POTTSVILLE — Artist Helen M. Mills said she started getting serious about her work with oils and acrylics when she was in her 20s.
“That was when the two youngest of my children could walk under my easel. I painted in the dining room,” Mills, Saint Clair, said Sunday at the Allied Artists of Schuylkill County 56th annual Judged Art Exhibit at Foursquare Gospel Church, 2300 Mahantongo St.
She is this year’s featured artist, and she brought 24 of her works to display there.
“It all started when a friend got me to go along with her to see an artist. She was taking some art classes. And I was hooked. I was immediately hooked. I just loved it. It was just something I had to do. And I love changing mediums,” Mills, now 81, said. She will turn 82 on Friday.
“She is equally proficient in creating portraits and painting illustrations featuring floral compositions, cats and non-representational pieces in a vast array of media,” Diana Smith, president of Allied Artists of Schuylkill County, said.
“Some people came up to me last night and said they liked my work because it wasn’t all the same. I can go from a lovely still life, like a floral arrangement, to something really wild or cats in pastels,” Mills said.
One of her recent works on display at the show is an acrylic called “Bellhops at the Hilton.”
“I painted that about a year ago. It’s very abstract. I gave it to my grandson, but he brought it back for me. I had to borrow some back for the show,” Mills said.
There are also 113 pieces by other artists on display, and many are for sale. The show opened Saturday. It will be open to the public from 6 to 8 p.m. daily until it wraps Saturday, Smith said.
This year’s judges were Irene M. Dobson, a past president of Berks Art Alliance and past director of Berks Art Alliance Gallery at Artworks, Ephrata, and Thomas K. Noonan, an attorney from Pottsville.
The winners were:
• Category I — Art Not Under Glass: first prize, Julia Conville, “Reflections;” second prize, Jo Frable, “Sunburst;” third prize, Hayley Stokes, “Smokey Eyed;” honorable mention, Marg Wolf, “Flight; honorable mention, Rachel Conville, “Diamond in the Rust.”
• Category II — Art Under Glass: first prize, Bob McCormick, “In Flight;” second prize, Mary Beth Harvey, “Sunflowers;” third prize, Amy Schade, “En Posse Equorum,” honorable mention, Diana Smith, “I Need A Little Rest, Mommy;” and honorable mention, Susan Wagner, “Solstice Evening.”
• Category III — Photography: first prize, Carol Diehl, “Dew Drops;” second prize, Remo Piccioni, “LBI Sunrise;” third prize, Dominic J. Yanni, “18th Century Grist Mill;” honorable mention, Remo Piccioni, “Foggy Morning Stroll;” and honorable mention, James Rinehart, “Sailors Delight.”
• Category IV — Mixed Media: first prize, Amy Schade, “Wizzen 1st Macht;” second prize, Audrey Dordonaro Abe, “Ode to Dave;” third prize, Joan Kline, “Floral Symphony;” honorable mention, Audrey Bordonaro Abe, “Julia;” and honorable mention, Hayley Stokes, “Nude Figure Study.”
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