This article can be found at http://www.westervillemagazine.com/index.php?p=1&s=56&PHPSESSID=79a97623dd5cba246abc1d5e2fa8d1f1 but if it is no longer available, please read below. Mailboxes of the Past become the Art of the Future Web Exclusive By Laura DiGiulio Artistically designed mailbox display at Gallery 202 receives a special U.S. Post Office Award After Gallery 202, Partners in Art, Inc. owner, Renee Kropat, visited Habitat for Humanity and saw 40 mailboxes, her creative sense started tingling. "Right then and there I decided that this would be a great base for another ŒPassages' program," she says. "The mailbox seems to becoming a fixture of the past because of the internet." "Passages," a themed-artist program that has provided inspiration for displays at the Gallery 202 each year since 2001, has featured such ideas as turning wedding gowns into works of art and exploring the art of journaling. "I have discovered from past experience, the less I tell an artist to do, the more creative the artwork so the only stipulation was that the mailboxes relate to the theme of Œstaying together,'" Kropat says. "The rest is up to them. I was pleased to see the variety from actually taking apart the mailboxes to only using parts to keeping it useable." The mailboxes, which have been on display at the gallery for the past five weeks, will be auctioned off on Oct. 15 in order to benefit Concord Counseling Services, a mental health and substance abuse counseling center that serves the communities of Westerville and New Albany. Mimi Sommer, executive director of Concord Counseling, decided that it would be fun if the Post Office came to the gallery to judge the mailboxes. "After all, who would know more about mailboxes?!" Kropat says. After asking the Post Office to come in, Dee Dee Miller, a veteran mail carrier of 14 years in Westerville and 18 years total, went to the gallery to judge the mailboxes. She based her judging on which mailbox best related to the theme and was most functional. After much consideration, Miller chose to give the special U.S. Post Office Award to a mailbox titled "Winding Women's Way" by Connie Wood. "(She chose this piece) not only because of its first visual impression, but also the written statement about the piece told a very clear story about the final piece," Kropat says. The winning "Winding Women's Way" mailbox was covered in postage stamps by the artist and put on a stand of objects meaningful to her. As Wood states in the write-up about her piece, "Letters in the mail are a gift of someone's time. They cheer me. They are a treat to savor, a visit from a friend, a spirit connection to someone you care about. I like writing letters, thinking of the receiver, speaking to someone as though we are enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table." Honorable mention for the special U.S. Post Office Award went to Pat Bendict for her mailbox titled "Travel." The piece is covered with postcards from different places, as well as with cancelled stamps and memories of different travel experiences. All the mailboxes will be on display at Gallery 202, located at 38 N. State St. until Oct. 14. The mailboxes of the six week display will then be auctioned off in both a live and silent auction as part of the Champagne and Chocolate Gala at Gallery 202 on Oct. 15. The initial bid for the silent auction mailboxes will be $25, and $100 for the live auction items (there are 7 selected.) The gala will feature Cabot Rae, as emcee for the auction and the local band T.E.N.K. will perform. There will also be refreshments, including chocolate, champagne, coffee, and hot chocolate. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Concord Counseling's suicide prevention program. Tickets for the event are on sale now for $25, and will be $30 at the door. Laura DiGiulio is a contributing writer for The Publishing Group Ltd.