MONUMENT • As part of the inaugural Monument Art Hop of the season, metal sculptor and artist Jodie Bliss is hosting a fundraiser to help blacksmiths supporting the war effort in Ukraine.

This week kicks off the fun town tradition of Art Hop, held on the third Thursday evenings of the month, from 5 to 8 p.m., at various downtown Monument businesses from May to September. It is the brainchild of the Downtown Monument Business Association.

At Bliss Studio Custom Metalwork, 243 Washington St., the owner/artist will be selling hand-forged sunflowers, prints of a painting she made featuring sunflowers, and other items, with proceeds going “directly into the hands of these brave blacksmiths and metal fabricators in Ukraine who have chosen to stay and fight for their country by making much needed things for the resistance,” she wrote in an email to The Tribune.

Kathi Schuler from The Love Shop and other Monument merchants involved in a recent “No Boys Allowed” event have donated $500 for the fundraiser.

“Although I will be officially kicking the fundraiser off at the Art Hop, when I told Kathi about it she was moved to donate $500 on behalf of the NBA Tour, an event which is spearheaded by the Love Shop in Monument,” Bliss wrote. “I was able to send the funds via PayPal the same day.”

Bliss said her contacts in Ukraine intended to use that money to buy metal sheets to make items used in their fight.

“Some of the things they have been making are hedgehog anti-tank units, periscopes, knives, demining crampons, cookstoves for cooking with little to no smoke on the front lines, water tankers for hauling water to the front lines, and body armour for bulletproof vests. These amazing passionate blacksmiths are spending 12-16 hours a day making everything that they can and giving it to whoever needs it, trying desperately to fill the needs,” Bliss wrote.

She said it is “so meaningful to be able to help in some way, so directly, getting much needed funding into the hands of these amazing people.”

Bliss chose to create art of sunflowers because the sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine.