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Photo by Jon Anderson
Metal artist Robert Taylor of Gardendale, Alabama, won best of show at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People make their way through the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Metal artist Robert Taylor holds one of his creations chosen as Best of Show at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. With him, from left, are Bluff Park Art Association President Rachel Jameson, show judge Todd Herman of The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Hanging art by Stacy McInnis-Blalock at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People make their way through the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Painter Jenny Cash, right, talks with a customer at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Glass art by Paige Hughes at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Amanda Jordan takes a break with some tacos from Taqueria Juarez at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Jim Quakenbush entertains the crowd at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People make their way through the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Kallie Thompson checks out some nutcrackers by artist Natalie Russo at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Hayley McMichael of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, checks out hanging art by Stacy McInnis-Blalock at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People walk along food truck row at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Elliott and Noella Pulliam of the Bluff Park community take a food break at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Nora Russell of Hoover, Alabama, admires copper artwork by Royal Miree at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People check out ceramics by David Self at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People make their way through the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Cameron and Caleigh Buchina of Hoover, Alabama, left, and their dog, Buddy, visit with other people at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People check out paintings by Lucy Thomas of Columbia, Tennessee, at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People make their way through the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Margo Ferrell of the Bluff Park community, left, creates her own art at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, with the assistance of Juniorette Kate Surtees.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Sculptor Craigger Browne of Sylacauga, Alabama, poses with some of his creations at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
People check out the woodwork of Rob Herbster of Jemison, Alabama, at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Kristin Canan of Hoover, Alabama, checks out photography by Steve Dunlap at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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People take a break at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Children's art hangs to dry at the Kids' Art Hut at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Glass art by Paige Hughes at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Glass artist Paige Hughes, right, talks with a customer at the 2025 Bluff Park Art Show in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
Robert Taylor said he’s been part of the Bluff Park Art Show for 25 years or more, but 2025 was his year.
The metal artist from Gardendale walked away with the 2025 Best in Show award at Saturday’s 62nd annual Bluff Park Art Show at the Bluff Park Community Park from among more than 120 artists.
Todd Herman, CEO and president of The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, who served as this year’s judge for the show, said working in metal is extremely difficult, but doing so with the kind of precision and feeling that Taylor does is exceptionally difficult.
“Of all the things I saw here, there are many things that spoke to me, but this is the object that I remembered throughout the day,” Herman said of one of Taylor’s masterpieces. “It made such an impression.”
Herman also liked that Taylor is a teacher who is handing his craft down to future generations.
Taylor started out as a blacksmith 40 years ago but got into coppersmithing after two or three years. One advantage he has over other coppersmiths is that he can make his own tools as a blacksmith, he said. The difference between a good tool and a great tool can be miniscule, but he knows how to make exactly what he needs, he said.
Taylor said he was really excited to take home the top prize from the Bluff Park Art Show. “You work hard and try to come up with new and exciting pieces, and I’m real proud of how that one turned out,” he said.
Here are the other award winners from this year’s Bluff Park Art Show:
- Show Judge Award ($1,800) — Paveen Beer Chunhaswasdikul, Gadsden, ceramics
- August A. and Cary Moore Memorial Award ($1,500) — Terry Beckham, Hoover, painting
- Bluff Park Art Association’s President’s Award ($1,000) — Denise Rollings-Martin, Bremen, jewelry
- Sally Johnson Memorial Award ($1,000) — Jonah Grice, Birmingham, mixed media
- Arlen Reynolds Memorial Award ($1,000) — Hannah Lewis, Montevallo, printmaking
- Hugh Dye Memorial Award for Best New Artist ($1,000) — Carrie Johnson, Brewton, ceramics
- Hoover Arts Alliance Award ($500) — Jim Brown, Homewood, printmaking
- Bluff Park Art Association Board of Directors Award ($500) — Gary Carroll, Eastpoint, Florida, drawings
- Henley Hager Memorial Award ($500) — Sommer Simpson, Bessemer, painting
- Popular vote award ($500) — Hannah Lewis, Montevallo, printmaking
