Original paintings and drawings are propped up against bare walls. Pottery that didn't sell during the holidays is on display in the kitchen.

The items are for the Lost Art Sale, the quirky creation of an Henrico County housewife. A picture of a rooster, perfect for country décor, is used on a poster about the sale.

People shopping for art -- and perhaps a house -- might want to check it out.

The sale, set for Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is in two open houses in a new subdivision, Westhampton Glen, off Patterson Avenue in western Henrico County. Look for the open-house balloons in the subdivision near the Westhampton Memorial Park cemetery.

At this sale, art owners can sell forgotten pieces stored in attics. Artists might unload pieces that haven't sold at shows. And the home builder gets people coming through his houses -- and a possible sale.

"Anything that generates traffic into the subdivision is good," said the builder, Chas Davidson of Austin-Davidson Inc. in Richmond.

The art sale will be held in a 4,500-square-foot house listed for $804,950 and a 4,024-square-foot house listed for $734,950. Both have been on the market since fall.

"Sales have been a little slow in that price range," Davidson said.

Four houses are in the subdivision. One of Davidson's was featured in the Parade of Homes, a tour of homes by builders in the Richmond area. The two others are by W.B. Garrett Inc. in Richmond.

"It's like staging a house, only without paying for an expensive design," said Dana Trimmer, the agent holding the open houses coinciding with the art sale.

"Hopefully, someone will pick out art and pick out the wall [in the house] to display the art," she said. "It's been a tough market. This is something different, something creative."

Tyler Snidow came up with the idea for the Lost Art Sale when she moved about a year ago into a new house in Henrico.

"The artwork I had for years no longer fit my style," she said. "It was a new house, and I wanted art I love."

She had changed her décor from colonial to contemporary.

"I bet women everywhere have the most amazing things in their attics and basements," Snidow recalled saying to herself. "I couldn't let go of the thought."

She sent fliers to neighbors, asking if they were interested in bringing their forgotten art to her house for a sale.

"People came out of the woodwork. It shocked me. Then, artists got wind of it."

This week's Lost Art Sale is the second. About 60 artists will have their work on display.

Most pieces will sell for $5 to $450, although some are marked at more than $2,000.

"The mix of prices drives people wild," Snidow said. The most expensive paintings are by Leah Bradley, a traveling artist from Boulder, Colo.

"A 'Picasso' who sells his work for about $20,000 a piece contacted me about the show," Snidow said.

"This may not be right for you," she told him. "Do you not get this? We're like, housewives here.

"It's very casual. All the snobbery of an art gallery is stripped out. No black turtlenecks. It's down and dirty."

Rhonda Corley, who was setting up for the sale last week, placed a painting of a dancer over a fireplace mantel. "I have lots of pieces I need to move out," she said.

Corley, who has a studio and gallery at Crossroads Arts Center off Staples Mill Road in Henrico, works with acrylics, pastels and pen. Her drawings start at $125.

"It's not that the paintings aren't good," said artist Joan Osmalov of Midlothian, who brought paintings for the sale. "It's just that they may have been around awhile.

"This is a chance to let people enjoy them at a lower price than what they might have paid."

Her paintings, she said, are peaceful and spiritual. They start at $65.

Artists receive 60 percent of the proceeds, the same cut they would get if the pieces were sold at a gallery. Snidow pockets the difference. Owners of consignment pieces collect 50 percent of proceeds.

"I've been working on this since last May," Snidow said. "I hope people will come and fall in love with a piece. That is what art is all about." Contact Carol Hazard at (804) 775-8023 or chazard@timesdispatch.com.