Mt. Pleasant artist wins Best in Show

Winners of Louisa County Fine Art Show announced

MORNING SUN — Mt. Pleasant artist Ann Klingensmith took home Best in Show at The Hometown Pride Louisa County’s annual Louisa County Fine Art Show hosted at Morning Sun’s Community Center.

Visitors viewed a variety of art displayed form Thursday, Sept. 2 through Sunday night, Oct. 1.

The last day of the show, Sherry Humphreys presided over the awards presentation which revealed the judges’ decisions for the winners among dozens of entries.

Margaret Ertz and Sherry Mauer judged the entries for the event.

Best of Show and a $500 prize went to Ann Klingensmith from Mt. Pleasant and her relief print with layers of color entitled “Semblance.”

Burlington artist James Walker Henry earned first place and $200 for his complex two-dimensional “Life; Time Permitting” which features a variety of symbolism relating to time such as the Alice in Wonderland’s White Rabbit, Baby New Year, Father Time, and many clocks.

First place and $200 for three-dimensional art went to Dani Henke from New Zealand with “Gaia.”

According to the Louisa Arts Festival, “In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of Earth, the ancestral mother of all life.”

Henke’s weeping Gaia three-dimensional artwork represents “an Earth in the Anthropocene responding to our climate crisis.”

Morning Sun artist Teran Buettell swiped first place and $200 in photography with her an overhead shot of a water feature at a swimming pool entitled “Target.”

Ari Ramos of Columbus Junction snagged the Pat L. Cocklin Emerging Artist Award with a $200 prize for her photo “OMW.”

Another Columbus Junction artist, Al Bohling, took home Best of Louisa with “Sea Oats Restoration.”

Last year’s Best of Show Hans Olson won people’s choice with “Summer Morning.”

Other winners include second place in two-dimensional for Aarin Kartel, from Burlington, with “Still Life #1,” second place for three-dimensional for Judith Costello, from Davenport, with “Madonna,” and second place for photography for Robert Ferrer, from San Antonio, Texas, with “Morning Joe.”

Each second place winner took home a $100 prize.

Honorable mentions also went to Dian Hayes Thayer with “This Old House,” Jo Ann Worley with “Jitterbug,” David Garrison with “Aged,” Hans Olson with “A Break in the Clouds, “’ and Joyce Whathen with “Sleeping Baby.”

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