This spring, The Guild hosted the “Art of Inspiration” competition seeking images that inspire. Artists from across the United States and Canada entered over 600 images. A jury led by David A. Ross, former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, selected 10 finalists. Today, the finalists’ images went online at http://printcompetition.artfulhome.com/ to let the public decide the winner.
“We are democratizing art. As far as we know this is the first time anyone in the art world has ever done this,” said Toni Sikes, Guild founder and CEO.
The 10 finalists are: Amy Cheng, SUNY art department professor, New Paltz, N.Y; Cristina Mejia, graphic designer, Palm Beach, Fla.; Kamilla White, art photographer, Seattle, Wash.; Meredith MacLeod, glass tile artist, Clinton, Wash.; Nicolette Jelen, master printmaker, Sag Harbor, N.Y.; Nancy Nicholson, stained glass artist, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Nuch Ryan, oil painter, Bourbonnais, Ill.; Patricia Esposito, photographer, Naples, Fla.; Phil Napala, NASA Director of Mission Support, Falls Church, Va.; and Wayland House, artist and gallery owner, Washington, D.C.
Public voting closes on May 15. The winner will be announced in The Artful Home Fall catalog on July 30. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the giclee edition will benefit The Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s “Artist and Sense of Place” program which sends artists into New Orleans schools.
The Guild, Inc. is the leading online retailer of original art and fine craft items shipped direct to customers from the studios of leading North American artists. The Guild’s catalogs, The Artful Home and Artful Gifts, present collections carefully selected from the 12,000 items available through The Guild’s artfulhome.com website. Since 1985, The Guild has also published annual sourcebooks helping design professionals locate commissionable artists for special projects.
