River Relief

October 17, 2014

Missouri River Relief Benefit Art Auction

& Katy Trail Mural Dedication!

We had an wonderful evening at the beautifully restored McKittrick Farmer's Mercantile with a great crowd of river and art lovers. The event was hosted by Joey Los, Dan and Connie Burkhardt of the Katy Land Trust, Mercantile owner Rich Lauer and a crew of hard working Missouri River Relief volunteers.

On right: Connie and Dan Burkhardt, photo by Bryan Haynes

A huge batch of really great art donated by Missouri River valley artists were auctioned off and raised over $4,000 for our Missouri River clean-up project. Augusta musican Gloria Attoun opened the evening with some great tunes with a couple of friends, then debuted a new song she wrote for the  just released "Magnificent Missouri" CD called "Everything Changes".

Other highlights -

• See photos from the event here.
• Folks gathered out along the Katy Trail to watch the sun set on the huge mural banners draped on the McKittrick coal tower depicting two beautiful Missouri River watercolors by local artist Billyo O'Donnell. Billyo also donated a framed print of each of these for the auction.
• Joey Los headed a crew of River Relief chefs to create a mouthwatering buffet of tasty, locally-sourced and wild-harvested snacks. Ever had hen-of-the-woods mushroom curry bruschetta?
• Free beer from Tin Mill Brewery, wine from Hermannhof Vineyards, Bethlehem Valley Vineyards and St. James Winery, plus tasty gin treats donated by the Burkhardts.
• Joey also unveiled several of her really cool metal sculptures created from metal that Missouri River Relief crews recovered from the Missouri River near Glasgow.
• We assembled generous donations of art from throughout the Missouri River valley. Sculptures, paintings, prints and more. See the list of generous artists below. 
• Connie and Dan Burkhardt had some of the first copies of their new Magnificent Missouri CD, featuring great songs by some treasured Missouri artists, and donated the proceeds from the evening to Missouri River Relief.

photos above by Tina Casagrand

The Artists

Here's the artists who generously donated to the Art Auction. Click their name to find out more about their work.

Bryan Haynes is a nationally known painter and illustrator. Bryan's clients include Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, IBM, Nike, Sony, Anheuser-Busch and others. The Society of Illustrators, Print Magazine, Graphis-Switzerland and other prestigious organizations have honored Bryan with awards. He is also the author and illustrator of New Regionalism, the Art of Bryan Haynes.

Joey Los is a "magician" who works with hot molten metal, electricity and fire to create one-of-a-kind sculptures. She loves working in steel because of its strength, flexibility and durability. Sculptures created from metal retrieved from the Missouri River will be auctioned at the event. Joey says she loves a challenge, such as "creating beautiful sculptures from metal pounded and pummeled by our beloved Missouri River until being fished out and delivered to my shop to be refurbished and made into something new and desirable." Click here to check out one of the sculptures Joey is donating to our auction, made from items found on Missouri River clean-ups.

Michael Bauermeister's studio overlooks the Augusta Bottoms of the Missouri River, in a historic general store building from the now disappeared railroad town of Nona on the Katy Trail. In fact, during the Flood of 1993, his studio was IN the Missouri River.  Michael creates massive carved wood vessels and wall panel carvings inspired by the river, patterns found in nature and the river hill forests where he lives. His works have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute and he was featured in a cover story in American Crafts magazine. He also plays a variety of stringed instruments in Augusta Bottoms Consort and The Texas Giants Band. The piece on the right will be featured in the auction.

Gary Lucy finds the present moment in history. From stunning wildlife portraits to emotionally charged historic renderings of Lewis and Clark's journeys, this Washington, MO, painter finds inspiration in the river. The River Rover, a 35 foot houseboat converted into a studio, makes a great escape for him to paint, read, write about current works, and simply enjoy the river. His canine pet Petie keeps him company along the way. Gary Lucy resides in Washington, MO above the gallery run by his wife, Sandy.

