ROCKLAND — More than 37 artists with ties to Maine have created wooden paddle art for the upcoming Trekkers' Paddle Art Auction. A paddle art display will be open on Friday, July 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Maine Lighthouse Museum on 1 Park Drive in Rockland.

There will be staff and board members from Trekkers on hand to answer questions. Beverages and auction catalogs will also be available. The paddle art display will remain open for viewing through Monday, July 11.

The paddle art auction project, which began in January, was inspired and coordinated by local artists Otty Merrill and Jenifer Mumford, both of whom have paddles up for bid. Maine State Prison Showroom Industries Manager Ken Lindsey at the produced the wooden paddles for this unique fundraising project. Biographies and paddle images for each artist are online at trekkers.org

The auction will take place on Wednesday, July 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Watts Hall, located at 174 Main St. in Thomaston. Tickets are $10 each. The canoe paddles will be bid on during the evening in a silent auction format. There will be music by The Angela Anderson & Mike Whitehead Duet, along with beverages and light hors d'oeuvres. There is a minimum bid of $100 on each paddle. Absentee bidding is available and the absentee bid form is on the Trekkers website. Absentee bids must be received by noon on Friday, July 8.

The artists participating in this project include: Angela Anderson, Annie Bailey, Geoff Bladon & HC, David Blanchard, (Elizabeth) Kate Braestrup, Wendy Carr, Kathleen A. Fox & David S. Talley, Jonathan Frost, Anne Goodale, Lily Hamill, Ann Hritz, Alexis Iammarino, Kris Johnson, Lydia Kaeyer, Steve Lindsay, Otty Merrill, Sandra Mason Dickson, Greg Mort, Jon Mort, Chris Moses, Jenifer Mumford, Patsy Munger, Sylvia Murdock, DiTa Ondek, Jordan Parks, George Pearlman, Claire Perry, Mimo Gordon Riley, Jeffrey Rollins, Bjorn Runquist, Marnie Sinclair, Barbara Sullivan, Sarah Tannebring, Greta Van Campen, Thomas Whiting and Amy Williams.