The online auction of home-plate shaped art to benefit the Jim Elder Good Sport Fund has begun! Go to the Jim Elder Home Plate Heroes website to bid.
The online bidding runs until Oct. 27. At 6 p.m., live bidding will begin on plates at the Thea Foundation at 401 Main St. in North Little Rock, which has several plates in its window right now. Artists who’ve participated include Todd Crites (see above), Sarah Mattingly, Stephano, John Wooldridge and “Weekly,” the creator of “Fast Ball Strikes,” in which twine indicates strike paths — everything inside the plate.
The Home Plate Heroes fund honors the late Jim Elder, KARN sportscaster known as the Voice of the Travelers and supports a number of organizations for children, including the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches, RBI (Reviving Baseballi n the Inner City) at Lamar Porter Field, First Tee and other non-profits.
Most of the plates have a baseball theme or are visual puns (see “Poppy Flies”). Check them out.