"My daughter and her husband, who just graduated from U. of U. medical school, did an infectious disease rotation there," Pearson said. "A woman there, whose husband is the head doctor there, she takes care of the children, many of whom are dying of AIDS. This is the first time many of these children have even had a warm bath."

Bids and donations will be accepted through the end of the month.

To do things like this — to be able to paint, work with and show other artists, contribute to their community, locally and globally — is something of a dream for Pearson and Dunford.

"Our goal was to be happy and earn a living," Pearson laughed. "But now, it's kind of like there's a family of people that's evolved from it. There are people who come in once a week, some who come in once a month. And the art is way better than I expected. It's . . . shockingly satisfying. Every day I wake up with a smile, because it's kind of a dream come true. It is marvelous and amazing."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com