MINT HILL, NC – On Friday, April 2, Mint Hill Arts welcomed the community to the gallery for the first time in over a year for the Romie & Judy Mizell Photography Show Reception.
The photography show honors Romie and Judy Mizell’s time spent working with Mint Hill Arts. Award-winning photographer Romie Mizell served as president of Mint Hill Arts from 2013 to 2017. Over fifty of his photos are on display at the Novant Mint Hill hospital. Judy Mizell has had a 35-year career as an artist and has exhibited and sold her work throughout the Eastern United States. She works in transparent watercolor on rag paper to achieve detailed renderings of nature, garden scenes, and landscapes.
The event is the first in-person reception to be held at Mint Hill Arts since the student show in March of 2020. Due to COVID, all art shows were paused for over five months. They resumed with the Annual Novant Show in August but held virtual Zoom receptions to honor the winners in lieu of in-person events at the gallery. “With each Zoom reception, only the winners for the show were invited to attend in person and social distancing rules were followed and masks were worn,” says Mint Hill Arts Communication Director Jessica Schlesinger.
With public meeting restrictions loosening and more people becoming comfortable with the idea of getting out into the community again, President of Mint Hill Arts David McGee along with Schlesinger decided that now is an appropriate time to begin in-person receptions once again. “As a community-focused organization, Mint Hill Arts wants to be a positive part of bringing the community back together again during a time that has been very difficult for so many,” said Schlesinger. “Art can be a great way to bring people together, and Mint Hill Arts is excited to start seeing more people in person again.”
From the 25 artists who entered the show, eight winners were chosen. Best in Show and $200 went to Cindy Angelelli for “Cartwheel.” First place and $100 was awarded to Thea Barbato for “Blue Dasher.” Second place ($75) and third place ($50) went to Michael Harris’ “Memorial” and Samuel Doejarren’s “Bodie Lighthouse” respectively. Honorable Mentions and $25 went to Jay Alexander (“Side Street – French Quarter”), Cindy Angelelli (“When Damselfly and Book Meet”), Romie Mizell (“Buckeye”), Patrick Vaca (“Into the Woods”).
“It was wonderful to have people attend in person again and have the energy of viewing and talking together about artwork,” said Schlesinger. “Our award winners attended and a few non-award winners. Everyone enjoyed the refreshments and the artwork. It was a lovely evening, and we look forward to seeing even more people as the weather gets warmer!”
Mint Hill Arts’ next big show will be its annual 2-month long Novant Mint Hill Medical Center Summer Art Show, which will run from June – July. “It is always one of our largest and most successful shows of the year with wonderful support and sponsorship from our partners with Novant Health,” said Schlesinger. The show is open to both members and non-members of Mint Hill Arts; intake will take place at the end of May. All “call for artists” information can be found on Mint Hill Arts website each month and on their Facebook page (@minthillarts). You can also keep up with Mint Hill Arts news by joining their mailing list by signing up at the gallery.
Mint Hill Arts offers free Open Studio sessions hosted by Terry Ruhs and Judy Mizell where anyone can come to the gallery and work on their art with other artists. Details about Open Studio as well as the full rotation of art classes currently available at Mint Hill Arts can be found on their website.
The Romie & Judy Mizell Photography Show can be viewed at the Mint Hill Arts Gallery at 11205 Lawyers Road during our normal gallery hours: Wednesday through Saturday from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm. A gallery host will be there to greet you.
