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Danny Foshee won first place with his painting “Smooth, Sweet, and Sazzy.” (Photos by Steven Calhoun)

Sue Anne Hoyt won second with her painting “Yellow Sail.”

Hoyt won third place with her photograph “Jeff.”

Scarlett Teel won honorable mention with her painting “Child.”

Jesse Cunningham, local clay artist and retired art teacher, entered one of only two sculptures in the gallery.

By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

The Chilton County Arts Council opened a new exhibition on May 6.

The gallery consists of entries from local artists, both members and non-members of the council. It will remain open through the month of May.

“We want people to participate and share their art with the community,” Arts Council president Sue Anne Hoyt said. “The privilege of exhibiting your work in a gallery [is] not easy to come by. If you’re trying to build a resume, it’s important. And to see your work up against other work, you learn from it. To me, that’s what it’s all about; that generosity of spirit of sharing what you do.”

Hoyt said the goal is to create a community for artists where they can share their knowledge instead of always working alone.

Jesse Cunningham, local clay artist and retired art teacher, entered a small clay sculpture into the gallery. Cunningham has been making clay figures since 1980.

“I like doing the little heads, that’s kind of what I’m known for over the last few years,” Cunnigham said. “I used to make all my projects for school out of modeling clay. I didn’t like doing reports, so I’d figure out a way to do it to keep the teacher happy.”

On the opening day of the gallery, there were prizes awarded based on a selection made by an independent judge, according to Hoyt. Each year, an anonymous judge is brought in from outside the area.

There were $100, $75, $50 and $10 awards given for first, second, third and honorable mention, respectively.

Danny Foshee won first place with his painting “Smooth, Sweet and Sazzy.” Hoyt won second with her painting “Yellow Sail” and third with her photograph “Jeff.” Scarlett Teel won honorable mention with her painting “Child.”

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