The unique visions and artistic creations of local artists now fill downtown Texarkana’s Regional Arts Center with colors and shapes, giving viewers a glimpse into the varied ways artists are inspired.

It’s the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council’s 20th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition. This year’s juror was Keith Melton, an artist and exhibit designer for the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock.

Out of 148 works entered, 117 were chosen for the exhibit. Fifty-four artists are included.

The winner? Glen Knod, Texarkana sculptor, for his clay pitcher, both a utilitarian and artful piece of work that impressed Melton, who called it a “well constructed, beautifully proportioned craft object” in his juror’s statement. A Best of Show nod earned him $1,000.

He also noted the attention Knod paid to the detail.

“The artist carefully selected forms that seem to come from a melting pot of influences—Roman, Art Deco, and Native American. The piece is iconic, like a skyscraper disguised as a cool blue pitcher,” wrote Melton.

He also noticed the diversity in the show.

“The works selected for the exhibition are a testament to the strength of artists and the variety of interests in and surrounding Texarkana,” Melton wrote.

Works by two family members landed among the top pieces: Charlie Cook for his Southwestern-flavored acrylic painting “Chimayo” earning second place and his daughter Polly Cook landing a fourth-place nod for a ceramic tile piece titled “Wild Geese.”

“Polly’s work is just outstanding,” said Treva West, TRAHC’s community program coordinator.

“She does this really unique thing in clay where she fires it,” said West. Before that, Cook will cut the design into the clay. “And then she’ll fire it, and then she’ll glaze it and then she’ll fire it again. And then she puts it all back together. This is major construction piece.”

Other top selections were Gary Bachers Prismacolor work “Meditation,” which shows incredible precision in its technique, for first place, and Shirley Temples’ “Solitude & Peace,” a truly tranquil and relaxing seaside painting with oil stick.

Melton wrote that the pieces that impressed him most were those that held his attention both close up and farther away.

“These pieces continue to draw me in. These are pieces with great content. Each tells a story in a way that makes you want to revisit them often,” he wrote.

West said Melton also noticed the strength of three-dimensional works submitted for the show.

“I think that category is emerging in our area here in the region,” she said.

Other winners were: Carla Mayne and Blanche Barber for honorable mention; Debbie King, Nicole Brisco, Judy Wright and Sheila Keever for merit awards.

Artists in the show come from Texarkana, Little Rock, El Dorado, Nashville, Washington, Hope and Ashdown in Arkansas, as well as New Boston, Atlanta, Magnolia, Wake Village and Nash in Texas.

West sees tremendous “breadth and depth” in the art chosen.

“The variety of mediums are the largest in the history of the show,” she said. “They go from traditional to conceptual, reality to abstract, whimsical and playful to mystical.”



(Admission to the exhibit is free. RAC hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and a 7 p.m. close on Thursdays. The show runs through Aug. 25.

More info: 903-792-8681 or www.trahc.org.)