Juried Art Show a hit for First Friday art walk

This year’s Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show as part of the First Friday Art Walk in Niwot produced more winners than ever before as the event continues to grow.

Michelle Henzel, an organizer for the show and a member of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association board of directors, said there were a total of 21 entries scattered throughout local businesses.

The only requirement for the artwork was to feature Niwot in some fashion. Pieces were displayed at local merchants, including ShopGirl, Pebble Art Jewelry, Painted Primrose, Niwot Inn, Niwot Jewelry & Gifts, Osmosis Gallery, Wise Buys Antiques and Little Bird.

The awards from the judges and the fan favorite were announced last Friday during intermission of a concert by the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band.

Judges Mary Williams, Alyson Bell and Lisa Rivard selected the winning entries in the juried art portion of the awards ceremony.

“The three of them came and judged all of the pieces,” Henzel said. “It was really fun to watch them look at them all for that and see the ones they ended up picking.”

But there was a bit of a hitch in the sixth year of the show when it came to selecting the winner.

“They just couldn’t decide between the two,” Henzel said. “They really struggled with those two pieces. They (the judges) were really drawn to both of them.

“So we talked about just having two winners, which is what we decided to do.”

The winners were “Wise Buys” by Patrick Love and “Niwot’s Colorful History” by Bruce White. “Spring in Niwot” by Rick Barcelow came in third place. Love’s “Wise Buys” also won the fan favorite award with Linda Paul’s “Niwot at Night” coming in second. The People’s Choice winners were selected by members of the public who visited all of the merchants displaying entries, and submitting their votes. A drawing was held from the public entries for a free print of the winning art.

Osmosis Gallery and other local businesses will be selling cards and prints of the winning pieces. Niwot Liquor also has wine for sale with the labels depicting the artwork that won the juried contest.

“This is something we started that has been successful,” Henzel said. “It’s nice because it gets people out and into businesses in Niwot. They get to see the community a bit more.

“We had several new artists this year which is really nice. Every year we hope to grow it a bit more and get bigger. It’s all about raising money for the parks and making people aware of Niwot.”

Funds raised from the art walk go to Whistle Stop Park and the Niwot Children’s Park, which in themselves are works of art.

“They did a really good job on the parks,” Henzel said. “There is a uniqueness to those parks which kind of equals the uniqueness of Niwot. It’s a really cool town, I love being part of it.

“This event helps support those parks and the town. We don’t get funding for that, so this really helps with maintenance … It’s really to promote Niwot and the things we have going on here.”

The Niwot Cultural Arts Association sponsors the Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show as well as the First Friday Art Walks. The NCAA also owns Whistle Stop Park, and produces the summer concert series, Rock & Rails, with the Niwot Business Association. The organization also developed and manages the Niwot Children’s Park.