ANNOUNCEMENT - Silent Art Auction To Benefit Down Syndrome Network Of Arizona

Sponsored by Photographer's Adventure Club, ViVYX Printing, and Value Art LLC. Friends, fans, home-improvers, art lovers, and good-hearted Down Syndrome supporters, PLEASE don’t miss this CHARITY SILENT ART AUCTION, this coming weekend at the Maricopa County Home & Garden Show, being held at the University of Phoenix Stadium, March 6th – 8th.  With 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Down Syndrome Network of Arizona, I am very pleased to be involved and I am humbled to be one of the artists represented, among so many others whom I greatly respect.

So What Is This All About?

My friends and I at the Photographers Adventure Club, along with ViVYX Printing, and Value Art Custom Framing (my local printers and framers of choice) have joined forces once again to fully donate over 200 stunning fine art images, for our second event in as many years.    The donations didn’t stop there either, as the Maricopa Home Show people once again donated all of our floor/booth space at the stadium, normally thousands of dollars.  Last time they gave us the biggest space they had, and apparently they thought we classed up the place so much, that they invited us back again, giving us even 200 square feet more space.

This is how our booth space looked the last time we did this.

Who Is This For Again?
The Down Syndrome Network of Arizona is a non-profit organization that relies heavily on the participation of volunteers.  Their core mission is to provide an opportunity and promote inclusion and awareness of people with down syndrome.  The way that they do that is to partner with other people and organizations, such as with my friends and me in this event.

 

So How Does It Work?

Here is an embedded video from the Photographer's Adventure Club (PACGIVESBACK) explaining the event in more details. Bids start at only $20! It is pretty simple.  You can either physically stop by our booth at the show to view everything in person and make as many bids on as many pieces you want, or you can do all of it remotely at home, work, or through your smart phone on the auction website.  All bids are electronically recorded online through the website, and all you will need to do is create a simple account with your cell phone, by texting "PAC" to 71760 to get your own link to the site, which then only requires your name and email address to complete signing up. And then bid away on your lot numbers of interest.  If you come to the event in person, we will have people there to assist you in the simple process.  Whether you make your bid in person or online the process is the same, and if you are outbid on any particular piece you will be instantly notified through text messaging.  You can then decide to re-bid on it, or let it go, or maybe wait till the last moment of the auction and then re-bid without others having time to come back...honestly though, if you see an item you really like and know it is of great value, try not to limp in with a minimum bid, but instead give it a thoughtful bid that better honors its value, while still giving you a great value -- you will be most likely to win your bid then, plus DSNetwork gets a good donation, and you can have a tax deduction.

What Kind Of Value Are We Talking About Here?

The value you will get for participating is simply a no-brainer.  It is literally a WIN-WIN-WIN situation. The majority of these pieces are very large, but there is a good range in sizes across many genre's and subject matter. The details of each size dimension will be on the website.  The value of all pieces displayed will roughly range from about $200, up to possibly over $1000 for some pieces, with $400-$500 being about the average value.  Yet based on past experience, very few pieces will actually go for their suggested value, with many winning bids being only 25% or possibly less of the value.  We hope they go for full value, but if they don’t we won’t lose any sleep over it.  You see we already donated all it and it is all written off, so we don’t care! And DS Network will be happy with whatever we raise, so they don’t care! And you will be happy for getting a great piece at an amazing value…honestly, some of these go for less than what you could pay for just the framing and matting materials alone…it’s a no-brainer, if you find something you like.  Historically speaking, look how the last auction event went:

How the event finished last time we did it...

200 pieces roughly valued at a total of $80,000.  They were physically seen by over 25,000 people and every piece sold. We were thrilled to raise nearly $18,000 for Down Syndrome Network. So if you do the math, that means the average winning bid amount of the 200 pieces was a mere $90!!!  The five pieces I personally donated last time were combined valued at $1860, yet those five pieces raised $685, or $137 per piece!  I didn’t care, DSNetwork didn't care, and the lucky winners definitely didn't care.  Our goal is $25,000 this time.

Come on over and make a bid that will help make a difference.

OK, So Let’s Get Started:

Here is the website listing all of the auction pieces.  Live silent bidding online will begin at 12:01am on Friday, March 6^th, and will end at 9:00pm on Sunday, March 8^th.  If you want to bid in person at the Home and Garden show, we will be there 10am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sunday.

 BID ONLINE NOW - Text "PAC" to 71760

Want To Show Up In Person?

Here is a map of the University of Phoenix stadium with the booth locations.  From the entrance, we will be in the opposite corner, near the food.

