Artist Statement: Most of my artwork comprises subjects from what I see around me and have a personal connectin, whether perceptual or conceptual; landscapes, portraits, abstracts; or still life.

Dimensions: 24 x 18 x 1.5
Media: Oil on canvas
Artist Statement : Most of my artwork comprises subjects from what I see around me and have a personal connection; whether perceptual or conceptual, landscapes, portraits, abstracts; or in this case, a still life observed while preparing a light breakfast.

Artist Statement: My paintings are in the style of realism.

Dimensions: 18 x 24
Media: oil
Artist Statement : Food comes to Venetians by canal boat

Artist Statement: My paintings are in the style of realism.

Dimensions: 20 x 24
Media: oil
Artist Statement : The fiery kitchen showed me the work that went into the food served at this taverna.

Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 0.25
Media: Oil on panel

Artist Statement: I've been an active photographer for more than 50 years, a very critical portion of that time being the four years in lived in Ecuador in the 1970's. I've revisited that country periodically over the years, most recently in late 2021. Inevitably I drift toward the marketplaces in the country's towns and cities, aiming my camera toward the produce sections as well as the floral ones. The photos submitted for this competition all stem from markets I visited on that last trip.

Dimensions: 16 x 12
Media: digital photography
Artist Statement : A pig's carcass is prepared for the countertop at the market in the southern Ecuador town of Saraguro. From beginning to end, everything in the process is done by hand, in this case using a unique white cutting device. A couple hours later the woman in the photo posed for a second shot of her alongside the skeletal remains of that critter, though I prefer the "action" nature of this one.

Artist Statement: Glass presents the artist with a wonderfully spectacular material to work with. It is a cold, hard material that can be melted and made to be hot and soft. It can be opaque or translucent. Works made in glass can be functional or they can be art or they can be both simultaneously. Glass that hangs in a window can look one way in the morning sunlight and a completely different way when sunset arrives. Once an artist discovers the pleasures of working with glass they inevitably fall in love with its look and its unique properties.

Dimensions: 32 x 32 x 1
Media: fused glass
Artist Statement : This is a set of 4 fused glass original art dishes. When guests come to my home for dinner, one of the most exciting things about setting my table is that I try to serve tasty, delicious "dishes" on interesting artistic "dishes". I love looking out at the original art pieces that are presented to my guests. This really challenges me as a host and my friends and family find it different and interesting. I always want my guests to feel that they are visiting the home of an artist.

Artist Statement: Glass presents the artist with a wonderfully spectacular material to work with. It is a cold, hard material that can be melted and made to be hot and soft. It can be opaque or translucent. Works made in glass can be functional or they can be art or they can be both simultaneously. Glass that hangs in a window can look one way in the morning sunlight and a completely different way when sunset arrives. Once an artist discovers the pleasures of working with glass they inevitably fall in love with its look and its unique properties.

Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 1
Media: fused glass
Artist Statement : This fused glass serving dish was inspired by the oranges that I saw growing in Florida and California. When i walked through the orange groves they looked so beautiful and delicious. The smell was positively intoxicating. When I finally got the chance to taste the actual fruits they did not disappoint. I felt that this dish would compliment them in a very artistic and visual way. Glass, like fruit, is a product of the Earth. It starts out as sand, melts together at very high temperatures and becomes glass. Interestingly enough it can revert back to sand by chopping and grinding it back to it's original state.

Juror's Choice
Artist Statement: Making meals, serving people and cooking have been my inspiration since I was a very young person. I have had a career as a chef and educator. Food inspires me, everything about the making of a meal, the people who work on your team and the satisfaction of feeding a hungry person. My artwork, like cooking is a merging of various parts worked to create something entirely new. I make many of my materials, or upcycle cloth from thrift store. I use dye, printing, and paint to add detail to the materials. Thread can be a final design element. I also incorporate found objects if the work in the design. iWork from story, even if I find myself working in abstract, there is always a narrative.

Dimensions: 59 x 59
Media: Textile/Fiber
Artist Statement : Summer Brings Brillant berries into my kitchen. I can only eat so many- but jam keeps all winter long. I make all sort of jam, crushing the fruit releases more color and amazing flavor that we eat all winter long. Jam is great for Christmas cookies, or on toast. Hand dyed fabric pieced and quilted

Artist Statement: Making meals, serving people and cooking have been my inspiration since I was a very young person. I have had a career as a chef and educator. Food inspires me, everything about the making of a meal, the people who work on your team and the satisfaction of feeding a hungry person. My artwork, like cooking is a merging of various parts worked to create something entirely new. I make many of my materials, or upcycle cloth from thrift store. I use dye, printing, and paint to add detail to the materials. Thread can be a final design element. I also incorporate found objects if the work in the design. iWork from story, even if I find myself working in abstract, there is always a narrative.

Dimensions: 39 x 43 x 1
Media: Fiber/Textiles
Artist Statement : My mom kept a marble fruit bowl on the table. It sat there through family meals and celebrations. And Cake! After a meal. This is a party waiting to happen. Hand dyed and painted cotton fabrics with machine and hand stitch.

Artist Statement: I like art.

