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Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff Preps for Jury Day 2020 in February

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If you’ve ever wondered how the various artists who show up along Lake Bluff Park in St. Joseph every summer gained their way into that amazing showcase of artistic talent, not only can you learn how, you can actually be witness to the selection process yourself next month.

While the 59th annual Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff isn’t due in town until July, the artists have to apply much sooner. In fact, artists only have until January 24th, 2020 to make application for the legendary show thru ZAPP at the link below:

https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=8031

The Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff is, once again, ranked as one of the top art fairs in the entire United States by Sunshine Artist Magazine, and one of the top 100 for artist sales by Art Fair SourceBook. The long-running annual show is a great opportunity for working artists to connect with passionate buyers in the heart of Michigan’s Great Southwest. However, only 200 artists will be selected to participate in the 2020 Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff on July 11th & 12th in beautiful Lake Bluff Park overlooking Lake Michigan in St. Joseph.

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For those who cannot wait until July, The Krasl Art Center is inviting community members and prospective artists to observe the 2020 jury process on their Jury Day, held for the second time on the Mendel Center Mainstage at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor. You can be a part of the audience on Wednesday, February 19th, between 9am and 5pm, as the panel of expert jurors will review artist applications. The event is free and open to the public.

Preparatory to that event, the Krasl Art Center has announced the professional panel of jurors who will score applicant submissions. The jurors play an important role in selecting works that elevate the show to such heights. With more than 700 applicants for last year’s 2019 fair, the process is no easy task, by any measure.

The panel reviews four images of each artists’ work and one of their booth. They then score the grouping as a whole and those scores determine the final 200 invited artists.

2020 Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff jurors are Bonnie Blandford, Co-Director of the Garage Sale Art Fair in Kalamazoo, jewelry artist, and art-fair veteran of 40+ years…Laura Cutler, a studio artist, co-owner of the Thaddeus C. Gallery in LaPorte, Indiana, and drawing and painting Associate faculty member at Indiana University South Bend…John DeLapa, a studio artist, Krasl Art Center faculty member, and investor…John Gutoskey, an artist, designer, printmaker, collector, and owner of JG Studio and the A2 Print Studio in Ann Arbor…and Justin Rothshank, a studio potter working in Goshen, Indiana since 2009.

Here are the 2020 Juror Biographies:

Bonnie Blandford

Bonnie Blandford has juried art fairs since the mid 1980’s all over the country. In addition to judging various exhibitions throughout the country, she has participated in juried art fairs for 40+ years as an artist, and has run various art fairs over the years. For the last 15 years, she has co-directed the Garage Sale Art Fair in Kalamazoo, making her an expert in all things art fair – from operations to participation to shopping. When not working for various art fairs, Blandford works in her metalsmith studio creating best-in-show quality jewelry.

Laura Cutler

Laura Cutler received her BFA from Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, with a concentration in Ceramic Sculpture. She received her MFA from the New York Academy of Art, in Painting & Anatomy with an emphasis on both figurative and equine studies. She has taught painting, drawing and ceramics at numerous colleges including California State University in Northridge, CA, University of Laverne at Burbank, CA and Crossroads School for Arts and Science in Santa Monica. She is currently an Associate Faculty member at IUSB, teaching painting and drawing. She has received numerous grants and awards for her work including an IAC Individual Artist Grant, the President’s Award at South Shore Arts Salon Show, Best of Show in Drawing at the Midwest Museum of American Art and the Hoosier Women Artists Award from the Lt. Governor of Indiana. She has co-owned the Thaddeus C. Gallery in La Porte since 2004 and serves on the La Porte City Council, the Regional Arts Council for Region One of the Indiana Arts Commission and the Visual Arts Council of La Porte. She is a partner with the City of La Porte on multiple public art projects including the Joyful Noise Musical Instrument Sculpture series and the Mural Project at Plaza 618 in historic downtown La Porte.

John DeLapa

A Benton Harbor native, John Delapa is  inspired by the historic artwork in places he has traveled. He has visited Turkey and had the pleasure of learning from various local craftsmen. He finds the asymmetrical curves and balance in nature a timeless and appealing style. John has taught wood carving at Krasl Art Center since 2011.

John Gutoskey

John Gutoskey is an artist, designer, printmaker & collector, living and working in Ann Arbor. Gutoskey earned his BFA in theater design with a minor in sculpture from Webster University in St. Louis. He earned his MFA from the University of Michigan’s School of Art & Design where he studied printmaking & installation art. He also completed a certificate in LGBTQ Studies. Early in his career, Gutoskey worked as a costume designer and specialist in costume crafts. He worked for productions in New York City and across the US in theater, opera, dance, film, and television. He taught classes in millinery, mask making, and fabric dyeing at the University of Michigan in the Department of Theater. Gutoskey shows his work across the US in galleries, museums, and art fairs, including the Detroit Institute of Art, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis Art Center, Kinsey Institute, Ella Sharp Museum, and in galleries in Chicago, NYC, Detroit, Toledo, & Ann Arbor. His series of monoprints honoring the victims from the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida in 2016, “PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies”, won the prize for Best Juried 2D at Artprize X 2018 and the Alpha Omega Award for Religious Art 2018. Gutoskey is the owner of JG Studio and the A2 Print Studio in Ann Arbor.

Justin Rothshank

Justin Rothshank is a studio potter working in Goshen, Indiana since 2009. Rothshank’s ceramic work and writing are exhibited and published internationally, including articles in Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, Studio Potter, The Log Book, and several books. He is a presenter, panelist, visiting artist, and artist-in-residence at numerous universities, schools, conferences, and art centers throughout the United States and abroad. In 2012 Justin released an instructional DVD titled Ceramic Decals: New Ideas and Techniques, published by Ceramic Arts Daily. His functional and decorative ceramic ware is available for purchase in more than three dozen galleries and gift shops throughout the United States.