Photographers Show off Their Best Shots

The Redlands Art Association held its 6th Annual Community Photo Show this past week. The artists hung up their work in the gallery and the community was invited to view the art all week, starting Monday, Jan. 12, through Sunday, Jan. 18. The title of this year's event was "Give Us Your Best Shot," entailing that the subject for the art was open. Judith Sparhawk, event coordinator for the past six years, said, "We usually give the artists a broad theme, but this year we left it open to them." Starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, the community gathered for the reception that gave everyone the opportunity to meet and chat with the artists. All attendees had the chance to view several different pieces of photography while enjoying the refreshments provided by the Art Association. “The gallery stayed pretty busy and active,” Sparhawk commented on the event. According to Sparhawk, the gallery had to limit the number of photos each artist could enter into the show. Previous years, artists would bring a few of their best pieces. “Last year, we had 114 pieces in the gallery,” she said. Although the attendance and participation was highly appreciated, space at the gallery was limited; this year photographers entered one photo entry each. This year, 30 artists submitted photographs. “I joked at the reception that it’s about quality over quantity this year,” Sparhawk said while explaining that each piece received enough room for a nice display. “Even though there were a lot more people last year, we had a nice little show. The photography pieces were all so great and there was good attendance.” She decided to leave the theme open partly because each artist was limited to one photo, hence the theme “Give Us Your Best Shot," she explained. The photography show gives every local artist an opportunity to showcase their talent, or an opportunity to sell their artwork. Considering that there were 114 pieces displayed last year, Sparhawk said there were three or four pieces that sold. In the next gallery over, Ray Swanson’s paintings were displayed. He is the featured artist of the month of January and attendees were also invited to visit his famous southwestern paintings.