The front lawn of the Starlite Diner on Bolshaya Sadovaya saw a curious sight last Thursday: a gathering of child artists, goofy clowns clad in rainbow colors, local and foreign philanthropists, and canvas upon canvas decorated with vibrantly upbeat acrylics and pastels.

The occasion was the third annual fundraising auction for Maria's Children, an organization that uses art as therapy to cheer up and improve the lives of often-neglected orphans.

The event was put on with the help of the evening's auctioneer, guest clown Stephen "Dyadya Styopa" Stearns, and a brigade of eager volunteers, led by Maria Yeliseyeva, the energetic founder of Maria's Children, who sported a characteristically sunny, red-orange frock.

The works up for auction were all created by students and graduates of Yeliseyeva's downtown art studio, through whose doors pass over 250 regular pupils from 10 orphanages on a weekly basis.

Yeliseyeva, an art teacher by training, joined forces in 1993 with Hunter "Patch" Adams, the clown doctor of Hollywood fame who travels the world cheering up sick children. Mixing art instruction with Adams' prescriptions of laughter and fun, she teamed up with other local and international volunteer clowns and artists.

Now, in addition to painting, drawing, ceramics, sewing, clowning, cooking, and music lessons, the orphans go on a boat ride down the Volga every summer. Adams, who has hosted auctions in the past, will be back in early November for his yearly visit to host the next auction.

Stearns, a U.S.-based professional clown and performer who directs the New England Youth Theater, co-directs an orphans' summer camp with Yeliseyeva.

Yeliseyeva began the program in 1993, when she and her friends began visiting orphanages to offer painting lessons. The movement took off from there, adding a touch of color to the lives of orphans, many of whom have been labeled mentally disabled by their institutions -- something that Yeliseyeva believes is more likely due to inadequate orphanage conditions than any proper evaluation of the children's capabilities.

Amid a flurry of last-minute consultations with the artists, clowns and guests, Yeliseyeva laid out her latest plans.

The projects in store hinted at the full range of the organization's activities and community impact. One artist aimed to raise money for the Art Cafe, an upcoming culinary enterprise that will not only raise money for more artwork by orphans, but also provide practical training for students forced to rapidly adjust to the outside world when they are released from orphanages at the age of 16.

Yevgeny Filonov / MT Guest clown Stephen Stearns and Maria Yeliseyeva smiling at the auction.

Others hoped to send their earnings to a hospice for children with cancer, to refugee children from Chechnya, and to fund studio renovations and supplies.

The evening was also dedicated to raising money to purchase a foreign-made artificial heart valve for Kostya Fuzhenkov, a 2-year-old boy who has a heart defect. Dedicated to Kostya's cause was a colorful pastel rendition of St. Basil's Cathedral flanked by soaring balloons that eventually fetched $600, with more being supplied for the cause by another donor later in the evening.

Ballroom scenes, trees decorated to look like clowns, and angels dotted the remaining works, several of which raised hundreds of dollars each. A highlight of the auction was a quilt, whose intricate array of animals, clowns, and designs was stitched by children to raise money for a lakeside summer art camp.

Another hot item was a piece of Yeliseyeva's studio itself: a bathroom door. Featuring a canine portrait on a swirling sky-blue background, the door was not actually for sale, but the chance to inscribe the bidder's name on it brought in $1,000.

By the end of the evening, the art works had brought in about $8,200, almost tripling the amount raised by last year's auction.

For more information about projects supported by Maria's Children, go to www.mariaschildren.ru.