Gloucester Daily Times
February 24, 2006

Take A Stand By Taking A Seat
'Chairs for Children' will benefit Pathways organization

By Ben Carder
CORRESPONDENT

Sue Todd was overwhelmed by the response for Pathways for Children's "Lobster Landings" event in 2004 when locals took a stand for under privileged children in Gloucester.

This year, Todd's hoping Cape Anners will "take a seat."

After raising more than $140,000 from bidders on fiberglass crustaceans like "Glosta Lobsta," "Glassy" and "Mr. Claws," Pathways for Children will be bringing back its community art event, this time in the form of chairs.
The event, titled "Chairs for Children: Take a Seat for Pathways," will feature many renowned local artists who will paint and decorate 30 Adirondack mahogany chairs, custom made by York, Maine's Scott Masi.

BEN CARDER/Staff photo

This lobster-themed Adirondack chair will be on display at an undetermined venue. The auction item was painted by Rockport's Oliver Balf, founding faculty and professor emeritus of Montserrat College of Art in Beverly.

"The experience of watching so many people caught up in the magic of an evening in support of our children will be difficult to replicate," said Todd, president and CEO of Pathways for Children. "I am inclined to believe I will have the opportunity to experience that once again."

Continuing the community art event wasn't set in stone, despite the overwhelming response. Because of the overwhelming response, concerned Pathways' employees wondered if they could pull it off again due to limited staff.

"It was a massive undertaking for an organization our size," said Susan Stendahl, development director at Pathways. "But we had some planning meetings and talked with some of the artists involved, and the message we got resoundingly was 'let's do it again.'"

The fact that vandals stole and destroyed several of the lobsters in 2004 has not deterred the staff.

All 30 of the chairs have been made, one of them painted (with a lobster theme) by Rockport's Oliver Balf, one of the 34 artists scheduled to participate.

"Each artist will have his or her own chair, and (Pathways for Children) places no restrictions on what they do with the chairs in terms of creativity," said Stendahl.

The decision to make this year's auction items chairs, rather than lobsters, was spearheaded by members of Pathways' steering committee, who felt chairs would be a more "user-friendly" art than lobsters.

The decisions on where to place the chairs for display have yet to be determined, but chairs are likely to be found out in front of Cape Ann businesses some time in June. The auction will be held Sept. 16.

During the summer of 2004, several lobsters were placed in and around Cape Ann in order to publicize the auction and beautify some of the businesses' gardens.

Kathy Cuddyer helped in the sponsoring of "Goldie Prawn," a lobster funded by The Shlopak Foundation, by putting "Goldie" out in front of her Stone Leaf store each morning and bringing it in when they closed for the night.

"Goldie did very well on the auction block," said Cuddyer. "We're hoping this year for the same situation to happen with the chairs."

"Goldie" - covered with 23 karat gold leaf - sold for $4000 to a man who has a winter home in Florida, where it now resides. Six of the 33 lobsters auctioned have remained local.

The Sawyer Free Public Library was another place that hosted a lobster, and welcomed a chair should they be approached by Pathways.

"I would be in favor of it," said Carol Gray, assistant director at Sawyer Free.

Gray said the final decision rests with the library director, Roger Brisson, whose "main virtue is in collaborating with others in the city," Gray said

Meanwhile, Duckworth's Bistrot on East Main Street is already solidly behind the effort, placing fliers around their restaurant and keeping people abreast of the upcoming event by word of mouth.

"We think Pathways is a great organization," said Nicole Duckworth, owner of Duckworth's Bistrot along with her husband, Ken. "The people think it's great, a lot of our customers are interested in art, and I expect we'll have lots of support."

There are some concerns, however, about theft of the chairs, harkening back to two lobsters stolen and vandalized in July 2004. Both were eventually retrieved, restored and auctioned off.

"We do have some security concerns," said Gray. "I'd hope (police) would take some measures to prohibit people from sitting in them or climbing on them."

"We're concerned, but through the Chamber of Commerce and different meetings, we're trying to get more police protection on Main Street," said Cuddyer. "There's vandalism done to our window boxes three to four times a year, and that doesn't stop us from putting them out there. It certainly shouldn't stop us from displaying something from a great place like Pathways."

More than $140,000 was raised from "Lobster Landings" making expectations exceptionally high for September's auction.

"We expect we will meet the same level of success as last year's and exceed it," said Todd. "We've established the fact that it's a great cause, tourists love it, it's wonderful for the community - we're very confident that we will exceed the first year's results."

How the chairs help the children of Cape Ann
The "Chairs for Children" campaign will help raise awareness of the Pathways for Children programs, such as Head Start, after-school and other educational-based initiatives, for children from birth to age 12. Funds raised from the event will assist in filling gaps in program funding due to cutbacks in federal and state subsidies. Volunteers came up with the original idea in 2004, where large unpainted fiberglass sculptures in the form of lobsters were made. They were then provided to area artists, turning them into artistic creations. The 33 lobsters were later auctioned off, bringing in a $140,000-plus profit for Pathways for Children programs.

If you would like to become a sponsor, volunteer or make donation to support the "Chairs for Children" event, contact Stephanie Walters at (978) 281-2400 ext. 154 or by email at swalters@pw4c.org