To paraphrase the poet, Florence is a country of old persons with young ideas. Mature artistic skills continuously renew and refresh themselves and blossom in myriad media and constellations, like baby's breath in springtime. Creating art is a solitary process, but artists love to share their work, and Florence has dozens of galleries and venues eager to show that work.
While every day is a celebration of art, GALA - the local Gallery Association of Learning and Art - has established an Art Walk one day every month, the second Saturday, for a super celebration. Everyone is invited to the art party, and there's no charge and plenty of treats. Of course everyone is invited to purchase art, and many do, but there is no obligation. It is the harmonious interaction among artists and appreciators that is paramount.
The August 14 art party was an explosion of joy. The Art Walk alternates with a walking tour of Old Town galleries one month followed by a bus tour of uptown galleries the next. On Aug 14 the Art Walk was a ride. Everyone climbed aboard the shuttle bus, provided by congenial drivers Lynn and Carol Unser. In fact the bus was jam-packed for the entire two-hour tour. Art walkers who couldn't get a seat followed along in their cars. Perhaps two shuttles will be necessary next time, or a larger bus! The bus was filled with a jolly crew of locals, visitors, and artists. In fact, many of the artists featured on the tour or celebrating at gallery receptions not on the tour joined the art walk, lending special credence to the event.
Trail boss was local arts aficionado Pat Romanov, who recalled her recent sojourn in Montana, Wyoming or Wyoming Montana where she has been awakened by cowboys herding cattle. She felt like those hombres as she herded art walkers from gallery to bus to gallery to bus. Next time she'll wear a Stetson and blow a whistle! Pat recently received accolades for her direction of Steel Magnolias at the FEC; she plans another play next Valentine's Day at a different local venue that will knock your socks off.
Prior to the start of Saturday's Art Walk, The River Gallery held a reception for photog Ron Moore of Central Point and Florence potter Howard Shapiro, whose whimsical creations started life as pots. Ron offered guests a tiny card reprinting a photo of a ship, to sail into your dreams, he said.
The Art Walk bus sailed into Technicolor, three-dimensional dreams, with Howard and his potter wife Ali on Board.
More extraordinary photography fills Frames of Florence which is featuring the PhotoZone Gallery Group Show. Florentine photog Charles Draper is included in the Eugene-based group, and one of his works is especially mesmerizing - Sparks Lake, a bright, reflective scene in the shadow of a blown volcano, taken in the Cascades near Bend. You would swear the photo was a painting! In a sense, it is; it crosses the line between photography and painting as Chuck is a master of digital enhancement.
Next stop on the Art Ride proved to be a real surprise. Florence art has found a safe harbor at Safe Harbor real estate store. Sybil and her realtors had the day off, and the office became a gallery filled with large and small oil paintings and pen and ink and pencil drawings by Jackie Suppi-Mochol. Eagles, landscapes and florals burst from the canvases, including a series of flowers inspired by the great Georgia O'Keefe.
Homage was also paid to Georgia with some tongue in cheekness by art saboteur Marilyn Durst at The Gallery Above the Silver Lining. Marilyn's poem described Georgia's flowers and skulls, accompanied by Marilyn's skull-and-kitten collage, and an actual beefy skull and blossoms.
The five art saboteurs offer a delightful, offbeat show of diverse artwork, including Marilyn's Bugs Bunny movie panel and Leo Ellingson's Ravens quothing Nevermore.
But we we're getting ahead of the bus. Third stop on the tour was the delicious Oregon Coast Bakery featuring detailed and colorful watercolors by affable Warren Davidson. While all the galleries also offered exciting edibles and bubbly beverages, the bakery's bounty was blissful. Five-star culinary artists served boats made of basil leaves filled with sundried tomatoes, walnuts, and dill cheese, as well as salmon slices on cheese, and chocolate savories.
Reluctantly, it was time to go, but palate pleasures soon became palette pleasures at the library with visual treats by Bernie Herr, Beryl Adams, and Irene Young. Bernie forever experiments with technique, but his color sense remains kaleidoscopic. Beryl's comic characters are on high on the social strata, and her new seascape sends us sailing. Irene rocks with rhythms, and her Hydrangea horticulture is a highlight of pixilated pointillism. The trio opens a four day show and sale in the library's Bromley Room on Aug 19.
Finally, after enjoying those saboteurs, the bus rolled into the FEC parking lot, and art riders disembarked to enter the gallery which features an excellent photo show by Florence's Josh Greene. Josh's photos and those of his late father, Milton, fill the wall, along with before and after illustrations of Josh's sophisticated technological restoration process. Milton had a special affinity for capturing the particular nuances of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, and Cary Grant, where some of us lingered like a glass champagne, wishing our names were Judy. The FEC display case features funkalusciouos pottery by Ceci Lindo crackling with funkaliscious glazes.
While the August Art Walk is one for the memory books, all the art remains on display. Relive the glorious grandeur or sail to Byzantium for yourself and experience the splendor of the Florence art scene.
- Burney Garelick
© 2005 All Rights Reserved. Burney Garelick, The Siuslaw News, Florence, Oregon.
This article may not be reprinted or linked to without permission from the writer, Burney Garelick, and The Siuslaw News.