Edited by Randi Bjornstad
Downtown Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk for Jan. 6
Guided Tour
Downtown Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk of the brand new year on Jan. 6 will begin the official guided tour at 5:30 p.m. at The Jazz Station at 124 W. Broadway, with the Lane Arts Council’s executive director, Liora Sponko, leading the pack.
The Jazz Station exhibit features art by Dhira Lawrence, who grew up in Hawaii, and her art reflects the natural beauty of the islands and her own spiritual upbringing in work that emphasizes her bond with the Earth in distinctive and bold images.
For those doing self-guided ArtWalk tours, The Jazz Station gallery will close at 7 p.m. Pianist Leo Bae will perform from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Celeste Schield Jacobi gives creatures such as bees humanlike qualities to encourage people to understand the dangers they face
Sponko will take the guided tour to gilt+gossamer at 873 Willamette St. at 6 p.m., where Celeste Schield Jacobi’s show, “Anthropomorphic,” is on display. Some of the insects and animals — especially bees — that she portrays are on the endangered species list for a variety of reasons, including habitat destruction, introduction of non-native or invasive species or natural disasters such as wildfires, storms and drought.
Jacobi imbues her creatures with personality in order to raise awareness of their plight. Her early art influences included the imagination in images by Disney and Salvador Dali’s unique surrealism. She later studied for two years at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, doing illustration and graphic design.
The ArtWalk will be the debut of Market of Choice’s new art bag, featuring the work of Abbas Darabi. For each bag purchased at gilt+gossamer during the ArtWalk, a donation will be given to the Lane Arts Council, which sponsors the monthly event.
Western artist Charles Damrow’s work is on display at InEugene Real Estate
At 6:30 p.m., the tour stops at InEugene Real Estate at 100 E. Broadway for the first-ever showing of a private collection of work by American cowboy artist Charles Damrow, who was born in 1916 and died in 1989. His work includes impressionistic and realistic oil landscapes as well as wildlife and his own ideas about the diminution of Native American cultures as the West became more populated and changed into ranches and farms.
Damrow grew up in Sheboygan, Wis., the youngest of 15 children, and worked as a cowboy and forester as well as an artist, running away at age 13 to find adventure and later serving as a paratrooper during World War II.
Next on the agenda at 7 p.m. is the Pacific Rim Art Guild on the lower level at 160 E. Broadway, where the Guild hosts a show called “Mix-It-Up Art” by 10 of its members, featuring the use of recycled materials or otherwise mixed-media art pieces. It includes a collaboration piece representing Lane County, consisting of two large horizontal canvases that include images of places familiar to Lane County residents.
The last stop on the official tour at 7:30 p.m. is Oregon Art Supply at 1020 Pearl St., with
Benjamin Terrell’s “Portrait of Hodges” is one of his paintings on exhibit at Oregon Art Supply
a show called “Water Sees Sky: Paintings by Benjamin Terrell that explores the relationship between sky and water inspired by his recent trip to Japan as well as his life on the McKenzie River.
Terrell grew up in Portland and Memphis and studied painting at The Art Institute of Chicago before moving to Eugene, where he purchased the CD/Game Exchange in addition to pursuing his art.
More arts and culture
As usual, many other galleries and businesses are open in downtown Eugene during the First Friday ArtWalk, including:
• Cowfish (62 W Broadway) — art by Matt Dye of Blunt Graffix.
• ECO Sleep Solutions and Gallery (25 E 8th Ave) —Felted wool home décor and apparel by Tylar Merrill; clay tile collages by Annie Heron; wall art by Mari Livie; whimsical hand painted wood and linen pieces and hand painted silk apparel by Lybi Thomas; stone carvings, wood sculptures and imaginative, fanciful masks by Cedar Caredio; and Luminessence light sculptures by Stephen White.
• Eugene Yoga (245 E Broadway) — Work in various media by Elaina LaBoda Jamieson, most recently paintings inspired by the photography of her friend Vincent Leandro and shown with his work at Western Oregon University.
• Goldworks Jewelry Art Studio (169 E Broadway) — Original jewelry by Goldworks staff members.
• Karin Clarke Gallery (760 Willamette St) — “Where Art Meets Science,” a collection of new assemblage works by Eugene artist Beverly Soasey; on view through Jan. 28.
“Beautiful Balance,” a show of work by Beverly Soasey, is part of a show at the Karin Clarke Gallery
• Maven Art Boutique (271 W 8th Ave) — Art by resident artist MARLIS, including oil paintings, prints, art blankets, and art printed on clothing as well as creations by various jewelers, local artists and designers.
• Mosaic Fair Trade Collection (28 E Broadway) Hand-made salvaged wood furniture and fair trade wine tasting.
• The New Zone Gallery (220 W 8th Ave) — “Trees and Mountains,” woodwork by furniture maker and designer Bob Burt, including pictures using an art form known as marquetry; art by Oregon Supported Living Program’s Perry Johnson in the Klausmeier Room; entertainment by guitarist Jerry Zybach.
• Out on a Limb Gallery (191 E Broadway) — “Flutter,” a show celebrating birds, by Kristie Potwora, emphasizing the need of human stewardship and protection.
• St Vincent de Paul (100 East 11th Ave) — Work by St Vincent’s resident artists, including designer and upcycling artist Mitra DeMirza Chester.
• Vistra Framing & Gallery (160 E Broadway) — “Cheers,” a collection of artwork by Diane Lewis, Patricia Carroll, Lynn Ihsen Peterson, and Sadie Smith whimsically depicting drinks and desserts.
• Watershed Arts at Fertilab (44 W 7th Ave) — “On The Wall,” works by University of Oregon master of fine arts candidates Andrew Douglas Campbell, Mandy Hampton, Sumer Kham, Ron Linn, Daniel Miller, Stephen Milner, and Alex Wurts, exploring how framed work does not necessarily need to be polite or tamed in order to engage with questions that artists face in a contemporary settings; show ends Feb. 25.
• White Lotus Gallery (767 Willamette St) — Prints and paintings from the gallery collection, through Jan. 7.
Special events
Several free events are on tap for January’s First Friday ArtWalk:
• Eugene Public Library (100 W 10th Ave) — Musical performance of traditional Hawaiian songs and Hula by Iron Mango Ukulele; starts at 6pm.
• Natural Burial Company Pop-Up Show (943 Olive Street) —First business in the United States to sell woven wicker coffins to the general public and a national leader in promoting biodegradable burial goods; exhibit includes natural coffins, artist-made urns and other “grave goods” in a temporary pop-up gallery.
• No Shame Eugene (99 W 10th Ave) —Live music at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m. with 15 original, five-minute-maximum acts such as monologue, sketch comedy, and texperimental; performers are first 15 acts to sign up.
First Friday ArtWalk sponsor: Lane Arts Council, lanearts.org/
