Calls Of The Wild Annal Birdhouse Auction Hangs Its Hat On Whimsy
What bird would be delighted to fly into a cat’s open mouth? Why, the bird that finds “The Cat’s Meow” birdhouse created by Pat Boyd for the annual Spokane Art School BirdHouse and TeaGarden Auction, of course.
Whimsy is the rule for the dozens of birdhouses created by regional artists for this April 20 event. There’s a birdhouse that honors Van Gogh and another that’s filled with origami cranes. Spokane artist Harold Balazs even built a six-foot birdhouse that harks back to Russian mythology.
“In a Russian legend, Baba Yaga Hut is really a witch that’s a hut with chicken feet,” says Art School director Sue Ellen Heflin. “The hut moves around the forest so you never know where it is. Harold’s Baba Yaga Hut has stick legs.”
This is the sixth installment of the fund-raiser that benefits the art school’s special projects budget. The first birdhouse auction was in 1989, and although it wasn’t held for a couple of years, it’s been annual for the last several.
“I made my first birdhouse - a non-functional one of copper mesh,” says Heflin, the school’s new director. “My mom, who is a painter and lives in New Mexico, thought it sounded like so much fun she even made a series of tiles for the auction.”
Many of the birdhouses are functional. “The artists went to the library and got the dimensions for how big the holes should be,” Heflin says.
But if you think birdhouses are, well, for the birds, there’s much more to be auctioned. Some of the 85 artists who contributed work stretched the limits. There are paintings, a painted bookcase, a birdbath, tiles, ceramic platters and a variety of items themed for the garden.
Nearly 100 items will be auctioned through the evening in silent and live auctions. In addition to the artwork, participants can bid for the services of landscape architects who have donated consultation time, and a progressive dinner put together by a group of artists.
There will be food provided by Catered For You; music by the Planet Lounge Orchestra.
Space is limited; only 200 tickets are available.
Those who want to see the birdhouses and other garden-themed artwork before it’s auctioned can browse the third floor of the Spokane Art School where it will be on display Monday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It’s free to look, but there won’t be any bidding until the Saturday auction.
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