Nie Nie Day Auction #2!!

As part of Design Mom's Nie Nie Day celebration,  I am auctioning off a piece of artwork by Claire B. Cotts to help raise money for the Nielson Recovery Fund. The piece of artwork was not mine to begin with, but was donated in love by my dear friend Kathy to help the Nielson family. 

If you are not familiar with the story of the Stephanie & Christian, please read about it here. Stephanie's blog, The Nie Nie Dialogues, can be found here. Stephanie's sister CJane is giving frequent updates on the family here.  I just recently discovered Stephanie's blog, but it has inspired me like no other to be a better wife, mother and homemaker!  Even though we have not met in person, I have no doubt she is a wonderful, beautiful person and the heart of her family.

The art piece is a painting on ceramic.  These are a few words from the artist about this piece:

"The painting was based on a black and white photo that I had tucked in my image file.  I loved the erect posture, the mix of tension and grace in the pose, the amazing silhouette of the dress, the moire pattern on the silk.  It wasn't until long after I painted it that I discovered it was a photo of the young Isabella Stewart Gardner, collector, philanthropist and patron of the arts. The painting I did is not so much a portrait of her, per se, but an attempt to capture gesture and good mood."  

You can read more about Isabella Stewart Gardner here.

And you can read more about the artist, Claire, here.

Please follow these guidelines in bidding on the auction.

When can I bid?

As soon as the post appears.

Where do I place my bid?

In the comment section of each item's post. I will leave the first bid, then the next bidder can submit a comment with their bid like, "I bid $25." And with each bidder to follow they just leave a comment with their price.

What amount can I bid?

Please keep all bids to an even $1--no change please. For example: if the bid is $20.00, then the next bid should be $21.00 not $20.50.

How do I know what the highest bid is?

Check the comments. It will be the most recently posted comment.

When does the auction end?

THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 31ST @ 6:00 PM PST

What if I win the bid?

After the close of the auction I will post the winner and their bid.
If you are the winning bidder, use the NieNie button below to make payment, then email me at hindsmomto3@yahoo.com with your mailing information.  I would also ask that you include in your email a copy of your Paypal receipt to verify payment has been made the Nielson account.

How can I pay for the artwork?

Winning bidder will make payment directly to the Nielson paypal fund by following the link on my blog.

Will all of the money go to the fund or just a portion?

All of it. I will be paying the shipping myself.

I am hopeful that together, those of us in the blogger world can raise quite a bit of money to add to the recovery fund.  If you wish to donate aside from the auction, please use the NieNie button on my blog to make a donation directly.