Hang out at the coast
Yachats Banner Project raises the standard for local art
By Barbara B. Covell
For the TODAY
It’s promising to be a banner summer with long, warm, sunny days here on the Central Coast. Magnificent sunsets and wide, sandy beaches beckon tourists from the Valley and points north, south and east. Locals enjoy these same coastal delights.
The vibrant community of Yachats celebrates the beginning of summer with a new type of street art. Hanging on each of the town’s 18 streetlight poles are painted canvas banners that feature collective images of the community.
Now in its fifth year, the annual banner project is a labor of love for Michael Guerriero, artist and owner of the Touchstone Gallery. Guerriero developed the project as a way to feature area artists and the creativity of the Yachats community.
“There are 37 artists participating this year, each expressing their feelings about Yachats,” he said.
This year’s theme, “What’s Inside Gets Out in Yachats,” is essentially a stimulus for the artists’ designs.
“We’ve all been stuck inside during COVID,” Guerriero said. “This seemed to fit.”
Each artist is provided a canvas that Guerriero has primed with gesso, a binder for the paint. The artists paint on one side with acrylic which Guerriero will cover with a topcoat varnish. A selection of seven pastel colors is next painted on the back, followed by a silkscreen of the name “Yachats.”
Guerriero described the artist selection process as first come, first served, with preference given to artists who live within a 15-mile radius of Yachats.
“Polly Plumb Productions began promotions in early March and emails went out to former participating artists,” he said. “By the end of March, all the banner spots were reserved.”
The artists gathered with Guerriero at the Yachats Commons shelter to turn in their finished banners on May 27 and admired the colorful designs and styles of each other’s work.
Lucinda Cross, a Eugene artist who moved to Yachats last summer, was excited to participate with veteran artists Carol Summers, Lee Haynes and Jude Toler.
“I moved to Yachats during the height of the pandemic,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve been involved in a project like this.”
Guerriero described the process of putting each banner up.
“I arrange the banners, two for each streetlight pole, lining up the colors to alternate and the banners to face opposite directions,” he said. “Each 14-foot-high streetlight pole has a bar and clip to fasten the banners. Then they are delivered to Dave, in the city’s maintenance, who uses a lift truck to install them on the poles.”
The banners will fly until Labor Day, then will be auctioned at a Yachats Commons reception on October 2, honoring each participating artist. The proceeds from the sale are used to support Waldport High School’s art program and other art projects in the community.
Guerriero says that high winds and storms can have an impact on the banners and they might require some repair work when they are taken down.
Guerriero explained why he has donated so much time on this project for five years. “This project gives me an opportunity to employ various skills in communication, to be involved in art organizing, and to meet the challenges needed to make a set of durable canvas banners,” he said. “I enjoy meeting the artists who are willing to volunteer their talents for the fun of it, and it is a pleasure working with Polly Plumb Productions, who support the effort. Yachats stands out with an interesting mix of people willing to volunteer for the greater good of the community. There is a joy and appreciation shown to the arts. I look forward to post-pandemic times when music once again brings us together.”
For more information on the Yachats Banner Project or Polly Plumb Productions, go to www.pollyplumb.org.