Countdown to the 18th Annual Ah Haa Art Auction!

It's that time of year again!  The Ah Haa staff, board, volunteers, and community are buzzing about the Annual Ah Haa Art Auction!  Each summer the Ah Haa School for the Arts picks a radically different theme for their annual art auction, from Laugh-In to Road Trip, to this year’s theme of ARTopia. You are probably wondering "Why is this called ARTopia? What is that?" Well, the definition for the word utopia means "an imaginary place considered perfect or ideal". Here at the Ah Haa School for the Arts, imaginations of students come ALIVE! So ARTopia is a perfect place to let your imagination run, and your creativity fly! It's where we can honor our creativity, meaning it's a place we create, reward, and respect our creative selves.

This annual fundraiser consists of energy-charged live and silent auctions, with over 200 items of original art, services and trips donated by the region’s artists, businesses and supporters of the Ah Haa. Many of the pieces that will be on the auction block have been specifically made for this event by our community’s talented artists. Celebrity artist, Bill Kreutzmann, former Grateful Dead drummer, has placed his unique artwork on a pair of Wagner Skis which will be custom made for the winning bidder.  The live auction will also feature the artwork of Ally Crilly, Susie Billings, Julee Hucthinson, Nicole Finger, Flair Robinson, and of course an art car which is a 1969 VW bug coolly decorated with an earthy charm. 

ARTopia is Ah Haa’s largest and most important fundraising event of the year. It supports the school’s operations, specifically, the spectrum of programs and workshops offered by the school. Your attendance and generous support allow the Ah Haa to continue improving and diversifying course offerings, enhancing program excellence, and serving new audiences.   

Ah Haa encourages everyone to attend this one of a kind event! Doors open at 5:00 p.m. for silent auction bidding, and the live auction begins promptly at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person and are purchased at the door on the night of the event.

For a preview of all art on the auction block and absentee bidding forms (if you’re not going to be in town), visit Ah Haa’s website at ahhaa.org or this year, art lovers can place a bid online starting July 1-July 22.  To place a bid, go to www.biddingforgood.com/ahhaa.  For more information about the Ah Haa and the 18th annual art auction call 970-728-3886.

We hope to see you there!

Teaching & Learning at the Ah Haa

In the years before I came to the Ah Haa school, I was actually a full-fledged classroom teacher. This June, I decided to kick-off the year with a couple of theatre classes for kids called "Superhero Theatre". The classes, a mix of games, theatre and costume-construction, became very popular and I suddenly found myself thrown into back into the roll as a teacher - but this time I was an art teacher. It was quite wonderful and as the kids and I sang superhero songs and decorated our capes, I came to realize another magical aspect of my job here at the Ah Haa. I help to emply teachers who make magic happen. From Brooke Ahana's fabulous color-theory based abstract painting classes, to the amazing clay creatures that Jacey Depriest helps four-and-five-year-olds to mold into life, I am constantly amazed at the ability of our instructors to convert the magic and imagination you find in every child into various forms of art. Thank you to our amazing instructors and to all you parents who believe that the Ah Haa is a place for fun and transformation. The summer of 2010 is certainly something to remember.