By Susan Zainis
Tulip Time
Tulip TimeFestival (www.tuliptime.com) together with the Holland Area Arts Council, is pleased to announce Carolyn Stich and her painting, “Enduring Delft” as the winner of the 2019 Tulip Time Festival Poster Competition.
The announcement was made Thursday evening at the First Bloom event held at Evergreen Commons. Hundreds of festival sponsors, community partners, and art enthusiasts attended the event where the evening began with a reception honoring the Top 20 artists and their artwork.
Each year a work of art is selected for the official Tulip Time Festival poster. This year, 44 artists from the region submitted a total of 75 works for this juried competition. This year’s submissions were reviewed by Kristin Jass Armstrong, Executive Director of the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, who designated the Top 20 from which the winning piece was selected.
This year’s winning artist, Carolyn Stich, is an artist and photographer in Holland, Michigan. Carolyn has illustrated 10 children’s books as well as filling a portfolio full of commissioned work for various businesses throughout West Michigan over the past 20+ years. Her artwork and photographs appear in many publications promoting the beauty of the Holland area.
Carolyn is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She studied commercial art and graphic design at Meremac Community College in St. Louis and continued her studies at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. In 1993, she and her husband moved to Holland, Michigan. Carolyn has owned a gallery/studio in downtown Holland for 12 years. Carolyn is a previous Art In Bloom winner, when in 2015 her piece “Joy of Spring” was selected as the winning poster artwork.
“I created “Enduring Delft” as a celebration of Holland, Michigan,” stated Carolyn. “The elegant simplicity of Delftware is a beautiful staple of Dutch heritage. The combination of vivid colors and classic patterns is an expression of the rich tradition and lively spirit found here.”
“Enduring Delft,” and the other Top 20 original works, will be on display at the Holland Area Arts Council from May 4 through May 12, 2019. The 19 remaining works will compete for the Viewers’ Choice Awards. The top three pieces with the most votes will win cash prizes. The community and all visitors are invited to participate by casting their vote for their favorite artwork. The winners of the Viewers’ Choice Awards will be announced on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 10a via Facebook Live.
