LIFE

Youngblood’s ‘Louisiana Oyster’ part of NOLA exhibition

Local artist Caroline Youngblood was honored in New Orleans Saturday when one of the paintings in her “Louisiana Oysters” series was presented at the opening night of the Louisiana Contemporary Exhibition at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Her work was one of only 119 selected from more than 760 entries from 227 artists.

Youngblood has also been awarded an Artist Career Advancement Grant by the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

“The grant will fund artistic and promotional materials to create my new body of work, ‘Riverton, 1937: Part Two.’ These images are the films stills that will turn into large oil paintings on canvas,” Youngblood stated.

The new series of paintings are based on stills from a 1937 family film shot in Caldwell Parish. Selections from the series will premier as an installation for the North Delta Food and Wine Festival and at Grand Coteau Bistro in Grand Couteau in October. Youngblood will complete the series by March 2016.

Youngblood grew up surrounded by cotton fields on Breston Plantation, located in Riverton. She attended Louisiana State University where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting, graduating Magna cum Laude. Youngblood pursued graduate work at Syracuse University, New York, and received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana Tech University with a concentration in Drawing and Painting. She enjoys sharing her talents doing volunteer work at arts organizations in Monroe, Columbia and Baton Rouge.

The 1st annual Miss Magnolia Pageant 2015 will be Sept. 26 at the Community Center in Columbia. The Caldwell Parish Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring this non-glitz pageant.

The categories are: Tiny Miss, 5-6 years; Little Miss, 7-9 years; Young Miss, 10-12 years; Teen Miss 13-15 years; and Miss Magnolia 16-18 years. A queen, first, second, and third, photogentic and Peoples Choice award be presented in each division.

These queens will be ambassadors for Caldwell Parish. Entry forms are available at the chamber of commerce and registration is $50. For information, call the chamber office, 649-9931.