Risks and Rewards
July 25, 2012
After edgy meeting, one council member presses assault charges on another
July 25, 2012
Two days of photography work and painting landed Susan Shaffer of Schriever first place in the first-ever Best of the Bayou Festival poster contest.
“I did the painting on a weekend,” Shaffer said. “I saw the notice about the contest and knew that the festival was going to be downtown, so I grabbed my camera and took photos at the farmer’s market and downtown to use as references.”
Shaffer’s untitled, acrylic on gessoed canvas painting was one of 11 entries in the 15-day contest.
Other entries included many paintings, as well as one drawing and a stencil-like piece.
For the contest, artists were tasked with creating a work that showed or symbolized the character of the festival and their vision of the best characteristics of the bayou.
“I took photos of a guy playing the guitar at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum and turtles in the bayou,” Shaffer said. “I thought about how I thought the festival would look. I don’t know if you can fish in the bayou downtown, but I threw in a fisher too.”
The painting also features People’s Drug Store on Main Street and the Bayou Walk along Bayou Terrebonne.
A five-judge panel of volunteer judges from local arts and community organizations viewed the posters at a one-day event and voted on the winner that night.
“All of the posters were very different,” said festival manger Lori Toups Benoit. “We had one swamp scene, and an artist from Chauvin did a very folksy one with pink alligators playing musical instruments. We also had some with fleurs-de-lis.”
“Shaffer managed to capture many characteristics of the things we love about our town and traditions,” said Katie Portier, chair of the BOB Poster Review Committee, in a printed statement. “I was immediately drawn to her art work.”
Shaffer’s winning festival artwork will be on display with the other entries at Terrebonne Fine Arts Guild in downtown Houma during the festival, and Shaffer will be at the event to sign reprints of the poster that will be on sale.
All proceeds will go the Best of the Bayou Foundation.
“This is the foundation’s first year and, if the festival is a success, the foundation will be used to fund community grants,” Benoit added.
Shaffer, who began painting and selling pastel portraits of children and families as a teenager in Mississippi, has spent most of her artistic time in the last several years doing graphic design, marketing and publicity work in a professional capacity.
“I was thrilled to win the contest,” Shaffer said. “Seeing the Jazzfest posters over the years, it would be great if we could get something like that going here in Houma. I hadn’t painted in a long time, but I think I’m going to start again.”
With more artwork on Shaffer’s future agenda, she and her husband Lee are currently spending a lot of time painting one thing in particular – Ardoyne Plantation home, which they are restoring.
“I spend most of my time painting shutters and shelves,” Shaffer said, laughing. “I have yet to paint an actual portrait of the house.”
Susan Shaffer of Schriever shows off her painting that won first place in the Best of the Bayou Festival inaugural poster contest. Ten other pieces were also entered into the contest.
