All festival artists vie for $9,850 in cash prizes in eight categories. The Amelia Island Plantation Company annually sponsors $1,000 towards the Best of Show Award. This year the Island Art Association sponsored an additional $250 making the Best of Show prize $1,250. Part of the prize money is donated by Art Patrons. These patrons are individuals, merchants and professionals from the community. Sponsorship funds raised by the art association help support ongoing IAA programs for local artists, children, the elderly, college bound student scholarships, and school art materials and supplies. The sponsors of awards may be viewed by clicking HERE to navigate to the list of prizes and recipients.

Two highly qualified fine arts and crafts judges walked the entire show of more than 300 to judge each artist. Pictured above, they are:

Greta Songe, Professor of Art, Florida Community College, Jacksonville. Songe has a BFA in Painting/Drawing, Louisiana State University and an MFA in Painting/Printmaking, University of Iowa. During graduate school she studied printmaking and drawing in Venice, Italy at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica. She was Artist in Residence at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee. In addition to her extensive background in art instruction at the community and college level she is a working artist who typically creates in mixed media in the genre of still life.

Paul Massing, Jr., Professor in Printmaking/Drawing, Marshall University, Huntington, WV. Massing has a BFA from State University of New York, Buffalo, and MFA, Printmaking, Ohio State University. His professional experience includes arts instruction at Clarion University, PA, and Ohio State University, Columbus, as well as serving as Director, Birke Art Gallery, Marshall University; Director, Artserve Gallery, Huntington , WV. As a working artist, he has participated in numerous invitational and juried exhibitions and is the recipient of many honors and awards. Massing has participated in numerous public lectures, workshops and collaborations.

Nassau Co. students were judged in their own categories and area in the show for ribbons and prize money. The student art judges were: Sutsy Shirley, and Ellen Morgan. Both are from the local area and have extensive backgrounds in education and the developmental stages of childrens’ art.

Decision of the Judges

An Interview by Gary Rubin, Island Art Association

May 5, 2008, Amelia Island, FL. -- Thousands of people came to our island this past weekend to participate in and enjoy the annual Shrimp Festival. Two came with a very special purpose, and a difficult task. Greta Songe and Peter Massing, both professors in the academic world of art, came to judge the works of all of the artists.

Massing from North Carolina and Songe from Jacksonville have served as judges in a number of different venues, but this was the biggest show yet for both. They both stated that the art at our festival far exceeded their expectations. “The variety, the wide range is just great”, exclaimed Massing. “It was fantastic, lots of good work,” added Songe.

The process of judging so many displays is quite a lot of work and yet their system made it happen in the short period of time they were allowed. They visited all of the booths and selected pieces for further judging. Those pieces were taken to a central location where they could be studied carefully by each of the judges. They then separately pick their choices in each category. Finally, they discuss their reasons and determine the winners. While each judge looks for what appeals to his or her own aesthetic, they have certain criteria in common. “Works that show experimentation, craftsmanship and interesting approaches are the ones that stand out”, according to Songe. Massing agrees, “ It’s the things that are most unique and original and highly crafted that we choose.”

This year they chose a pottery piece by Geoff Walsh from Sarasota as the Best of Show. “We agreed,” said Songe, “that when we walked into his display, this piece just jumped right out at us!”

“It signified the high quality of the show and well-represented all of the show”, added Massing.

He further stated, “All of the first, second and third place awards and the honorable mentions are significant and meritorious. There were so many good things to choose from.” “We had a great time,” announced Songe.