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The polls are now open for the 13th annual Bad Art by Good People fundraiser, presented by the Champaign County Arts Council.

Today’s featured artist is Rev. Derrick Fetz, Priest at The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Urbana & The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Mechanicsburg.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Otterbein University; Master of Divinity, Seabury Western Theological Seminary.

Organization affiliations: Urbana Rotary Club, Champaign County Ministerial Association, Cedar Bog Association, Third Order Society of St. Francis.

Arts involvement: I dabble and support a variety of artistic expressions including music, theater, painting and designing and making prayer beads.

Special skills or interests: In addition to serving as a priest, I am a regional resource for leadership development, organizational development, strategic planning and more. I enjoy hiking, baseball, football, soccer, reading, and writing.

Comments about artwork: For the past several years, I have focused on helping others reduce stress and anxiety through meditation and prayer forms. To help in this effort, I design and make prayer beads, a meditation tool used in multiple religions, including Christianity. I gift and sell prayer bead sets to help others find centeredness. This is a set of prayer beads made with semi-precious stones and a pewter Celtic cross. It is both an artistic expression and a tool for meditation and connection with God. I have developed a prayer guide to use with it.

How to participate

The public can vote for their favorite artwork using PayPal on the Arts Council’s website, www.champaigncountyartscouncil.org. Votes can also be cast with cash, check or credit card at the Arts Council, 119 Miami St., Urbana. The office is open Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Watch the Urbana Daily Citizen during the weeks leading up to the dinner for profiles on each artist and photos of the artists with their creations.

Dinner auction

A limited number of tickets are available for the dinner and auction, which will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, May 3 at Woodruff Farm, 3143 U.S. Route 36. Tickets are $30 and include a catered dinner and dessert.

The “Bad Art” will be auctioned after dinner. All proceeds will benefit the Arts Council.

Tickets are for sale at the Arts Council’s office and online at the Arts Council’s website.

The Diamond sponsor for the event is Wallace & Turner Insurance. Gold sponsor is The V. Patrick Hamilton Group/REMAX Alliance. Silver sponsor is CRSI. Bronze sponsors are Civista Bank and Henderson Land Investment Co.

For more information, contact the Arts Council office at 937-653-7557.