See small-scale masterpieces at Redlands 56th Annual Multi-Media Mini Show

The 56th Annual Multi-Media Mini Show has taken over the Redlands Art Association.

The exhibition attracts artists from near and far because it accepts mediums often overlooked in juried shows. Another reason is that the gallery invites members and non-members to enter the prestigious show. This year, 13% of the accepted art pieces were by non-members.

Acceptance into a juried show is a reward in itself - a sentiment gallery manager Sandy Davies likes to repeat.

This year, Davies invited Roy Dietrich, fellow artist and the Executive Director of Riverside Community Arts Association, to serve as juror. Dietrich has previously juried shows at the San Bernardino and Corona art associations. His artwork in acrylic, oil and multi-media has been shown locally, as well as in Los Angeles and Ensenada, Mexico.

The Multi-Media Mini Show accepted about 100 of the more than 200 pieces of artwork submitted. The pieces came in a variety of mediums: Oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, collage, glass, wood, fiber art, jewelry, ceramics, prints, ink, digital art, sculpture, etching and multi-media. Some artists mix several forms and this year’s entries included decorative jewelry boxes and acrylic sculptures.

Accepted artists came from Redlands and the neighboring cities of Highland, Beaumont, Banning, Yucaipa, Cherry Valley, Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino and Hemet. Others came from as far as the High Desert, Running Springs and Los Angeles.

“We have one student from Laguna Academy of Arts who brought her artwork from Laguna Beach,” Davies said.

“I was really pleased with the quality of the paintings this year,” she said. “People are starting to respect that this is a professional show,” and she added, “I think the artists did more planning on designing their art for the space instead of trying to shrink or crop it to fit into the space.” 

What makes a show mini

A week before the show opened, Dietrich walked around the many pieces of artwork following the guidelines of 14.5 inches in size or smaller, which is what makes the show ‘mini.’

“There is such great quality here. It’s so hard to decide,” said Dietrich, who brought along knowledge, experience and education not only as a fellow artist but as a gallery director.

He had a list of 16 awards to give out and could have easily picked a couple more winners.

Dietrich picked the winning pieces from an emotional, technique and compositional view point. “Even the framing I take into consideration,” he said. Other qualifications included creativity, originality and use of color.  

“[There’s] a great variety, creativity and unique media and combinations. I’ve been really pleased,” he said.

Other artwork didn’t make it into the show this year.

“Stuff wasn’t happening for me, it was too basic,” he said. “Hopefully it doesn’t discourage [the artists],” he added, suggesting that artists come to check out the show and see, “Okay this is what I have to measure myself up to.”

The top three winners

The first-place winner was Julianna Aparicio-Curtis from Redlands with a mixed medium collage called, The Absence of You.

“I just thought it gave a really good emotional feeling to it. I like the creativity, three-dimensional cobbler pieces, and watercolor elements,” Dietrich said.

The second-place winner was David Saline, also from Redlands, with a landscape oil painting called, Windbreak.

“You can see it’s a good way of showing dimension, you can see the atmosphere and what kind of day it was. Just very, very well done,” he said.

The third-place winner, also a mixed-media collage, was called Kaeru Paradise by Kevin Suzuki Seishiro, also from Redlands. Dietrich said, “I like this because it looks like origami in there. I thought it was clever and well done. And I liked the framing."

It’s a plus that the art pieces in the show are the same size, said Davies, “Big pieces don't overshadow the smaller ones, it’s easier to view.”

The 56th Annual Multi-Media Mini Show winners were awarded over $4,000 total in cash prizes.

The show is on display at the Redlands Art Association until March 14, 2025.

About Redlands Art Association

Address: 215 E State St, Redlands CA 92373
RAA website: redlands-art.org
RAA social media:  facebook.com/RedlandsArtAssociation and @redlandsartassociation on Instagram.
Opening hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays closed.

Winners of the 56th Annual Multi-Media Mini Show (2025)

First place: Julianna Aparicio-Curtis, Redlands, The Absence of You, collage.
Second place: Dave Saline, Redlands, Windbreak, oil.
Third place: Kevin Suzuki Seishiro, Redlands, Kaeru Paradise, mixed media.

Best in watercolor: Karen Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Surfin’, watercolor.
Doris Cook Award: Holly Warner, Yucaipa, Looking Back, Coronado, watercolor.
Excellence Award: Alex Masu, Redlands, Two Little Pills, pencil on paper.
Excellence Award: Aubrey Sanchez, Yucaipa, Solitary Refinement, mixed media.
Gail Brownfield Award: James Bowden, Redlands, The Miner's Cat, jewelry.

Honorable mention: Eleazer Camez, Grand Terrace, Exotic Wackajugs, digital.
Honorable mention: Joan McCall, Redlands, Sand Dune Sunset, fiber art.
Honorable mention: Sharon Mellor, Running Springs, 2024 B, mixed media.
Honorable mention: Kathy Paulus, Moreno Valley, What Is That Red Thingy!, scratchboard.

Joan Wiley Award: Kathryn Young, Cherry Valley, In Bogart Park, pastel.
Juror’s Choice: Ryan Bailey, Redlands, Aurora Borealis, ceramic.
Juror’s Choice: Sandy Davies, Redlands, Daily RX, mixed media.
Past President Award: Emily Gascon, Banning, Avian Love, photography.