Perceptions Yoga located at 139 Jackson St. in Vernon is hosting an inaugural Juried Art Exhibit this April to commemorate the total solar eclipse.

An all-call was sent out in October of 2023. Friday is the final date to submit works.

All entries will be displayed in the galleries 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 5 (the opening reception) through April 26. The galleries will be open for viewing the weekend of the eclipse with most works offered for sale.

Regular gallery hours throughout the month are from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The jurors include Leticia Bajuyo, an artist and assistant professor of sculpture at the University of Oklahoma, who has a master for fine arts from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a bachelor for fines arts from the University of Notre Dame.

Other members of the jury includes artists Charlinda Evans, Cole Byram and Amber Fields and Perceptions Yoga board members Melissa Gresham and Georgia Nixon.

The jury voted for their top three works with a best of show. The votes of artist and professor Bajuyo were weighted and the jury did not have access to the names of the artists when looking at the works.

The Best of Show entry was “Eclipse Serenade” by local artist Melly Apsley, who is a Jennings County artist that has had a love for art and started painting at a very young age. She was born in Texas and raised in Mexico City where she received a degree in art and design. She enjoys the time she has to paint in her retirement years.

“I find inspiration all around me,” she said. “I often travel and enjoy painting Colorado Aspens, landscapes and still life.”

The 16-by-20 inch canvas depicts an eclipse over the courthouse in Vernon.

Callie Wilder, a 2023 graduate from Hanover College and Jennings County High School alum took second-place honors with a functional sculpture piece entitled “Moonlight” made of foam, epoxy, acrylic paint and an LED light strip.

Third place went to Daphne Talkington, another Jennings County resident, with a collage entitled, “Join Us.”

For about Perceptions Yoga at perceptionsyoga.org.