Billyo O'Donnell is recognized as one of America's leading plein aire landscape painters. Billyo is a Missourian - born and raised approximately 70 miles west of St. Louis near the Missouri River. Consequently, his boyhood was spent living a "Huck Finn" kind of life roaming the forests and streams, fishing, hunting, and creating art. He has received numerous awards for his art, but he takes the greatest pride in having been honored at the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City for an unveiling of a selection of his 115 paintings in the book, "Painting Missouri," authored by Karen Glines - depicting the 114 counties in Missouri and the city of St. Louis which is currently on display at the downtown library in Kansas City.

Adam Long is a professional sculptor in St. Charles, Missouri. Educated in the St. Louis region he has a BA in art education from Maryville University, an MA in studio art from Fontbonne University and an MFA in sculpture from Fontbonne University. He has been an Art Educator for 15 years working in public middle and high schools and the university level.

"Progeny" by Adam Long. Clay, oak bark and acorns.

Kristie Harper was born and raised in Phoenix, Oregon. In 2012 she and her husband Andrew moved to Brunswick, MO, along with their seven children, Lexie, Bella, Oria, Sierra, Shilo, Issac and Justin. Kristie home-schools her children, as well volunteering in her community painting murals & planting gardens.  She is involved in teaching small painting classes at UpRiver Urban Exchange twice a month. She plays the piano every other Sunday at Zion United Methodist Church in rural Brunswick. Kristie loves to paint with all types of medians.  But her passion is textural and metaphor realism.

Michael Marcum is a self-taught sculptor who has lived and worked in Columbia, MO, for the past two decades. Metal and found objects are his medium of choice. Past projects include installations and awards for the True/False Film Festival, a sign for Ragtag Cinema and sculptural installations in Columbia's North Village Arts District - one of which is currently on display at the corner of 9th and Rogers.  Inspirations and influences include Pop Art painter/sculptor George Segal, and artists working with found and mixed media objects. Michael is offering "Copper Top" the wire tree on the right in the auction.

Ann Grotjan is a potter and sculptor currently working mostly in clay. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Columbia College with an emphasis in ceramics and sculpture. Upon graduation, she worked as an artist for the MO Department of Conservation until opening her own studio outside of California, MO near her home.Presently, she has settled on stoneware as her favorite medium. Most of her work begins on the potter's wheel before it is incised, altered and decorated. She frequently uses the color of the clay body as a design element. Intricate carving, piercing, or sculpting on the surface sets Ann's work apart from the ordinary thrown vessel. Ann donated a vase and covered bowl to the auction.

Cindy Martin of Aldrich Valley Pottery in Van Buren, MO, began her passion with clay in college. She moved on to work in studios in Northern California and Mississippi and then traveled to England for a year of intensive work. I She started her present studio in the rugged hills of the Missouri Ozarks in 1982.She is particularly devoted to exploring alternative firing methods. The challenges continue to fascinate me as the elements of the accidental unite with the creative process. She donated a beautiful "River Heron" vase to the auction.

Lance Stroheker and Gary Rice of are artisan glass blowers who craft a wide range of custom glass artwork, including jewelry, glasses, flowers, lamps and vases. They also offer public glass blowing demonstrations at their Astral Glass Studios in New Haven, MO. Check out their YouTube page for examples of their artistry in action. They donated a lamp and a "Drink Like a Fish" shot glass to our auction.

Mike Smith is a middle school shop teacher in Washington, MO, and dedicated Missouri River Relief volunteer. His carpentry and artistic carving is a side hobby that he gifts to friends, family and organizations he supports. He works on the award winning Urban Forestry Council in Washington, focusing on restoring the riparian forest along Washington's beautiful riverfront trail. He donated a beautiful carving done in cherry called "A Missouri Medley".

Ruthie Moccia is a child therapist in Columbia, MO. She is a long-time dedicated Missouri River Relief volunteer and creates art in many formats. She donated a beautiful photo print on canvas for the auction.