Portraits – Huron River Art Collective Blog

Juror, Durwood Coffey at Malletts Creek Library for the Huron River Art Collective 2021 Fall Juried Exhibit.

On Friday, December 3, 2021, the Huron River Art Collective had the long awaited Fall 2021 Juried Art Show Reception at Malletts Creek Library in Ann Arbor. There were over 150 entries for this show. The Juror, Durwood Coffey, had the difficult task of choosing just 40 pieces of art to hang for this show. He requested that we up it to 42, saying it was very difficult to choose as there were many outstanding and diverse pieces.

The Juried Exhibition Committee and a number of volunteers met in late October to hang this show at the library. While hanging, a staff member of the library was overheard saying, “it is so nice to have art on the walls again!’ Isn’t that the truth!?! Patrons of the library were treated to a lovely display of art as they entered, explored and exited the library. All works were for sale.

Some of those who attended the 2021 Fall Juried Exhibit reception on December 3rd.

Artists, friends and relatives who attended the reception viewed the lovely art, and socialized with fellow creatives. Juror, Durwood Coffey gave out awards to Tricia Hampo, Bryan Wilson, Quadre Curry, Anne Rogers, Marilyn Thomas, Gwen McKay and Mary Riley. Durwood also shared some words of wisdom regarding creating art. While reflecting on the submitted work and how he made the difficult decision, he said one thing always stands out and that is composition. If the composition is no good then it doesn’t matter how well rendered a piece is. Good composition always trumps everything else. He also told the group that there are two kinds of artists, those who are a “circle” and those who are a “straight line”. A “circle” artist is one who does one thing, then another, then another, then does what this person wants, and what that person wants and so on and so on (sometimes this is necessary to make a living (; ). The “straight” line artist creates similar things, but always moving forward along that same line. The circular artist does not progress as fast as the straight line artist. To sum it up, he says the straight line artist most likely creates what they love. Bottom line, do what you love!

We hope to see you and your art at the next exhibit!

The Huron River Art Collective would like to thank artist Trisha Hampo for speaking at the reception and writing this blog post. Congratulations again on your first place award.

This painting by Pam Diulio and Karen Jenkins, depicts real people. The Doctor and ICU nurse work at the U of M Hospital. The nurse who cares for with Covid Patients is Karen’s daughter; the fireman is from Monroe and the police officer is Pam’s nephew.

Pam and Karen’s painting reminds us how artists can embed and strengthen ideas in the minds of the public. We can create images, whether direct or allusive in support of all the heroes: the visible and the invisible, the obvious choices and the unsung, and see where we can do our part in ensuring they all get their due in appreciation, respect and compensation! Of course the greatest respect we can offer is in not piling more work onto them.

Few of us will be sorry to see 2020 dwindle in the rear-view mirror, but there are some things about it we should grasp onto. There was the clean, quiet April and May, when we could wander in the street, watching kids doing wheelies on their bikes and hearing birdsong clearly. Then there was the national uprising following the killing of George Floyd – not a unique instance, except in the overdue response to it, sparking a national conversation about racism. There was the discovery that not everyone needs to commute, and there’s no excuse not to hire people whose disability makes commuting impossible of just inconvenient.

Artists and people connected with the Arts seem to be in the forefront of responding to these 2020 events, wanting to run with the moment and enter a new era. We at Huron River Art Collective held an exhibition, Racial Dialogs Through Art, viewable online. If you feel inspired to send words or pictures or a combination to keep the discussion around race, equity and climate change at the forefront, — or if you want to talk about something else — we’d love to hear from you.