Studio B Announces Award Winners in "LAND" Exhibit

Encaustic by Kristen T. Woodward "In the Soil"

Studio B Fine Art Gallery announced awards to eight artists selected by juror Charles Farrell during the opening held Friday, January 30, 2026. 

Artists were challenged to showcase art in all mediums on any aspect of the word “LAND.” This broad visual discussion was left open to the artists’ interpretations and included environmental, political, or cultural responses.

Best in Show was awarded to Kristen T. Woodward for her encaustic "In the Soil" that provided attendees who braved frigid temperatures to attend the opening a reminder of warmer days by Illuminating a bright rosy gardenia and its shimmering leaves. 

Second place was awarded to Lindsay Wallace for her oil painting "Land Wander, Primal Green."

Lynn Millar was awarded third place for her watercolor "Edge of Fall II". Lynn is a frequent award-winner offering diverse responses in multiple mediums to the gallery's themes. 

Fourth place winner was Walt Hug for his photograph titled "Somber Siblings" that captured a stark, cold landscape fitting for a frigid January evening. 

Mary Chisak's acrylic and pastel painting "Spring Garden" took fifth place and again reminded gallery-goers that if winter's here, spring's daffodils are next on the seasonal agenda.

In sixth place, Linda B. Wood offered "Donaldland" in a 3-D political commentary. Linda's piece included several pages of information offering historical context along with her own observations. Linda writes,  "I created 'Donaldland' in 2018 from what I thought was my imagination. Two years later, a friend who saw my work, sent the attached *[information that appears toward the end of this article.] 

Linda offers the words of Oscar Wilde: "Life imitates Art far more than art imitates life." 

Lori McFadden's "Painted Desert I" took seventh place and offered a landscape scene not found in eastern Pennsylvania. 

Jim Meehan, frequent award-winner at Studio B, chose to respond to "land" as a verb in his pencil on paper piece titled "Gravity."

Juror Charles Farrell  is a professional architect with an MFA in painting. He once worked as a Resident Affiliate Artist at the Tryon Center for Visual Arts and was represented by the Hodges Taylor Gallery of Charlotte, NC. Farrell has exhibited at the Freyberger Gallery, Penn State Berks; Goggleworks Center for the Arts; Studio B Fine Art Gallery; the Art of the State in Harrisburg; and the North Carolina Museum of Art. For 15 years, he has been writing music and performs with his wife Amy Forsyth at local venues.

Studio B Art Gallery opened its doors 18 years ago hosting exhibits of fine art in all mediums allowing hundreds of local artists over the years opportunities to showcase and sell their work, hundreds of visitors to the gallery to experience the artists’ skills and creative responses to the varied themes and to meet with neighbors and friends to celebrate the artistic response.

photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

* "On April 27, 1926, the Cañon City Daily Record ran a surprising bulletin on its front page. Right under a notice that the local junior high school was putting together a variety show, the local newspaper of the small central Colorado town printed the headline 'Klansman pose for a picture on merry-go-round,' along with a brief staid description of a parade of hooded locals that went from the Klan headquarters on Main Street to the traveling amusement park that had been set up a couple of blocks away.

"However that photo wasn't actually printed along with the headline (the photographer didn't share it). But when the photo came to light more than 65 years later, it served as a reminder of the history of the Ku Klux Klan.

"To understand how a picture of 41 Klansmen on a Ferris wheel came to be, you first have to understand the background of the KKK in Colorado.

"Cañon City was the Klan capital of the State fro 1924-1928: Colorado Governor Clarence Morley was a Klansman, Colorado Senator Rice Means was endorsed by the Colorado Klan, Reverend Fred Arnold was the minister of Cañon City's First Baptist Church.

By the time this photo was taken in 1926, the Klan's power was at is zenith. According to the Daily Record, the Klansmen were invited to pose for the portrait by the site's proprietor, William Forsythe, a Klansman himself who brought his mini-carnival down south from Fort Collins.

"In 1915, the second Ku Klux Klan was founded in Atlanta, Georgia. Starting in 1921, it adopted a modern business system of using full-time paid recruiters and appealed to new members as a fraternal organization of which many examples were flourishing at the time.

"It opposed Catholics and Jews, especially newer immigrants, and stressed opposition to the Catholic Church. This second organization adopted a standard white costume and used similar code words as the first Klan, while adding cross burnings and mass parades.

"At its peak in the mid-1920's, the organization claimed to include about 15% of the nation's eligible population, approximately 4-5 million men.

"Internal divisions, criminal behavior by leaders, and external opposition brought about a collapse in membership, which had dropped to about 30,000 by 1930. It finally faded away in the 1940's."

Studio B:
Studio B, located in the heart of historic Boyertown, is the home of the Arts and Activities Alliance, a committee of Building a Better Boyertown, a nonprofit Main Street program dedicated to revitalizing small towns.

Studio B celebrates lifelong learning, creativity and personal involvement in the visual and communication arts and seeks to be a dynamic part of Boyertown community, a “go to” destination for learning, fun and friendship. The studio seeks to showcase the work of fine artists in themed exhibits—some juried, some open to all—and welcomes art in diverse media. In addition to art exhibits, workshops, and classes, Studio B also hosts activities and informal gatherings on assorted topics for small groups or meetings, gallery talks, and “Getting to Know You” opportunities.

Visitors are always welcome to view the changing exhibits; take lessons in the visual, literary, and communication arts offered by highly-trained local artists and teachers; and schedule small events or parties in its elegant facility. The studio proudly collaborates with the many unique businesses in the Boyertown community.

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