(Photo by Cynthya Porter)
"Let Me In," an original oil painting by East Coast artist Heather Levy, is one of the pieces that will be auctioned in Painting a Brighter Future August 7. |
If anything ever typified art from the heart, this is probably it.
In a first of its kind endeavor, more than 60 artists from across the region and across the country opened their hearts and their galleries to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Winona to help put on what just may be the largest charity art auction in Southeastern Minnesota.
The live and silent auction, slated for Saturday, August 7 in the Hiawatha Room at St. T's, will feature more than 80 pieces of art in every shape and size, every medium and style, from a few dollars to hundreds, all benefitting area children.
Organizers have been overwhelmed by the response, watching work pour in from as far away as California, Texas and New York, as close as the charming galleries that dot the region around Winona.
Paintings, limited prints, stained glass, jewelry, sculptures; you name it and this auction probably has it, BBBS Advisory Council member Luke Merchlewitz said. What impresses him most is the eclectic variety of work contributed, spanning every medium and style imaginable. This is an auction where there is truly something for everyone, he said.
But what has warmed the hearts of auction committee members more than anything is this community's willingness to help make this event happen, with sponsorship rolling in from every corner of the business sector.
Merchants Bank provided the cornerstone sponsorship to get the auction going, but no fewer than a dozen area businesses have come onboard with in-kind donations that will make the evening shine, BBBS Advisory Council member Kris Blanchard said.
Folks from AKS Auction services will be running the live auction as only they can, musician John Kennedy will provide "browsing" music during the preview time, and Chartwells Catering will lay out a beautiful spread of free hors d'oeuvres to nourish people's bellies while they shop for art to nourish their souls.
Organizers have geared the event to be as much of a social evening as it is an art auction, including in the plans a cash bar and tables for sitting and visiting.
And around the room on dozens of tables and easels will be art, a truckload of art, from artists who gave from the heart to help the children served by BBBS.
Heather Levy, an East Coast artist, heard about the auction through a friend at Odin Gallery in La Crosse. Her work these days is officially in the "big time," with a piece of her art scheduled to be featured on a billboard in Time Square. Even so, she felt the cause of this auction was so worthy she sent an original oil on canvas titled, "Let Me In." The painting, Levy said, stemmed from memories of her earliest days in New York as she struggled to find her place in the world around her. She wanted this auction to have the piece, she said, because that struggle may be similar for some of the youth served by BBBS.
Michael Sieve has made a name for himself as one of the foremost wildlife artists in the United States, with work featured in the Wild Wings gallery and in nationally published brochures of his collection. When he learned of the auction, Sieve contacted BBBS, and thanks to Sieve's donation the auction will feature not one but three of his limited edition prints, professionally framed and matted courtesy of Picadilly Gallery.
In fact, Picadilly Gallery provided framing and matting services for upwards of two dozen prints in the auction, because they believe in the cause as well.
And while the auction has an impressive selection from nationally known artists, it will also feature work from artists known primarily in this region, and some whose artistic talents may not have been known at all.
Dr. Tim Thompson may be known best for his skill hovering over the dentist's chair, but who knew his work with a watercolor brush was just as skillful? His vibrant poppies and a whimsical butterfly are among the work that will be available next Saturday night.
Locally, Herb Hultgren, Jim Bambenek, Shelly Leaf, Shannon Porter, Karen Nystrom, Jack Honeywell, Carol Slade and Chris McDonald are just a few of the many artists whose work will grace the easels of the auction, organizers said. Some are well known, some are less known, but all gave some of the best of what they do.
And when organizers said the auction would feature everything imaginable, perhaps what they meant is that it also features some things no one could imagine.
Unless you work at a zoo, that is.
Among the paintings donated for the auction are four pieces from the Houston, Texas, Zoo, and it's the kind of work you might otherwise never see in these parts.
The artists' names are Adrian, Rocky, Elizabeth and Rainbo, all artists who choose to paint because they love it, Zookeeper Lori Gordon said.
As part of an enrichment program for animals in captivity, these zoo residents, two raccoons, a Guinea hog and an Eclectus parrot, are offered an assortment on nontoxic paints, a brush and a canvas. What happens next is up to them.
The results are unique pieces of art with swishes and swirls, paw prints and occasionally nose prints in whatever colors the animal chooses. Pieces sell like hotcakes in the zoo gift shop, Gordon said, with large pieces fetching $80 or more.
While certainly not of the skill or notoriety of the auction's other artists, committee members say, the pieces round out the offerings and they can confidently state this auction really has something for everyone.
After months of preparation, all of the auction details are in place, Merchlewitz said. Now the committee has its fingers crossed that the community will want to see and buy art as much as the artists wanted to give it.
In the end, Blanchard said, it will be an event that binds the community, promotes art and helps area children, all in the same evening, and plans are already underway to make it an annual event.
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