1st Place
The first-place winner of the 2024 Segullah Visual Arts Competition is Diantha Smith Hopkins of Rexburg, Idaho. Her mixed media piece entitled “Priesthood” astounded our judges with its potent ineffable grace and its complete lack of woman- or man-splaining. With its subdued color palette, its layers of coated and textured papers (often scripture verses) shimmer and hint at untold truths. Arrays of various household keys hint at but never foist their private meanings on those who experience this visceral, spiritual offering tied not to gender, but to the majesty of the holy powers that enliven all of our lives and the eternities. Our next edition of Segullah will highlight Diana’s artwork and will include an interview with her by Segullah’s Art Director, Linda Hoffman Kimball.
2nd Place
The second-place winner of the 2024 Segullah Visual Arts Competition is Mette Marie Ivie of Syracuse, UT, for her large, intricate and playful crocheted wall hanging called “Underwater Creatures.” A robust, skillfully designed, and inviting piece of textile art, Mette’s piece begins a conversation, an interaction, and with all of its inviting undulations, perhaps even an embrace. This was a surprise and a delight! Mette says:
“I submitted in a bit of a rush on the night that the contest was closing, so I didn’t remember the name properly that my friend Neca Allgood had dubbed this piece, which is “Brain Corals.” I think the (real) name can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but in the most literal way possible (which is the way my autistic brain works on first glance), it is literally a rainbow representation of an underwater creature. It is also a representation of all the different kinds of brains that we humans have and that we can celebrate and enjoy together, each one finding a beautiful space that suits them, next to the other beautiful art around.”
Mette Ivie
3rd Place
The third-place winner of the 2024 Segullah Visual Arts competition is Krysta Dimick of South Salt Lake, UT for her compelling painting called “Sitings”, an acrylic and ink painting on an 8inch circular alder wood panel. Combining precision in composition and including subtle lines of orientation, “Sitings” is more than a skillful and handsome juxtaposition of human dwellings and the dynamism of nature. Krysta explores through her art the relationship between human achievements and the environment. Of her work she muses:
“Our mark on the earth will always be in opposition to nature. No matter how gentle we think our approach is, or how we are preserving a view, we will create a ripple effect of tragedies. But nature always fights back, compensating for our failures. In order to make any impact on where we are now in our world, we have to focus on positive intentional, and inconvenient returns back to the natural world. Could we in our development create a building, then gift one area back to habitat?”
Krysta Dimick
i love these!