Top 10...

Honorable Mention...

About the Jurors...

Fran Padgett’s motto is: “I’ll be a breast cancer survivor when I die of something else. In the meantime, I expect to be alive every day in every sense of the word.” Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, Fran left her successful business career of many years to return full time to her passions for painting and writing. On the morning after receiving her breast cancer diagnosis, Fran retreated to the beaches of Galveston, painting from sunrise to sunrise, and on to sunrise again. As she faced the year of treatment and the eventual pronouncement of becoming a “breast cancer survivor,” Fran chronicled – on paper and on canvas – her personal farewell to her body. Through her art, and through her new book, “Breast Cancer Recovery: No One Wrote a Manual”, Fran shares the triumphs, the sadness, the intensely personal choices; the ironies, the laughter, the tears; the sensations of survival and the complexities of healing.

“Fran Padgett’s work is deeply emotional – touching the inner need to heal and to move forward into harmony. Her works stand apart from others; truly a creative legacy to hold near to our hearts.”

Peggy Sexton has been a professional artist for 30 years. For the last ten years, she has focused on mixed media fiber, concentrating in surface design, and has gained national recognition. Her work focuses on dimension and contradiction using unlikely materials juxtaposed with hand dyed silks and delicate thread work. She started her career as a newspaper ad's layout artist; progressed through technical illustrator into television as a graphic artist and ended her commercial art career as Art Director. Sexton's award winning art cloth, collage, and sculpture pieces have been exhibited in galleries through out the United States. Among these are Gallery Mendocino Collage, Ukiah, CA, The Art Station Gallery, Stone Mountain, GA, The Archway Gallery, The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the International Quilt Festival, and the Jung Center, Houston, TX. Her commercial art career includes: graphic design in print and TV, and technical illustration. She has judged high school and adult exhibits.

Mary Ann Lucas is past President of many art organization and has held numerous other positions in support of these organizations. Her studying has consisted of taking courses at formal educational institutions as well as specialized tutorial sessions with various experts.  Mary Ann is a firm believer that "practice is the best learning tool", and this has enabled her to become proficient in a variety of medium. For several years she has conducted workshops, judged art exhibitions and given demonstrations of her art techniques in Houston and surrounding towns. She also donates numerous pieces of her work each year to various worthwhile charity auctions and has participated in numerous art festivals over the years. Her work has made its way to various states across this country and Europe. Her philosophy in art and life is, "The only failure is not to try."