Tulip Time 2017 Poster Artist Winner Announced

Tulip Time Festival together with the Holland Area Arts Council is pleased to announce Michele Gort and her painting, "Playful Time" as the winner of the 2017 Tulip Time Festival Poster Competition.

The announcement was made Thursday evening at the First Bloom event held at The Commons at Evergreen. Hundreds of festival sponsors, community partners, and art enthusiasts attended the event where the evening began with a reception honoring the Top 20 artists and their artwork.

Each year a work of art is selected for the official Tulip Time Festival poster. This year, 55 artists from the region submitted a total of 108 works for this juried competition. The submissions were reviewed by Mark Tanis, Founder and CEO of The Image Group in Holland, who selected the Top 20 from which the winning piece was selected.

This year's winning artist, Michele Gort, is a resident of Holland and a graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design. Since graduation, Michele has participated in many state-wide competitions including Artprize and her work has appeared in exhibitions throughout West Michigan.

Her inspiration for the winning piece, "Playful Time," came from photos Michele took of tulips in full bloom along the City of Holland's Tulip Lanes, capturing their fluidity and beauty. The color palette mirrors her images of dark purple tulips against creAmy White tulips, tones of complementary lime green foliage, and the cerulean blue of the sky. Immersed in the excitement of creating the imagery, she decided to forego the easel and put the canvas on a table, spinning it as she worked the paint from all directions.

The artist named the painting "Playful Time" because during the process of creating it she felt like a conductor of a symphony where "the paint hues were my instruments playfully making their melody."

"Playful Time" and the other Top 20 original works will be on display at the Holland Area Arts Council from May 6 through May 13, 2017. The 19 remaining works will compete for the Viewers' Choice Awards. The community and all visitors are invited to participate by texting their vote for their favorite artwork. Text-to-Vote codes will be posted with the originals. Paper ballots will also be available. The winners of the Viewers' Choice Awards will be announced on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 10a at the Holland Area Arts Council. The artists of the top 3 pieces of art with the most votes will receive cash prizes.

"Playful Time" will be featured on posters, giclee prints, and other festival merchandise beginning February 10 at the Tulip Time office and soon after on the Tulip Time website and at area galleries and shops.

Previous winners of the Art In Bloom poster competition include:

2011 Beth Charles - "Drama Queens"

2012 Brittany Strabbing - "Beautiful Dream"

2013 Maggie Schultz - "Clothed in Splendor"

2014 Karin Nelson - "Resilience"

2015 Carolyn Stich - "Joy of Spring"

2016 Alla Dickson - "Spectacle"

Join the celebration of Dutch Culture, Community and Tulips at Tulip Time May 6 - 14, 2017.

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