Get Ready Norcross… The Uniquely Decorated Chairs Are Coming!

The arts are critical to our students and the Chairs for Charity Program acts as an avenue for our local students to showcase their masterpieces.  This year marks the 4th year and my 3rd year chairing the silent auction fund-raising event sponsored by the Norcross Arts Alliance and Norcross Art Fest.  Every year we are amazed at the exceptional pieces that we collect.

This year we have the pleasure of introducing the students of Meadowcreek High School, this is the first time that the school is participating in the event.  Ms. Chris Hellyer is the Fine Arts Director of Meadowcreek and she started the art club in the spring of 2004 with two students.  The art club has evolved into the National Art Honor Society with thirty students!  Ms. Hellyer is very excited about the opportunity to showcase her students’ work at Norcross Art Fest.

When asked about the arts and student success, Ms. Hellyer quickly pointed out that “statically students that excel academically have an interest in the arts and score higher on the SATS than those students who don’t participate in the arts.”  She is also very proud of her students’ work and the opportunity for them to engage with the community.  The students also get extra credit for participating in the project, they were allowed to take some of the pieces home and some worked on the larger pieces in groups.

The students got a visit from the Chairs for Charity Committee late Friday evening and we can’t begin to tell you about the whimsical pieces that will be up for auction!  Adventure Time was a group piece that morphed into the comical cartoon characters from the Cartoon Network show.  Nury Perez is putting the finishing touches on this rocker.  Have you ever seen a chair with ears?  There is a snow scene chair that would be very inviting by a warm fireplace.  For those kids into Sci-Fi we have a chair just for you.

Every year the organizers encourages new items to the mix and this year we are introducing birdhouses, and these birdhouses are elegantly decorated with the finest details.  Maria Pinon’s “Spontanies” birdhouse depicts a Geisha and she said she was inspired
to do this birdhouse because she would love to visit Tokyo and she would love to experience the culture.  Melaine Brown’s Patriotic Birdhouse was inspired by her Mom and she painted it after 9/11 this year.  Melaine is also the Vice President of the National Art Honor Society at Meadowcreek HS.  Hector Aguilar imagined little kids playing with the birdhouse that he created.  He also paid a tribute to his younger brother Marco who plays a musical instrument and decorated another birdhouse with musical notes and instruments.

This program could not be the success it is without the help of our community partners, Norcross First United Methodist Church, Chalk it up Norcross, Norcross Cluster School Partnership, Binders Art Supplies and the wonderful neighbors who collect chairs and other wooden pieces for us!  Thank You!

Please stop by the Chairs for Charity Booth at Norcross Art Fest this coming weekend October 6th and 7th.   We will located by the town marque across from Paizanos in Downtown Historic Norcross.  All funds raised go back to the schools that participated – so have
those checkbooks ready and help us support the arts in our local schools!