"Vegas".. painted!

This week I got a bit distracted when I got my first box of unpainted "Vegas" medallions. I sculpted him to be a benefit for my show which will be in September (I know...its a long ways away!). I was dying to see what he looked like all painted up, and so you know how it goes... one thing lead to another and before I knew it this guy was looking at me from my table. Overall, I think he cleans up pretty nice!

My show, North East Congress, is the very first show I have ever hosted. Its been an interesting learning experience, and I have enjoyed the planning process quite a bit. However, one thing occurred to me which I wonder about.... in all the shows I've been to, the fund-raising (raffles, silent auctions, etc) usually always happen at the show, or right before the show. And my question with that is, there are a lot of things that have to get ordered or paid for way before then that are not minor expenses... like the showhall and ribbons, which can get pricey. This leads me to believe that perhaps a better way to do it is to space out fundraising in the months preceding, so that you can use that money to pay for show-related things and keeping it from coming out of pocket.

That all being said, I have been pondering the idea of offering some of the painted medallions in the months leading up to the show. I am very grateful that some of my very favorite (and talented) artists have agreed to paint a copy of Vegas for me, and so if some arrive early, I could auction/sell 1 painted copy each month until September, where I would release the rest of the edition, including 15-20 u/p copies.

I'm not sure yet. I'd love to get feedback on this idea. And I'd love to get feedback on my NAN auction donation idea... ! ;-)