Pulling the Catalog Together

Building the AE 2018 Program Screen shot
Screen shot of the AE 2018 Program in progress in Adobe Indesign.

One of the high points of the event, and often a treasured keepsake is the Art and Elegance Event Program. The central feature of the program is the Raffle, Auction and Prize catalog – featuring all of the amazing Artwork and fabulous Experience Prizes donated by regional artists and local businesses.

Tired A&E Committee hard at work.
A tired A&E Committee – hard at work.

We’ve just finished cataloging the haul, and finished Art and Prize photography this past Thursday, and the committee took on the finicky work of assigning Art and Prizes to the Raffle, Silent Auction and our “Pop” Art Balloon Prizes. Captive graphic designer (and webmaster) Kurt Griffith has been squirreling away over the weekend putting the Program and Catalog together to get it to press in time for the event on Saturday. Adobe Indesign – a truly professional tool – makes it easier to pull together, but there are 1001 details to hunt down, verify, and proof, but it’s almost ready to go. We also have to compose ads, touch-up lists, gather acknowledgements, and all the things. By necessity, this publication has to be pulled together at nearly the last possible second to get everything in.

But the hard work and hustling has paid off brilliantly. This year we have an amazing “surprise” painting by Featured Artist Jonathan Heath for the live auction that we’re sure will surprise, delight, and even startle some of our patrons, and three very awesome Prime Raffle Items, incluing a delicious print of our stunning 2018 signature image. We have an additional 66 Items available in the Silent Auction, and still another 52 “Pop” Art Balloon Prizes. So we’re looking forward to a fun night of getting a lot of art out there!

Once we get the Program out to press, and working around Kurt’s actual day job of being a Professional Designer, we’ll try to get the Catalog of Art and Prizes posted online here!

 

Gathering the Art & Prizes

Collecting the Art and Prizes for photography and cataloging at MAC.

The Committee has been busy! Among all the other 1001 things, we’ve been collecting artwork and prizes. Over the past two weeks, we’ve been photographing and cataloging the wonderful stuff people have been donating to this year’s event. Among the tasks for the “jury” is deciding what will be Raffles, go into the Silent Auction, or become delightful Art & Experience Prizes.

We also have a couple of nifty surprises that we can’t quite talk about yet. But we can say that it’s very fun, very Paris, and very Berkley Springs. But we can say that it involved this yea’s featured artist Jonathan Heath of Heath Studios.

Frames print of our signature image
Parisian Night – 16×20 framed print by Aja Trier.

However, we can talk about this. Just back from the framers is a gorgeous print of our signature image for 2018,  Parisan Night by Aja Trier of Sagittarius Gallery in Scotia, NY. Much of her work is inspired by modern interpretations of quintessential impressionist Vincent Van Gogh. This lovely piece, will either be a raffle or silent auction item. It can be yours!

We‘re hoping to post the entire collection of Art and Prizes online as we get everything catalogued!

 

Online Sponsorships Available

You can now purchase A&E Sponsorships Online as well as buy tickets using MAC’s secure PayPal service.

If you have any questions about being an  2018 Art & Elegance Sponsor, please Contact Us!

If you are unable to attend the event, please consider making a donation in support of MAC. When you donate $100 or more, you will be listed as a Patron in the event program! Thank you for your continued support- we look forward to seeing you for an evening you won’t soon forget!  Make a Donation to MAC.

For further information, or if you are interested in participating in this year’s event or helping out in any way, please Contact MAC Ice House at 304-258-2300. In is never too soon to bring us Artist Donations and Experience Prizes. We will, as always, have a need for volunteers to help the night of the event.

 Purchase A&E Sponsorships

Thank You to Our Early Sponsors!

Arc de triomphe

The success of Art & Elegance is truly and mightily propelled by our amazing sponsors. We are particularly grateful to this year’s early Sponsors, many of who generously contribute year after year.  Our Sponsors come through for us, and contribute so much. Thank you so very much, it is deeply appreciated! But we still need your help!  Please consider becoming a patron of the arts and sponsoring Art & Elegance. Or if you know a generous soul or company willing to help, please send them our way!

If you would like to be an 2018 Art & Elegance Sponsor, please Contact Us!

