For five years, the two Goddard School locations in the Redmond area have held art auctions featuring students’ artwork, with proceeds going to a good cause.

This year’s annual auction was held on April 22 and the beneficiary was Ben’s Fund, an organization founded by Seahawks general manager John Schneider and his wife Traci that provides families with financial assistance for services specifically related to autism spectrum disorder treatments.

Abby Yokers, co-owner of the Goddard School located in unincorporated King County near Redmond, said the art auctions are part of a market-wide effort that includes the Goddard School locations in Issaquah, Bellevue and Snohomish. The other Redmond-area location is on Redmond Ridge.

She said each school does its auction differently.

“The art is extremely different,” she said about the different schools.

Yokers said the auction began seven years ago in Snohomish and the remaining locations joined in five years ago. Since its inception, the auction initiative as a whole has collected more than $80,000 for charity. This year’s goal was to bring in another $25,000 among the five area schools’ auctions (the amount last year’s auctions netted).

As of Thursday, Yokers said her school has raised $4,192, with donations still coming in and the Redmond Ridge location is at $4,200. Market wide, she said they have raised $15, 029 so far, with donations still coming in and two locations still holding their events.

For the auction, each classroom — which are divided by age groups ranging from infants to preschool aged — creates a large master piece based on a specific artist and piece of art. The students also create individual pieces that emulate the artwork in question. The pieces are mounted and put on display throughout the school, with the large pieces in the gym, which was set up like an art gallery. All of the pieces, individual and master pieces, are given certificates of authenticity to further create that gallery feel, Yokers said.

This year, she said her school had nine master pieces and about 180 individual works.

“The pieces they created were amazing — we loved how each class focused on a different artist,” said parent Dana Harder, whose 4-year-old son attends the Goddard School just outside of Redmond. “It was great to walk through the school and see all of the artwork. The kids were all so excited about their work and to see what the other classes did. It made it even more exciting for the parents.”

The large master pieces go up for silent auction that parents can bid on throughout the day, and over the years, Yokers said these pieces have brought in anywhere from $75 to upwards of $1,000. With the smaller works, Yokers said parents must purchase their child’s — and only their child’s — individual piece if they want to take it home. Those pieces are a minimum $20 donation.

“It’s really amazing to see just how creative (the students) can be,” Yokers said.

Harder said the auction was a blast and that parents from all of the classes got into it. She first learned about the auction from an email communication from the school to help create excitement around it. Her son was also getting excited about the project and the artwork he was creating, she said.

“We were lucky enough to win the bid for my son’s class and the picture is proudly displayed above the fireplace,” she said. “Our very own Georgia O’Keeffe created in the style of preschoolers. And all of the money went to such a great cause!”

Yokers said the artists and pieces the classes focus on can be either current or past.

“We get everything across the board,” Yokers said.

She said the pieces range from canvas paintings to furniture to sculptures, adding that the teachers pick the artist and artwork.

“We don’t limit it down to just painting,” said Lisbet Vieyra, who teaches the preschool group at Yokers’ school.

Over the years, some of the artists Vieyra has focused on in her class include Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Last year, Vieyra focused on a local photographer, which led her students to do their own photography for the project. This year’s artist was Damien Hirst.

The project is incorporated into the class’s curriculum as a whole unit, with teachers going over the artists as well as their different techniques. Yokers said everything is broken down piece by piece so students learn one concept or technique at a time. Teachers began discussing and teaching this unit as early as February, she said.

When the students create their pieces, the work is all their own, Vieyra said. Teachers will help, she said, but they break things down into small steps for the children.

“We make it exciting for them,” Vieyra said, adding that one of her favorite things about the unit is seeing her students enjoying doing art.