SILENTLY SEEKING ART

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri hopes to make some noise with its silent auction.

The local arts organization wants to raise $12,000 through the sale of artwork donated by local artists and art patrons. That is twice the amount generated by last year's silent auction, said Leslie Stucker, assistant director of the arts council.

All of the money raised will go to further arts education and community arts programming, she said.

The arts council expects to have between 30 and 40 works of art for sale at this year's auction.

"We have paintings, photographs and sculptures, a lot of different things," said Stucker.

The month-long auction will begin with an opening reception from 5-8 tonight at the art council's Gallery 100 and Lorimier Gallery, 119 Independence. Hors d'oeuvres and wine will be served.

Bid sheets will be placed next to each piece. Bidding will start at $100 on each and go up by $10 increments, Stucker said.

Bids will be taken throughout the month, culminating with the art council's annual party at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at the galleries. Bidding will conclude at 8 p.m. when the artwork will go to the highest bidders.

Cape Girardeans Craig and Beth Thomas are among the artists donating pieces to the auction. Beth Thomas is donating a metal wall sculpture, a creation of squares and rectangles with a simple figure on top of it. Craig Thomas is donating a Valentine hearts backdrop he created for a youth theater workshop this summer.

He painted the hearts on muslin, which was then attached to a stage flat. The muslin since has been removed from the flat.

The artwork is 8 feet tall by 16 feet wide. "Some kid would love it, I know," said Thomas.

He said his creation could be used like wallpaper. "It is thinner than some wall coverings," he said.

Amy Kephart is another artist who has donated pieces for the auction. An assistant professor of ceramics at Southeast Missouri State University, Kephart has donated two jars. She created the jars for her thesis project at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale three yeas ago.

Kephart said the jars are "pretty special pieces." But she is willing to part with them because the proceeds go for a good cause.

It is important for the community to support the arts, Kephart said. "The arts for a long time have gotten a bad rap."

She lamented that football games too often take precedence over art shows.

Art isn't frivolous, she said. "Art is very important to our lives." Art enriches people and "makes us whole," she said.