Continuing a 33-year Tradition: Six outstanding Rockport Center for the Arts members will display works in the Main Gallery. Five were chosen by juror Kitty Dudics, retired Professor of Art from Del Mar, Corpus Christi. Dudics's selections were made in December of last year during Currents, the annual All-Members exhibit. A People’s Choice, rounds-out the selected artists. The show opens with a Gallery Talk and reception August 6th from 4:30-7 pm. Admission is open to the public and free of charge.
History: The first “Merit Show” atRockport Center for the Arts opened in July of 1985. The artists chosen were EvelynAtkinson (also Poster Artist 1998), Gertrude Bryant, Kathy Sayre, CookieTillman, and Fred Wright. At the time, all were chosen by popular vote. Noweach year a distinguished guest juror chooses five artists of merit, and thepublic chooses the sixth by popular vote.
About the 2017 Merit Artists:
Sheila Gritte (Corpus Christi)– Sheila received her Master of Arts from Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2010with a focus on printmaking. Her favorite printing method is the serigraph or silk screen print, and she focuses on imagery based on nature and botanical subjects. Sheila is a professional artist, exhibiting internationally, in addition to being a co-owner of Studio-C Gallery and member of the Art Center of Corpus Christi’s Board of Governors.
Gegorge Ann Johnson (Huntsville) – George Ann Johnson is a nationally acclaimed wildlife artist, whose work is held by numerous galleries throughout the country. She studied at the Danforth Museum of Fine Art in Boston, Massachusetts and is proficient in a variety of media. George Ann’s principal professional media are colored pencil and scratchboard. Her work can be viewed on-line at www.gajart.com.
Joan Laughlin (Houston) –Joan’s work is inspired by the wild nature that grows out of the crevices and cracks and in-between spaces of the concrete landscape of Houston, where she lives and has taught art classes at Houston Community College since 2003.
Joyce McAdams (Edgewater, FL) – Joyce has been a working and exhibiting artist for over35 years. She was born in Massachusetts and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of New Hampshire. She has participated in over 60 solo and group exhibits across the country. I want my work to be like a good poem. It should be something a visitor can return to repeatedly, finding fresh ideas and meanings each time. The way I work is by layering images over images until surprising new meanings begin to surface.
Elena Rodriguez (Corpus Christi) – Elena is a painter and cat-lover. Her work explores the relationship of place and emotion. Elena graduated with a BFA from Washington University in Saint Louis and a MFA from New York Academy of Art. She is Director of Events and Membership at the Art Center. Elena's small oil paintings often hang in the Members Galleries.
Rick Workman (Rockport) - Rick Workman is a retired geophysicist, photographer and writer residing in Rockport, Texas. His interest in photography began in his early teens when he received a simple camera as a birthday present. In addition to exhibiting in the 2009 group exhibition, Shorelines, Rick has exhibited at The Women's Institute of Houston and at the Smink Gallery in Dallas.
