Holiday Promise at First Weekend
As winter beckons, the town of Toledo lights up with holiday spirit. From holiday lights to evergreens, the mill town sparkles with color along its streets. So too, does the arts community celebrate the changing of the season with the First Weekend celebration, taking place this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art will present “Promise,” an annual Christmas show featuring antique and modern art items from Latin America and Europe, selected from the collection of museum founder Judy Gibbons.
At 1:30 pm on Saturday, Gibbons will give a talk about her collection of Latin American art that she curated while living in Colombia.
Also on Saturday, Rev. Pauline Morrison, Deacon in the Episcopal Church, will give a talk about the icon “The Venerable Lady of Korsun,” crafted by Sherry Lynch of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
The museum, located at 151 NE Alder Street, will be open from noon to 4 pm on both days of First Weekend. For more information, go to yaquinarivermuseumofart.org.
Meanwhile, Gallery Michael Gibbons will showcase the fine plein air art work of the late Michael Gibbons, including “Sun on the Face,” a piece painted on location at Klahhane Ridge in Washington’s Olympic National Park in 1997. Gibbons’ iconic depiction of nature in the Pacific Northwest captures the wild movement of branches on the wind, and the clarity of the cold blue sky.
Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery is located at 140 NE Alder Street and open from noon to 4 pm during First Weekend. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net or call 541-336-2797.
Just up the street, new coastal oils by artist Ivan Kelly will be on display, including “Unyielding” a 12x16” oil painting depicting roaring waves crashing upon the stoic coastline. Winter at Yaquina Head is an opportunity to view close up the power of a Pacific storm. Rocks are pummeled relentlessly with the force of a freight train, but still they stand, unyielding in the face of nature’s fury.
Located at 207 East Graham Street, Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery will be open from 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday and 1 to 4 pm on Sunday. For more information, go to www.IvanKelly.com or call 541-336-1124.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio features the works of more than 15 artists in a variety of mediums. Carol Connett’s work is a portal into a surrealistic world, entrancing audiences to see the magic of the universe. See her work in the gallery alongside pieces by founder Janet Runger, assemblage art; Alice Haga, fused glass; Sylvia Hosie, photography; Paula Teplitz, sculptural jellyfish mobiles; Jeff Gibford, digitally manipulated photographs; Veta Bakhtina, oil painting; Tish Epperson, watercolorist; Val Bolen, ceramics; and Susan Jones, woven fiber jellyfish. Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio is located at 305 N. Main Street, open from 10 am to 5 pm both days.