|
The Auction was a great success that raised
over $80,000. Read the article from the Winston Salem Journal (I highlighted the part that mentions one of my sculptures):
Scene & Heard - PET PROJECT: Decorated 'animals' find many a good home
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
By Leigh Somerville McMillan
Sometimes, it pays to stay seated until the curtain goes down for the last time. The Forsyth Humane Society Art Unleashed
Adoption Auction on Saturday night was one of those times.
The fundraiser was fun from the minute the doors of the Wachovia Center opened at 7 p.m., but the highlight of the night came
with the final and highest bid of the evening: Lea Hollinger's $7,000 bid for Vincent Cannino's See Spot Read.
The silent and live auction of 46 animal sculptures raised more than $80,000, according to Colleen Weiss, the executive director
of the humane society. "We're delighted," she said. "You can expect to see another auction in the summer of 2008."
"The (Art Unleashed) committee has been wonderful," Ms. Weiss said. "The concept of a combined celebration of art, animals
and the community was really well-received by children and adults alike. It drove traffic downtown, and the foster parents
there took good care of the animals and were pleased with the positive effects (the sculpture) had on their business."
Artist Rhonda Oglesby's dog Sam I Am spent the summer in front of Miller's Clothing Store on Trade Street. Ms. Oglesby, a
graphic designer at Meridian Realty, said she drove by Miller's one day and noticed Sam peering out the front window and wearing
a red hat. "They said they didn't want him getting rained on," she said with a laugh. Ms. Oglesby was joined at the fundraiser
by her husband, John Oglesby, and their friends Jim McKeny and Sue Rumble.
Many wanted to adopt an animal sculpture Saturday night. The first piece sold for $1,400, and the crowd got more and more
generous as the night wore on. Tancy Entwistle was the first to jack the prices up over the $2,000 mark, placing the winning
bid of $2,200 for Carol Eickmeyer's Artie the Cat with a Checkered Past, the mascot for Art Unleashed.
Bridget Fitzgerald, a former humane-society employee and current volunteer, bought Laurie Russell's Love, Love, Love for $2,200
and donated the dog sculpture back to the humane society. "I thought it was the piece that most matched their goal," Ms. Fitzgerald
said.
The crowd went wild halfway through the auction when Dempsy Calhoun's Training for Hard Times by Drawing Upon Reserves sold
to Lee and Shelby Chaden for $4,000. Asked his reaction to the price his art brought, the artist said, "It was only humane."
And that was just the beginning. Dr. Jerome Jennings and his wife, Beverly, paid $5,000 for Bird Dog in Hiding and another
$3,200 for Vincent VanGato. The next dog on the stage was Dots, created by Annie Ornelles, a student at Mount Tabor High School,
and selling for $3,700. After that, the bids hung around the $4,000 mark, culminating with a bidding war that ended with Ms.
Hollinger's $7,000 show-stopper.
Candide Jones, a humane-society board member and development chairwoman, and Rex Welton, the special-events and education
manager, were great cheerleaders throughout the auction, taking turns introducing each cat or dog to the stage. Ms. Jones
said the Art Unleashed committee "worked tirelessly" beginning with the first party in January, through the parade in April
and ending with the adoption auction. "It started with sharing an idea and then all of the sudden, we look around tonight,
and it's real."
Dawn Longman, the president of the humane society's board, attended the fundraiser with her husband, David, and their daughter
Iselle, 2, the youngest of about 40 volunteers. Mrs. Longman said she was very grateful for the "outpouring of support" from
artists, sponsors and the community. "Every piece is a work of art, and each invokes an emotional response," she said. Fairy Dog Mother was Iselle's favorite and sold - not to Iselle, unfortunately - for $3,500.
Veterinarian John Shontz came from Sanford to attend the fundraiser with his friends Rick and Casey Taylor of Winston-Salem.
Mr. Shontz said he was impressed with the number of people involved in producing Art Unleashed and the response from the community.
"Usually, there is a small core of people who do the majority of this kind of work," he said. "It's tough to get outsiders
involved, but (the humane society) has done a great job."
Among those involved Saturday night were Dale and Susie Pollock; Marge and Jerry Silber and their friends Aracelli Maria Cetina,
Celeste Jones and her daughter Sawannah, 12; Jimmy Najar and Susan Martin from Bon Appetit; Adam Andrews and Mike Bennett
from the Fourth Street Filling Station; board member Steve Sutton and volunteers Jamie Post and Todd Haywood at the wine table;
and volunteer greeters Sarah Bradley and Lisa Clark Cauble.
|
