Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity's fifth-annual Birdhouse Auction goes Hollywood

For the first time in its five-year history, LowCountry Habitat for Humanity's Birdhouse Auction is going Hollywood.

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Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity's fifth-annual Birdhouse Auction goes Hollywood

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Considered LowCountry Habitat's largest fundraiser of the year, tonight's event will feature birdhouses designed and signed by celebrities such as Hank Aaron, Walter Cronkite, Jim Lovell -- the commander of Apollo 13 -- as well as local literary figures Pat Conroy and his wife, Cassandra King.

"That's our big, exciting new edition," said Margaret Evans, a member of the auction steering committee. "Another new thing is that in years past, they've always had a signature artist who painted a birdhouse. This year our featured artist did a painting instead."

The featured artist is Bill Mead, who painted an image of a Lowcountry landscape with salt marshes, palmetto trees and a light blue Habitat for Humanity house sitting in a bird's nest high atop a vine-covered tree. Mead's original piece will be sold in a live auction during the event, which also will feature a silent auction where about 150 birdhouses painted by local artists will be sold.

"Later on, we'll start with what we call the specialty birdhouse live auction, which is probably about 10 or 12 really nice birdhouses specially made and painted, but they're not celebrity birdhouses," Evans explained. "After that, we'll have the celebrity live auction. It will culminate with the Bill Mead original painting."

The auction steering committee -- which also includes Evans' husband, Jeff, Kim McDermott, Daryl Ferguson and Greg Przybysz -- has spent months planning the event. Other local artists taking part include Terry Waldron, Linda Randazzo, April Whitt, Michael Dixon, Clinton Campbell, Andrew Roeder, Carol Carr, Floyd Day, Kelly Collins Davidson and Deanna Bowdish.

Although Mead expressed pride in being this year's featured artist, he found it difficult to describe his inspiration for creating his featured piece.

"I just did what I usually do and what I'm good at, which is painting landscapes," said Mead, 50. "I thought about the world as our habitat and how we all sort of have to fit in to this environment of ours. It's hard to say how I got the idea. I was thinking about habitats and the Earth, and it just kind of came together."

Mead, whose work can be seen at Art & Soul Gallery on Bay Street, said that this year's auction will be his first, but he helped Habitat for Humanity build a house a couple of years ago.

Founded in 1976 in Americus, Ga., Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that enlists volunteers to build safe, decent and affordable homes that are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are used to build more Habitat houses.

The organization has built more than 250,000 houses around the world, providing shelter to more than 1 million people in over 3,000 communities.

"Shelter is one of our most essential needs," said Mead. "You can't get along without it. (Habitat for Humanity) is a great bunch of people, and I'm glad to be a part of it."

According to LowCountry Habitat for Humanity's executive director, Brenda Dooley, last year's auction raised over $40,000, which will support the organization's fund for building more homes.

"That moment when you hand someone the keys to their new home is just an incredible feeling," said Dooley. "When we do that house dedication when the house is finished and hand them their keys, you get those chills and tears in your eyes. It's wonderful."

In addition to celebrity involvement, Ferguson said the Marine Air Corps Station lent support, and this year will highlight wood workers as well as mark the first time that artists from Sun City participated. Wood workers Bob Cullen and Rob Alexander were the artists that constructed the five celebrity birdhouses.

Ferguson mentioned that an intarsia wood piece by local artist Jim Mallet, valued at $10,000, will be introduced at the auction and then sold on e-Bay. Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying where various pieces of wood are fitted together to create a piece of art.

"It's one of only a few in the United States that's ever been for sale, and I think that's worth talking about," said Ferguson.

He added that because many of the celebrities involved have a national profile, he's hoping that the birdhouse auction receives national publicity.

Ferguson believes that the event could serve as a bigger launching pad for Mead.

"Bill Mead, as an artist, is fantastic," said Ferguson. "I think it's really going to launch him, quite frankly. You're going to see his career launch probably through this bird house auction."

Ferguson was largely responsible for lining up the celebrities involved, and he said it took him about six months to get commitments. The easiest person to get was Lovell since Ferguson had worked with the former astronaut in the past, and the two remained friends.

"My thought was, if I contact 20 celebrities I would get one," said Ferguson. "There was a lot of interest by these celebrities to help out, but the difficult part is they make you go through hoops before you really get to anybody that can make a decision, so you've got to find a way to get around it."

Once he had the list of celebrities taking part, Ferguson said it was a joint effort in deciding the design of the birdhouses. Cronkite's is modeled after a microphone.

"We exchanged photographs back and forth," Ferguson explained. "Like in Cronkite's case, we asked him which of the numerous microphones he'd like to use. Once it was done and painted, we sent it to him for his signature."

Lovell's birdhouse is a replica of the Apollo 13 capsule, while Conroy has two birdhouses: One is a stack of his books, and the other is modeled after the one-room schoolhouse where he taught on Daufuskie Island.

"It's going to be a really fun night, with a chance to help out a really incredible organization that does so much for this town and for people who need help," said Evans.

"Habitat helps people help themselves, and that's what I think is so wonderful."

What: Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity's Fifth-Annual Birdhouse Auction

When: 6 p.m., tonight

Where: Reception hall at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 70 Lady's Island Dr., Lady's Island

Cost: $25 in advance; $30 at the door; $20 for active military personnel

Details: 843-522-3500