Art display, auctions to sustain Colton art program

Examples of Colton student work will be on display at the Dahmen Barn during May with the opening reception May 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. Some of the exhibited pieces will be for sale to help with a school art program next year. Refreshments will be available. The exhibit will continue through May 26 during regular open hours at the Barn.

During the exhibit some of the student work, donated pieces from the participating instructors and items created by several community volunteers, will be available at a silent auction that will run through May 19.

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn last year received a grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation to take creative experiences to all the Colton school students this school year. Beginning in October and ending April 18, 30 different topics were offered and taught by practicing local artists. Most of the sessions were at the school, and a few occurred at the Dahmen Barn.

Several activities are planned to raise a minimum of $5,000 for a similar program next year.

Sunday, May 19, along with the close of the silent auction, a live auction will be conducted. Donations for the live auction include a handmade six-foot grandfather clock made by Colton resident Terry Frei, and a framed original collage painting by Junette Dahmen titled “Palouse Patterns.”

Junette Dahmen, an accomplished watercolor artist, along with her husband Steve, donated the barn to the community in 2004.

Artisan Barn Board Member Mary McGregor and Tamara Drader from Colfax worked together to make a quilt of Colton T-shirts in celebration of the school’s champion sports program.

Master quilter Sharon Dixon from Uniontown made a quilt of the beetle drawings done by the first and second graders under Sue Dahmen’s leadership.

Instructors in the art program over the school year included Sue Dahmen of Uniontown; Carole Galloway, resident artisan at the Barn from Lenore; Roberta Tiemann from Colfax, and Moscow artists Nancy Attebury, Carolyn Berman, Lizette Fife, Debi Robinson-Smith, Laurel Macdonald and Jeanne Leffingwell.