News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The art was beautiful, the music was hot and the bidding was even hotter at the My Own Two Hands Art Party & Auction held at Ponderosa Forge & Ironworks in Sisters on Saturday, April 8.
The sold-out event grossed some $95,000 in a weekend that included an art stroll and a chili feed with musical entertainment on Friday night. The proceeds after overhead is covered will be used to fund the Americana Project and arts programs in all three Sisters schools.
Organizers were gratified by the financial harvest the event reaped, but even more gratified that it seemed to capture the spirit the event celebrates.
“The chili feed was very, very successful,” said Erin Deggendorfer of Fast Creek Productions, the executive administrator for the event. “To look around during when the MarchFourth Band was playing, you could really see community.”
She noted that six-year-olds, teens, parents and seniors were all “dancing and playing together.”
Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill & Saloon hosted the event and donated all the food.
Kathy Deggendorfer, who hosted the art party Saturday night, said that event, too, generated a spirit of community. She noted that the event flies in the face of the conventions of using art for fund-raising, in which an auction is packed full with buyers and the donating artists are often not invited.
At My Own Two Hands, a large proportion of the 400-strong crowd was artists.
“Sisters is unique and we need a unique format,” Deggendorfer said. “We celebrate our artists and want to be with them.
“It’s not just about money,” she said. “It’s about honoring talent and sharing it. It’s a celebration, not just a fund-raiser.”
The marketing benefits to the artist can be substantial. Deggendorfer noted that several qualified buyers missed out on their bids — and chased down their favorite artists work at local galleries after the event.
Deggendorfer is herself a painter. A piece she did in collaboration with Tonye Phillips was very well received, which the artist found gratifying.
“I always try to put my very best work in that (show) because it’s a project I really, truly believe in.”
Several artist won awards for their work. Steve Frandsen won an Award of Merit for a stone piece; other merit notations went to Deb Sether for a sculpture and Sam Scharf for a bracelet.
John Simpkins was honored with the Americana Folk Award for a framed floor-cloth painting; Raman Ellis was honored for a jewelry piece with the Spirit of Giving Award and Ashley Crofoot was given the Student Achievement Award.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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