Art Show Honors Past Guild Members

Visitors at the Cheyenne County Visitor Center were greeted last weekend with a vast array of art by local artists.

The Cheyenne County Art Guild held its annual spring show March 22-24 at the Center. The show started with an opening reception Thursday with artists available to meet with the public. The show included a wide variety of visual intrigue. There were penciled drawings that invited viewers into the scene, photographs as crisp as experiencing the view for the first time on the prairie, artists with the soft touch that implies wind whistling through the sandhills, visions of people working in blue collar environments and abstract visions brought to life in oils and acrylics.

One feature that sets this year's show apart is the display memorializing past Guild members. Artwork from past members Hank Jessen, Muriel Glanz and Catherine Borgens were on display. Jessen died Feb. 4, 2018, and Glanz and Borgens died in 2017. They were known as active supporters of the Cheyenne County Art Guild. Borgens also painted portraits of medical professionals in Sidney.

The memorial wall displays works depicting nature, farm life of the past and relationships between generations. They are renditions of what each artists sees in those moments: the textures, brush strokes, colors chosen and scenes painted.

The show included other local artists displaying works in various forms as well, each by a Guild member.

"This is our 46th art guild show," said local artist Cindi Egging. "We've always had it in the spring."

The Cheyenne County Art Guild started in the early 1970s. The Guild is a member of the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs (ANAC).

The show was judged by an artist from Imperial. The Cheyenne County Art Guild will send 11 of the works picked by the judge to the state show.

The ANAC traveling art show will be in Sidney in early May.

Winners of this year's show are:

BEST OF SHOW:

Cindi Egging

OIL PAINTING:

Professional:

1st Place: Ben Darling

2nd Place: Jane Easterly

Amature:

1st Place: Sheila Kaczmarek

2nd Place: Richard Kaczmarek

ACRYLIC:

Professional:

1st Place: Ron Nordyke

2nd Place: Ron Nordyke

PASTEL:

Professional:

1st Place: Chuck Borcher

2nd Place: Jane Easterly

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Professional:

1st Place: Margaret Evans

2nd Place: Margaret Evans

WATERCOLOR:

Professional:

1st Place: Tish Treinen

2nd Place: Tish Treinen

PENCIL

Professional:

1st Place: Ben Darling

2nd Place: Ron Nordyke

PRINTMAKING

Professional:

1st Place: Ben Darling

2nd Place: Ben Darling

MIXED MEDIA

Amature:

1st Place: Mary Moor

DOOR PRIZE: Chris Douglas

RAFFLE WINNER: Leslie Biggs

PEOPLE'S CHOICE: Ron Nordyke

All winners will have an opportunity to send their paintings to the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs state show, which will be in Scottsbluff this year in June.

Winning artwork will be displayed at The Coffee Corner.