Reviewed by: Madison Croxson
Meet the talented winners of Magic City Art Connection 2022
Magic City Art Connection 2022 is over and out and was a blast, as always. We went to the fun-filled festival and got the inside scoop on this year’s winners. Keep reading to see who stole the show this year!
The talent at Magic City Art Connection is out of this world. There are so many unique artists, with different mediums, techniques and passions. Here are the winners from the 2022 festival:
Best In Show
Joseph Frye, Clay
Frye makes one-of-a-kind pieces of beautiful pottery. He’s a regular attendee of the festival who we look forward to seeing every year. His work is influenced by his travels to Africa, South America, Israel and the Caribbean Islands. Each of his pieces have a beautiful story to tell.
Signature Awards
Penny Dobson, 2D Mixed Media
Penny has been a professional artist for 20 years and recently retired after teaching art for 25 years. She works on her art with her husband who prepares and creates her unique frames. Power couple!
Larry Allen, Clay
Born and raised in Birmingham, Larry Allen has worked as an artist for the past 35 years, perfecting his wheel-throwing and glazing techniques. Much of his inspiration for his work comes from African and Native American art. The designs on his work are unbelievable!
Vladimir Ovtcharov, 2D Mixed Media
The talent in this group is amazing. Ovtcharov graduated from the National Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria and brought his skills to the U.S. We loved getting to see his abstract art in person.
Awards of Distinction
Petty Shepard & Mariela Otieno, Fiber
Petty Shepard brought her talent to the US from Kenya 26 years ago. She travels to different cities creating and selling her one-of-a-kind hand-woven baskets with her mother.
Yuliya Wolf, Fiber
Yuliya expresses herself by embracing imperfections. She includes imperfections and brands from the leather into her pieces, making each and every one special. We want a bag in every color, please!
HC Porter, 2D Mixed Media
H.C. Porter is an Alabama grad and an internationally known painter, printmaker and photographer. Her artist statement perfectly depicts where her inspiration comes from:
“The work I do won’t change the lives represented in my paintings but it does change the viewers who live with my work. That’s what’s important to me.”
H.C. Porter, Artist
Distinguished Artist Award, Ann Trondson, Special Exhibition by Sloss Visitor Center
Ann Trondson is a Birmingham, Alabama-based multidisciplinary artist. She creates her art to show how our mundane desires can become something to behold as it relates to our own personal subjectivity and memory. Her The Day Series was even more amazing in person.
Awards of Merit
Kym Day, Painting
Kym Day is a realist oil painter in Greenville, SC. According to her website, her paintings show off her Texan roots through the lenses of pop culture, daydream, and fantasy. We love it!
Karen Holst, Jewelry
Coming from Knoxville, TN! Karen’s unique jewelry that incorporates so many colors and designs caught my eye immediately.
Ryan Boase, 3D Mixed Media
Ryan came to The Magic City from Greenville, SC. He takes antique, hundred-year-old phonographs, gramophones and salvaged instruments and mounts them to handmade wooden bases, creating acoustic and phone speakers. This way, he gets to live out his passions of both art and music.
Katie Adams, Drawing
Auburn grad here! Katie has always loved painting and drawing and returned to it after college. She lives in Birmingham with her husband, two sons, a dog, a cat, three guinea pigs, 7 quail and 12 chickens. Sounds like a busy woman.
Denise Rollings-Martin, Jewelry
Denise makes fascinating handmade jewelry that we could look at for hours. She uses traditional metalsmith techniques with sterling, fine silver and 18K gold to adorn natural gemstones, fossils, Tahitian and South Sea pearls.
Steve Terlizzese, 2D/3D Mixed Media
A party for your eyes! Steve has been making art professionally for 30 years, from collage mosaics to paintings, murals, sculpture and furniture. His popular mosaics caught our attention with their exciting colors and stories.
We could look at these talented artists’ work all day long. Don’t you feel excited just looking at their masterpieces? Congrats to all of the winners! We’re counting down the days until next year.
Who was your favorite artist from the festival? Tag us @bhamnow and let us know!
