On display

Creating artwork, from concept to completion, can be a lengthy process spanning weeks and months.

By comparison, the Craven Arts Council and Gallery's Juried Sculpture Show has experienced no such lag time. In three years, it has quickly evolved into a premier event, drawing talent from around the country.

Carol Tokarski, the council's executive director, credits arts council board member Mitch Lewis and President Jim Bisbee with getting the show off the ground and making it a national draw from the beginning.

The juried show began as a progression of the Sculpture Park, on the corner of Middle and Broad streets. Lewis said that project began as a showplace for outdoor art through assistance from Alex Badger, president of the First Citizens branch, which owns the lot.

Lewis, a sculptor who has shown his work nationally, said one of the keys to having a big time art show is offering appealing prize money. He said the goal of the organizers was to have a show with national appeal.

He and Bisbee got funding for the show through local corporate donations.

"The first year we raised about $15,000 in prize money and right out of the chute, it made us a major player," he said. "We were on the (arts) map immediately."

This year, the sculptors are competing for more than $20,000 in prizes, ranging from honoraria to first through third-place awards and a $10,000 purchase award.

The purchase award annually comes from a donor who selects an artwork that remains permanently in New Bern. This year's award from an anonymous donor is $10,000.

The show opens Nov. 7 at the Bank of the Arts on Middle Street, with indoor artwork, along with outdoor pieces across the street at the Sculpture Park.

The indoor exhibit will be on display through Dec. 24, and the outdoor exhibit continues through September 2009.

This year it attracted the work of 125 artists from 31 states, totaling 309 pieces of three-dimensional art for one of 33 spots in the Bank of the Arts or one of nine at the Sculpture Park on Middle Street.

The visiting artists come from as far away as Maine, Nebraska, Texas and New Mexico. The work of three Craven County artists was accepted - Lewis, Jan Hoppe of New Bern and Loren Strobel of Havelock.

The media used are wide-ranging - from bronze, wood, cast iron, steel, limestone, aluminum, marble, textile and clay to eggs, pencils, pins, and dental floss.

Lawrence Wheeler, director of the North Carolina Museum of Art, served as juror for the show.

His comments on the art gave credence to the stature the New Bern show has achieved in its short history.

"In judging among the many fine works submitted to the 2008 Juried Sculpture Show from many regions of America, I encountered the broad range of creativity and expression present in the leading galleries and exhibitions of contemporary sculpture in the world," he said.

"In making my selections, I wanted the work to be both exquisite in craftsmanship and expressive of an idea, complex or straightforward. Often, the intricacy of a smaller work was more compelling than its larger counterparts. And the larger work I found more powerful in the simplicity of its idea and its material expression. The use of fiber, found objects, delicate metals, and new materials in many cases added a sophisticated dimension to traditional media."

Award winners will be announced Friday during a gala preview party, which begins at a private home and moves to the Bank of the Arts for a meet-and-greet with the artists and to preview the show. Following the awards, the activities move to First Citizen Bank.

Tickets to the preview party are available now at the Bank of the Arts, 317 Middle Street, or by calling 638-2577. Tickets are $50 per person for members of Craven Arts Council and Gallery and $60 for nonmembers.

An original work by Lewis is being raffled, with the proceeds to benefit the annual show.

The bronze work is titled "Newborn," and is on display at the Bank of the Arts. Raffle tickets are $25. The winner of the sculpture will also be announced Friday, but the winner does not have to be present to win.

On the Web: www.cravenarts.org.