CHRISTINA EICHELKRAUT / PVT The Amargosa Art Guild held an art show last weekend as part of the Amargosa Days celebration. Above, Joy Marshall, winner of the Holtz Award, displays her acrylic-glazed rock and wood pieces painted with ideograms. At right, Belinda Rafferty sits on the quilt that earned her the Best Fabric Art award. Below right, Grisleda Bracamondes served up corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise and covered in cheese to another customer at the Amargosa Community Park. The money raised from food sales went to support the Apostle Church. Advertisement

AMARGOSA -- By all accounts, the Amargosa Art Guild's Sixth Annual Art Show was a success.

"Today has been wonderful," Jan Cameron, founder of the guild, said. "It was hard just to walk through here at 9:30."

It was easy to believe, given the impressive and wide variety of hand-crafted art on display and for sale filling the tables stretched around the Amargosa Community Center.

Janice Sump sat behind a large table topped with everything from fiber crafts such as cloth coasters and homemade decorative dolls.

"I love it," Sump, who traveled from Las Vegas, said. "I come every year."

Joy Marshall, who took home the Holtz Award, the equivalent of best in show, was busy showing her ideogram-decorated rock and wood pieces to resident Leslie Eastman.

Marshall's full table of displays began with a spare piece of plywood and some inspiration from painted cliffs in Tonopah.

"It's fun to figure out what they mean," Eastman said.

Dave Donegan's table, which had intricately carved wooden sculptures of every shape and size imaginable, proudly boasted a spot of blue from the ribbon he won for Best Heritage Art.

Belinda Rafferty also had a blue ribbon for Best Fabric Art to proudly display near a fan quilt made up of over 1,000 pieces.

"Anything to do with sewing is my therapy," Rafferty explained. "It's a labor of love."

The quilt was actually first conceived by her grandmother 15 years earlier.

"I took her quilting idea and I altered it," Rafferty said.

Cameron herself won Best Fine Art for her acrylic seascape. She also offered hand-painted Christmas ornaments.

Sharon Johnson, surrounded by a mountain of hand-crafted fiber art ranging from decorative wall hangings to potholders and cloth coasters, won Best Display.

A walking tour around the room ended with Wynn Brooks' pointillist portraits and drawings.

"I started with connect the dots and just got carried away," Brooks joked.

The Amargosa Art Guild will have much more to offer residents this winter when they hold their annual Christmas Baazar.