using both tintype and digital methods. This allows me to blend historical techniques with modern approaches, offering clients a unique experience that ties personal identity to the timelessness of the photographic medium.

My artistic practice often expands into other forms, such as installation, bookmaking, and experimental film. No matter the medium, my work follows a pattern of ritual, seeking to explore the world beyond the tangible. I am constantly in conversation with my past self—the self that existed before I lost my father or witnessed the destruction of my home in Hurricane Helene. Through my work, I continue to study how we inhabit the space between memory and presence, and how the past informs the present.

Honorable Mention:
Alexia Avdelas | @alexiaavdelas.art | site
[temporary] pins and needles
102″ x 92″
Acrylic and gouache on cut wood panels
$1,300

Honorable Mention:
Brynn Cullings | @erth_worm | site
Mina’s Garden
16″ round
Ink, watercolor, acrylic on wood
NFS

Honorable Mention:
Del Davis | @carnival_kidd_
The Commodities Have Become Luxuries
20″ x 12″ x 12″
White stoneware, red earthenware, and gold luster
$1,200

Honorable Mention:
Frank Hadzima | @franken_fruit | site
Hands you this
8″ x 8″
Oil on panel
NFS

Honorable Mention:
Angel Ramirez-Banda | @an6el.rb | site
Three Hearts
5″ x 2.5″
Brass and nickel
NFS

Honorable Mention:
Aja Sheppard | @aja_acrylicartist | site
The Widow
16″ x 20″
Acrylic on canvas
$250