Exhibitors from seven states have been juried into Fine Arts @ Oxford for the 31st annual Oxford Community Center benefit, where nearly forty artists will display a variety of quality two- and three-dimensional pieces at the beautifully renovated OCC. The event will get a jumpstart from the ticketed Preview Gala held on Friday, May 15 (6-8pm) featuring a scrumptious medley of hearty hors d’oeuvres and desserts, live entertainment and full bar offerings. Saturday (May 16, 10-5) and Sunday (May 17, 10-4) visitors will find a selection of fresh, homemade lunch offerings for purchase, as well as hearty servings of the OCC’s traditional and legendary strawberry shortcake. Raffle tickets will be sold all weekend in preparation for hourly Sunday afternoon drawings; nearly thirty artists have most generously donated work to the raffle to further support the OCC.
Fine Arts @ Oxford was the first fundraising event initiated to support the then-fledgling Oxford Community Center in 1984. At that time, artists were invited to hang their pieces upon swaths of snow-fencing along the front and west side of the building. Growing and evolving as it has throughout the years, now only the largest and/or outdoor-appropriate items are located outdoors. Just inside the front door, among many new faces and returning others, visitors will find Carole Boggemann-Peirson who has been selected as the featured artist this year. Her serene piece “Moving Moment” graces the event poster, as well as additional promotional materials. Born and raised in Holland, she has been juried into the exhibition continuously for ten years, and now hails from the lower Eastern Shore of VA. Boggemann-Peirson has been juried into Plein Air Easton, was awarded “Best in Show” by renowned colorist Camille Przewodek at Local Color, is included in the newly-published 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic, and has work in international commercial and private collections. Most recently, her solo exhibit hung at Murphy-Montgomery Gallery (Newport News, VA); she will be co-featured (with Lois Engberg, also exhibiting at FA@O) at Bishop’s Stock )Snow Hill, MD) in August.
Boggemann-Peirson has taught and shared her passion for painting for ten years; regular weekly lessons, workshops and private classes fall within her routine. Her home studio is included on Virginia’s Eastern Shore Artisan Trail, and initial plans are underway for a future workshop (maximum of 10 students) to be held at the Oxford Community Center. Additional information will be available at FA@O, although interested participants may e-mail contact information to [email protected]; class specifics will be disseminated as they develop.
Popular Salisbury artist Erick Sahler will be unveiling new works featuring Oxford and St. Michaels; Oxford resident Howard Lapp will return to the event following a fourteen year absence, adding a new medium and form to his distinctive body of work; Easton artist David Grafton will be making his first appearance at FA@O; and Jan Elmy will travel from Georgia to display her one-of-a-kind, museum quality pieces: humble gourds utterly transformed through her long series of labor-intensive, technique-laden processes.
Additional artists completing the full roster of exhibitors include David Aiken (Weems, VA), Norm Bell (Oxford, MD), Katie Cassidy (Easton, MD), Nancy Coleman (Nobleboro, ME), Annie Compton (Takoma Park, MD), Fred Craig (Oxford, MD), Mary Ekroos (Trappe, MD), Lois Engberg (Salisbury, MD), Beverly Ford Evans (Franklin, TN), Rae Hamilton (Parkton, MD), Carla Huber (Woolford, MD), Linda Kirvan (Bethesda, MD), Diane DuBois Mullaly (Easton, MD), Larry Myers (Oxford, MD), Stephanie Nadolski (Shady Side, MD), Larry Ringgold (Chesapeake Beach, MD), Steve Rogers (Lewes, DE), John Schisler (Georgetown, DE), Douglas Sefton (St. Michaels, MD), Nick Serratore (Lewes, DE), Sharon Stockley (Easton, MD), Nancy Thomas (Ridgely, MD), Bob Tolley (Cambridge, MD), Nick Vincent (Westminster, MD), Sean Wells (Doylestown, PA), Nancy Richards West (Chincoteague Island, VA), Heidi Wetzel (Easton, MD), C. Keith Whitelock (Salisbury, MD), M. Joyce Zeigler (Ridgely, MD) and Barbara Zuehlke (Easton, MD).
Advance purchase of Fine Arts @ Oxford Preview Gala tickets ($80 per person) is recommended; in addition to attendance at the lively evening and a first look at the complete collection of artwork, each includes event entrance for the full weekend. All are welcome at the gala; visit www.oxxfordcc.org to buy directly or call/e-mail the Oxford Community Center, 410-226-5904 or [email protected] to receive a mailed invitation. Otherwise, Saturday (10-5) and Sunday (10-4) admission is $5; raffle tickets ($10/book of six) may be purchased throughout the weekend. The OCC is located at 200 Oxford Rd. in Oxford, MD; it is a 5013c organization and 30% of all art sales directly benefit the Center.
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