Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 26, 1993 TAG: 9303250106
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
HERE'S TO HEALTH
Fiber art, unusual jewelry, hand-blown glass, oil and watercolor paintings, prints of life in Appalachia, photographs and hand-colored etchings will be among the art works on the block at the 11th Annual Art Auction for The Free Clinic of the New River Valley.More than 100 local and regional artists are donating work to this fund-raiser Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Blacksburg.
Some of them, like painter Joni Pienkowski and sculptor Peter Chapman, already are well-established, with regional and national reputations.
Pienkowski has both a local and regional reputation for her abstract paintings, portraits and works in several different media.
Chapman shapes three-dimensional puzzle animals out of native hardwoods such as walnut and cherry, as well as imported exotic woods from managed-forest programs throughout the world.
Others, such as physician and stained-glass artist C.W. Taylor Jr. of Shawsville and Ellen Dowell, executive director of the local office of Literacy Volunteers of America and a weaver, retreat to their studios for diversion from their primary occupations.
Nearly 100 pieces will be sold at the auction. Another 50 are available for bidding in the silent auction.
Several framing galleries have donated time and materials to mat and frame prints, photographs and artwork for presentation. Corporate donors, such as the Holiday Inn and auctioneer Larry Linkous, have contributed space and services.
The annual event raises thousands of dollars for the clinic, which provides medical and dental services at no charge for those in need.
The Free Clinic served more than 1,300 patients in 1992.
"The faces are changing," said Free Clinic Executive Director Rebecca Noftsinger. "Years ago, the patients were the poor who had always been poor. In this decade, we are seeing people who are facing hardship for the first time ever . . . people like us."
Free Clinic Art Auction Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Blacksburg. Viewing and silent auction bids at 6 p.m. and live auction at 7:30. Admission is $6 per person or $10 per couple. Soft drinks and snacks are free. Cash, personal check, Visa and MasterCard will be accepted for art purchases. Call 382-2599.