More than 30 pieces of locally made art will be on display at Fenceline Cider in Mancos and silently auctioned off between 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 15.
Beside each creation – whether it be a glass piece, an embroidered bag, metal or fiber art – will be a print of what initially inspired it: Artwork from students at the Mancos Early Learning Center.
“The art is starting to come in,” said Blythe Morrison, a member of the early learning center’s parent committee. “It’s fun to see how the artists translated the kid art into their media.”
The artists didn’t have an opportunity to sit down with the child who made the artwork, and thus had no opportunity to ask what it’s supposed to be.
If you go...
WHAT: Little Visions, Big Creations Fundraiser, with music by the Dirty Chords.
WHEN: March 15. Auction 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Fenceline Cider, 41 S. Main St., Mancos.
MORE INFORMATION: Mancos Early Learning Center, (970) 533-1587.
“They had to just run with it,” said Chelsea Lunders, the executive director of the creative district.
“What a fun, playful thing as an artist, to have a prompt like that,” Morrison said. “We’ve gotten really positive feedback.”
Marilyn Kroaker, a participating artist, said “I would do this again in a heartbeat.”
“What fun to be collaboratively creative with someone I’ve never met,” she said.
When Kroaker first got the artwork, she was “completely baffled” by the “yellow lines” and “pink squiggles” she saw, so she hung it on the fridge for a few days, trying to decipher what it was.
“My dear sister, who should’ve been an artist, within 30 seconds said it’s a cup and saucer.”
The design was set on white paper, so Kroaker used porcelain to make the tea set. That way, the colors will be “pink and yellow yellow, instead of the clay turning it other colors,” she said.
Lunders said other artists she’s spoken with have shared similarly positive experiences, and that they all were happy to donate their art to the cause.
The fundraiser is advertised around the county as Little Visions Big Creations, and it will benefit the Mancos Creative District and the Mancos Early Learning Center.
All money the creative district receives will go toward youth programming in the opera house, said Lunders.
It’s the first fundraiser of its kind so if it’s successful, they’d like to do it annually.
Morrison added that it’s free to attend – there’s no cover charge – and the art is priced at a range, and thus inclusive to all budgets. Music from the Dirty Chords will start a little later in the evening.
“It feels good to be contributing to my community,” Kroaker said. “They’ve been so supportive of me and my art journey, so giving back is where it’s at.”
