This year’s event raised an impressive net  $387,000 in support of the Venice Family Clinic and its mission to provide free, quality health care to people in need. This year’s Silent Art Auction saw gross sales in excess of $250,000–that’s an incredible amount of art sold!

Thank you to all who were a part of the 2010 Venice Art Walk & Auctions. We are grateful for your support-whether as a donor, volunteer, guest or artist–we could never have done it without you!

When Perla performed on stage at Venice Art Walk & Auctions, she did more than share her music, she said thank  you.  At 16, Perla found Venice Family Clinic through her friends at Santa Monica High. Her family had a record shop in Venice, but as a daughter in a hispanic family, “certain things were just taboo,” she tells me.

Finding the Venice Family Clinic was a pivotal moment for Perla. She learned through her experience that she was responsible for her own body and with that knowledge came immense freedom and the ability to take charge. Now the mother of a teenage daughter herself, Perla hopes that places like Venice Family Clinic exist for women everywhere.

On a short break before her next tour, the Grammy-nominated singer chatted with me from her home in Ojai about the role of free clinics in her life, in her childhood neighborhood and in her culture.

“They are vitally important,” she says. “Community support for the clinic is huge. The support around the work of Venice Family Clinic in the neighborhood is so needed.”

If you missed Perla at Venice Art Walk & Auctions or want more, check out her summer schedule at perla.com.  She’ll be performing at a benefit concert in L.A. Tía Chucha Centro Cultural, another passion of hers, on August 1st at the Ford Theatre.

Dylan’s mom,  Nicola Goode, was one of the artists featured on the studio tours this year during the event. Instead of watching mom this year, 6-year old Dylan decided to get involved.  So on the morning of Venice Art Walk & Auctions,  he got up early and set up a lemonade stand just inside Nicola’s studio.

Dylan, the budding entrepreneur that he is, charged $1 for a glass of lemonade and donated all proceeds to Venice Family Clinic (he assures me he provided great customer service, offering extra ice if desired).

Apparently he was tough to resist; Dylan donated $60 to Venice Family Clinic at the end of the day. The photo is of Dylan and his collections box after donating all his hard-earned cash.

“I thought it sounded like a lot of fun,” Dylan told me during his first interview. A kindergartener, Dylan was really excited to do something for a good cause, he also has big plans for next year. “Maybe cookies too,” he tells me.

“People were so receptive,” mom, Nicola, told me. She pointed out that not everyone who comes to the event can afford to buy art but at just $1,  Dylan’s lemonade stand gave them another way to donate on a smaller scale.

Thanks Dylan and Nicola (and Eric Gero for snapping the shot)! To see Nicola’s work, check out: http://www.nicolagoode.com/

Taking an early interest in art, this little guy is inspecting a Laddie John Dill piece at the Silent Art Auction.

Inside Caroline Jones’ studio, guests are captured by her vibrant photography and transported to days of summer by the pool.

For anyone who experienced Alex Andre’s Metamorphosis, this photo will feel familiar. If you missed it, check out our previous post about the piece: http://venicefamilyclinic.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/metamorphosis-interactive-art-from-alex-andre/

Good food is always a welcome addition at all-day events!

An excited bidder during the auction tries to take home Luis, by Jill Douglas.

There are a few pieces from the Silent Art Auction still for sale, feel free to call for an appointment to come by and check them out.

Thanks to Eric Gero and Beth Rosenblatt for their wonderful photography!

Dripping Citruscape, 2006, by Gus Harper, did not sell on Sunday and is available for a limited time at the opening bid. There are several other unsold works from the Silent Art Auction, including pieces by Ned Evans, Peter Lodato, Retna, and May Sun, as well as some ceramics and cartoons. Stop by Venice Family Clinic’s administration building at 622 Rose Avenue in Venice between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm this Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (that’s May 25, 26, 27), or between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm this Friday (May 28) to view unsold art. Viewing is also available next week by appointment at 310-664-7921.

Support  from the community is a vital component of Venice Family Clinic’s operations. Your overwhelming enthusiasm for the Venice Art Walk & Auctions’ “One Great Cause” is humbling and exciting. We look forward to sharing the final results and stories with you as we wrap up the weekend’s events.

Jeff Bridges took this photo, Peter Bogdanovich Lines Up a Shot, on the set of The Last Picture Show, in 1993. It’s up for auction this weekend, as an 11″ x 14″ silver print.

Talking with Alan is a trip through Venice history. He knows the names, faces, and life stories of shop owners, restaurateurs, and artists in the community. His photographs are an accumulation of these stories over the years.

Art Walkers will find this exhibit, entitled Alan Shaffer: Neighborhood Numbnuts, at Capri Restaurant on Abbott Kinney. (Note that Capri owner Alana Hamilton tells me that lunchtime nibbles are being provided.)

Today I had the chance to check out sculptor JeanBatiste’s studio in Venice. He’s got quite the plan for Sunday’s tours through the space but I was able to see a slightly more rough version (complete with JeanBatiste painting as we talked). Above is a shot of 2 sculptures in his newest series, Mask of Venice, which features bronze and salvaged wood. The piece on the far right isn’t all together in this shot but it will be by Sunday.

Jean worked as we talked about life in L.A., art inspired by nature, and his excitement at being a part of the Venice Art Walk & Auctions for the second year in a row. He’s a great guy with a laid-back perspective on life. Be sure to star this spot on your tour list this weekend–it’s a great stop to make!

Here’s a better view of the piece Pushpin Hume, 2007 (that’s right, it’s pushpins on cork):