Anders Shafer, of Eau Claire, received first place honors for his acrylic on paper masterpiece, Children’s Theater, at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Gallery. A crowd of over 100 gathered as Shafer was awarded on Saturday, August 23 at ECRAC’s 2008 Confluence of Art Biennial. The contest is a juried exhibition. Shafer is the author of The Fantastic Journey of Peter Bruegel, which includes his pencil and watercolor illustrations. He was also featured in a one-man exhibition at Viterbo University in La Crosse and was selected in a juried competition at Columbia College, Columbia, Mo. He was also a professor at UW-Eau Claire. Second place was awarded to Sarah Earle of Fort Atkinson for her painting Logic Hemorrhage, and third went to Desoto native Carissa Brudos for her fabric piece Majestic. The Arts Center Gallery is open 9am to 4pm, Monday through Friday, and during stage productions.