Congratulations to the Winners and Finalists of the Paradise City Arts 2024 Collectors Recognition Awards!
Congratulations to the Winners and Finalists of Paradise City Arts’ 2024 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: Hetty Friedman, Saskia Van Vactor, and Louise Pigott
The Finalists are: Lauren Pollaro, Colleen McCall, and Margaret Shipman
In addition, we would like to give honorable mention to a handful of artists who came extremely close to winning: Nancy Marland, Melissa Dudley, Keith Lewis, James Guggina, Ken Salem, Caitlin Burch, Dana Volungis, Harold Dumas, and Tracy Levesque
READ ALL ABOUT THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS!
HETTY FRIEDMAN, First Prize, Fashion and Jewelry
Born in Brooklyn, Hetty fell in love with weaving at a Connecticut arts camp in 1966 and has never looked back. It has taken her through a degree in Visual Design (MFA), corporate work in inventory control management (MBA), and a successful 30-year management career in the garment industry. She founded Crafts for a Cause in 2000, a project that allows her to use her artistic skills and industry experience to contribute to communities near and far.
Hetty Friedman Designs was founded in 2009. Her designs are sold in museums shops, women’s boutiques, art events and from her Newton, MA studio. Hetty’s main inspirations are Joseph and Annie Albers- the Bauhaus artists, Guatemalan indigenous weavers, Matisse, and Picasso. She often dyes her yarn and takes risks combining strong and unusual colors. Her work is woven on a 36” 4 harness Le Clerc, an 8 harness Macomber and a Baby Wolf Schacht 8 harness loom. A huge yarn collection dominates her studio.
Crafts for a Cause combines Hetty’s love for hand-woven textiles and the Guatemalan Highlands. Utilizing her business expertise in a partnership with a Fair-Trade weavers’ cooperative, she travels to Guatemala to teach Mayan back-strap weavers new techniques and develop products. Hetty supports organizations working with reproductive health and education and issues pertaining to women and girls.
LAUREN POLLARO, Finalist, Fashion and Jewelry
My one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces are expressions of my interest in color, texture and sculptural form. The construction of each piece is a spontaneous process, often starting from a sketch but then meandering to a completely different outcome. I mainly work with vitreous enamel on copper, sterling silver, brass, epoxy resin, paint, fabric, paper collage and found objects. I’m inspired by the experimental nature of working with dissimilar materials. It’s a practice of layering and assembling during which I instinctively create relationships between disparate colors, patterns and textures. What is most challenging and rewarding to me is arriving at a harmonious combination.
Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1962, I come from a family of accomplished artists. My earliest and happiest memories have come from “making things” and I’m thankful to have had parents who encouraged that and who were my role models. I earned my degrees in Fine Art and English from the University of New Hampshire and soon after graduating became involved in the graphic arts as an art director for several magazines. I have been working as a jewelry artist for over 30 years. During that time I have honed by technical skills and fulfilled interests in new techniques through courses, workshops and experimentation in my studio. I have been honored with numerous gallery exhibitions, museum representation and awards of merit. My work has been featured in publications such as Jewelry Artist Magazine, Niche Magazine, Art Jewelry Magazine, Artscope Magazine and the Boston Globe as well as in the books Art Jewelry Today 3 and Mastering Contemporary Jewelry Design.
SASKIA VAN VACTOR, First Prize, Furniture and Home Furnishings
Born in Boston, Saskia grew up in a family of artists and writers. After a general training in art at the Paris American Academy in France at 17, Saskia received her BFA with a concentration on ceramics and minor in printmaking. at Kansas State University under Professors Yoshiro Ikeda and James Munce. Graduating at the top of her class and having participated in many exhibitions she then went on to work as a free lance artist in Los Angeles, CA, where she completed several tile installations, decorative murals and exhibited her ceramic work. Leaving California in 1996 she moved to Florence, Italy where she attended the Scuola di Ceramica, Montelupo Fiorentino. While in Italy she continued her art training in diverse disciplines such as fresco painting, mask making and traditional majolica pottery. She continued to work and exhibit her ceramic art in Italy for the next six years. Currently Saskia has returned to Boston, and is working as an Art teacher. She has recently begun working to find a balance between teaching and creating her own work. In her own work and studio time, Saskia has focused her attention on creating her own unique body of work in both printmaking and clay. Recent travels to Japan, have ignited a re-discovery of her passion for printmaking. The images for these, like her pottery, are inspired by a great love of nature and dedicated to exploring a plethora of natural textures, shapes, and forms.
COLLEEN McCALL, Finalist, Furniture and Home Furnishings
Colleen McCall is a full-time studio artist living in Elmira, New York. Her first playful dishes were crafted to delight her two young children. Their whimsies being pink elephants, hula hooping bears and dinosaurs. Having studied both painting and ceramics in college, the combination of the two was completely unexpected. Today, Colleen’s functional “canvases” aka pottery has a slightly more grown up aesthetic that is colorful and folksy. Her plethora of modern vintage patterns are a joy to mix, match and gift.
“I love color so I paint flowers.”
Colleen’s inspiration varies from natural realistic flowers to stylized abstract florals. Fresh ideas can come from a garden bloom or a day of thrifting. Vintage textiles, feed sack florals, bold wall coverings, pressed glassware and global folk traditions are all part of the mix to create modern heirloom quality dinnerware, home and garden decor.
LOUISE PIGOTT, First Prize, Art and Sculpture
Louise Pigott’s artistic journey began in 2010, after realizing she had the gift of artistry passed on to her through her grandfather, who was an inspirational artist. His artistic talents were adorned in Fresco paintings. Fresco artwork can be found in the most cherished and sacred religious buildings and churches from Europe to America.
Louise Pigott is celebrated for her remarkable ability to capture the essence of nature and landscapes in her artwork. Her art offers a breathtaking exploration of landscapes and the wonders of nature as she transports viewers to serene and awe-inspiring settings.
Louise Pigott’s talent lies in her capacity to infuse her creations with the emotions and sensations evoked by nature itself. Her vivid use of color and texture invites viewers to journey into the heart of our planet, fostering a profound appreciation for its beauty and fragility.
As an artist dedicated to showcasing the magnificence of nature, Louise’s paintings are a testament to the power of art to inspire us, invoke emotion, and brighten our world.
MARGARET SHIPMAN, Finalist, Art and Sculpture
My lifelong curiosity revolves around understanding people and how we fit into the intricate puzzle of the world. I’ve explored this primarily through art—first by appreciating the work of others and more recently by creating my own.
I hold BAs in Cultural Anthropology and Studio Art, which led me to a career bridging the two fields. I have worked on projects that connect indigenous artists in the U.S. and abroad with markets for their work. For the past twenty years, I’ve been involved with arts organizations in Southern Vermont, both professionally and as a volunteer. Today, I am fully dedicated to creating my own art.
I live in a 200 year old farmhouse in southern Vermont with my husband, son, and a few dogs, cats, and pet turtles. Our house is surrounded by wildflowers, woods, gardens, and beehives and nestled between a mountain and a river.
I’m the co-creator of the Wayfarer Tarot and collaborating on a second deck to be released soon.
My original work is available for purchase from The Harmony Collective in Brattleboro, Vermont, Frog Hollow Gallery in Burlington,Vermont, TAG Gallery in Boston, at art fairs throughout the year, and directly from my studio.
