Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Art up for grabs

With emphasis on "grab.'' The Artists' Attic Sale attracts keen interest. And it offers more than art.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published June 9, 2006

Be sure and take a fistful of dollars if you go to the Artists' Attic Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Saturday at the Pasco Arts Council's art center in Holiday.

Original oil and watercolor paintings, framed and ready to hang, are going for as low as $10. Frames without pictures and framing mats are 25 cents and up. Handmade pottery is priced from 10 cents to $10. A couple of cute wrought iron ice cream parlor chairs with colorful padded seats are on the block for $10 apiece, while a couple of office chairs are selling for two bucks each.

"We've been pulling things out of closets and from stacks leaning against the walls for two weeks," said Ann Larsen, the council's new executive director.

Some of the art was donated to help with a fundraiser. Most of it, though, was left behind by artists who showed their work in an arts center show, then didn't pick it up, Larsen said.

"It seems that once they create it, they sometimes just forget about it," she said.

Since word leaked about the big sale last week, several art dealers have called to express interest. One hinted that he would buy the whole collection, lock, stock and barrel.

"But we're not doing that," Larsen said. "We've promised the community that they would get a chance at this, and that's what we're going to give them."

Potential customers have been coming to the center all week eyeing what they'll dash for once the doors open for sales. Some have put their names and telephone numbers on certain items, hoping it will scare off other buyers.

But this sale is strictly first come, first get, Larsen said. "We're not reserving anything for anyone," she said.

The exception are several high-quality artworks that are being sold by silent auction. Already, several people have placed bids on some that are above the lowest price the center would accept. The highest bidder for each item will be announced when the sale closes at 2 p.m. Saturday and given one week to pick up the piece. If it's not picked up by then, the item will go to the second highest bidder.

Interior designers are expected to be among the most enthusiastic buyers; after all, where else could they find an original, framed, one-of-a-kind oil or watercolor painting or a large multicolored ironwork sculpture - "the oddest odd and end we have," Larsen calls it - at such a low price for a favorite client?

Several artists have already said they plan to be there early.

"We found these old palette knives in the back of a closet," Larsen said, picking up a handful of the hard-to-find instruments. "I'm not sure anyone makes palette knives like this anymore, and artists love them."

There are also paintbrushes, heavy paper, sketch pads, sets of pastels, wooden paint boxes and several artists' easels, suitable both for painting and for displaying art in a home or office.

One large easel has a carrying strap.

"This would be perfect for a plein air painter," Larsen said, a reference to artists who like to tramp through the woods or other outdoor space to find the perfect scene to paint.

Larsen is creating a "Teacher's Corner," too. "I found all these tongue depressors, feathers, clothespins, velour paints, pastels and construction paper - the things teachers buy." These school supplies will be in a corner by the center's office.

This "attic sale" goes beyond art.

There are old photo slide projectors, artificial plants, a floor lamp, decorative baskets (25 cents and up), a small rattan bedside table ($2), a white bookshelf hand-painted with greenery ($20), jewelry, candlesticks, holiday decorations and $3 art center T-shirts, among other things.

The gift shop will be open selling art, pottery, jewelry and other things at regular prices.

Volunteers and center employees have been working for more than two weeks pricing the items in the sale. During the sale, they'll be in each room explaining the value of the art and perhaps refereeing disputes over which customer laid claim to a particular piece first.

The center would prefer if everyone pays cash, Larsen said, but the cashiers will accept checks up to $50 and credit cards for purchases totaling $50 or more.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Artists' Attic Sale

WHERE: Pasco Arts Council's art center, 5744 Moog Road, Holiday (behind Centennial Park Library, about 1.5 east of U.S. 19)

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Saturday

TICKETS: Free

[Last modified June 9, 2006, 06:54:54]