Viewing the Adirondack Art Exhibit at the LPCA
The leaves are not yet flaming on Whiteface Mountain but it won't be long now...there are some crimsons and ambers just beginning to take hold of the mountainside, soon the mountain will indeed be aflame with color.

But for tonight the most striking colors I observe are at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA) where the 2012 Adirondack Juried Art Show is having its opening celebration-ceremony.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the LPCA and the final year for Art Center director Nadine Duhaime who has served this arts community for 27 years.

Because Mother Nature has been so obliging today, the refreshments are set up outdoors, just beyond the main entrance. When it is time to make the announcements, Nadine straddles the entrance to address those enjoying the wide assortment of delicious treats outside the doorway as well as those who are inside enjoying the vast array of art represented here.

Announcements from Arts Center Director Nadine Duhaime

It is a bittersweet evening as Nadine shares some reminiscences while she announces the awards at tonight's reception. She also explains that 210 artists entered this show and 72 are exhibited here. She goes on to say how hard it is to "wiggle" it down to 72 and tells us, "How they decide is up to them but they do not want artists to get discouraged. They wanted to put together a cohesive show...their criteria was: originality of subject matter, technical excellence, and quality of presentation."

On that note the highest honors tonight go to Eleanor Sweeney for Best in Show in photography and Ann Diggory for Best in Show in painting. There are other awards and announcements but the biggest winners are the folks here who get to view this exemplary exhibit.

The artists in the show are from all over the North Country—Malone to Crown Point, Tupper Lake to Plattsburgh, Wilmington, Keene, Lake Clear, Saranac Lake, Keeseville—and many of them are here this evening. The North Country is fortunate to have such a bevy of talent, but perhaps it is the beauty of our surroundings that attracts so many talented people to the Adirondacks.

Puss in Boot

Some of the pieces I am drawn to this evening include the "Puss in Boot" sculpture by Charles Dilzer, Leslie Walch's print "Empowerment, Limitless, Expansion," and Valerie Patterson's "From the 1% to the 99%"—the title alone is a grabber.

The Adirondack Juried Art Show will be on display at the LPCA until October 20 and is well worth a trip, especially with the fall colors starting to emerge. Lake Placid and the whole of the Adirondacks are their best dressed at this time of year. It's an incredible panorama, inside the art center and out.

To find out what else is happening at the LPCA this fall, click through to the web site.

Kathleen Recchia has been enjoying the arts in the Adirondacks for about 20 years—both as observer and participant (acting, directing, and producing). She also enjoys cross-country skiing, swimming, juggling, and hosting visitors to the area at her bed & breakfast in Jay.