LJWorld.com

Photo by Mike Yoder

Red Dog's Dog Days organizer Don Gardner, center, is honored with a JAMS celebrity bench Friday at Van Go Mobile Arts. At left is Gardner's wife, Bev, and at right is Van Go executive director Lynne Green.

Don "Red Dog" Gardner became the first local individual to receive a Van Go Mobile Arts Inc. signature bench Friday.

Gardner, known in the Lawrence community for Red Dog's Dog Days workout program, was surprised with the unveiling of the bench at a Van Go dedication ceremony.

"I see these benches around town and I always think they look so neat and stop and check them out, so I came down about a year ago and said, 'I want to buy one of those,'" he said.

But Van Go, an arts-based social service agency for local at-risk youth, doesn't sell its benches to individuals, much less give them away to just anyone.

"A bench for an individual is a special situation," said Lynne Green, executive director of Van Go. "So it's a grass-roots Red Dog devotee effort to raise money; these benches are getting pretty pricey."

The benches are a trademark Van Go feature. Every year, youth in the agency's Jobs in the Arts Make Sense program create bright, custom-designed benches for area businesses that publicly display the work. The program has honored only two other individuals with benches: author Toni Morrison and poet Rita Dove.

Van Go chose Gardner to receive the bench because his is a local leader and youth advocate, which is in keeping with their mission, Green said. His Red Dog fans requested a bench to honor him in a special way, she said.

"I know that Red Dog cares a great deal about young people and so it's particularly cool that now he can be honored by young people, young artists themselves and an organization that shares his desire to improve young lives," said Sarah Smarsh, development director.

The artists, Cynthia Ortega, 21, and Andrew Padilla, 21, worked on the bench since December. The bench resembles many features of Gardner's life, including the Kansas University football field where many Lawrencians have sweated through his workouts, a Marine logo, Lawrence police badge and Gardner himself in a blue Red Dog Days T-shirt with a megaphone in hand.

Gardner says he plans to put the bench in front of his house.

Padilla said he's satisfied with their completed art project.

"There's a lot on there I didn't think I could paint, but Cathy (Ledeker, art director) got us through it," he said. "Van Go's been like a home to me."

Green said Van Go does plan to start selling benches after a more than $1 million renovation is complete to allow for expanding programming such as wood working.

The bench unveiling coincided with the agency's annual Have a Heart sale, which features ornate handmade valentines, trinket boxes, fabrics, jewelry and mosaic mirrors. All of the work is created by "artist apprentices" through JAMS. People can still purchase items until Valentine's Day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. every day.