THE FINE PRINT:

The winning bid MUST BE PHYSICALLY PICKED UP at ViVYX Printing in Tempe, near the airport (1635 W. University Dr. Suite 130 Tempe, AZ 85281 (602) 334-4352).  We don’t want to ship framed prints behind glass, and want to give as much money as possible to DSNetwork. If you win the bid, but don’t live locally, and you still want that print, you can still have it at the bid amount and shipped to you, but only as an unframed print, which can be shipped for just $9.  OR…if you did not win, and still want the print, the top 10 runner-up bids will have an opportunity afterwards to donate a smaller amount to receive an unframed print, for pickup at ViVYX, or shipped for $9. For example, on one of my pieces from the last auction, a 36”x24” reprint for a runner-up was only $60.  Bids start at $20 and are increments of $10. 

Hey, What Did John Donate???

Here are the 3 pieces I am pleased to donate for this cause that I am fond of:

Unlock Your Doors And Windows To The Senses - LOT #236 - Approx 28" x 36" framed

Open Your Doors And Windows Of The SensesEdition Type: Limited-Edition Fine-Art Collectible
Edition Size: 50
Edition Price Tier: Tier 2 About My Pricing
Edition Print Sizes: 16x24 & above
Original Artist’s Proof: A.P. 2/3 24x36 Epic Metal Aluminum Art w/ 1.25" black metal flush mount - AVAILABLE
Contact artist for a quote
Other Information:
Lifetime Warranty & Guarantee
Other Products:
Also available as a 5x7 Quotable Art Card

Narrative:
“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.” ~ Jean Houston

The Blanche Russell Rock House is the remnant of a life once lived by the former 1920s Ziegfeld Follies dancer, who left her career for her husband’s health, and travelled to the southwest’s dry climate. The Russell's car broke down in what could only be described as divine intervention to have been stranded at one of the most breathtaking areas in Arizona. Loving the land, trusting their senses, and open to making the best of it, they erected a creative shelter against the largest rock among a vibrant and panoramic mountain landscape, and built a new life by serving passer-bys visiting the Grand Canyon.

The Mind's Reflective Beauty Of Nature - LOT #253 - Approx 32" x 42" Framed

The Mind’s Reflective Beauty Of NatureEdition Type: Limited-Edition Fine-Art Collectible
Edition Size: 25
Edition Price Tier: Tier 2 About My Pricing
Edition Print Sizes: 16x24 & above
Original Artist’s Proof: A.P. 1/1 - AVAILABLE & ready to custom print
Contact artist for a quote
Other Information:
Lifetime Warranty & Guarantee
Other Products:
Also available as a 5x7 Quotable Art Card

Narrative:
"The appearance and interpretation of beauty in nature is a matter of the creative mind’s willingness to reflect upon the primeval. Reflect not just upon the earliest ages in the history of the world, that over time evolved with charactered brilliance into the weathered scene which appears before you. Simultaneously turn inward to your own primeval depths as well, for the appearance of what is beautiful must come from within, as you interpret the reflective history of your own weathered self against it – a beauty as brilliant as Nature itself. Even if you return over and over to the same scene months or years later to be present to it again, its beauty will always be new and unique, but only if you slow down and look within again, for the world and yourself both have aged.” ~ Jack Mountain

Photograph of the entrance to "The Wave" of Coyote Buttes, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, just after an early April Spring shower. I’ve been here many times over the years and each its beauty is always new and unique, and so too is the experience of myself against it.

Finding Perspective - LOT #237 - Approx 36" x 24" framed

Finding PerspectiveEdition Type: Limited-Edition Fine-Art Collectible
Edition Size: 25
Edition Price Tier: Tier 2 About My Pricing
Edition Print Sizes: 12x24 & above
Original Artist’s Proof: A.P. 1/1 - AVAILABLE & ready to custom print
Contact artist for a quote
Other Information:
Lifetime Warranty & Guarantee

Narrative:
"Climb up on some hill at sunrise. Everybody needs perspective once in a while, and you'll find it there." ~ Robb Sagendorph

The Mogollon Rim is an escarpment defining the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, and along its central and most spectacular portions is characterized by high limestone and sandstone cliffs. The American Indian culture known as the Mogollon lived in the southwest from approximately AD 150 until sometime between AD 1400 and AD 1450. The name Mogollon for both the Native American culture and the geographic locations of the Mogollon Mountains and the Mogollon Rim comes from Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón, the Spanish Governor of New Mexico from 1712 to 1715.

Often when I'm here alone with myself, I consider my perspective on the world and often wonder about the perspective others have felt and if they are at all different in their base forms. The western novel author, Zane Grey, built a hunting cabin on the actual slopes of the Mogollon Rim just northeast of Payson, above Tonto Creek. This cabin was restored by the Phoenix, Ariz., air-conditioning magnate William Goettl during the late 1960s, but it was destroyed by the Dude Fire in 1990. Several of Grey's widely read novels, were either set in this general area of the Old West, or inspired by it. The novel-writer Louis L'Amour's novel The Sackett Brand was also set in the area of the Mogollon Rim, with the cliffs of the Rim being specifically described.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

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