Leaf some room for art
Fall in love with Toledo during September’s First Weekend
Though summer fades, the colors in Toledo will be as bright as ever this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 6 and 7, as galleries and studios open their doors for First Weekend.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art will be continuing "Tribal Warriors," its exhibition of selected Native American works by Joseph D. Calhoun. This collection of 12 oil paintings, predominately striking portraits, reflects the turn of the century in the West.
Born in 1905, Calhoun grew up in the Oklahoma Territory and was drawn to the Native American culture that surrounded him. Riding horses, hunting, and herding cattle throughout his youth, he also cultivated a love of art through his Native American mother, an artist herself. Self-taught, he based his work on the photogravures of Edward S. Curtis, who was working with tribes across the western United States.
Calhoun moved to Oregon in 1937, logging on the coast and painting the Native American populations. His work was featured in galleries, shows and exhibitions throughout the South, Mid-West and Western States. He lived in Toledo through the 1990s until his death in 1996.
Calhoun’s work features sepias, ochres, and umbers, the colors of nature and the photogravures of his reference library, a palette predominantly shown in Edward S. Curtis' book, "The North American Indian."
During First Weekend, the museum will host two screenings of the documentary "Coming to Light: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indians," each followed by a discussion on the impact of Curtis’ work on Native American communities. "Coming to Light" will be shown at 2 pm on Saturday, Aug. 6, and Sunday, Aug. 7.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 151 NE Alder Street and will be open from noon to 4 pm. both days. For more information, go to yaquinarivermuseumofart.com.
Across the street, Michael Gibbons' Signature Gallery will be showcasing the seasonal favorite "A Pumpkin Patch.” The late artist painted this work en plein air in the Connecticut countryside in the fall of 1997. Gibbons traveled to Mystic, Connecticut, four times between 1994 and 2011 when he was a featured artist in the Mystic Annual International Marine Art Exhibition and Sale. During his stay in for the exhibition in '97 he set out to explore the local environs where he came across the picturesque seasonal vignette featuring the ripening pumpkin patch with a New England cottage nestled into the woods.
See this work and other originals at Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery, located at 140 NE Alder Street, open from noon to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net.
Just around the corner, the Ivan Kelly Studio and Gallery will be featuring “Horned Puffins,” a foggy, coastal painting of the iconic shorebirds that demonstrates Kelly's ability to capture a moment in nature. The Ivan Kelly Studio and Gallery is located at 207 E Graham Street and is open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to ivankelly.com.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio will feature the works of more than 15 artists. The gallery-space run by assemblage artist Janet Runger, who features her storybook sculptures and can often be found working on her newest creations in her workshop within the gallery. Also shown in Crow's Nest are the works of Alice Haga, fused glass; Paula Teplitz, sculptural jellyfish mobiles; Jeff Gibford, digitally manipulated photographs; Veta Bakhtina, oil paintings; Sylvia Hosie, wildlife photography; Val Bolen, ceramics and glass mosaics; Tish Epperson, watercolors; and Susan Jones, woven fiber jellyfish. Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio is located at 305 N. Main Street and will be open from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday.