First place ArtWalk prize awarded to Grand Valley instructor

While Grand Rapids was awash in ArtPrize artists and audiences, Grand Haven held it’s own version, known as ArtWalk.

Christine Hornby, a Grand Valley adjunct art instructor, won $1,000 as the first place award in the ArtWalk sculpture category. Her entry, “The Three Sisters: Lead, Arsenic and Uranium,” was done in traditional rug hooking, applique and proddy.

This wall hanging is the largest piece to date by the artist and was started as a class project to learn as many different techniques as possible. “Textile pieces are often still considered ‘craft’ and not treated as art,” said Hornby. “Doing a piece like this, which includes techniques that make it impossible to be used as a floor rug, I hope to show that textiles can belong in the ‘fine art’ category.”
   
Hornby said that naming a piece is always one of the most difficult things for her. She came up with the unusual name with the help of friends, who are like sisters to her. “Sunflowers have the ability to extract toxic chemicals found in the soil, such as lead, arsenic and uranium,” said Hornby. “These sisters/friends are my source of renewal — they help remove the toxins in life that run me down. Without people to cheer us up, and support us, where would we be?”