Our most heartfelt gratitude goes out to our early 2018 Sponsors:

Eiffel Tower ($3,000)
Norberta Schoene & Bill Lands

Notre Dame ($2,000)
JC & Judy Fisher
CNB
The Country Inn

Arc de Triomphe ($1,000)
David & Joan Fleming Smith
Jane McCloud
Peter & Karen Brown

Louvre Patron ($100+)
Luella Andrews
James & Denise Selby
Yerner & Brenda Erozan
Sheetz Corporation
Helsey-Johnson funeral Home
Luke Christie
Bob & Pat Marggraf

 

Jewell Ball Video

Check out the 2017 festivities at the Morgan Arts Council’s annual Art & Elegance fundraiser, The Jewell Ball – featuring the auctioning of a fabulous Ruby Necklace by local artist Abby Porter, fetchingly showcased by Middle Eastern Dancer Jensuya. November 11, 2018. Robert and Jenifer Peak created a fabulous video of the Extravaganza.

If you weren’t there, check out what you’re missing!

Video produced by Robert Peak – www.robert-peak.com

Art & Elegance 2018 – We’re Off!

Well, we had a wonderful well-earned winter off after the wonderful 2017 event. Now we’re busily brainstorming the next Art&Elegance. And we’ve gotten our date and theme together, we’ll be back on Saturday November, 10, 2018, and with the romantic and evocative theme “An Evening in Paris.”

So save the date, and watch for changes and updates on here on the site, and on Facebook.

Merci, Bonjour!

Proper Date Posted!

November 11, 2017 - Opps!!!
Yeah, we forgot to update the date! My bad. – webmaster

Art & Elegance is typically held the first Saturday Evening in November. However, we had better availability for our venue, The Country Inn, on the 11th. So be it. However, yours truly, your friendly neighborhood webweaver neglected to update the site until this morning.

Very sorry about that!

In the meantime, we’re putting together plans for this years events and what shape our Art offerings will take. But we’ll be happily celebrating our 40th year of the Morgan Arts Council. Stay tuned – as soon as we start getting things nailed down we’ll get the info up!

So… What Happened?

Kurt in splnit after augery.The Art Guy in his splint over the winter. One-handed typing stinks!

Some of you good folk out there may have been wondering why the site hasn’t updated for a while.

Yours truly, A&E’s tame In-House Graphic and Web Designer managed to fairly seriously injure myself a mere two weeks after Art & Elegance back in November. I stabbed myself in the right palm attempting to unjam a paper shredder. Yes, I know. Dumb as a bag of hammers. I’m glad I’m left-handed, but it was serious enough to require tendon repair surgery. After six weeks in an immobilization splint, came out months behind on a pile of work.. And yes, including the actual keep-the-lights on work of the Studio. Doing better now and catching up, though probably going to need another procedure. But I am well enough and caught enough to get back to giving A&E some love.

But that’s what went down, and we’ll be moving stuff forward again.

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Prize Lists Posted!

Photogaphy by Kurt Griffith

The Art & Experiences Prize lists are finally posted!

We have everything photographed for the program and event, gotten the program off to press, (first things first, folks!) and have (finally) posted the full lists here. Sorry that it took so long, but with the time our volunteers have, we have to do the most urgent stuff first! With about a thousand other tasks out of the way, (and another five hundred between now and the party!), we have been able to post the full Art & Experience prize lists.

The work that has been donated is really beautiful and fabulous and a tribute to all our A&E Artists,  and we’re all really excited about bringing it to you.
We want to extend a special thanks for the generosity and creativity of our contributing artists, local area Businesses, Supporters, Sponsors and Patrons.

So check out the Grand Prize, “High Roller’ Prizes, Art & Experiences Raffle and the The Fabulous Wheel Prizes.

That’s it! The bash is tomorrow night! See you in the Casino!

Counting Down!

Mt Royal Rocker by Gat Creek
Mt Royal Rocker by Gat Creek

If you’re wondering after updates, we’ve been really busy actually getting the event ready to roll. We’ve organized the Casino, making sure the food is excellent, putting together the prizes for The Fabulous Wheel, and the thousand and one details to make the event fabulous.

Our captive designer and webmaster has been busy laying out the program and we just got them they look fabulous. Big kudos to the Morgan Messenger and Todd Buzzerd, who always comes through for us. He’s also been doing signage and graphics, including the prize inserts for the Wheel. So that’s why we don’t have all the prizes posted yet. We’re workin’ on it, promise! We have another beautiful Mt. Royal Rocker from Gat Creek as our Grand Prize, seven fantastic “High Roller” prizes, another 20 brilliant Raffle prizes, and in addition over a hundred prizes for the Fabulous Wheel. Each spin of the wheel awards a prize, so such a deal!

We’re going to try to have all the major prizes posted before the event!

We’re also very nearly sold out! So if you want to attend the event, contact us now and ask really nice!

See you in the Casino!