Quit dragon my art around

Spend even a moment in the mill town of Toledo and it becomes obvious why it is regarded as the place where art and industry meet. The twin pursuits weave together throughout town in the form of mural installations, galleries and public sculptures set against vistas of the paper mill, train cars and local shipyards. 

During the first weekend of every month, Toledo celebrates its art community with First Weekend, an opportunity for galleries and studios to open their doors and connect local artisans to the public. 

This month’s First Weekend, will run from Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5 and 6.

At 1:30 pm on Saturday, First Weekend guests can attend the official presentation of a Main Street mural featuring nationally recognized regional artist Michael Gibbons. The mural, painted by well-known muralist Casey McEneny, a friend and mentee of Gibbons, features the artist painting along the banks of the Yaquina River.

Gibbons was a long time Toledo resident and local civic leader in the community for more than three decades, finding constant inspiration from the town’s history and setting amid the naturally beautiful Yaquina River Watershed. 

“My most powerful work comes from here where I live,” Gibbons said, “it is in the sacred land that I have found my voice. It continues to speak through my paintings.” 

The presentation on Main Street includes short remarks by Toledo Mayor Rod Cross, Representative David Gomberg, Bud Shoemake from the Port of Toledo (now retired), Catherine Rickbone from the Oregon Coast Council of the Arts (now retired), artist Marion Moir, muralist Casey McEneny, and Judy Gibbons, the widow of Michael Gibbons. Performing live music is Mike O’Donnell, playing Oregon folk music. After the presentation, the party will continue on at the Museum’s School House Exhibit Space with Mike O’Donnell performing on the porch. All are invited to attend and enjoy free cake and champagne in celebration of the mural’s final unveiling. 

Meanwhile, the Yaquina Museum of Art will be displaying the final month of its exhibition “The Majors,” including three original works by Michael Gibbons. Prints of his work will also be available in the museum’s gift shop, where all proceeds go to supporting the museum’s mission to promote the arts in the Yaquina region. The Schoolhouse Exhibit Space is located at 151 NE Alder Street, and is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, please visit yaquinarivermuseumofart.org.

Across the street is the Signature Gallery of Michael Gibbons, featuring original works of art by the late artist. On display is “Prelude to Spring,” a painting depicting the last of winter’s influence with the bare branches of the brush along the Yaquina river bank with the first beginnings of spring with the recent blooms of the distinctive cherry trees of Toledo. “Prelude to Spring” is a representation of Gibbons’ ability to capture the threshold between worlds — the transition from winter to spring, the influence of industrialization alongside the prevalence of wild nature, show the dialogue the late artist continued to explore with the elements of the environment he drew inspiration from. “Prelude to Spring” is part of Gibbons’ “My Oregon Series” created by the artist to focus on sites of special interest to him. Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery is located at 140 NE Alder Street, open noon to 4 pm through First Weekend. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net.

ART Toledo will be featuring artists Daniel Toledo and Kim Bush at its phantom gallery, located at 355 N Main Street. Toledo is an accomplished exotic wildlife painter as well as sculptor and jeweler. 

“My artistic works are the result of over four decades worth of devoted study, learning every anatomical facet of the subject wildlife” he said. “My dedication to originality and an uncompromising ideal has resulted in these highly valued creations, expressive products of imagination to be collected now and preserved for future generations." 

Just down the street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio features the works of more than 15 artists in a variety of different mediums, including pieces by Carol Connett, a recent addition to the collective. Connett’s surrealist works of art are vivid and primordial, capturing the viewer with the many details and brushstrokes in Carol’s paintings. Pairing fiber art with acrylic canvas, Connett combines layers of texture, adding dimensionality to her worlds. Connett’s exploration of the natural world and humanities impact upon it gives a reflective tone to the visual storytelling of her pieces. 

“I enjoy creating possible realities, working from my own personal mythology” she said. “I create worlds, morphing creatures, and the rules of nature.  Cooperation between species is a reoccurring theme; no animal or spirit is forced to work with humans.” 

See her work in the gallery alongside pieces by gallery founder Janet Runger, found art assemblage; Veta Bakhtina, storybook oils; Alice Haga, fused glass; Sylvia Hosie, photography; Paula Teplitz, sculptural jellyfish mobiles; Jeff Gibford, digitally manipulated photographs; Tish Epperson, watercolors; 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.