Anderson County Arts Center hosts the annual juried show this weekend.

Last weekend, I went to the Anderson Arts Center to look at submissions for the 33rd Annual Juried show. I was almost surprised! Of course, they still had the usual selection of pretty watercolor flowers and country barnyard scenes, or what I like to call “corporate art,” but mixed in with the old standbys was an awakening of fresh, new and energized art.

Honestly, it gave me hope for a future Anderson art scene. There were pristine prints both from the disciplines of printmaking and photography and paintings that make you feel a little uneasy about what’s lurking under your bed. There were sculptures constructed of all types of materials and ceramic pieces that were conceptual, not functional.

As much as I enjoyed poking through the submissions, unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that they all will be featured in the upcoming juried show that opens at 7 p.m. Friday.

However, there is still hope. This year’s juror is the exceptionally accomplished Dean A. Dass, a printmaking professor in the McIntire Department of Art at the University of Virginia who has had many international exhibitions of his work.

Personally, I am excited to see what pieces (of the 300-plus entered) he will decide to put in the show, as well as who will win the big first-place prize. There was such an incredible mix of talent that his job is not easy.

Painting remains the medium of choice for many, but ceramics and photography are rising toward the top. In fact, photography has seen a huge increase in submissions, as far as I can tell, as a result of the availability of quality, inexpensive digital cameras.

It will be nice to look at the exhibition, which runs from Friday through May 31, and see what makes the cut as well as hear what onlookers are saying.

I feel a revolution coming on in Anderson, an art revolution that hopefully starts at the Anderson Arts Center.