Artist Sandy Stratil, of Carthage, has received a special recognition award for artwork in the 14th annual Collage, Digital and Mixed Media Juried Online International Art Exhibition hosted by Upstream People Gallery.

This international exhibition received approximately 175 entries from around the world, and 36 artists were selected by the juror Laurence Bradshaw, professor of art at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Bradshaw states this about this specially recognized work:

"Sandy Stratil, of Carthage, uses ink and acrylic on paper. In her work 'I Was Only Dreaming,' she shows a woman in a thinking position with the imagery of a man, horse and child in the background as if the woman is thinking about them."

The exhibition will be featured online at www.upstreampeople gallery.com and continue indefinitely in the archives section of the website.

"My work 'I Was Only Dreaming' is from my series titled 'Family Matters,'" says Stratil.

"In these pieces, I use texture, a monochromatic palette, photo transfers, and other collage elements to tell stories about family relationships, both real and imagined. In this piece, though, I use ink and acrylic to suggest a dream, and hope to engage the viewer in a dialogue about what the dream means, and who these people are."