Top image:
Treelee MacAnn
X Marks the Spot
21 color silkscreen print
Myrtle Beach, SC
Treelee MacAnn
X Marks the Spot
21 color silkscreen print
Myrtle Beach, SC
About the Competition
The Florence County Museum is proud to present the 2021 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Florence. The competition highlights the best contemporary art in the Pee Dee region. One of the state's oldest juried art competitions, the first Pee Dee Regional dates back to 1954 where the competition was held at the former Florence Museum on Spruce Street in Florence, South Carolina.
This year's exhibit is now open to the public and will remain on display through Friday, April 19, 2021 in the FCM Waters Gallery. Visitors are invited to inspect this year's selection and cast their vote for the Jo Ann Fender Scarborough People's Choice Award. Voting for the People's Choice Award will be open through Friday, March 26 with the winner being announced on Monday, March 29 via a press release and the museum's social media.
FCM Waters Gallery
135 South Dargan Street
Florence, South Carolina
Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday
10:00am - 5:00pm
In celebration of the Pee Dee Regional, the gallery will be open to the public on Saturday, January 30 from 10:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00pm.
The Selection Process & Awards
This year’s competition juror overseeing the selection of works and awards was North Carolina artist Margaret Curtis. First place in this year’s competition was awarded to Julie Mixon of Florence for her image transfer Envelop(e). The other award winners include second place mixed media by Hartsville resident Jasmine Baetz titled Wise Man (November) and third place silkscreen print X Marks the Spot by Myrtle Beach artist, Treelee MacAnn. The honorable mention was awarded to the painting titled, Found by Alyssa Reiser Prince of Hartsville.
The exhibit this year is composed of 25 works of art selected from over 130 online submissions by 66 artists representing northeastern South Carolina. This year’s exhibit is comprised from a balanced variety of paintings, mixed media, prints, drawings, photography and three-dimensional works.
1st Place
Julie Mixon
Envelop(e)
Hand sanitizer image transfer
Florence, SC
2nd Place
Jasmine Baetz
Wise Man (November)
*detail
Plastic, safety tape, tile clay, blood
Hartsville, SC
3rd Place
Treelee MacAnn
X Marks the Spot
21 color silkscreen print
Myrtle Beach, SC
Honorable Mention
Alyssa Reiser Prince
Found
Oil on canvas
Hartsville, SC
People’s Choice
Sophia Shumaker
Untitled
*detail
Fabric, polymer clay, thread
Florence, SC
Juror’s Statement
It was a great honor and challenge to jury the 2021 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition.
As an artist myself, I came to the selection process with subjective preferences and a specific knowledge base about art making. As a lifelong student, teacher, and lover of art, I often put those interests aside in order to open myself to other voices. I deeply value the work of artists whose intentions and approaches are often starkly different from my own.
More important than what I brought as a juror, however, is what the applicants contributed in terms of their concerns. We are living in difficult times. The prevailing theme of the submitted work was the pandemic, with sub themes of vulnerability, loneliness, and requiem. These themes guided my choices, and form the organizing core of the show.
I believe artworks establish their own internal criteria for success or failure. I looked to the artist’s intent and whether that intention was realized effectively. This is not always easy when I am viewing work out of context. But I did my best to see the submitted work as fully as possible. I looked for artists who did not take their process, subject matter, or ideas of what constitutes “art” for granted. While adept and sensitive handling of materials is always important, I favored creative engagement over simple displays of skill.
I want to congratulate everyone for having the courage to submit works. I also want to encourage artists, especially those new to art making, to continue challenging themselves and putting their work out into the world. It was my honor to jury the show and select the award winners. I would like to thank Stephen Motte and the Florence County Museum for this opportunity.
Margaret Curtis
January 2021
List of Works
Kyla Allen
Star Blessed
Oil on canvas
Columbia, SC
Jasmine Baetz
Wise Man (November)
Plastic, safety tape, tile clay, blood
Hartsville, SC
Triston Blanton
DaVita Dialysis Myrtle Beach,SC
VCT, VCT adhesive, and floor wax on birch panel
Johnsonville, SC
Jim Boden
Requiem
Oil on canvas
Hartsville, SC
Jan Chenoweth
LH-SOS 191
Various pigments on wood panel
Lake City, SC
Christopher Edge
Neowise Farewell Lightshow in Sumter County
Photography
Sumter, SC
Jennifer Edwards
Villa Capri
Acrylic on canvas
Florence, SC
Dewey Ervin
Gonna Rain
Photography
Florence, SC
Gregory Fry
Divided We Fall
Serigraph with pearlescent inks
Florence, SC
Robert Garey
Homage To An Era
Oil on linen
Florence, SC
Douglas Gray
Negligentia
Saggar fired ceramics with encaustic medium
Florence, SC
Jean Grosser
Life and Death
Muslin, wood, brass, bullet, nails
Hartsville, SC
Roger Halligan
What Me Worry?
Steel, Portland Concrete products, Penetrol, paint
Lake City, SC
Uschi Jeffcoat
Study of Christina
Watercolor with gold leaf
Florence, SC
Mary Ellen Judge
Face Value
Acrylic, found objects, fibers
Florence, SC
Joshua Knight
Idle Hands
Oil on gessoed paper
Little Rock, SC
Heidi Luckette-Vaught
True to Form
Photography
Effingham, SC
Treelee MacAnn
X Marks the Spot
21 color silkscreen print
Myrtle Beach, SC
Julie Mixon
Envelop(e)
Hand sanitizer image transfer
Florence, SC
Julie Mixon
We’ll See (Family Images from COVID-19 Isolation)
Image transfer to wood
Florence, SC
Alyssa Reiser Prince
Canal
Acrylic on canvas
Hartsville, SC
Alyssa Reiser Prince
Found
Oil on canvas
Hartsville, SC
Samantha Ross
Pizza! Pizza!
Digital photography
Cheraw, SC
Sophia Shumaker
Untitled
*detail
Fabric, polymer clay, thread
Florence, SC
Ada Smolen-Morton
Vanitas of a Prairie Dog
Oil on canvas
Florence, SC
Competition Schedule
Acceptance of Online Entries
Fri, Oct 16 – Sun, Nov 15, 2020
Juror Selection
Mon, Nov 23 – Fri, Nov 27
Digital Semifinal Acceptance Notification
Mon, Nov 30 – Fri, Dec 4
Delivery of Semifinal Works
Mon, Dec 7 – Fri, Dec 18 (incl. Sat, Dec 12 & Sun, Dec 13)
Juror’s Final Review & Awards
Mon, Jan 4 – Fri, Jan 8, 2021
Final Acceptance Notifications
Mon, Jan 11 – Fri, Jan 15
Digital and Gallery Exhibition Opening
Fri, Jan 29
Final Day of Exhibition
Fri, Apr 9
Last Day to Pickup Work
Fri, May 7
