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Artful Expression

Zonta Club’s exhibit benefits scholarship Karen Lungu The Daily Record The 10th Annual Artful Women Exhibit, hosted by Zonta International, began with a reception Friday evening at the National Guard Armory building. Refreshments were served while visitors mingled with the artists before placement winners and honorable mentions were announced. “We’ve got pretty close to 45 to 50 artists, with 150 pieces of actual art,” said Zonta member Donice Neal. The exhibit will continue this Saturday and Sunday, with many of the pieces on display for sale. “The special thing about our art show is the money goes to a scholarship in Sharon Cushman’s name,” said Zonta member Norma Schumer said. “It’s sponsored by her son, Collin Cushman.” A $5 donation was accepted at the door, with all proceeds going into philanthropic ventures sponsored by Zonta. The annual service projects include the Sharon Cushman Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a woman over the age of 25 who is continuing her education. Tabitha Menefee was introduced during Friday’s reception and exhibit as this year’s recipient. Menefee is a single mom raising two sons, 10 and 17. “I’m a nurse and decided to go back for my RN, so I applied and was surprised that I won,” said Menefee. “And happy.” Schumer was pleased with the Friday evening turnout. The event, which outgrew the Art Center and the Abbey, steadily has grown over the past 10 years. “We’ve always had qualified judges that choose the art. We’ve had different categories in different years. It’s interesting how the art changes from year to year,” Schumer said, pointing to several horse paintings, which were popular this year. “A couple of years ago, we had portraits.” Show judge, Valerie Brodar circulated with several artists as they described their inspiration for their exhibits. “I have an extensive background in the fine arts because I traveled to North America,” artist Dakota Rogers explained to Brodar. “I tried water color. I also do the silk.” Rogers, who is a fiber artist, exhibited two types of art throughout the weekend exhibit. “I taught for the North American Guilds for about 20 years. After I retired, I had to find something else to do, so I went into painting on silk.” Brodar, who has a master of fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, traveled from her job as an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. “I’ve been exhibiting my work and teaching for quite a long time now,” Brodar said. “Nancy (Gerlock, Zonta president) contacted me, and said they were doing this really exciting show. I was very excited to participate.” Artist Cara Fisher has participated in the event for a number of years. “This is a marvelous opportunity for women,” Fisher said. “It’s an excellent show to get a good judge.” Zonta member Joan Sindler was on hand to help with the exhibit. “The art is wonderful,” Sindler said “It’s a nice representation, and it’s all women, which is kind of cool.” Photographer Stephanie MacFarlane received an honorable mention with her photo titled “Vibrant Orchid.” “I’ve just been doing this for the past four or five years,” MacFarlane said of her budding photography. “A gal who was working in my classroom this year said ‘Look, I’m entering some photos in this contest. You ought to try some,’ so I entered three. It was fun.” “Zonta is an international organization that promotes the status of women,” said Schumer, a retired school teacher. “We have a membership of about 35 here in Cañon.” Nearly 33,000 members belong to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs in 68 countries. For more information, go to www.zontaroyalgorge.org. Karen Lungu can be reached at klungu@ccdailyrecord.com.