Neck-st up in Toledo…
On the first weekend of every month, Toledo takes the opportunity to celebrate their local arts community. First Weekend is an opportunity for artists and the general public to meet and have a look at what’s new within the town’s galleries and studios. Stop by all participating locations on Saturday and Sunday, May 7 and 8, for a weekend of art.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art
The museum will be opening “Sculpture and the Sea,” an invitational exhibit and sale with works from the Gibbons Trust Collection, the museum’s permanent collection, and local artists. Included in the exhibition are sculptures by Martin Eichinger, Nano Lopez, Janet Runger, Jill Perry Townsend, Paddi Moyer, Julian Morillo, Mark deGraffenreid and Michael Magrath. See their work and the works of many other prominent sculptors in this blockbuster exhibit. The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 151 NE Alder Street and will be open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to yaquinarivermuseumofart.org.
Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery
Across the street from the museum, Gallery Michael Gibbons will be featuring the plein air oil paintings of the late regional painter. On display is “A Path of Roses,” a verdant piece that Gibbons painted ala prima in the Portland Park Blocks on a warm summer day. The artist has chosen to show an empty path beside a life size bronze sculpture. It is almost as though one will travel with the mounted soldier together down the path of roses. The Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery is located at 140 NE Alder Street and is open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net
Ivan Kelly Studio Gallery
Just around the corner, at Ivan Kelly Studio and Gallery, the artist will be welcoming gallery-goers in person on Saturday. For 40 years, Kelly has painted the landscapes from the Canadian Rockies all the way to the high desert of New Mexico. Painted with energy and confidence, his paintings are alive — each one with a unique mood, light and authentic sense of place. Known for his coastal landscapes and big game paintings, Kelly encourages viewers to settle in the awe of true wilderness. Ivan Kelly Studio is located at 207 East Graham Street and is open on Saturday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to ivankelly.com.
Crow’s Nest Studio and Gallery
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Studio and Gallery will feature the works of 15 local and regional artists. Shown in the studio space are the glittering fused glass pieces by Alice Haga, who transforms pieces of glass into jewel-tone works of art that take on new and often organic forms from floral subjects to animal portraits.
“Every fused glass piece I make teaches me something new in my continual process of creating art,” she said.
Other featured artists at Crow’s Nest include founder and assemblage artist Janet Runger; Tish Epperson, watercolor; Val Bolen, tile and ceramic pieces; Paula Teplitz, sculptural jellyfish mobiles; Jeff Gibford, digitally manipulated photographs; Sylvia Hosie, photography; Yelizaveta Bhaktina, oil paintings; and Susan Jones, woven fiber jellyfish. Crow’s Nest Gallery and Studio is located at 305 N. Main Street and is open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.