By Scott D. Johnston
For The Daily World
The Fine Art, Photography and 3D Show in Ocean Shores this weekend is both the longest-running and most volunteer-intensive annual event on the North Coast.
The show, which goes back to the early 1970s, is produced each year by Associated Arts of Ocean Shores as “the artists’ gift to the community,” according to Ed Schroll, president of AAOS.
At least 60 volunteers will work to display 800-plus pieces of art in the temporary gallery that is created inside the Ocean Shores Convention Center each year. Chairwoman Joan Lohr said the event will “display some of the finest art, photography, and three-dimensional work in Grays Harbor County, as well as from states other than Washington.”
The show is judged in both juried and open divisions. Last year, the Juried Fine Arts and Photography categories displayed more than 100 pieces each. The Open division had more than 250 entries each in Fine Arts and Photography, and nearly 100 in Three-Dimensional Art. Similar numbers are expected this year.
New this year will be a display of 20-plus works by students at North Beach High School.
Entries are closed for the Juried and Youth divisions, but Open division entries will be accepted at the Convention Center until 5 p.m. Thursday. The Open entry fee is $10 per piece. Judging takes place Friday.
AAOS offers more than $6,000 in cash prizes, and outside sponsors add about $1,200 more. The organization also runs an annual poster contest, won this year by Raymond-area artist Kris Ellen Jenott. Her original acrylic painting will be auctioned at the event.
Almost all of the art shown will be available for purchase. In addition, 10 artist vendor booths and an AAOS booth will be operating. “Artist in action” demonstrations will go on both days, as well as live music by local jazz group Unexpected Soul.
Schroll said that while the move-in and move-out for the event require a lot of volunteer help, AAOS conducts planning, preparation and support for the event throughout the year. For example, he said, one of the main reasons for the AAOS-produced arts and crafts show on Labor Day weekend at the Convention Center is to fund the Fine Arts Show and other AAOS activities.
He said the North Coast has long attracted artists, and the community has been successful in building the event into a regional art show that draws entries from across the country and occasionally beyond, as well as strong support from Northwest artists.
The event also has helped AAOS grow. Schroll said its membership has tripled in the past two and a half years, and the group has launched several new projects, including an effort to have AAOS artists collaborate on painting outdoor murals in public places. They created one last fall at the studio of KOSW-FM, the city-owned radio station on Ocean Lake Way in Ocean Shores.
The Fine Art, Photography and 3D Show will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. Admission is free.
More information is available at www.associatedarts.org.
