Friday evening, July 19, 2024 we welcomed hundreds of visitors to the 3rd annual Artists on Fire, our 35th exhibition! We appreciate each one of the talented artists, especially those who shipped art from the other side of the country to be a part of “The Smalls Show”. All artwork is under $500 and under 24 x 24 inches. This show is about big impact with small works of art, accessibly priced by some of the most respected artists in the region. With hundreds of people coming through the gallery, it was a night to remember.

Taking a moment out of the bustling room, brimming with laughter and conversation and live music, above the din, we were able to congratulate all the artists and to thank Worcester Center for Crafts for this wonderful annual collaboration with Juniper Rag to exhibit on Hot Night in the City, the most important festival, every year.

Demonstrations and hands-on activities that are open to the public, give children, young adults and people new to art an opportunity to watch, and learn --and get closer to making--a practice we all know and value. Worcester Center for Crafts is the oldest professional craft education facility in the country. We are fortunate to have this organization right here in Worcester as a resource and a place of creative community.

Now for our prize winners, selected for cohesiveness, skill and execution and overall presentation, not to mention professionalism in preparation, packing and submission quality.

Our prize winners for Artists on Fire 2024 will be recieving prize packages:

1st Place: Artist will receive an Artists on Fire Solo Exhibition Package, which includes a Virtual exhibition published on our website, complimentary placement in our ART MARKET and a social media push, a $3.5K value.

2nd Place: Artist will receive an Artists on Fire Feature Interview Package 1

Published on our website, complimentary placement in our ART MARKET, plus a social media push, a $1.5K value.

3rd Place:

Artist will receive Artists on Fire Feature Interview Package 2, Published on our website with a social media push, a $500 value.

+ honking zucchinis!

1st Place: Kristin Petrillo

Everything about these 3 pieces, from the exquisite attention to detail, to the interesting choices, this artist presents to us acrylic paintings--yes, they are. The artist achieves such a smooth finish that garner praise and capture attention with colorful precision that impresses us as we move closer.

A graphic design background has clearly contributed to her meticulous aesthetic and her instinct to create interesting compositions derived from exploration photos-- sets her work apart. Industrial architecture and urban environments never looked so delicious or so hopeful, lacking decay and petina you typically see.

Kristin was the recipient of the 2024 Saara Parker Painting Prize at the 88th Annual Regional Exhibition of Art and Craft, Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA.

A very accomplished artist, our next prize is awarded to an artist who derives 3 dimensional inspiration from connecting with nature and botanicals building deep textures, vibrant colors and dimensionality with new materials like pain skins and resins. Process and materials drive Brenda Cirioni’s work. For this show, her small pieces captured the exact elements we were looking for.

She is represented by Renjeau Galleries in Natick, MA, Three Stones Gallery in Concord, MA, & Portland Art Gallery in ME. Brenda works in her studio, Skylight Fine Art, in the historic Gleasondale Mill, Stow, MA, where she resides.

Selene, Simone Scholes, 60 x 20 oil on cradled wood

2nd Place: Simone Scholes

One of our most successful and supportive artists who after art school, went into the fashion industry. We are fortunate that art called her back. Her portraiture has been saught after by collectors in every Juniper Rag exhibition, especially at New Art’s auctions.

Heavily influenced by natural materials, Simone often starts with a wooden board instead of a traditional canvas. Using light-catching and colorful materials such as gold leaf and tissue paper, she plays with familiar shapes and light to create different personas. Her technique coaxes the inner layers of natural wood grain to shine through to the outside, suggesting people to reflect on what is below the surface. Using an unconventional combination of materials and textures, her fashion and music inspired artwork captures both the outward beauty and the inner mysteries of human beings.

Snippet 1, Brenda Cirioni, 5 x 5 in. acrylic and pain skins with resin on cradled board

3rd Place: Brenda Cirioni

A very accomplished artist, our next prize is awarded to an artist who derives 3 dimensional inspiration from connecting with nature and botanicals building deep textures, vibrant colors and dimensionality with new materials like pain skins and resins. Process and materials drive Brenda Cirioni’s work. For this show, her small pieces captured the exact elements we were looking for.

Brenda Cirioni is an American painter whose work is heavily inspired by her love of nature. Her paintings are characterized by her attention to surface and a sense of touch, and her compositions touches upon ideas such as impermanence, transformation, and regeneration.

She’s exhibited in the Danforth, deCordova, Fitchburg, Berkshire and Attleboro Arts Museum. Her work was part of a traveling Brigham Young University exhibition called Beyond Structure: Representations of the American Barn. Her paintings are in numerous corporate and private collections, national and international, including the Wrigley’s family collection. Cirioni’s painting, Dickinson’s Hope, hung in the office of Governor Deval Patrick and now resides in his collection.

Cirioni received her education from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, MA, through the Diploma Program and the Fifth-Year Certificate Program. She is represented by Renjeau Galleries in Natick, MA, Three Stones Gallery in Concord, MA, & Portland Art Gallery in ME. Brenda works in her studio, Skylight Fine Art, in the historic Gleasondale Mill, Stow, MA, where she resides.

