Members of Tole ’N ME, an affiliate of the Society of Decorative Painters, are offering you an opportunity not only to purchase some delightful items for your home or holiday gift-giving, but also are enabling you to show your support for the work of Good Will-Hinckley School.
The third annual Tole ’N ME Shabby Chic Auction begins with a preview from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and an auction at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Good Will-Hinckley auditorium, the Prescott Building, on the school’s campus in Hinckley.
Admission is free, and a portion of the auction proceeds benefit Good Will-Hinckley.
“We have a wonderful auctioneer,” Maryse Roy of Madison said of Chris Chapman of Norridgewock, who will be giving his all to get attendees to bid high and often.
Tole ’N ME has two Maine chapters; one in central Maine, which is sponsoring this event, and one in southern Maine.
Tole is a French word for tin, and while it originally was used to describe decorative painting on tin, that is no longer the case.
Maryse said her sponsoring chapter of 45 members has created paintings on everything from canvas to wood and fabrics for the auction.
“That’s why the group has changed so,” she said.
“We paint on anything. It’s hard to pinpoint” the pieces up for bid.
“Some designs are folk art. Some are traditional, but most of them are functional.”
Artists use their decorative talents to embellish everything from new and used furniture to ordinary household items.
Maryse, who is in charge of public relations for the organization, told me the event also will include some themed raffle baskets, and while this is the third year Tole ’N ME has raised funds for Good Will-Hinckley, it is the first year the auction has been held on the school’s campus.
“We just thought it was a good idea. We thought it would be beneficial for both of us to do it this way,” she said.
“Before, we had it in another location out of the way and not well known. We want people to know that Good Will-Hinckley is open for business and needs our support.”
Once a residential educational facility, Good Will-Hinckley now works with nine schools whose students are brought to Good Will-Hinckley to fulfill its mission of offering educational services to students in kindergarten through grade 12 “who experience significant social-emotional and behavioral challenges,” according to its website.
Good Will-Hinckley events manager Lisa McGowan said of members of Tole ’N ME, “they are wonderful.
“They have a long history of supporting Good Will. They have done the Festival of Trees fundraiser for us,” which features hand-painted ornaments hanging on the trees, and hold a silent auction during that annual holiday event.
Both Tole ’N ME chapters welcome new members, Maryse said, and more information about the organization can be obtained by calling Debbie Cannistra of Sidney at 547-4550 or Carol Levasseur of Greene at 946-7249.
Maryse said her central Maine group meets monthly at the fire station in Winslow, “and after our meeting we have an afternoon project of painting with in-house teachers, so if beginners want to join us, we’d love to have them.”
Founded in 1889, Good Will-Hinckley, as a nonprofit, is always in need of support and donations are welcome, Lisa told me while pointing out that another fundraiser is in the works. Tickets for that fundraiser are now available.
Contemporary Christian artist and singer-songwriter Randy Stonehill will appear in concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at the Moody Memorial Chapel on the Good Will-Hinckley campus.
Tickets are $20 and are available at Good Will-Hinckley, Lamb’s Bookstore in Bangor, Mr. Paperback in Augusta, Lighthouse Bookstore in Fairfield and online at itickets.com.
Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; javerill@bangordailynews.com; 990-8288.