Winners announced for ‘Save the Ocean’ art show

The Surfing Madonna Oceans Project art show supporting the “Save the Ocean” theme received over 160 submissions and, of those, 62 were chosen for inclusion in the upcoming show. With so many excellent pieces submitted the judges decided to purchase additional wall space to enlarge the show. The mediums varied from traditional painting to digital photography, marquetry wood working, ceramic sculpture, many kinds of fabric artworks, mixed media, photography and mosaic. The show was judged by Surfing Madonna board members: Mike Redman, president, Danny Salzhandler, art director, and Cathy Carey, executive director.

The show runs from Oct. 8 - Nov. 5, with the reception on Oct. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. The awards ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. The show’s location is at the Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery at 262 E. Grand Ave. in Escondido, 92025.

In a news release the Surfing Madonna board said, “We were so amazed at the quality of the work and large number of entrants, that we added an award for ‘Best in Show - Theme’. There were two excellent pieces that tied in our judging so we wanted to reward both equally with a $300 award.”

Best in Show: Theme “Sunny Dreams at Moonlight” by Don Manor and Nancy Hunter

(Courtesy of artists)

Those pieces are: Best in Show - Theme for “Sunny Dreams at Moonlight” by Don Manor and Nancy Hunter. Their artwork is a recycled surfboard using hand-cut glass into a mosaic medium. Carey said, “We were delighted to know that Mark Patterson’s Surfing Madonna mosaic inspired this piece!” The artists said “The mosaic was inspired by and made especially for the Save the Ocean fundraiser.”

First place went to Cherrie LaPorte for her entry “Wave Ride Mosaic Surfboard”. In her submission proposal she said, “Wave Ride Mosaic Glass Surfboard is custom made with fused glass, dichroic glass, colored mirror and stained glass. My inspiration is the waves at Torrey Pines Beach in Del Mar where every week I jump in the ocean to be renewed and invigorated! This lovely glass mosaic shimmers and invokes the memory of the sea and reminds me how precious our ocean is.”

Second place: “Cardiff by the Wooden Sea” by Mac Hillenbrand

(Courtesy of artist)

The award of second place with a $200 prize went to Mac Hillenbrand for his wooden table, “Cardiff by the Wooden Sea”. Judge Mike Redman remarked, “I thought this was a painting when I first saw the photo online, I’m into woodworking and this piece is incredible.” It was in Mac’s description the judges realized it was wood inlay. “This is an original marquetry wood inlay depiction of Cardiff California on a low tide looking north to Dana Point. Employed in the production of this work are veneer from multiple species of trees either individually stained with tinted shellac or left in natural wood tones, cut piece by piece and painstakingly assembled and laminated to a 3/4” MDF substrate before being varnished.”

Third place: “Times Up” by LaRetta Small

(Courtesy of artist)

The third place award went to LaRetta Small for her mixed media painting “Times Up”. The judges were taken not only with the beauty of this piece and her mastery of the mediums, but also her thoughtful description. “The health and beauty of our oceans are at risk. My inspiration was the bounty of the kelp forests along our coastline and the multiple threat of plastic and trash that are smothering them and changing the balance of survival for the incredible creatures that inhabit them.”

In the original prospectus for this show, it was noted there would be three honorable mentions. The judges decided to include a total of nine, in order to honor the excellent quality of so many pieces and such a large show. Each judge was allowed to choose three honorable mentions from the chosen show of artworks to receive a $25 prize.

Honorable mention artists are:

Karen Wurfel for “Joyful Abundance - The Womb of Life” fabric piece

Catherine Cooke Dudley for “Oceanful 3 “ digital photography

Cathy Wessels for “Happyness Comes in Waves” oil painting

Maya Rosenbaum for “Milan and Maya at the Beach” oil painting

Julia Gray for “SHE -Jellyfish/NOTJellyfish” ceramic sculpture

Manjula Chinnappa “Help the Kelp” oil painting

John Peugh for “Dinosaurous Bitchen” mosaic surfboards

Arlette Poland for “Down by the Seashore Star” acrylic painting

Donna Doyle for “Ocean is Life” mixed media

Surfing Madonna Oceans Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Encinitas and was officially formed in 2013 by Robert Nichols and Mark Patterson (artist of the Surfing Madonna mosaic). Visit www.surfingmadonna.org. —Surfing Madonna news release. For a longer version of this news release, go to encinitas advocate.com (A&E category).