By Karen Kennedy
Carmel artists Jerry Points, Mary Johnston and April Willy all received awards at the Art Comes Alive event last weekend at the Art Design Consultants Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The annual event showcased 150 works, selected from more than 1,500 entries from around the nation, in a wide variety of media. Only four Indiana artists were selected; in addition to the three Carmel artists, Adam Noel from Indianapolis also was represented in the showcase.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the number of awards we each received,” said Points, who is the president of the Carmel Arts & Design District Gallery Association. “It was the first year for all of us to participate.”
The awards the artists received included publishing contracts for high quality, gyclée reproductions from a large, international distributor, placement of their works in both public and private collections, and purchases of their original works. Additionally, Willy was awarded “Emerging Artist of the Year.”
All three artists live in Carmel and show their work in the Arts & Design District. Points owns the Eye on Art Gallery, Johnston owns the Mary Johnston Gallery (both on Main Street) and Willy has a studio in the Indiana Design Center.
In other art news, the installation of Indianapolis artist Donna S. Carr’s painting “Lady Justice” was just unveiled at Renmin University’s Law School in Beijing, China. She was personally asked to create a piece for the school and recently returned from China following the installation of her work there. Her work will be on display in the month of July at ArtSplash Gallery on Main Street in Carmel.