The Harlin Museum of West Plains, MO is proud to announce the winners of their 2021 Fiber & Textile Arts Competition Show, which will be on display in the Hathcock Gallery of the museum from February 5 – 28 on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday afternoons.
The Best of Show award goes to an entry entitled, “Where The Wild Things Are”, a felted wool and embroidery piece from the Needlework Category of the Adult Division that depicts a character from the popular children’s book of the same name. The creator of the vividly imaginative piece and winner of the competition’s top prize is Sarah Holson of Houston, MO.
Continuing with the Adult Division, in the Knitting/Crochet Category, 1st and 2nd place were both awarded to Gloria Greear of Summersville, MO for her knitted afghan entry, “Shepherd’s Afghan,” a whimsical spread of sheep being herded by sheepdogs, and her knitted garment entry, “Multi-Colored Sweater”, a lovely and colorful hip-length cardigan sweater, respectively.
And, in the competition’s largest adult division category—quilting— 1st place is awarded to Alma Pruett of Cabool, MO for her quilt entry, “Bow Tie ’30s”. 2nd place was awarded to Kathleen Borg of Cabool, MO for her entry, “Civil War Churn Dash Runner”. 3rd place was awarded to Bridget Williams of Mtn. Grove, MO for her quilt entry, “Sun Bonnet Sue”, and she also picked up an Honorable Mention for her quilt entry, “Farmer’s Daughter”. A second Honorable Mention award for the Adult Division Quilting Category goes to JoAnne Biros of Plato, MO for her quilt entry, “Sister’s Choice”.
And, finally, the Top Winner in the Youth Division is Olivia Wood of Willow Springs, MO for her Quilting Category entry, “Lilac Dance”, for which she will be the recipient of the Carrie A. Warren-Gentry Memorial Award for Youth Talent in Textile Arts, a special annual monetary award set up by the Warren family of West Plains, MO to honor the memory of their beloved family member and the well-known textile artist, Carrie Warren-Gentry, who passed away in 2010.
The competition this year was judged by Cindy McLean of Pomona, MO, and Bonnie Bainbridge of West Plains, MO, both accomplished textile & fiber artists with decades of accomplishment between them. Each entry was judged on a point-based system, with construction being worth 50 points, general appearance worth 25 points and artistic design also worth 25 points, making for a possible 100 points per judge—or 200 points total. Winners will receive award ribbons and small monetary prizes, while the Best of Show will receive, in addition, a $100 gift certificate from the show’s main sponsor, Six Sisters Mercantile.
Included in the display with the competition pieces, visitors will also have the opportunity to see some of the rare and historic textiles that are part of the museum’s permanent collection, including signature quilts made by two local churches, a signature quilt created by employees of the International Shoe Company of West Plains, MO upon the retirement of a longtime coworker, a patchwork quilt made for a Civil War soldier that accompanied him during battle and barely managed to make it back home, and a lovely display of the millinery collection of hats that belonged to Lida Bozman, longtime West Plains resident.
