Metal menagerie to be sold in online fundraiser

The artistic designs that have been produced by the Carrier Mills-Stonefort shop class this year are to be made available to the public to purchase in an online auction at the end of May.

This metal menagerie of fanciful creatures has been created by members of the shop class and industrial arts instructor Randy Boyd plans to sell the pieces in a silent auction to benefit the high school's shop program.

"We plan to put them up on Facebook," Boyd said. "We will let people bid on them for about a month and then they will go to their buyers."

From owls to doves and chickens, these metal lawn ornaments are the fruits of the labor of this year's shop classes and include a Wiley Coyote and Road Runner combination, a flying pink pig and an exquisite hanging bell and striker in an arched stand. Some of the pieces are painted and some are in the raw metal colors and all show the careful and dedicated care taken in their design and production.

"All of these students were involved in this, one way or the other," Boyd said. "Whether they helped make some or provided advice and support for the builders, these are the work of all the students in the shop class. All of the proceeds will go directly into the shop program fund and benefit the shop program in the future. I also wanted to thank Thornton Auto Crushing in Carrier Mills for letting our students go through their yard and donating the items the students chose. That was very kind of them."

The items will be up on a Facebook profile named "Carrier Mills-Stonefort Industrial Arts" and bidding will runs from April 27 to May 1. Sealed bids will also be accepted at the high school office during normal school hours. Boyd plans to have a display in the hall near the office with a running total of highest bids for each item.

In the mean time, the menagerie stands outside the high school shop classroom in Carrier Mills and is worth a visit to see this collection of imaginative and delightful metal artwork.