Bay School News

ExtravaGala! September 27 2016, 0 Comments

Our first ExtravaGala went off without a hitch Saturday evening on Queens Creek.  The event replaced the annual Fine Arts Auction, the school’s biggest fundraising event. While the Auction was a wonderful tradition and always successful, our event committee decided it was time for a change.  A raffle of ten high-ticket items replaced the usual auction offerings and raised $25,000.  Tickets were sold throughout the summer and the winning tickets were drawn during the event by auctioneer Larry Makowski.  Larry and wife Linda, of Express Auctioneers, also auctioned the Collaborative Art Project and the famous Bay School Jacket to the highest bidder.  The Collaborative Art Project, or CAP for short, a project dreamed up by artist Rebecca Grow, is a mixed-media painting that is the work of eight local artists.  The scene was taken from a photograph of Queen’s Creek submitted to the Gazette Journal in 1932.  The site of the ExtravaGala, the home of John and Becky Mayfield, is very close to the vantage point from which the photograph was taken.  The Mayfields purchased the painting and it will stay right at home on the Creek.  The Bay School Jacket auction, a tradition started by artist Art Miller many years ago, was won by Reed Lawson, who has already made good on her promise to wear the jacket about town and beyond to show her support for the Bay School.  After my heartfelt speech, the Makowskis coaxed nearly $15,000 in donations from guests.  At the close of the event, I introduced special guest Randall Kipp.  The Bay School has just hired Kipp’s firm, Randall Kipp Architecture, Inc., to produce a Master Plan and Schematic Design for the School’s future growth.  This process will begin with a site evaluation and analysis of the school’s programming needs.  Primary among these needs is increased and flexible classroom space.  We hope to add specialty spaces for culinary demonstrations and classes as well as incorporate the performing arts into their offerings.  An inviting and artistic outdoor space for community enjoyment is also a part of the plan.  Individuals interested in sharing their ideas about what they’d like to see offered at the Bay School may complete the survey found here, or join us for our Emerging Artists Show reception this Saturday, October 1, from 4-6.  If you missed the event, you can read my speech and look at photos here.

Bay School ExtravaGala 2016 Raffle Items and Winners

Pottery Lamp by Russell Turnage                              Cindy Barnett of Richmond

Rebecca’s Artful Box of Handmade Jewelry         Virginia Payne of Williamsburg

Oil Painting, “Lucky Lady”, by Bob Carlson             Sylvia Jones of Hartfield

Jlyn Designs Paper Mache Cat                                    Mary Marshall of Mathews

Island Stop Crab Feast for 12                                       Ed and Pat Lipinski of Mathews

Island Balloon Flight for Two                                       Cindy Shea of Bainbridge Island, WA

Fly Fishing Sunset Charter for 2                                  Joni Baldwin of Henrico

AirBnB $500 Gift Certificate                                         Jan Mohr of Foster

Costa Rica 5 Day Getaway for 2                                  Mary Montague Sikes of West Point

Vancouver & Victoria Island 7 Days for 2                                Leslie Hervey of Hayes and Bassett

Door Prize

7 Days on Pawleys Island, SC                                       Dan Desmond of Mobjack


ExtravaGala: A Royal Celebration of the Arts June 02 2016, 0 Comments

Looking for news about the Fine Arts Auction?  Look again!  We are changing it up a bit this year...

A royal celebration to benefit the crown jewel of Mathews, the Bay School Community Arts Center, will begin June 4, 2016. The celebration will feature both a raffle, offering ten great prizes, and an ExtravaGala at the home of Becky and John Mayfield on Queen’s Creek on September 24.  The raffle tickets will be sold throughout the summer at the Bay School and on their website.  They will also be available at the Visitor’s Center and at the Mathews Farmer’s Market.  The cost is $20.00 per ticket.  The raffle drawing will be held at the ExtravaGala.  Winners need not be present to win.

 Three lucky ticket holders will travel after winning one of these three prizes:  a seven-day getaway for two to Vancouver and Victoria Island, a five-day getaway for two to Costa Rica, both trips with airfare, or a $500 gift certificate for Airbnb.  Other prizes include an Island Balloon Flight for two, a Bay Fly Fishing Sunset Charter for two, an Island Stop Market Crab Feast for 12, a Jlyn Designs paper mache animal, Rebecca Grow’s Artful Box filled with handcrafted jewelry, a Russell Turnage pottery lamp, and a Bob Carlson original painting.

 Guests at the ExtravaGala will enjoy an exciting evening with fine food, cocktails, and dancing to music provided by The Paul Roberts Orchestra.  The evening’s highlight will be the raffle drawing.  Another drawing will reveal the winner of a special door prize: a week at Pauley’s Island, S.C.  Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on a collaborative work of art designed and implemented by a group of local artists. 

“I’m excited about this celebration,” stated Gay Butler, co-chair of the event.  “For the last 17 years, the Bay School has held an auction in order to raise money for the school.  Though very successful, the auction was limited in that only those guests present at the event had the opportunity to participate in the fundraiser.  The raffle gives everyone in the community, even those unable to attend the ExtravaGala, the chance not only to win a fantastic prize but also the opportunity to support the Bay School.”

 The celebration will be the school’s major fund raising event this year and will be its primary source of income.  The Bay School is a non-profit 501c3 whose mission is to provide quality art education to all people regardless of age or ability.  The School provides 100 classes per year for artists and craftsman of all ages, and an outreach program for under-served populations in the area.  Located on Main Street in Mathews, the facility houses the Art Speaks Gallery, the Art Supply Store, and three classrooms, including a pottery studio.