Photo Flash: Winners Announced for 'Mercer County Artists 2014' Exhibition

The local arts community had a chance to meet, greet and enjoy the diverse, colorful and often poignant works of fellow artists at an Awards Reception for "Mercer County Artists 2014" on March 13. The exhibit is on display at the Gallery at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor, through April 3. It features 96 works by 75 artists and includes oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings, as well as mixed media collages and sculptures in clay, found art, and recycled materials. Scroll down for photos!

Gallery Director Dylan Wolfe announced the award winners with fellow presenters Tricia Fagan and Nora Añanos from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. "The art we see around us clearly confirms the vibrancy of the arts here in Mercer County," Wolfe said. "Without these artists, we would live in a less colorful, meaningful and inspired community. They remind us how important art is in shaping and reshaping our experience in the world."

He thanked juror Dallas Piotrowski, the curator at The Pennington School Gallery, for judging 227 entries and narrowing the show "to what could reasonably fit into this space." He also acknowledged the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission for its continuing support of the Mercer County Artists exhibit. "Through its Purchase Awards program, the Cultural and Heritage Commission is creating an amazing collection while providing direct support and encouragement to the artists in our community," Wolfe said.

Award winners include: the Utrecht Best in Show Prize to Michelle Rothwell, of Trenton, for "Passion Turbo"; Juror's Choice Awards to Mary Atlas, of Princeton, for "Caged Innocence" and Helene Plank, of Lawrenceville, for "Self-Portrait"; and County Purchase Awards to Ilene Dube, of Princeton, for "Bowties & Butterflies," Susan Luty, of Hightstown, for "Out of the Earth, Into the Fire," Helene Plank for "Self-Portrait," and Kathleen Wallace of Churchville for "October Creek I."

Rothwell's "Passion Turbo," a pigment ink on paper, is a marriage of art and science. "I was able to sculpt forms from a virtual blob of clay using the same 3-D tools used by game designers and film animators," she explained, adding that with this technique she is able to add texture and depth. "It's a flat surface, but you feel like you can touch it." A former game design instructor at MCCC, Rothwell currently teaches game design and animation at the New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn.

Other featured artists are: Marina Ahun of Princeton, Joanne Amantea of Princeton, Catherine Babecki of Pennington, Frank Bardachino of Allentown, Bob Barish of Pennington, Samita Bhatia of Princeton, Donna Blachford of Monroe Twp., Janis Blayne-Paul of Lambertville, Mic Boekelmann of Princeton, Tina Boyer of Trenton, Michael Buriani of Hamilton Square, Larry Chestnut of Hamilton, Sue Chiu of Lawrenceville, Louis Cicchini, Ben Colbert of Trenton, Salvatore Damiano of Hamilton, Ingrid Davis of East Windsor, Hanneke de Neve of Hamilton, Chris DuBois, Rob Enggist of Hamilton, Susan Ezzo of West Windsor, Lynne Faridy of Levittown, Janet Felton of Princeton Junction, Maurice Galimidi of Ewing, Greg Goodwine of Robbinsville, Kathleen Green of Lawrenceville, Bill Hoeflich of Trenton, Bob Justin of Hamilton, Renee Kumar of Princeton Junction, Jane Lawrence of Mercerville, Ron LeMahieu of Princeton, Diane Maller of Princeton, Eugene McCray of Princeton, Charles McCullough of Hopewell, Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman of Roosevelt, Terri McNichol of Cranbury, Arlene Gale Milgram of Trenton, Deena Miller of Lawrenceville, Glenn Moore of Hamilton, Paul Mordetsky of Hightstown, Caryn Newman of Ewing, Lea Novak of Hamilton Square, Deborah Paglione of Robbinsville, Ruthann Perry of Lawrenceville, Mircea Popescu of Lawrenceville, Maria Raimondo of Robbinsville, Libby Ramage of Princeton, Leona Rosso-Dzugan of West Windsor, Michelle Rothwell of Trenton, Joel Rudin of Princeton, Jules Schaeffer of Belle Mead (2), Christa Schneider of Princeton, Mark Schreiber, Nancy Scott of Lawrenceville, Deirdre Sheean of Roosevelt, Margaret Simpson of Hamilton, Alice Sims-Gunzenhauser of Princeton, Priscilla Snow-Algava of Princeton, Harvey Steinberg of Lawrenceville, Kyle Stevenson of Hamilton, Katie Truk of Hamilton Square, Cathy Tsao, Megan Uhaze of Hamilton, Shaomei Wan of East Windsor, Rena White of Lawrenceville, Mark Wilkie of Hamilton and Susan Winter of Hightstown.

The Gallery at Mercer is located on the second floor of the Communications Building on the West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Directions and gallery hours are available at www.mccc.edu/gallery.