ANN LOVELESS: 2013 ARTPRIZE WINNER
More than 1,500 pieces of art by more than 1,800 artists representing 45 states and 47 countries were entered in this year’s ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, the nation’s largest art competition. After nearly half a million votes were cast, 17,670 in the final round, the winner was Ann Loveless, ’82, a quilter from Frankfort. Her winning entry is a stunning 20-by-5 foot landscape quilt titled “Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore.” The week after winning the grand prize of $200,000, Loveless and her husband Steve were coping with unexpectedly high traffic in their State of the Art Framing & Gallery in Beulah. “We’re being overrun, but that’s OK,” says Ann. “A group of ladies drove four hours to come here. We can’t get stuff on the walls fast enough.” This was Ann’s third time as a contest participant. “Last year I got into the Top 25,” she explains. “This year my goal was the Top Ten.” Accordingly, she made her textile art a bit bigger and chose a popular scene—Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes. “I sell a lot of lakeshore scenes,” says Ann. “People love it. And Sleeping Bear Dunes was recently voted Good Morning America’s ‘Most Beautiful Place in America.’” So she found a photo taken by her husband Steve, a photographer, and based her four-panel polytrich on the photo. A native of Frankfort, Ann wanted to be a dress designer and chose to attend MSU for its apparel and textiles program. While at MSU, she took a number of art classes as electives. “Looking back, those were very valuable,” recalls Ann, who learned to quilt about a decade ago. Ann believes her success at ArtPrize also strikes a blow for other quilters and textile artists. “Textiles are generally not considered fine art as are oil paintings, pottery and blown glass,” she explains. “When you think of quilts you think of something functional that grandma made for the bed. I think this has paved the way for quilters in the future.” Ann’s entry is currently on display at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.
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