4 artists honored in Lakeview gallery
by Brandy Bramblett, reporter

    The only thing the four artists whose work is displayed in the Lakeview Gallery on NW Campus through Dec. 7 have in common is talent. The way each chose to express that talent, however, is different.

   The four are among the five winners recognized during an artists’ reception last week.

   Harry Stark used oil on canvas to create cottages, lighthouses and canyons so vibrant and vivid one cannot help but be drawn in by them.
   “This is really interesting,” said Ben McClure, who attended the exhibit with a friend.

   “I really like his abstract work,” he added, referring to Stark’s 2-D Refracted.

   Lynda Effertz, who was also honored at the reception, chose to express herself through terracotta sculptures. Her works ranged from tribal-looking masks with peacock feathers to delicate sculptures of women with perfectly molded faces.

   “It’s very soft looking, very realistic and feminine,” said Pam Regan of Effertz’s Sitting Nude.

   Barbara Arabian used her talent to create wall-sized drawings of cats whose luminous eyes seem to pierce the viewer. Though most of her work was black and white, her color pieces were equally captivating.

   “Striking,” said Sylvia Dominey, of Arabian’s Good Visiting.

   “Look at those faces. That’s beautiful,” another observer added.

   Kiki Ford used terracotta to create nude sculptures that were simple, yet perfect in form.

   “I don’t know what to say about this,” one man said of Ford’s Small Bather. “It’s definitely a naked woman,” he added with a laugh.

   NW Campus studio art instructors judged the contestants, rating the pieces on a scale of 1-9. The original works were completed last year.

   Stark, Effertz, Arabian, Ford and Rhonda Hanlon, the contest winners, each received a ribbon as well as the chance to have their art displayed in the Lakeview Gallery. Hanlon declined to show her work.