vaguely related to VISTA life...

Hey, everybody. I just wanted to let you all know that I updated my Kirsten Academy blog. I don't know if any of you are interested, but for the December class, I managed to raise over $450 for charity, and my friends all got a lot of cool art. Total expenses for me: $15 (a few snacks, and a SASE for an artist who said she probably wouldn't get around to sending me any art unless I sent her one).

Here's what you do:

1) Make a lot of friends/ acquaintances (if they are artists, that's a plus, but it's not necessary)

2) Tell them you are having an art auction for charity, and that if they want to come, they have to make and donate some art.

3) If anybody protests on the grounds that they aren't artists, invite them over and help them make something (while making something yourself). Also, let them know that crafts/clothes/food can count as art.

4) Throw a party/auction! BYOB! Bringing snacks is encouraged!

 

As for the auction, I decided to go with a blind/silent format. Everybody got their own bid sheets, that were numbered 1-50 (each number corresponded to a piece of art). I also forced everybody to bid at least $1 on EVERYTHING, so that I wouldn't be stuck with any unwanted art at the end of the day. And I included a "Spending Limit" box on the bid sheets, so that people could bid high on lots of items without worrying about winning too much, and owing more than they could afford.

It ended up being a little more complicated to figure out the winning bids this way (it took a couple of hours to make sure that the art was fairly distributed), but it also meant that I was the only person who saw the bids. So nobody got their feelings hurt. And it also meant that there were no angry bidding wars. Cheap, Fun, and for a Good Cause. What more could you ask for?