Winners Announced for
Visions of America
 Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the USA
Art Competition and Exhibit

Southern Arts Society invited regional artists to express their Visions of America in art to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. Over 50 works have been entered to be judged for prizes. The participating artists in the show are: Mary E. Aikens, Linda Alexander, Melanie Baker, Mary L. Brown, Fran Corda, Ellen Devenny, Longie Escobal, Dianne Garner, Darlene Godfrey, Dennis Huntley, Kim Joyce, Kim McAdams, Bertie McClain, Fred Mead, Alex Pietersen, Pat Pietersen, Jacqueline Ramey, Judy Solar, Andrew Washburn, Phiddy Webb, EK Werran, and Erin Whitener.
Much of the art is representative of the traditional symbols of our country – Old Glory, bald eagles, church, and the broad landscape from the mountains to the sea. All shown in a variety of media including collage, colored pencil, glass, fiber, mixed media, painting, and photography.  
Our judge Susan Carlisle Bell, former professor of art at Gardner Webb University, selected first, second, third place awards and three merit awards. Awards were presented Saturday afternoon, June 27 at 3 pm. 
“Visions of America as the theme of the exhibit allows the artists to create in a wide variety of mediums, subjects, styles, and scale which I admire,” she said of the exhibit overall.

Awards with additional comments from the judge are shown below:

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Winners

 

1st Place – $400

Phiddy Webb, Old Glory, collage

The American flag and bald eagle are featured in both subtle and bold ways. I was particularly drawn to the two collages by Phiddy Webb. Found papers are torn or cut or painted to create the images.
#39: The textures of eye and beak and especially feathers are rendered so well. I appreciate the layering, the torn shapes and changes of value describing the, white” feathers. 
#40: The artist has taken the geometric design of the flag and made it dynamic in its movement. The painterly treatment of values and color change suggests a three-dimensional surface and movement of light and wind. The stars are not restricted in rigid placement but freely move suggesting the freedom this American flag symbolizes. The transformation of the flag into a painterly composition is the reason this collage earns First-Place recognition.
 

2nd Place – $300

E.K. (Karen) Werran, America’s Tapestry, fiber

Interpreting the U.S. map in colored fibers transforms the design into a composition with a strong abstract composition. Squint your eyes to appreciate shapes, lines, and overall design. Take note of the key included. Cleverly the artist has described the typography of mountains, desert, water, trees. The dominant products of states (dairy, beef, tobacco and cotton, wheat, apples, etc.) are artistically indicated by changes in color combos and line direction.
 

3rd Place – $200

Fred Mead, American Dream, glass, steel

Fred Meads The American Dream demonstrates great craftsmanship in glass and steel. Lady Liberty reminds us that America’s greatness lies in the freedom, equality and humanity of a democracy. The piece has an integrity of design that reads well from a distance. On closer inspection the light rays of her crown are integrated with the letters of the message. The inclusion of 1776 – 2026 reminds us that the dream of the Founding Fathers is made possible by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Merit Award $100

Erin Whitener, Big Boy, pencil

The graphite drawing of the locomotive is a ‘tour de force’ of exceptional mastery of this medium. The power of the symmetrical train with its precise and detailed description of parts and whole is energized by the contracting texture of the asymmetrical puffs of steam and landscapes on left and right. Its position in the immediate foreground demands the viewer’s attention and atmospheric perspective gives us the distant landscape. The artist has wisely used the negative space to focus our attention on the intricacy of the engine. I appreciate the appropriateness of the train and tracks to the history of SASi and its well-designed gallery.
 

Merit Award $100

#34 – Jacqueline Ramey, Dollar Bill, acrylic

The ubiquitous dollar bill that is so commonplace is now a work of art. It honors the original design but its enormous scale, use of color and brush work invites the viewer to see it afresh. The artist goes beyond Photo Realism to give us a painting of visual merit.

 

Merit Awards $100 – Tied

Pat Pietersen, Oh Beautiful…, photography

Alex Pietersen, The American Experience, photography

The full color photograph of the mountain landscape and the black and white barn framed by the trees demonstrate the strengths of each type of photography. Both works evoke the memories and beloved landscapes of this area of North Carolina.
Oh Beautiful… – The aerial perspective and the bluish atmospheric perspective illustrate the apt naming of our Blue Ridge Mountains. 
The American Experience The barn photograph is a fine example of the principle of space. The foreground objects are lower, more detailed and overlap the middle space. The rusted farm machinery of man-made geometry doesn’t dominate but showcases the barn. The objects in the background are smaller, lighter in value and have higher placement.
As the viewer scans the gallery, these two works hold their own.

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Visions of America 250 art is on view
June 19 – August 21, 2026