The holiday season is a time for giving, so what better time for LAG to partner with Out of the Box to support an important program in our community – the Backpack Program. This is a great opportunity to show and sell our art, as well as to help others in need.
The Backpack Program is run by the Food Bank and Lincoln Public Schools with the help of many volunteers. The mission is to help alleviate child hunger in southeast Nebraska by providing over 3,000 needy children with nutritious and easy to prepare food at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and vacations. Many of these students rely on their school’s breakfasts and lunches for their most nutritious meals of the day. The Backpack Program is a way to help these students and their families until students return to school on Monday.
The reception for the benefit event will be at Out of the Box on Thursday December 5th from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm. We need your participation to make this a success! Coffee will be offered at 3:00 complimented by reception food at 5:00 p.m. until 8:00. The Guild will bring food and coffee and Jody will provide the punch and hot cider. There will be three tables to manage, and plenty of food and paper serving dishes are needed. WE NEED SEVERAL PEOPLE TO TAKE TURNS CARING FOR THE TABLES. Let Donna know if you are willing to help and about what time you can be there.
The upstairs level will be available for the Guild to display their art, if we have at least 50 art pieces to fill the space! (The previously scheduled Christmas Fair has been cancelled.) We’ll have over 11,000 square feet to display in. All sizes, small or large, are welcomed but larger pieces are especially desired. All art forms may be accepted including quilts, 3-D art, jewelry, glassware, and smaller items. However, the artists with small items need to speak with Jodi to get her approval and must be responsible for their own work. Artists would have to provide their own table or display case and be there to set up and oversee their station.. There are opportunities for LAG artists to have their own wall area upstairs and may include bin art. These artists should plan to hang their own work and must be willing to stay and assist at the reception from 5-8:00.
There will also be a Silent Auction, and five to eight 2D and/or 3D original artworks are requested from Guild members. Please notify Jan Blank at (402) 488-0388 by Nov.26th if you wish to participate. Artists may donate their pieces outright, or designate a “reserve” price that they will receive before the rest is donated to the Backpack Program. Please note that the reserve price cannot be the retail price you would normally ask. The bid will start with your reserve price and if there is no bidding above that, you will receive you artwork back! Because this is a BENEFIT, please make your reserve as low as possible.
For each new work, the required Out of the Box LAG tag form must be completed with artist name, title and price. New exhibitors to Out of the Box will need to have their work approved and to sign the required agreement and release of liability form. All work must be for sale.
In addition, each artist will provide Jody with a list of all current and new art at Out of the Box for this benefit, with the price of the art and the % they wish to donate. The inventory sheet was sent last week by e-mail, and may be brought to Jodi with your artwork on Dec. 1st – 3rd. The final donation will be calculated by Jodi and will reflect 15 of the 25% commission that Out of the Box collects plus the percentage the LAG artist chooses to contribute. If you do not wish to donate on a piece just write “None” on the inventory sheet,. If the piece is bought by credit card, a 2.7% credit card fee will also be subtracted. Sales tax will be collected on all work except the pieces donated for the Silent Auction. The artists will be responsible for the tax on these pieces.
All work must be delivered to OUT OF THE BOX on Sunday December 1, 11-4:00, Monday December 2, 11 to 4:00, or Tuesday December 3, 10-12:00. No late entries will be permitted. Work may remain on display until the end of December.
We would like a few artists to do demonstrations during the hours of 5-8:00. This could even be just working on a current painting. Please call Donna 402-435-0172 if you are willing to help with this.
E-mail announcements have been sent to participants to forward to friends, family and contacts as soon as possible. The first e-mail should be sent out now by LAG members and a reminder on December 1st . On Wednesday the 4th a final e-mail notice will be sent before the event on December 5th. Out of the Box and the charities we are working will also send their own e-mails to thousands of people. This event will be well advertised!
If you have any questions or need more information, please call Donna Pozehl 402-435-01702. Jody Strauch may be contacted at jodystrauch@msn.com