Sunday, March 1, 2009

From Doors... To Dreams

Yesterday, I worked on a door to donate to Habitat for Humanity as part of their From Doors... To Dreams fundraiser in which local artists can paint and decorate doors to be auctioned off at the Home Builders Association St. Charles Home Show in April. Several artists and art groups have become involved in this project, and I participated on behalf of the St. Louis chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art with several other members. A painting day at ReStore was arranged for those who cannot transport doors themselves, but many artists took doors with them to work on in their studios at their leisure.

It was interesting to see the different themes and doors that were created. I worked on a contemporary jungle themed door using black acrylic and faux foliage. Other doors created included a splatter technique door vaguely reminiscent of Jackson Pollock's work in purple, red and salmon with black edging stripes. There were also doors bearing different animals, including a giraffe and several koi. Another door bore a fashion theme with a model leaning against the door frame. And that is only representative of those pieces that artists worked on at ReStore, many more artists picked up doors to work on at home.

For all that I frequently lament how often we are hit up for donations, I think that it is important for artists and art groups to be involved in and to give back to the community, and I am glad that the Women's Caucus was a part of From Doors... To Dreams. I hope that the fundraiser is successful, in regards to bringing in some money and in regards to raising awareness (on behalf of both Habitat for Humanity and the artists involved).

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