Dimensions: 10 x 15
Media: Watercolor and pastel
Artist Statement : Elderly couple enjoying ice cream on a hot summer day in Northern Michigan.

Artist Statement: I consider myself primarily a self taught artist. I treasure the personal satification and serenity; I have found through my love of painting.

Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 1
Media: Subject is an acrylic painting.
Artist Statement : I consider myself primarily a self taught artist. I treasure the personal satisfaction and serenity; I have found through my love of painting. This painting is as a result of picking apples from an orchard at harvest. The apples were so beautiful.... I could not resist painting them. you can almost hear the snap as you bite into one, smell the sweet scent of the ripe apples and hear the buzzing of bees as they swirl around the trees heavy with fruit.

Artist Statement: This collection showcases people’s dehumanizing consumption of and disconnection from the world. From the gluttonous bingeing of media and a lust for instant gratification, people have not only disconnected from the pleasures of life, but have slowly lost the ability to trust each other. By inserting the human body into these spaces, the artist emphasizes the need for reconnection.

Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 1
Media: Oil on canvas, with a dammar varnish top coat.
Artist Statement : Industrialized, modern consumption has become so large that we no longer know or care where things come from. People turn a blind eye to the processes and resources that feed their lifestyles. This painting challenges people to confront their blind consumerism and see the stories behind everything we use.

Artist Statement: This collection showcases people’s dehumanizing consumption of and disconnection from the world. From the gluttonous bingeing of media and a lust for instant gratification, people have not only disconnected from the pleasures of life, but have slowly lost the ability to trust each other. By inserting the human body into these spaces, the artist emphasizes the need for reconnection.

Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 1
Media: Oil on canvas with a dammar varnish top coat.
Artist Statement : Slogans and catchphrases are used like hooks to lure people in: "Fat-free", "No MSG", "Locally sourced". Our minds are attracted to these words, not the food. We crave the comfort and guilt-free promises more than we do the flavour or nourishment. We take these words as fact because challenging them would require us to re-examine our motives and actions. Consuming half-lies is only half the calories.

Best in Show
Artist Statement: Telling a story or stating a message about our world is a pivotal part of my artist expression when creating my detailed paintings or mixed media work. I am essentially a visual storyteller and have been using my aesthetic voice by utilizing a series format approach with my artwork for many years. My unique point of view on a variety of contemporary sociopolitical themes and topics is evident in my oil / acrylic paintings. The submitted artwork comes from one of my series: (We Are) What We Eat Series. In my artwork, I combine multiple images or objects with realistic figurative imagery against contrasting borders to convey a personal statement to the viewer.

Dimensions: 24 x 20
Media: Oil/ Acrylic
Artist Statement : The painting appears to be two separate paintings but that is an illusion. The concept deals with personification of objects. The top section shows a healthy view of apples in a wooden basket. The lower section follows their ironic existential fate, questioning predestination vs. free will tenets.

Dimensions: 10 x 13 x 1
Media: Epson Archival Print from a Black and White Film Image
Artist Statement : I don't think I've ever seen a dog eating ice cream before, and this big guy was doing it with such obvious gusto! And, no, I don’t really know if the ice cream in that cone was Häagen-Dazs. I just liked the name. The moment was captured in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia on Kodak Tri-X film in a Nikon FA, through the Nikkor AI-S 24mm f/2.8 lens.

Dimensions: 15 x 12 x 1
Media: Epson Archival Print framed with UV Protection Conservation Glass
Artist Statement : Not a composite, but rather, the result of tele-compression from 200mm focal length, along arow of food purveyors and other businesses on Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, Queens, NYC. The ad panel for the pizzeria stood out particularly on this cloudy December afternoon, from the mainly Asian food emporia with their own colorful advertising for multiple flavors of Bubble Teas, as did the pizza aromas from within.

Honorable Mention
Artist Statement: I gather my inspiration from my neighborhood, the Upper West Side of Manhattan: beautiful nature in Riverside Park, iconic buildings, and the Farmer's Market where I find bountiful produce, and was introduced to several dairy farms within 100 mile radius of NYC.

Dimensions: 24 x 24 x 1
Media: Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: 24 x 12 x 1
Media: oil on birch panel
Artist Statement : I studied Medicine back in the 60s and 70s so this anatomical study was an opportunity to meld my anatomical training with that of painting. The skeleton was a prop in the corner of the classroom at Maryland Institute College of Art and I used a Chromium Green base and a limited pallette. I considered life and death and my lifelong battle with food and deprivation. I called it The Diet Worked

Dimensions: 10 x 7
Media: Watercolor on Hot Press Paper
Artist Statement : Garlic, an enticing spice, gives an added depth to a lot of dishes. But this rather pungent aroma is converted into garlic pesticides and used by farmers to repel birds & insects. The allicin in garlic is a powerful antibiotic. This antibiotic would, therefore, kill vampires, a disease of the blood.

Honorable Mention

Dimensions: 10 x 7
Media: Watercolor on Hot Press Paper
Artist Statement : Five onions tumbling out of a brown paper bag has contrasts between organic and innate objects in texture & pattern. Yet all objects are in the same colorway.