Urbanna Harbor Gallery & Art Services at 202 Virginia Street selected Larry Ringgold as recipient for its annual award at the 2019 Arts in the Middle show. The award is a one-man exhibit at the gallery at a time selected by the winner. Ringgold elected to share his award with two of his fellow artists, all of whom live in the Baltimore area. They are Bernie Houston and Jeanne Hammett. All three are well known, well-traveled, and multiple winners in a variety of art venues. Both Ringgold and Houston create fantastic sculptures from selected driftwood, albeit in very different styles. While the sculpture is primarily freestanding, Hammett’s work is beautiful wall art.
Ringgold, a carpentry/woodworking teacher for more than 42 years turned to driftwood art more recently after hurricanes presented him with a wealth of debris-strewn waterfronts. He laboriously builds his creations from joined pieces, creating lions, horses, eagles, turtles, or what have you. His website is turtlepointdriftwood.com.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon-3 p.m.
