Congratulations to the Winners and Finalists of the Paradise City Arts 2025 Collectors Recognition Awards!
Congratulations to the Winners and Finalists of Paradise City Arts’ 2025 Collectors Recognition Awards! Thousands of you, our patrons, participated in this competition. Voters recognized artists and makers for their achievements in each media category – Art and Sculpture; Furniture and Home Furnishings; Fashion and Jewelry. The votes were remarkably close, and we thank everyone for their participation.
The First Prize Winners are: Moe Lalonde, Melissa Dudley, and Ruth Odile.
The Finalists are: Ann Brauer, Abbie Chambers, and Marguerite Alpert.
In addition, we would like to give honorable mention to a handful of artists who came extremely close to winning: James Guggina, Ken Salem, Amy Casher, Lauren Pollaro, Whitmoore Boogaerts, and Roger DiTarando.
READ ALL ABOUT THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS!
MOE LALONDE, First Prize, Furniture & Home Furnishings
Moe is an avid woodworker with over 40 years of experience. With a history of building custom cabinetry and furniture, he has transitioned to more innovative techniques in creating wood sculptures. Moe specializes in gluing up locally sourced hardwoods, using no mechanical fasteners. Some of his pieces have contained nearly two hundred linear feet of precision glue joints. From there, he creates sculptures that work with the natural colors and outstanding textures of these beautiful hardwoods.
“I want the viewer of my work to light up at the natural beauty of wood. They should be drawn to touch and question it, to find awe in the color, grain, and texture unique to every piece. Living at the foothills of the Adirondacks, I am surrounded by some of the best hardwoods anywhere. Most of the wood I use comes from trees that have reached the end of their natural lives. The story each tree has to tell unfolds as it is sawn, dried, and transformed into its next form of art. It is an act of respect when I make a piece that allows a tree to live on. I am drawn to creating pieces that are both beautiful and technically challenging. To envision a new technique and work many iterations of it, to troubleshoot failures until they become successes, is where the great satisfaction comes from.”
Awards include:
- 2024, Juror’s Choice Award: Sculpture, MUNSON Sidewalk Art Show
- 2024, 2nd Place/Masters Division Awards: Forest Cathedral ll, View Arts Center, Old Forge, NY
- 2023, Top ten, Curves International Juried Exhibit
- 2022, 1st Place 3D/Sculpture: Whispers I, View Arts Center, Old Forge, NY
ANN BRAUER, Finalist, Furniture & Home Furnishings
When Ann Brauer was born, her grandmother made her a postage stamp quilt of feed sack cloth which she slept under for years always delighting in finding the little flowers and other surprises that were carefully placed on it. This inspired her lifelong love of fabric. Eventually she had a friend who made quilts and she realized that if she made quilts, she could play with fabric. Soon she ran out of friends to give the quilts to and she began selling them. More than 44 years ago, she moved to Shelburne Falls where her studio remains and began supporting herself making quilts.
Through lots of experimentation with color and fabric, she began creating her current series of abstract landscapes that use small bits of cotton fabric to create meditations of time and place. Just like her grandmother’s quilt, if you look closely there are always new designs to discover and stories hidden within the work to uncover while from a distance the work reads as a painting in fabric.
Her work is in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Art + Design in NYC, The Lodge at Turning Stone in Verona, NY, the Federal District Court House in Springfield and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. Her studio in Shelburne Falls is open to the public. In 2026 she will have a Two Woman Show at the Art Complex in Duxbury, MA.
MELISSA DUDLEY, First Prize, Fashion & Jewelry
I create fine jewelry that blends personal history, coastal beauty, and meaningful storytelling. Inspired by the windswept elegance of Nantucket, my work captures moments—whether they are memories, milestones, or connections to something greater than ourselves.
I work with rare seashells, recycled metals, heirloom stones, and unexpected treasures, crafting each piece with care and intention. My signature Sailor’s Valentines are heartfelt tributes to love, the sea, and the quiet magic of objects that hold memory.
Every design begins at the bench, where I combine traditional metalsmithing techniques with modern tools, such as Matrix and Gem Vision CAD. I hold a BFA in Jewelry and studied in Portugal on a merit scholarship, always drawn to techniques that balance old-world craftsmanship with contemporary design.
I’ve been making jewelry for over 30 years, and I still believe the best pieces are the ones that become part of someone’s story. My work is available online, at juried art shows, and by appointment at my private studio. I do not currently wholesale, choosing instead to focus on one-of-a-kind connections with collectors who value intention, artistry, and meaning.
ABBIE CHAMBERS, Finalist, Fashion & Jewelry
I am a textile designer and clothing artist who creates one-of-a-kind garments that function as wearable works of art. Through the use of dye, paint, shibori, and paste resist techniques, I layer color and pattern to build depth and movement into every piece. Each silhouette is designed and constructed from the ground up, serving as a unique canvas for my surface design. I work exclusively with natural fibers that feel wonderful on the skin and are both easy to wear and care for. By embracing the inherent qualities of fabric, dye, and resist, I allow the materials to speak for themselves, honoring the subtle variations and imperfections that transform each garment into a true original.
RUTH ODILE, First Prize, Art and Sculpture
Ruth Odile has lived on Cape Cod for forty years. She is profoundly influenced by the watery landscapes that surround her. The salt marshes take on new colors with every season and time of day. She paints largely from her imagination, loose sketches, and memory. She says, “Painting from memory keeps my style loose, and results in a painting that is about the feeling of the place rather than the location. Because I don’t paint a specific place, I’m inviting you, the viewer, to bring your own experience to the painted landscape.”
Ruth studied art education at SUNY Buffalo, but her creative career began in NYC as a display designer. After moving to Cape Cod she continued as a graphic designer, then launched her wearable art line – which continued for 35 years. After many years designing and painting clothing, she finally chose to return solely to her true love of oil painting on canvas. Ruth writes, “No matter where my career took me, I always made time for fine art. Now I pass my interpretation of the light and joy of a landscape directly to the viewer, to be immersed in the atmosphere of a special place they may recall.”
Her work has been included in solo and group shows at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod and Cotuit Center for the Arts. Ruth’s paintings can be seen at Paradise City shows and in her own Cape Cod gallery: Gallery-Odile Fine Art in Harwich, Massachusetts.
MARGUERITE ALPERT, Finalist, Art and Sculpture
Marguerite Alpert is a lifelong gardener and has lived in Wethersfield, Connecticut for most of her life. She has spent many years with her hands in the soil, watching the marvel of the plant cycle – from seed, to flower, to fruiting plant.
She has been making art out of pressed plants for over 30 years, using five beautiful handmade wooden presses by her husband. Marguerite started The Flowered Press in 2021.
Her artwork comes from plants that she has grown from seeds, harvested from generous friend’s gardens, and collected by roadsides throughout the northeast. Marguerite often deconstructs plants into their component parts to reveal shapes and colors that are not always evident with the fresh, whole plant which contributes interesting design elements to her compositions.
Marguerite’s original artwork is available for purchase. She also takes commissions and offers pressed botanical art workshops.
Several of her pressed botanical art designs have been selected for national juried art exhibitions and solo exhibitions.