There are so many high level artists in this show that choosing prizes was very difficult so we have a few honorable mentions. They will also receive complimentary entry to our ART MARKET and mentions on social media.

Artists will receive a complimentary social media push of $150 value.

Honorable Mention: Brenda Stumpf

Brenda Stumpf is always a stand out for us. Her work is visually compelling and created with so much depth, creating very focused bodies of work over a long period of time. Her work deserves time in return, to deconstruct her layers and the stories told by her hands. She is inspired by photography as well as artists like Kiefer and Twombly and you see nods to each in her work. She is a self-taught contemporary mixed media artist who began exhibiting her work during the mid-1990s. She has been recognized for her use of unorthodox materials interwoven with highly personal and evocative subject matter. Stumpf’s paintings, sculpture, and works on paper have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, The Butler Institute of American Art, The Littleton Museum, The Strohl Art Center, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and The Outsider Art Fair. The artist’s work has been juried into numerous exhibits by the likes of Jerry Saltz, senior art critic and columnist for New York Magazine and Christoph Heinrich, Director of the Denver Art Museum.

Please enjoy more of her work here. https://brendastumpf.com/image-transfer-paintings/

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Honorable Mention: Julia CR Gray

Julia CR Gray’s sculpted ceramic torsos with rich layers of form, texture and painted narrative imagery are absolutel standouts in this show. Her artwork portrays multilayered messages, starting with vulnerability of the oceans and our bodies, balanced with the dialectic message of the power of the oceans and the strength of women’s bodies. Gray’s artwork also comments on contemporary life, personal experience and consciousness of nature.

Each ceramic torso is unique and individualized through hand-painted glaze images and surface texture of layered ceramic slip. After texturing the outer surface, she carves holes into the clay to give the viewer superficial visual access within the body structure where red glaze is painted. Each sculpture has its own narrative artwork that conveys multilayered messages, starting with vulnerability of the oceans and our bodies, balanced with the dialectic message of the power of the oceans and the strength of our bodies.

Please enjoy viewing more of her work: juliacrgray.com

Honorable Mention of Emerging Artist: Keri Fletcher

A Rhode Island photographer, Keri Fletcher’s process utilizes everything she knows as a creative and photographer and her love of decayed and abandoned spaces. She enlists knowledge across genres and implements all resources to enrich her artwork of interesting photographic layers of imagery and sublime texture with depth. Keri Fletcher’s work is strikingly original and exquisitely executed. This is her first exhibition and we are very proud to share her work. “With a passion for capturing fleeting moments, I set out to freeze-frame the beauty of the world. But it's not just about taking pictures; it's about telling a story. Each photograph I take is a glimpse into the soul of a subject, and a reflection of the feelings that live within me.”

Artists on Fire with Juniper Rag was Keri’s first formal exhibition, and we are sure she is one to watch.

Honorable Mention of Emerging Artist: Denise Lafer

Denise Lafer’s abstract work caught our eye early on in the submission process. Color choices and mark making with confidence, Denise’s work is inspired by nature and the impact of major life events. Her paintings are often layered to incorporate acrylic, oil stick, watercolor and pastel. Most recently experimenting with materials like tea bag paper and coffee. Keri works out of her home studio outside of Boston.

Materials, movement and dramatic color choices are strong in her work. The smart mixture of bright and earthy colors conjure nature in the most raw sense and choosing the natural linen substrate further enhances the story within her work. We are thrilled to be introduced to Denise Lafer’s artwork and looking forward to sharing more of it.

Viewers Choice Awards

New this year at Artists on Fire we encouraged the viewers to vote for their favorites. 208 people voted!

Congratulations #1 Simone Scholes and tied for #2 Abu Mwenye and Keri Anderson

Juniper Rag works to elevate and promote artists from all over the world on our website, social media and on virtual and live shows.

We are proud to give artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work with us virtually and in person, and on our Art Market. We are so proud to present this body of 260 small works in our 2024 Artists on Fire exhibition. The show is on view at the Krikorian Gallery at Worcester Center for Crafts at 25 Sagamore Road, Worcester until August 10.

Congratulations to the following Juniper Rag artists who have been honored at Fitchburg Art Museum and Arts Worcester on view now.

ONE show at Arts Worcester. Too many to name. Another show with over 200 pieces of art. WORCESTER is on FIRE with creativity and talent.

PRIZE RECIPIENTS from JR artists at Fitchburg Biennial

2nd Place — Nina Medard, Together

Staff Pick — Deborah Santoro, Perseverance Amidst the Regolith

Painting — Kristin Petrillo, Candy-colored Steam Machine Dream

Watercolor — Susan Swinand, Coalescing, II

NEXT UP: Our annual autumn call for art. NIGHT

Seeking artwork in all mediums to usher in autumn and all of the dark, ethereal vibrations of the coming season. We would love to show more photography, so please share with anyone you think may be interested. This is a virtual show, so we highly encourage video submissions that are under 3 minutes.

NIGHT is coming…

Artists on Fire and Zucchini