Charleston Animal Society's art soiree to benefit furry friends

Art auctions typically entail holding paddles to passively battle over Rococo oil paintings. However, this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. the Charleston Animal Society's Furry Affair promises to be anything but dull.

"One of my friends put it best: 'It's an event for art lovers, animal lovers and fun lovers,' " said the society's executive director Jim Bush.

The fifth annual Furry Affair will be held at Memminger Auditorium and will feature both silent and live auctions as well as catering by Tristan, to include seafood, carving stations and adult beverages.

Nearly 130 pieces from more than 100 local artists will be up for bid, all with themes relating to "animals and the world we live in," with media ranging from stained glass, sculptures and tapestries to oil canvases, found object sculptures and jewelry.

"If you like fine art, graffiti art, trash composition, there is going to be something there for you," Bush said. "It's affordable too."

Highlights include painter Debra Sorenson's playful oil painting "Snow Play," a fanciful silk wall hanging of cats by Nancy Bagley, an encaustic seascape by Denita Cole and intricate, dainty copper and semi-precious stone jewelry by Twiglet.

Jeff Kopish, a local artist and owner of Lime Blue, said he felt the "karmic" pull to help another good cause after being involved in Habitat for Humanity by donating his metal wall hanging "Canned Fish."

"When the Dock Street Theatre was renovated, they threw out 40 trash cans on the side of the road from some STOMP-type production," Kopish said of the materials he used in his work. "The light bulb eye is from King Street. I do a lot of found object work and it's just stuff from all around town."

Tom Potocki also works in found objects and his sculptures induce vicious bidding wars annually.

"It's always a good party," said Potocki. "The people there get to meet with the artists. It's always good to meet people who have similar interests about the projects."

Furry Affair is one of CAS's largest fundraisers of the year. The Charleston Animal Society, which is headquartered on Remount Road in North Charleston, cared for nearly 12,000 animals in 2008 and sponsors spay/neuter programs, adoption programs and community outreach work. However, in a time that most nonprofits are struggling, CAS is having special problems.

"It's not only that less donations are coming in, but we also see a higher demand for our services in that more people are turning their animals in," Bush said.

Kay Hyman, the director of outreach and communications at CAS said that there was an eight percent increase in turn-in rates in the past six months while adoption is greatly decreasing.

"We are the largest shelter in the area and we are full access. We take every animal that comes to us from Charleston County, which is huge," Hyman said.

Hyman hopes that 400 guests will join in the Furry Affair festivities this year. To purchase tickets for the event at $75 per person, call 329-1546 or visit one of six area stores, a list of which can be found at charlestonanimalsociety.org.