JURORS & JUDGES

Those artists juried into the Art’s Alive Festival of Fine Art are recognized by art professionals as presenting work that is technically well-executed, has a strong conceptual approach, and is of critical value. The jurors for the 2008 Art’s Alive Festival of Fine Art are:

Amy Rahn, West Branch Gallery
Amy Rahn is the Gallery Coordinator at West Branch Gallery and Sculpture Park in Stowe, Vermont. West Branch, in addition to representing quintessential Vermont sculptors John Matusz and Chris Curtis, shows work by Galen Cheney, Lois Eby, and Tari Swenson, among others. Rahn studied Art History and Studio Art at Albion College in Michigan and in Aix-en-Provence. She has worked in galleries in Oklahoma City and New York City before moving to Vermont. CLICK HERE...to visit website.

Carol MacDonald, Artist
Carol MacDonald is a professional artist, teacher, guide and community arts organizer. She works in printmaking, painting and mixed media work. Through her art she addresses issues of human and environmental development, evolution and healing. MacDonald currently teaches printmaking at the Community College of Vermont. In her studio, she leads monthly Monotype Workshops for artists and runs a summer art camp program for young people. For many years she led No Limits for Women Artists support groups. Community arts organizing has been a passion for MacDonald, who worked for twenty years with the Women’s Caucus for Art and was a founder of the Art’s Alive Festival of Fine Art. CLICK HERE...to visit website.

Liza Cowan, Pine Street Art Works
Liza Cowan is the owner and director of one of Burlington’s two commercial art galleries: Pine Street Art Works. The gallery represents the work of such local art powerhouses as John Anderson, Alison Bechdel, H. Keith Wagner, and Denis Versweyveld among others. Cowan is also a painter and photographer in her own right. CLICK HERE...to visit website.

Stephen M. Schaub, Indian Hill Imageworks
Stephen Schaub’s artwork has been featured in numerous publications and shows both at home and abroad, and he is well-recognized in the industry as an expert and innovator of progressive digital printing techniques. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, he is the author of two collections of his artworks: A Sense of Place (1999) and Through A Glass Darkly (2004). He and Eve Ogden Schaub are the founders of Indian Hill Imageworks in West Pawlet, Vermont. CLICK HERE...to visit website.

Jurying Criteria
Technical execution refers to how well the art is made. This often depends on the type of artwork but generally speaks to how well the artist uses materials and presents the work. Conceptual approach refers to the ideas, emotion, or thought behind the artwork. Specifically, we are interested in work that touches on contemporary or original themes in fine art; work that has a cohesive conceptual approach; and work that succeeds in conveying idea, emotion, and thought. Critical value refers to an artwork's contribution to the study and understanding of contemporary art. Does it reflect a current theme or interest? Does it lend itself to analysis and interpretation? Are the materials and technical approach innovative?

JUDGES

The Board of Directors of Art's Alive, Inc appointed Mark Waskow and Syndi Zook as judges for this year’s festival.

Mark Waskow
Mark Waskow is the founder of The Waskowmium, a collection of visual art. He also acts as an artist representative. As a curator, he has organized shows in Boston, New York, and Vermont. He is the Vice President of the Board of The South End Arts and Business Association (SEABA) as well as the Chair of the South End Art Hop. He sits on the Board of Directors of The Center for Book Arts in New York City. He lives in Barre, Vermont.

Syndi Zook
Syndi Zook is one of Art's Alive's earliest volunteers having led educational walking tours of the windows on Church Street for senior citizen groups from around the state during our Festivals in the 80's and early 90's.  Syndi has juried the Art's Alive Festival three times and has also worked closely with the Church Street Marketplace, First Night and Discover Jazz on public art presentations of all kinds for over twenty years. She is an actress, singer, director and world traveler and currently the Executive Director of the Lyric Theatre Company.