Innovation Designs Show

Now in its 17th year, Art in the County, is a first rate juried art show and sale that has flourished with the help of many very dedicated volunteers.  Don Pinder, one of these volunteers, has chaired the organizing committee for Art in the County for five years and has designed the show for ten years. Don is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, known for his innovative multi-level images of architectural details and his distinctive pottery and photographs. 

Don is an active member of the cultural commmunity and has created logos for Art in the County, the Prince Edward County Jazz Festival, the Command Performance Choir and did the design work for the Regent Theatre logo, he has also created posters for a variety of events around Prince Edward County. Don is Head of Design at the co-op Gallery 121 in Belleville where he participates regularly in exhibitions; his work has also been exhibited at the Ottawa Art Gallery, the O’Connor Gallery in Toronto, the Picturesque Gallery in Napanee, the Belleville Library Art Gallery and printed in local calendars and newspapers. His work is included in private collections in Toronto and across North America. Don has received a number of awards in juried shows and Art in the County is very fortunate to have such talent on our team.

A more recent member to the committee is Kathleen O'Donoghue who was been on the committee for two and half years and was first introduced by Eve McCrimmon.  Kathleen has lived in Prince Edward County for twenty three years and during that time has dabble a little with watercolour painting.  I asked her if she would ever consider entering her work in the show and she humbly replied "by no stretch of the imagination would I consider myself an artist!"  Kathleen is currently responsible for various aspects of the raffle that takes place at the end of each show.  This raffle draw is very popular due to the generous contribution of original works of art by local artists. 

A passion for the Arts

The passion for Art in the County is reflected in all of the amazing volunteers that help make this show better each and every year.
  
Two of these wonderful people are Evelyn & Doug Sloane who have been very active volunteers within the community and have been working with Art in the County since moving here 14 years ago.  I sat down recently with Evelyn and asked what was her most memorable "Art in the County" moment. Evelyn perked up and talked about "when an artist came in expecting her work to be declined and it was accepted by the panel of jurors, the artist was so shocked she broke down and cried, her piece sold on opening night!"  Evelyn & Doug's interest in the arts has not stopped with Art in the County, they are both founders of Scenes of Sandbanks and beyond, now in it's 11th year and co-founders of the Art of Flight, in it's 3rd year. These two annual art shows and sales also showcase the artistic talent in Prince Edward County as well as help the Prince Edward Bird Point Observatory and the Friends of Sandbanks two non-profit organizations within the community. 


Another long standing volunteer is Gael Moore, who began helping with the show in the mid 1990's.  After a few years hiatus, Gael is now back on the committee and says "it's always enjoyable, never dull and whatever their involvement the volunteers are enthusiastic and wonderful people with whom to work."

Brandy Gale, the most recent addition to the Art in the County committee is a Plein air painter who came to Prince Edward County in 2004 after falling in love with the landscape and lifestyle here. You may have seen her out and about, painting on location at Sandbanks, Lake on the Mountain or Point Petre. She volunteered as a gallery attendant for Art in the County for a couple of years, and then was invited to sit on the AITC Committee for 2010. Brandy is keen on bringing social media and the event together to reach a new demographic. Art in the County now has a Facebook presence, is Tweeting on Twitter, and blogging. Brandy's web site is http://brandygale.com and you can find her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BrandyGale.

Who's behind this great Art Show & Sale!

In 1993, Art in the County, a juried art show and sale, was born. Over the years, this wonderful annual exhibition has been very successful in showcasing the many talented artists in Prince Edward County.
Did you know that there are some very dedicated people that work behind the scenes to bring this amazing show to life year after year?  

I think it is about time that these volunteers were unveiled. 

The 2010 Art in the County standing committee consists of the following hard working souls: Anne Sheasby, Brandy Gale, Dayna Law, Don Pinder, Doug Monk, Doug Sloane, Evelyn Sloane, Everett McCrimmon, Gael Moore, Heather Ryan, Iris Phillips and Kathleen O'Donoghue.

Check back throughout the next month and find out what has inspired these awesome volunteers to become part of Art in the County.

For more info go to: History of Art in the County