My feet are screaming at me but I'm still smiling ;D
Today was nothing short of incredible. We had more art than I ever could have dreamed we'd have & there were some highly contested pieces as well as some downright bargains.
I came home with several new additions to my own art collection too!
My brain's a little fried but I will mention a few highlights...and forgive me if there was something more significant than these...and I, too, can't wait to see some photos!!
The room was packed full of art and auction donations... THANK YOU to the generous supporters/artists who really came through for us....some were even surprises that we didn't even know about until they came through the door.
There were several sentimental pieces with SAFE horses as their inspiration & all of those got new homes...I suspect to SAFE supporters.
Lynn's Quilt was a hit! I hear there may be another available at the SAFE Horse Show in August....We'll probably run a raffle on that one
so everyone will have a chance.
We had a painting created live at the event by artist, Amanda Koh. The painting captured many of us as it unfolded and ultimately revealed itself as SAFE's own handsome hunk, Honeycutt!! Since the painting was created live, we decided to auction it off live too after the Silent Auction closed. That became a bidding war between Jaime & Bonnie....Bonnie won & named it "Honeycutt Loves You" ...oh darn, I'm trying to remember the next part of it ...was it "(But doesn't know how to show it)"
? I'm sure we'll get an update on that one here soon!
I was fortunate enough to have the winning bid on another Amanda Koh piece called Seahorse. Every bit as lovely, in my opinion....a white horse on a blue background...now who could that be? (in my mind!)
There was certainly something for everyone & I don't know of anyone who was disappointed, except those who didn't end up with the highest bid at 6:00pm for their favorite piece(s).
Maeve can tell you more about the pieces & artists so I won't try to as I couldn't do it justice.
I would like to say that THANKS hardly seems adequate enough to express how blown away I am at the turnout of supporters and artists. But thanks will have to do....
Maeve, our Art Director, said "just forward me all the emails from the artists & I'll take care of that for you" a couple months ago. WOW, that was HUGE!! That was practically the whole show right there! This event would not have been anywhere near the quality it was if she had not been at the reins on that part of it...and she donated an original piece as well!!
Cherri, of the Harbor Kitchen in Gig Harbor, also told me not to worry about the food. "I can do it, no problem." she said. And it was true...I really just gave her the freedom to make the magic happen and she did!! THANK YOU for making it so easy for us & providing such wonderful yummy things to eat!
Leah also had the jobs of artist & volunteer while getting her beautiful photographs ready she created all of the graphics for the show. They were practically art themselves & in fact one of the framed versions of our show poster actually did sell in the Silent Auction!! Girl, you classed the event up!! I also would like to mention that her book, Forgotten, was a HUGE HIT. I had several people ask where they can get one too! We need to get you a publisher!!!
Bonnie, Jaime & Jenny...I said thanks at the event but I want you to know that it meant a lot to me to have you all there. I know it was a big drive, but it's true that YOU are the ones who made it possible for the rest of us to have such a positive way to pursue this passion for rescue horses.
There were two volunteers who were there from start of day at 8am this morning all the way to the end:
Lynn &
Lyn...you are truly volunteers extraordinaire!! I know you were both exhausted but you stuck by me & the event like troopers, figuring what else needed to be done and just jumping in to do it. I'm soooo grateful ;D
I also had two of my personal friends help out: Kelli loaded up her 3 horse trailer with the walls/tables for the event last night and got up early this morning to have them at the event site so we could set up. Cindi (who's chicken photo's were very popular) also jumped in and did whatever she could to help us out. It was unexpected and very appreciated!! THANK YOU both.
Then....my boys....
Les, Les & Corey who loaded, unloaded, loaded, unloaded, built, tore down, loaded & unloaded walls...fabulous walls, by the way!! You guys rocked!!! THANKS
As I returned for the last car/truck load of things that had to leave the Abbey this evening, Rob Sutherland (owner of the Abbey Ballroom) said he thought it was a great event & said we could have it there again if we did it next year....
....next year??? we'll see....we've talked about some of the things we might do differently 'next time' and we'll certainly take suggestions should anyone have them. In fact I'm sure we'll do a debriefing here pretty soon once we get it all settled...but next year is certainly a possibility. My feet are telling me NO WAY....but my HeART is telling me something very different!
THANKS AGAIN everyone