Mystery Masterpieces art fundraiser held
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on February 7, 2016 1:45 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Madison Hankal and Kim Kastner look through the canvases created by area artists during the annual Mystery Masterpieces fundraiser to benefit the Arts Council of Wayne County Friday night.
The Arts Council of Wayne County welcomed dozens of artists, art enthusiasts and supporters to its annual Mystery Masterpieces Friday evening, there to take a look at works donated by local talents. Paying guests were then able to take some paintings home, all in an effort to raise money for the organization's programs.
The Mystery Masterpieces' fundraising success is heavily dependent on local artists and community members, Arts Council of Wayne County Director Sarah Merritt said.
"This event typically raises about $3,000 for the arts council because there is no overhead," Ms. Merritt said. "The artists donate their time and talents."
Four months in advance of the event, the staff at the arts council gather 6-inch-by-6-inch canvasses and invite local artists to paint them.
Those canvasses are then given to people that purchase a ticket to the event, Ms. Merritt said. The "mystery" behind the concept of the fundraiser is that the ticket-buyer is assigned an unknown work and their purchased piece is only revealed to them the night of the event.
Of course, if a participant sees a piece of work they wish to have, the assigned number of the canvas is not the final say, Ms. Merritt said.
"What I like about (Mystery Masterpieces) is that you can always go home with a piece of art," Ms. Merritt said.
"We sell the leftover work at the end of the night, and if someone wants a piece that another person was given, they always trade or just buy it from them. It is so funny how that happens," Ms. Merritt said.
Frank and Glenda Ferrell came to the arts council in hopes of being the lucky buyers of their daughter Jennifer Potts' work.
"Our daughter painted a couple paintings here, and we hope to take at least one of those home," Ferrell said.
While some participants knew artists that donated their work, others are avid community arts supporters, like Pat Sullivan, who comes to the arts council every first Friday of the month.
Mrs. Sullivan said that the arts council events and exhibits are a draw to her and always enjoyable.
"We always come to First Friday at the arts council," she said.
"We also come at other times too, just to see the works that are up and the exhibits. We like art and artists."
University of Mount Olive's artist in residence, Larry Lean, was also there to support a student artist's newest exhibit and connect artists in Mount Olive to those in Goldsboro.
"I come to all the First Fridays," he said.
"We try to bridge the gap between Mount Olive and Goldsboro arts. Sarah and I work very closely. I come here to link up with artists and see who can link up with artists I know. I am also here to support Amber Lane and her work, and to see the auction."
Ms. Lane, a senior at UMO, is the featured artist for the University of Mount Olive Emerging Artist Exchange exhibit for February.
Ms. Lane said her work being exhibited was created to improve her body image. She made her 6-foot-by-2-foot canvasses by hand so that the watercolor paintings of herself would be an accurate depiction of her size.
"The whole series was done to improve my body image," Ms. Lane said.
"It helped me to paint myself, life-sized, to see myself at a glance. It was definitely therapy."