Zak Wood / Colorado Daily

Drew Witham puts a fresh coat of paint on a pedestal in preparation for the Seventh-Annual Art Auction that will be held Saturday at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.

Saturday evening, the walls of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art will be lined with attractive pieces of fine art, fashion, furniture and jewelry -- all primed to occupy the walls of Boulder apartments and houses.

BMoCA is hosting its Seventh-Annual Art Auction at 7 p.m. Saturday. The highest bidders can take home the pieces, as well as dining and travel packages in a live and silent auction.

"We're really focusing on art and design because we want to provide many new things for people," says Joan Markowitz, co-director and senior curator for the museum. "Design is so much a part of the art world right now, it just seemed an appropriate fit."

The art ranges from pieces created solely for the auction to donated works by artists across the nation.

"The artists have been incredibly generous," Markowitz says. "We have been overwhelmed by the response."

Many of the fine art pieces originate from BMoCA's 2007 exhibit, "Weather Report: Art and Climate Change." The exhibit melded the art and science communities in creating images reflective of climate change.

"The citywide show attracted a lot of attention," Markowitz says. "A number of those artists are contributing pieces -- and they are quite renowned, internationally."

Two notable local pieces available at the auction include Rebecca DiDomenico's stunning piece of a fish-to-bird morph, "hummingfish," diving from vibrant blue waters into the ominous sky; and CU grad Regan Rosburg's use of an insect within layers of resin in her "Above Us, Only Sky" piece.

The eye-opening photograph of human consumption and everyday refuse from "In Katrina's Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster," by Seattle's Chris Jordan, which depicts the cost of the hurricane on a consumer scale, will also be up for bid.

Works by renowned glass sculptor Dale Chihuly -- the artist who created the lobby ceiling art at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas -- also will be available.

Other pieces include: A beautifully hand-painted cabinet Markowitz calls "art with function" titled "Mercado" by New York's Rafael Ferrer; a glass bowl from Boulder's Art & Soul Gallery; a curious-looking ceramic fish; a large, felt bag with vivid flowers; and a piece by CU grad and Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design professor Martha Russo.

"A lot of thought went into this," Markowitz says. "We wanted to have something that seemed appropriate for the times, for the museum and for the Boulder audience."

Guest architects from the region built custom-made birdhouses, some made of colorful plastic, some of metal, some of wood.

Penny Barnow, co-director and senior administrator, says there will be various travel packages for bid, such as a four-day tour in Sonoma, Calif., through various wineries.

"There's a tremendous interest in the arts in Boulder," Markowitz says. "There is a very active art community here and a very creative art community here. And we're just thrilled to be a part of it."