Amy Vaclav-a displays her chair, "What's Your Passion?" in her home last Friday. The chair, embellished with rhinestones and flames, invites one to "sit and be transported to the place within yourself that needs to be lit up by the fires of your convictions."/Photo by Todd Newcomer.

it by Jules Masterjohn

Spring is splashing its colors up all over the place, and that means it is time for our annually awaited homegrown event, the KDUR Furniture as Art auction. Emerging four years ago as a fund-raising vehicle for the Fort Lewis College community radio station, it has blossomed into one of Durango's most high-spirited and artsy events, anticipated by artists and patrons alike.

Since 2002, nearly 50 local artists have contributed to the benefit by creating unique, functional art objects, more or less disguised as furniture. Artists love being asked to contribute despite the countless hours it may take to produce a piece. Maureen May, whose "Power Chair" brought the highest bid at last year's auction, spent more than 100 hours producing her aesthetically and politically vibrant throne. Asked what she was working on for this year's auction, "a smaller, less complicated piece" was her response. In solidarity with her creation's title, May was not willing to reveal too much about "Victorian Secret," a painted Victorian-style shelf, in which the art part of it is a bit hidden.

As artists will, many have created broad interpretations of the theme "furniture as art," from an outdoor umbrella that was transformed into a martini glass to a tiny chair pendant that can be worn. Among this year's 20 or so offerings is a kitchen chair painted with flames and embellished with rhinestones created by Amy Vaclav-Felker. The chair invites one to "sit and be transported to the place within yourself that needs to be lit up by the fires of your convictions." It also implores us, "Don't let that flame go out!" Vaclav-Felker's passion is reiterated in her praise for KDUR. "I have chosen to give my time to this particular event because KDUR is a big part of my daily life," she said. "The time I give to KDUR is miniscule compared to the time it gives me and the connectedness it offers to the community and the world."

Echoing Vaclav-Felker's sentiment, artist Lisa Pedolsky adds "KDUR very effectively embraces the concept of community through the way the event is structured. It's a win-win situation!" She is referring to the support local galleries and businesses give by displaying the auction items during the week before the event. "I was moved by the generosity of the bidders last year. I felt that this spirit of giving sent the message that public radio is valued." With a chuckle in her voice Pedolsky remembered, that last year's event was highly entertaining, lively and full of laughs, so this year she decided to create a not-so-serious piece, whose title uses a play on words. Her tongue-in-cheek piece, "Small Chest," an intricate ceramic box with conical shapes protruding from it, is on display at Karyn Gabaldon Fine Arts Gallery.

Another artist using visual puns is Deborah Gorton, who has created a whimsical piece titled, "Time Out Chair," a 10-inch tall chair that has a clock face positioned on the chair's seat. Gorton explains, "This piece evolved out of a corner of my over-active mind. 'Time Out' could mean many different things depending on who it is speaking to perhaps it represents time out from the frantic pace of life, or that wonderful 'time out' tool used when raising children. Whatever it means to you, hopefully it will bring a little humor and lightness to those moments."

Gratitude is the motivation for David Mallin's offering, a bedside table crafted from some of his favorite materials, purpleheart wood from well-managed forests in Surinam and pi`F1on from Chimney Rock. "I choose KDUR's fund-raising event as one of the causes I support because KDUR educates our community about the world," he said. "The more we know about other cultures, the sooner we may come to peaceful solutions and mindsets." Mallin sees art-making as a way he can "Share the Love," which is the title of his piece, on display at From the Heart boutique.

Lisa Pedolsky works in her studio in down-town Durango last week. Her tongue-in-cheek ceramic piece, “Small Chest,” right, is on display at Karyn Gabaldon Fine ArtsGallery./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

Gratitude is the motivation for David Mallin's offering, a bedside table crafted from some of his favorite materials, purpleheart wood from well-managed forests in Surinam and pi`F1on from Chimney Rock. "I choose KDUR's fund-raising event as one of the causes I support because KDUR educates our community about the world," he said. "The more we know about other cultures, the sooner we may come to peaceful solutions and mindsets." Mallin sees art-making as a way he can "Share the Love," which is the title of his piece, on display at From the Heart boutique.

Krista Harris' affections and afflictions are evident in the painting she is donating to the auction, a luscious portrayal of a classic red Herman Miller bent plywood chair. Harris confesses, "The subject is one close to my heart, since I covet contemporary furniture, and that red chair in particular. I may never own any of the originals, so I decided to create my own series of chair paintings, entitled 'Objects of My Desire,'" she said. "So far I have only done two, but there's a long list of items that fit that description so it could become a lifelong project!"

Like Mallin, wood is Harry Hill's medium of choice from which he has created a plant stand carved from a block of laminated Baltic birch plywood. The contours of the plant stand are reminiscent of forms found in nature. A labor of love, Hill cut the plywood into shapes, glued them together and then carved, ground, sanded and polished them using a variety of power and hand tools. His working process is a metaphor for his life. "I am happiest when I'm able to express the layers and contours of my relationship with the earth through my hands, my tools and wood, and share that with our community," he said.

For some artists, this event is an opportunity to explore different creative territory. Barbara Heinrich, who normally paints on canvas, was confronted by the three-dimensionality of the table she chose to paint. The design process "felt far outside the realm" of creating on a flat canvas, she said. Rising to the occasion, she tweaked her conceptual perspective. "I took the flat dimension and made it irregular to challenge how you traditionally think of tabletops." Heinrich has been collecting charcoal from the Missionary Ridge Fire and making paint from it. "The black paint in this table is from this charcoal and to some extent, the colors of the table were inspired by the colors of fire."

Jewelers Jeff and Susan Wise stepped out of their ultramodern mode and into the past by creating a silver pendant that is a miniature Victrola record player and on display at Ellis Crane Gallery. "There is the obvious connection to KDUR vis-a-vis making music, but beyond that, Victrolas had that totally cool sound horn. What a shape!" Jeff explained. Like many area artists, the Wises are often asked to contribute to local causes and need to be selective about the time they donate. In addition to supporting KDUR "because of the commitment and enthusiasm of their staff and DJs and the quality of their programming," the Wises also enjoy attending the event. "It seems that many artists have really gotten into the auction and make some spectacular work, so we all go and egg each other on."

Though other organizations have begun to host similarly themed art auctions since KDUR birthed it event, station manager and mother of the event, Nancy Stoffer, clarifies, "Other organizations tend to make more money on these events, we make more fun!"