Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., center back, congratulates, from left, Maplewood residents Mary Franklin and Nila M. Pusin, and South Orange residents Gail Gardella and Cindy Wolf for receiving awards in the annual Essex County Senior Citizens Juried Art Show.
CEDAR GROVE, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. congratulated 29 area artists who received awards in the annual Essex County Senior Citizens Juried Art Show. The artists were recognized during an awards ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 15, in the Robert O’Toole Community Center in Cedar Grove Park.
“I congratulate the winners and all the artists who participated in this year’s senior art show. The talent displayed by our senior artists is truly amazing and the artwork is inspiring,” DiVincenzo said. “Essex County has a thriving fine arts community and our senior art show enables our older residents, both professionals and nonprofessionals, to display their original creations where the public can see them. This is an excellent event for us to promote the arts and inspire our residents to use their talents.”
Area artists, and the awards they received, are as follows:
- From Bloomfield, Joan Park was awarded first place in the nonprofessional acrylic category for “Holiday at the Circle” and first place in the nonprofessional watercolor category for “Firefly Distillery”; and Irma M. Perez was awarded first place in the nonprofessional drawing category for “Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. Makes Essex County Great.”
- From East Orange, Carol Jenkins was awarded second place in the professional mixed media category for “Nature’s Best”; and Glendora Simonson was awarded first place in the professional craft category for “Self Portrait.”
- From Glen Ridge, Judyann Affronti was awarded first place in the professional mixed media category for “Ophelia.”
- From Maplewood, Mary Franklin was awarded second place in the nonprofessional mixed media category for “Tropical Paradise”; and Nila M. Pusin was awarded first place in the professional sculpture category for “Lady in the Waiting” and second place in the nonprofessional craft category for “Howl (Human Owl).”
- From South Orange, Gail Gardella was awarded second place in the professional oil category for “The Empty Bench”; and Cindy Wolf was awarded second place in the professional sculpture category for “Keep Them All in the Air.”
- From West Orange, Lois Condon was awarded an honorable mention in the professional watercolor category for “Spenser Grubbing”; Martta Kelly was awarded second place in the nonprofessional photography category for “Swallowtail”; and Juanita Megaro was awarded second place in the nonprofessional watercolor category for “Stone from the Sky.”
The Essex County Senior Art Show and Exhibit was open to all professional and nonprofessional artists ages 60 and older. Artwork was judged on originality, composition, style, quality and creativity. Judging was done by Heather Carter, founder of Carter Fine Art Services. Seniors whose artwork was awarded first place are automatically entered into the N.J. Senior Citizens Art Show, which will be shown in person from Sept. 23 to Oct. 27 at Meadow Lakes in East Windsor. The state awards ceremony will be Oct. 6.
Photos Courtesy of Glen Frieson
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