Artist uses talents to design ornaments to benefit Camp Treasure Chest

A landscape architect by trade, Beaufort resident Roger Wagner has always had a passion for art -- and a natural talent for it, too.

"I'm pretty much self-taught," said Wagner, whose drawings of three shrimp boats appear on notecards being sold by the Able Foundation to benefit Camp Treasure Chest. The annual six-week summer camp is for Beaufort County children with developmental disabilities.

Wagner's shrimp boat design also was used to craft the gold-coated, brass ornamental medallions the foundation is selling this year.

He became the principal artist for the fundraising items last year after suggesting his wife, Mitzi, director of disabilities and special needs for the county, use some of his Lowcountry-inspired artwork.

"When Mitzi first came up with the idea of doing the ornament, they didn't know what to do," Wagner said. "I had some watercolors of the Hunting Island Lighthouse, and she thought they were perfect."

The foundation ordered 700 ornaments featuring the shrimp boat to sell for $10 each, Mitzi Wagner said.

All but 15 were gone as of Friday, with plans in the works to order 150 more, she said. The packages of notecards, which feature three different boat drawings and cost $10 each, also have been popular.

The effort is expected to generate about $10,000 through ornament and notecard sales, but that gives the foundation only half of what it needs to operate the camp, Mitzi Wagner said.

State budget cuts jeopardized the camp last year and will do so this year, again leaving the foundation reliant on donations and grants, she said. Several grant applications already have been sent.

Volunteers also are needed when the camp opens, to cut personnel costs, one of the biggest expenses, Mitzi Wagner said.

"For the next known period of time, if Camp Treasure Chest moves forward, it's going to have to be totally community funded," she said. "We are hopeful that we are going to move forward, but we've still got a bit of a road ahead of us."

To buy a 2009 ornamental medallion or packet of notecards:

• Go to the Beaufort County Disability and Special Needs office at 1804 Old Shell Road in Port Royal or one of 14 other local businesses. A full list of vendors is available on the Able Foundation Web site at www.abledisabilities.org.

• Print an order form at www.abledisabilities.org and mail it in.

• Send an e-mail to mwagner@bcgov.net or call 843-470-6300.

The 2008 ornaments featuring the Hunting Island Lighthouse also are still available.