Archive for the ‘Fundraising’ Category
Check out the REIMAGINE auction!
Saturday, October 4th, 2025Inspired by grade school children!
Thursday, September 11th, 2025
Kaleido-Scraps!
Saturday, May 17th, 2025“No, you never think you’ve made it. To be respected by my peers is the most I could ask for.”
— Freddy Cole
I broke into the collage world twenty years ago and eventually gained some recognition with contemporary practitioners for my fine art approach to the medium, just as social networks were taking hold. My recent emphasis has been in another direction, as those of you who follow this site are fully aware. I still aspire to “make it” in the realm of nonrepresentational collage, but that may not happen for a guy who “paints in papers” as a landscape artist.
I enjoy periodically coming back to the tradition of Merz, and here’s a lyrical piece that I created for tonight’s fundraising auction and random draw. The business of art should involve some community pro bono work, as with all professions. Yes, I’ve pontificated about this before. To help needy nonprofits appreciate the value of creative labor, I maintain this rule of thumb: keep donations modest, infrequent, and local.
Kaleido-Scraps
collage on stretched canvas
24 x 18 inches, in the Merz tradition
Saturday, January 18th, 2025
A RIVER CONNECTION: Artists of Asheville opens at Kleinhelter today. The gallery in New Albany, Indiana presents a fundraiser for artists affected by flood damage from Hurricane Helene. 100% of sales will go to help them rebuild. Some of my collage landscapes from the autumn exhibition will continue to be displayed separately. If any of these find a buyer, I will contribute $100 each to the relief fund. The show lasts until February 22, 2025.
Please consider helping out.
to benefit a devastated arts community
Saturday, January 11th, 2025
Tiny PaperScape
Tuesday, April 30th, 2024This small paper landscape was created for an Art Center of the Bluegrass “tiny art” fundraiser, and if you know who selected it, please let her know that I will be more than happy to add a signature. Participants in this annual event are asked to submit the miniature piece unsigned. Click here for my guiding attitude about art donations.
Tiny Paperscape
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6 x 6 inches
LexArts 50th Anniversary Auction ends tonight!
Sunday, December 11th, 2022
These collector bottles want a home, but most of them would settle for the humble “man cave.” Auction closes at midnight tonight. A perfect gift for that eccentric Bourbon lover and a way to support the arts in Central Kentucky with a year-end donation. Opening bids are only $350.
Or you may want to grab my #008 version while you still can!
The Wild Why of a “Whisky Wall of Wonder” . . .
Monday, December 5th, 2022
@n online auction of collectible Maker’s Mark Art Bottles takes center stage, now that the “Whisky Wall of Wonder” has made its splash (last Saturday night during the 50th anniversary celebration of LexArts and the associated Horse Mania Auction at Keeneland). When the distillery teams up with the arts institution in a milestone dollar-raising concept connected to the legendary race track, I can’t help but be a “part of the action.” However, unlike when I created my only collage on bowling pin, the participating artists don’t get a “piece of the action” this go round. No exploitation here, folks. It’s a total, eyes-wide-open donation to observe the half-century mark and benefit the arts in Central Kentucky. It’s been no secret how I view the whole subject of periodic contributions of creative labor to nonprofit groups, in case you’re interested in linking through to that archive of opinionated posts.
It was stimulating to delve into collage solutions that had to take into consideration multiple viewing orientations — a worthwhile assignment for someone wrapped up in his two-dimensional practice. The experience also triggered recollections and inevitable allusions to the “Mark of Great Art” pieces that were made for my 2008 collaboration. Who knows what became of them after they ended up in Europe? Who knows what will become of these peculiar bottles? May they bring joy and perhaps a bit of amusement to those who take stewardship!
The online auction destination accepts bids until midnight, 12/11/22.
Whether or not one is vying to secure an original artifact full of private select whisky, it’s fun to take a peek at some of the current bids!
Big night for tiny art
Saturday, February 29th, 2020“Many artists struggle to make a profit each year, and although it might sound noble to give art away, sometimes it does the community of artists more harm than good. Fundraisers who ask numerous artists for outright donations devalue the worth of the art in that community. … The folks that put on these fundraisers are not malicious people. They just don’t understand how selling donated art at low prices hurts the art community.”
— Lori Woodward
Our local Art Center had another successful fundraiser last night, thanks to a massive number of minuscule donations from regional artists. Staff members had to rethink how the event was organized. The turnout was so insane last year that the fire marshal weighed in with concerns.
I contributed four playing card experiments a year ago, but this time around I decided to boost that to five collage miniatures that met the 6×6-inch constraint.
Much has been said and written about the expectation that artists will continuously supply the fruits of their creative labor without compensation in support of nonprofit fundraisers. My basic motto is, “Keep it small, and keep it infrequent.” I’ve gone into more detail about the issue at this blogsite more than once. I have respect for those who decline requests across the board. It’s a decision for each individual. It bugs me when people preach a universal approach. Pro-bono contributions are a time-honored activity in the professional world, but, as with nearly everything, there has to be balance. I recently took part in a fundraiser that split some of the proceeds with participating artists. Nothing wrong with a win-win like that. I hope the practice spreads to a greater number of worthy organizations.
It’s not a new idea. Maria Brophy, Lori Woodward, and others had pretty much thought this through ten years ago:
• mariabrophy.com / the problem with donating art and the solution
• fineartviews.com / fundraisers that do it right
Please share your observations with me. I shall always reply!
Five Tiny Donations
collage miniatures by J A Dixon
within a 6×6-inch size limit
“Tiny Art” fundraiser to benefit
Art Center of the Bluegrass
It’s Complex, Man
Saturday, October 26th, 2019
“Look, man, I’ve got certain information, all right? Certain things have come to light. And, you know, has it ever occurred to you, that, instead of, uh, you know, running around, uh, uh, blaming me, you know, given the nature of all this new shit, you know, I-I-I-I… this could be a-a-a-a lot more, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, complex, I mean, it’s not just, it might not be just such a simple… uh, you know?”
— The Dude (from The Big Lebowski)
I’m super pumped (in the, uh, parlance of the day), because tonight is The Big LeBOWLski Arty Party to benefit the arts in Lexington and Central Kentucky, and it’s a delight to be a part of it!
It’s Complex, Man is my contribution to the fundraising event. Ten regional creatives will have their bowling-pin art in the silent auction, and we’ll split the purchase price 50/50 with LexArts, the sponsoring organization. How many nonprofits offer that deal when artists are asked to donate their creative labor to a cause?
Crafting this piece was pure fun, with pleasant allusions to my Mrs. Bradshaw chair. There are ample references to the Coen Brothers picture, but it’s not only an homage. I revisit my practice of juxtaposing high literacy with the pulpy preferences that many of us harbor. If you’re weary of seeing that in collage art, “Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.”
Rumor has it that The Dude will make an appearance. Let’s go bowling!
Quantum Entanglement
Thursday, May 16th, 2019“Einstein had no difficulty accepting that affairs in different places could be correlated. What he could not accept was that an intervention at one place could influence, immediately, affairs at the other.”
— John Bell
After a long dry spell, I’m pleased to be back tearing and gluing. The result is my contribution to the Art-full Affair, sponsored by the Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County, to raise financial support for local arts scholarships. Quantum Entanglement has been selected for the live auction tomorrow evening.
Stay tuned for a look at what has kept me out of the collage studio since the end of February.
Quantum Entanglement
collage on canvas by J A Dixon
28 x 22 inches
• S O L D