More than 700 guests turned out April 8 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Jack Stephens Center for the city's own version of The Egg and I.
Eggshibition 2016 was a celebration not only of the event's 25th anniversary but the 50th birthday of its beneficiary, Youth Home.
David Bazzel and Chris Kane were hosts for the evening, which was chaired by Melody Piazza and began with a VIP reception. Between bidding on egg sculptures, conventional art pieces and live-auction items, guests enjoyed libations, heavy hors d'oeuvres by Forever Yours Catering, a special anniversary cake, and dancing to the sounds of the Rodney Block Collective as well as recorded music.
And the eggs?
Standout sculptures included Scrabbled Egg by Jim Gunnell -- an egg man atop a boxed Scrabble game, holding game tiles; Francis by Shannon Wiggins, bearing an image of the current pope; and James Hayes' vivid-hued glass eggs.
The highest-selling egg of the night was Lynn Sudderth's Shellebration. The raku piece, depicting three eggs celebrating with wine glasses, went for $3,200.
But it was Jon Hatton -- he of the standout egg-making Hatton clan -- who won the Artist Choice distinction for the third year in a row. His 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea sculpture was a steampunk-y metallic octopus that also served as a light-up Bluetooth speaker. Runner-up artists were Jon's mother, Mignon Hatton, with the playful Mr. Sock Monkey and Rosemary Parker with I Am the Eggman, a portrait of John Lennon.
Eggshibition grossed more than $150,000 for Youth Home, a residential treatment center for troubled teens. That amount reflected a hefty raise from previous incarnations, according to the agency's chief development officer, Larry Betz. He added that Sudderth's sculpture -- the second-highest-selling item of the evening -- set a new sales record for a piece of egg art.
High Profile on 04/17/2016