2013 School Auction Project: Finished, Auctioned & Installed!

It's hard to express the feeling of finally letting go the piece that I worked on and thought about for so long. Relief comes to mind, and Gratitude. The auction took place Saturday, May 11. There were a lot of lovely pieces of art the kids made together. Together the works raised thousands of dollars for the scholarship fund for Tara Redwood School. This piece fetched $1,300 for the scholarship fund.

This is the fourth year I've worked on the auction project for Max's school, and the sixth year I've done an auction project with one of the kid's classrooms. This was my favorite project from start to finish - the scale, the kids, the clay, the ability to be in complete control over the process, even the firing. As always, I could not have done it without Chris' help. When it comes to putting a piece together and motivating me to finish on time, he's the man. Together we carried that honkin' piece of driftwood from Potbelly Beach up a relatively steep trail and all together about 3/4 of a mile to the car. And, lest we forget the most important contributors, the children; each with such wonderful, positive hearts and creative little hands.

The cairn sculpture is about guiding people in the world towards positive actions. The kids each made a clay "stone" and decorated it with designs and a wish for the world. Here are the wishes the kids made to help guide us to good places:

Eland: "Be happy to make friends."
Lunden: "I wish people will stop cutting down trees forever."
Michael: "I wish people will have courage."
Simone: "I wish people will get along."
Thu-Ha: "I wish people will be kind to the earth."
Sasha: "I wish people will practice peace."
Hannah: "I wish people will be content with what they have."
Max W.: "I wish the world to have peace."
Samaya: "I wish all people will have love in their hearts."
Dani: "Believe in yourself to create a world you can live in."
Marina: "I hope everybody can be happy."
Ari: "Be Happy."
Max R.: "Be kind to the earth."
Tej: "I wish everyone can have happiness."
Fede: "I wish there were more sharing in the world."

Complete, this baby stands 7' 6" and is already installed in the lucky winning bidder's yard. I got a lot of positive feedback from people about this sculpture, which just made me want to make more. Maybe not quite so many parts. The possibilities are endless, really.

Now, what to do next year...