The Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) will present its first annual “For Land’s Sake!” dinner auction on Friday, Sept. 7 at Sunnydale in Tryon. Up for auction will be works by prominent area artists, illustrating their interpretations on a bird-inspired theme.
“We chose birds as this year’s theme in order to spotlight the importance of land conservation to everyone who calls Polk County home,” said Carole Bartol, president of PAC.
As tribute to those whose peaceful songs adorn the area’s woods and hills, an assortment of hand-painted pieces will be auctioned off during the event, appealing to both bird enthusiasts and art lovers.
One participating artist, Joan MacIntyre of Green Creek, has endowed a forest green, university chair with painted songbirds and colorful, floral gardens.
“I had a lot of fun working on the project,” said the artist, whose commissions span the continent. “Usually, I’m painting horses.”
Other art pieces available for auction include oversized birdhouses handcrafted by John Gargiulo and painted by Bill Ryan, Kim Attwooll, Diana Gurri, Bob Neely, Kathleen Carson, Bonnie Bardos, B.J. Precourt, Ronnie Mosseller, Betty and Jay Burdue, Dominick Ferullo and Pat Cole-Ferullo, John Gargiulo and members of the Tryon Arts & Crafts group.
Watercolorist Kim Attwooll burned delicate, caramel-colored bird feathers into her birdhouse, using the wood-burning tool her husband gave her for her birthday along with instructions not to burn the place down.
“The secret of art?” she said. “Practice, practice, practice.”
Former four-term Tryon Mayor Bob Neely never had a lesson, but he, too, has been practicing his art for years.
“I like to do basic patterns,” he said.
Both of his vibrant, “home tweet homes” are pointillist in design, with red, blue, pink and yellow dots.
Betty Burdue is the watercolorist who depicts Tryon’s mascot, Morris the Horse. Her “Bird Barn,” which she co-created with her husband, Jay, is outfitted with red wood barn siding, wood shingle roof and fittingly, a polka dot horse standing out front.
“Morris needed a house to sleep in so we made it into a barn,” remarked Betty.
An assortment of gifts, trips and services are also up for auction, including private birding tours by ornithologist Simon Thompson, topiaries by David Simpson and a private tour of the North Carolina Arboretum’s bonsai garden by renowned bonsai artist Arthur Joura.