Hand-painted Adirondack chairs build community spirit in Clinton, NY

If you’re looking for a way to jazz up your garden this summer, you would do well to follow the example of the good people of Clinton, NY. For the past two years, the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Kirkland Art Center (KAC), have been running an event they call Art Rocks. With the help of Pleasant View Lawn Furniture, a local Mennonite woodworker, they came up with a Adirondack rocking chair design that “is particular to us,” according to Annette Clarke, executive director of the KAC. Local artists paint the chairs, which are displayed in various public locations around town. At the end of the summer, the chairs are auctioned off.

In 2007, the first year of Art Rocks, artists decorated twenty-eight chairs. Sponsors paid for materials and the artists were given a share of the proceeds from the silent auction. Forty-four chairs were painted in 2008. With increased sponsorship, the Art Rocks committee was able to obtain “chair covers for rainy days, bags to keep the covers in (for sunny days) and a system for locking the chairs down,” relates Ms. Clarke. (You can tell these chairs have become local treasures, can’t you?) They also persuaded a local auto body shop to prime the chairs.

The designs, as you can see, are quite varied. Many have a garden or outdoor theme, but others are take-offs of famous works of art. Still others are completely abstract. You can view all of them in galleries at the Village of Clinton website:

• 2007 Art Rocks Chair Gallery
• 2008 Art Rocks Chair Gallery

A Clinton Rocker of Your Very Own

If these chairs have gotten your artistic juices flowing, you might want to paint one for your own backyard. The Clinton rocker, with its higher than typical back, is available only through the Clinton website. Unfinished chairs are $150, not including shipping. If you are interested in painting a chair for Art Rocks 2009, get in touch with the Chamber of Commerce soon. Ms. Clarke will be choosing the 44 for artists in the next few weeks, as the chairs will be ready in March.

Art Rocks 2009 Event Schedule

• Chairs will start to go out to artists around mid to late March
• Opening reception for artists and sponsors is June 24
• Chairs out to the community – June 25
• Final Auction: September 2 (see below if you wish to bid)

I first learned about these chairs because my local bank featured them in their calendar for 2008. I’ve been finding it difficult to throw the calendar out because the chairs are so attractive. I keep imagining certain ones in my own garden. I’m thinking about bidding on one …

How to Bid on an Art Rocks Chair

Opening Bid is $150 and bids may be made in increments of $10. You may place a bid 3 ways:

• On location: go into the store or business where the rocker is displayed and ask for a bid form
• Email: artrocks.clinton.ny at gmail dot com (be sure to include your name, the name of the artist, bid amount and your phone number)
• Phone: Phone Ann Debraggio at (315-853-4928) or Carol Renauld (315-859-1790)

(If bidding via email or phone, it is considered a reserve bid and someone will be bidding on your behalf.)

As it says on the back of the bank calendar: “May the sun shine warm upon your face, and art be always at your back.”

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Tagged as: botanical_art, central-NY, cny, community_effort, garden art, garden furniture, garden-whimsy, upstate_ny