The annual "Ocracoke Through Your Eyes" Art Show and Silent Auction at the OPS Museum is the highly-anticipated winter event on the island. Wine, nibbles, artwork, scintillating conversation... where else would you want to be?
For the 5th annual event, which took place Saturday night, professional and amateur artists of all ages donated a total of ninety-six small works of art to raise money for the non-profit Ocracoke Preservation Society. Their mission was to depict Ocracoke as they see it. That's wide open to interpretation and you never know what you'll see. Lighthouses, obviously, and beach scenes and ocean life, but also cats, birds, bikes, boats, dogs, flowers, money, owls, mermaids, chickens, and rats!
Every one of the artworks finds a bidder and a new home, and many piece create friendly bidding wars. Tension is high during the last few minutes of bidding – then it's over! And the art collectors swarm the counter to purchase what they won.
"It's overwhelming," said the happily overwhelmed Andrea Powers, who is the new Executive Director at OPS. "People have been so great tonight." She later let me know that the show netted over $7500 – the most yet!
The Museum was crowded with guests. "I printed eighty programs, and they're all gone, and I know some got re-used by different people," Andrea said. We guessed over a hundred arty folk, mostly local, came out for the evening.
Vino and beer were flowing, courtesy of volunteer bartenders Bill Cole and Scott Bradley. Bill is new this year to the OPS Executive Committee and has found his niche. Scott has bartended at all five "Ocracoke Through Your Eyes" events.
The edibles were catered by Eduardo's Taco Stand, served up with the aforementioned beverages (delivered by Zillie's), and followed by desserts provided by OPS volunteers.
Ocracoke visitor Jeanie Miller-Clark was enjoying the camaraderie without acquiring any art. She was there with her sister, island resident Paula Schramel, so she wasn't completely unfamiliar with Ocracoke, but she was impressed with the community she saw around her Saturday night.
"I loved hearing what people loved," she told me.
Another new face at the OPS Museum is Mary Bryant, who recently left her post as Ocracoke librarian to join the OPS staff as Andrea's assistant. She also contributed a painting of Ocracoke's Methodist Church, one of my favorites in the show. Mary did some Pinterest sleuthing and discovered an ingenious way to display the artwork on pegboard easel frames. Andrea's son, Grant Jackson, purchased and donated the pegboard, and Ocracoke School's shop teacher Gary Mitchell built the easels with student Colby Austin.
"We're thrilled with them," said Andrea. "They made hanging the artwork so much easier because we could leave the museum intact." Andrea plans to have two more built and to use them at festivals and other events.
Debbie Leonard contributed one painting to the show, but took home nine (she claims she was bidding on two of those for friends.) She may have won the most canvases, but she didn't spend the most money. "I bid on a whole lot that didn't have bids," she said.
The excitement for the silent auction built over the past week while off-island art lovers were able to bid online for their favorites. Some, in their determination to secure the high bid, will drive the prices up considerably. That was true of the biggest bid of the night – it came in online and no one topped it in person.
If you can't be on Ocracoke, the online bidding is a great way to feel connected and make your contribution to the organization. But it's not nearly as good as attending the show, and I'm not just talking about the see-and-be-seen vibe. The truth is, all the art pieces are so much more interesting up close and in person. Make your plans now to be here next January!
