AIR’s, Artists In Residence, 3rd Annual Auction promises to be a celebration of area artists and more artists are adding their name to the list of donors. The Benefit Party will be held April 15, 2000 at the Eagle Fire Hall at Rt. 202 and Sugan Road in New Hope, PA. The doors will open at 6:00pm and the live auction will begin promptly at 7:30pm. Food and spirits from more than 45 of the area's finest restaurants and chefs will be served throughout the evening with dessert and coffee served at 9:30pm at the conclusion of the auction. Entertainment for the Preview from 6:00-7:30pm will be provided by jazz musicians Michael Orrell, Susan Bartles, and Peter Spencer. New Hope Mayor Laurence Keller will serve as auctioneer. Tickets are $15 per person.

The auction will feature all original works by area artists, many of whom have worked with AIR in schools in Bucks, Hunterdon, and Mercer counties. The auction which will feature 100 pieces and artists will be present at the Preview to speak about their work.

Among the many artists donating are:

Bucks County sculptor Yvonne Love. Love’s work deals with an exploration of childhood memories. In her most recent work she has developed her own personal mythology based on children folktales. One of her three donations, "Rapunzel's Wing", is part of a series about the choices woman have and how they are empowered by them. Yvonne received her BDAE from the University of Florida and her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. She has exhibited her work at the Pennsylvania State University, Bucks County Community College, Academy of Fine Arts, and Phillips Mill. Love is co-director of AIR and creates AIR residencies for students kindergarten through 12^th grade.

Andrew MasuIlo, a nationally and internationally recognized artist who has been exhibiting his work since 1978 is donating a painting. A recent New York Times review described his pieces as ""small jaunty abstract paintings. The highkey palette and geometric compositions suggest a parody of 1950’s and 60's design, but Mr. Masullo 's endless inventive play with pattern and his manifest affection for the act of painting gives these works sensual presence and idiosyncratic authenticity." Masullo has been represented by the Andre Emmerich Gallery and the Derek Eller Gallery in New York. Andrew 's works are in the private collections of Bianca Jagger, Mary Tyler Moore and artists Francesco Clemente and Ross Bleckner. Swiss collector Thomas Ammann owned more than 200 pieces at the time of his death in 1995.

Katia McGuirk has been making tiles for 17 years. McGuirk was production manager for Moravian Tile Works for 3 years before opening her own tile studio in Doylestown. Her tiles and mosaics are sold through fine shops and galleries around the world. McGuirk, who has donated several handmade tiles, is an AIR artist and works with students from kindergarten to 12^th grade.

New Hope artist Lisa Cicalese McMillen is donating a handpainted bookcase. McMillen paints murals and furniture with a story in mind to help generate specific ideas and images. The story ideas range from picket fences to Chinese wallpaper. The idea for the handpainted bookcase she donated came from the shape of the piece itself and the knowledge that children love things that are brightly colored and that crawl. McMillen was chosen to decorate and design the playroom in the Spring 2000 Designer Show House.

Penns Park craftsman Bill Osler creates original designs and fabrications of leaded stained glass for private residences and commercial institutions. He recently won the Paul Cody Bently Sculpture Award at the Philips Mill 70th Annual Exhibition. He has also exhibited his work at Artsbridge and The Gallery of American Craft "Stained Glass Exhibit". He has donated a small stained glass panel for the evening.

Lumberville resident Sherry Tinsman is a metalsmith and jewelry designer who has donated two necklace and earring sets to the auction. Originally from Romsey, England she finds inspiration in her heritage to fashion the distinctive patterns and shapes that characterize her work. She also feels inspiration in nature creating an assortment of floral designs. Her pieces are carefully crafted from sterling, brass copper, gold or a combination of metals. She often forges her work through complex processes that transmute the metal surfaces, producing unique finishes Her work has been on exhibit at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute, The Michener Art Museum and Lilies of the Field in Doylestown.

Lambertville painter/printmaker Annelies van Dommelen who has donated a painting has had her work included in exhibitions at Artsbridge, Woodmere Art Museum. Philadelphia Watercolor Club, Philadelphia Print Club and the Roger Lapelle Gallery in Philadelphia. Her works are included in the collections of Pennsylvania Academv of Fine Arts, SEALAND Corporation Headquarters, and Price Waterhouse.

Donating Bucks County sculptor Catia Whitmore creates work inspired by stories and art works of indigenous cultures. She feels that traditional wisdom is being left behind in favor of technology; she wishes to give voice to the ideas of humanity that have held true for thousands of year. Catia has recently exhibited her work at the Phillips Mill Annual Exhibition, Prallsville Mill Exhibition and Elizabethtown Juried Art Exhibit Exhibition

Contributing Lambertville painter John M. Williams investigates a strong use of color in his work and is influenced by artists Winslow Homer and Skip Lamrence. To create his paintings he uses a small but varied palette of only 12 colors. John and his wife recently opened The Morning Star Carriage House Gallery at the Mercantile where his paintings are on display.

New Hope painter Steve Zazenski’s watercolors depict scenes form New England, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His work is in the collections of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute IBM and Bell Labs. His pieces are in the private collections of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Muskie, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Keooy, Former Secretary of labor Raymond Donovan, Playwright Rupert Holmes, and Polish President Lech Walesa.

In all more than 60 artists have donated work for the evening including Mira Nakashima of the world renowned Nakashima Studios, internationally recognized Robert Whitley, Bucks County woodworker Jeffrey Greene, painter James Moon Feehan, Robert Beck, David Love, Jeanne Cameron, glassblower Meshell Kimbel, painter Allen Goldstein, Alix Bacon, and many others. The auction will also feature a number of gift certificates including $500 gift certificates from both Diana Michaels Jewelers of New Hope and Tom Caster of Castor Jewelry in Lambertville.

All proceeds from the event will benefit AIR – Artists In Residence- which currently serves approximately 4000 students in 9 schools in New Hope and surrounding communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The program, which employs nationally and internationally recognized artists who live within the region, has been welcomed by school administrators and teachers as an ideal way to enrich students' experiences in all disciplines. AIR supports long and short term residencies, school-wide events such as Celebrate the Arts Days, performances, and mentor programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.