Make Art, Buy Art, Support Art

 

I’m making a list of the great reasons to go to Radioactive Bodega, the annual gala fundraiser for IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, now just days away. For one thing, it’s always a great party. For another, people wear amazing costumes, and this year promises to be spectacular—especially since the theme of “radioactive bodega” leaves a lot of room for extreme creativity.

 

One of my personal top reasons? A great silent auction. A silent auction is often an opportunity to bid on really good stuff, and this auction includes a selection of wonderful experiences as well as goods. And then there’s the art.

 

A couple of weeks ago I saw a preview of some of the artwork that will be part of the silent auction. Much of the artwork included in the auction was done by members of the IS183 faculty, a very gifted group of individuals. Quite a few of the pieces were hanging at the Brick House Pub in Housatonic (and some will be there on view until the weekend of the Radioactive Bodega party).

 

There is a nice mix of work in the auction, from paintings and prints to ceramics, collage, photography, and jewelry. I saw a print of a terrific mixed-media piece by Linda Clayton, whose use of colors always tempts me, and a wonderfully humorous collage by Yura Adams called Fossil Talk. Michele O’Hara made a set of three shallow white porcelain nesting bowls that are simple and elegant; and there’s a stunning ceramic vessel by Nancy Magnusson. Paperbag, Large, is wood-fired stoneware by Daniel Bellow, whose work is always outstanding. There is a black stoneware vase with a geometric design in white and red by Ben Evans that I liked, too. There’s an evocative photo called Swamp-Great Barrington 2005 by Howard Shapiro and a great photo by local photographer Jason Houston.

 

And those are just a few of the offerings. I am a big fan of a dance party (or any event) that includes shopping (I love shopping), and I think it’s important to buy art by local artists whenever possible.

 

My search for a costume continues; I’m looking for something glitzy, glowy, metallic, raggedy, intergalactic, and fabulous!

 

Radioactive Bodega, a dance party, masquerade gala, and silent auction, will be held on Saturday, March 6, at 8 p.m., at the East Coast Refinishing facility at 4 Industrial Drive in Pittsfield. Dance-party-only tickets are $50; attendees must be 21 and over. Guests may also attend privately hosted dinner parties at Berkshire County homes and restaurants preceding the dance party. Dinner and dance tickets are $150. Seating at each dinner location is limited, and reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis. For a list of dinner party hosts and venues, and to make a Radioactive Bodega reservation, go to www.is183.org or www.radioactivebodega.net.