“Critters” is the theme for the second art exhibit of the year at Rancho Cordova City Hall. The exhibit, which depicts a variety of living creatures, welcomed all human creatures for the artists’ reception on Thursday, April 14th. The exhibit will be available to view at City Hall from through July 16th.

City Hall shows are juried. For Critters, prize-winning artist Sandra Lindblad served as the single juror. In a juried show, submissions are evaluated by a judge or a panel of judges who decide which works of art will be admitted and which will not. Lindblad is from Grass Valley and her work as an animal portrait artist made her a natural choice to jury this show.

Out of the 126 artworks considered, Lindblad selected 101 pieces by a total of 55 different artists. The submissions covered a wide range of skill and expertise. “There were paintings that were definitely exceptional,” Lindblad said. “Then there were some pieces in there that the artist needed to work on their craftsmanship a bit more, they were just starting out.” As far as rules for selection, Lindblad said the only hard and fast rule was that the work had to show some sort of living creature.

A jurist looks for craftsmanship, presentation, design, value, and color, and sees how the artist handles the medium. All of those criteria are important and Lindblad contrasted it with what she called a “schlock job,” one in which, for example, frames might be in bad shape, mat discolored, or craftsmanship appears to be seriously inadequate. In addition, in any show with limited space, including this one, some works cannot be included because of lack of space, or because an artist submitted multiple works and other worthy artists need to have a turn.

There were some works that Lindblad would consider favorites. In any group of artwork, Lindblad said, “the favorite ones would be such as when you walk into a room and your eye just goes to that. Then you look around and your eye goes back to that.”

Lindblad has created art all of her life, and has two Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Art Academy University in San Francisco. She has recently juried a show featuring animals for the Sacramento Center of Fine Arts and currently has paintings in two international shows. Her artwork has won prizes including a $500 award in the Pastel Society of the West Coast’s 29th annual international competition.

Among the 55 contributing artists in this show, two are from artist Marsha Mason. Mason said that the city and the art group are trying to encourage a local grass roots art movement. Mason herself has been part of a jury panel, for the Brushes and Brews event at American River Brewery.

“When I don’t get into a show,” Mason said, “the way I like to think of it is, they just ran out of room. I guess the point is you can’t take it personally.” These shows sponsored by the Cordova Community Council, Mason said, are there to encourage people with a connection to Rancho Cordova to develop in their artistry.

Lindblad pointed out that it takes a lot of time for artists to develop skill, and it’s important to get their work out to be seen at every level of experience. “For any artist to get good, generally there are miles of canvas,” Lindblad said. “Each time, each painting you do, you learn something from it.”