Slide Show: Chair Charity
The Community Warehouse held its annual Chair Affair benefit at Staver Locomotive in Northwest Portland. Some 425 people gathered to bid on unique chair-inspired works by more than 80 local artists.
Photography by Mary Saunders
The evening opened with a silent auction of featured artwork and concluded with a live auction called by award-winning auctioneer Johanna Wells.
Photography by Mary Saunders
Chairs up for auction ranged from a velvet leaf-covered seat inspired by the children’s book, The Five Little Peppers, to a Portland-themed chair plastered with Portland Monthly covers and other local souvenirs.
Photography by Mary Saunders
The Library Chair: A Unique Seat For Bibliophiles, a love seat covered in moss with old books and manuscripts springing for the ripped upholstery, was another noteworthy auction item.
Photography by Mary Saunders
Artist Julia Barbee (right), who created the Library Chair for the benefit, chats with a friend during the silent auction.
Photography by Mary Saunders
Big Red, a stool with collapsible legs that can extend to over nine feet tall, was created by artist Dan Birman, a student at Westview High School.
Photography by Mary Saunders
Artist Kurumi Conley was responsible for the Mossy Chair out of cold-worked and kiln-cast glass.
Photography by Mary Saunders
Bryan Wolf, Brenden Hyde, Sharon Swezey, Heather Barta, and Geoff Rogers (l-r) take a break from the bidding to partake of wine and hors d’oeuvres.
Photography by Mary Saunders
Guests hurry to place their final bids on a chair made from tiny sculpted carrots just before the close of the silent auction.
Photography by Mary Saunders
The chair-themed artwork included this fierce animal-print seat, suitable for man or beast.
Photography by Mary Saunders
City commissioner Nick Fish spoke at the close of the silent auction about the Community Warehouse and its role in providing disadvantaged families with housing and furnishing. This year’s Chair Affair helped Community Warehouse to raise $90,000
Photography by Mary Saunders
