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About Oregon Coast today. (Lincoln City, OR) 2005-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2019)
20-20 VISIONS Book sm-art Former art teacher and accomplished illustrator MerryAnn Blanchard is Beachstone Gallery’s featured artist for the month of January. A graduate from Whitworth College in Spokane Washington with a double major in Art and English and a teaching degree certificate, Blanchard taught high school art in Madras, Oregon and English in Salem. She also taught art at Chemeketa College in Salem and started an art school in Monmouth. She now lives in Lincoln City with her husband, also an artist. Blanchard has illustrated books throughout her career and has recently become a regular at Arlon Gilliland’s Thursday open studio at the Artists’ Studio Association’s classroom in the Beachstone Gallery. The Gallery is located at 620 NE Hwy 101 in Lincoln City. Parking is available at the rear of the building. Sometimes serving as mayor can seem like a pretty dull job, but at least once a year things get colorful for these public servants when Lincoln County mayors get to look at work made by local artists, and honor some of them by selecting them for a special annual show the Newport Visual Arts Center. A First Saturday opening reception on Saturday, Jan. 4 from 2 to 5 pm, with a speaking presentation at 3 pm, will help introduce the eleven artists chosen for this 2020 Mayor’s Show, which will continue through Sunday, Jan. 26 in the Runyan Gallery. The artists were selected from 120 Lincoln County artists who participated in the 2019 PushPin Show in December. Final selections were made in consultation with Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer, Yachats Mayor John Moore and OCCA VAC Director Tom Webb. The featured artists include Linda Aguirre (miniature dioramas), Haley Dean (watercolor still lifes), Denise DeMarie (fibre wall sculptures), Graece Gabriel (photography), Sallie Inman (acrylic on wood panels), Susan Jones (woven reed sculptures), Herb Kateley (photography), Bill Posner (photography), Ben Soeby (mixed media on wood), Emy Syrop (gouache and acrylic on paper and canvas) and Jeff Syrop (watercolor and gouache on paper). “Being selected for the Mayors’ Show highlights the VAC’s ability to inspire artists,” says Jeff Syrop. “The inclusiveness of the PushPin Show really jump-starts artists’ creativity and the Mayors’ Show is an extension of that energy. It’s definitely an honor to be included.” The 2020 exhibition marks the fifth year for The Mayors’ Show at the VAC. The project was started in 2016 by former Newport Mayor Sandra Roumagoux and the Oregon Council for the Arts. The exhibit’s intent is to give more exposure to participating PushPin Show artists and This display will turn your head The Oregon Coast Council for the Arts presents “Turning,” an exhibit of acrylic and ink paintings on paper and plywood and wood sculptures by Seal Rock based artist Helen Nighthawk. A First Saturday opening reception will be held Saturday, Jan. 4 from 2 to 5 pm, with an artist’s talk at 4 pm. The exhibit will continue until Saturday, Feb. 1 in the Upstairs Gallery at the Newport Visual Arts Center. A visual artist and poet, Helen Nighthawk has been painting in the fine arts tradition for over 50 years. Since moving to South Lincoln County 13 years ago she has been involved with the Nye Beach Banner Project and has been a featured artist at libraries around the county. Nighthawk’s past creative professional roles included working as a scenic artist for 14 • oregoncoastTODAY.com • facebook.com/oregoncoasttoday • January 3, 2020 numerous films, television shows and public and private productions throughout Seattle. Her credits include collaborating with directors David Lynch and Robert Altman. “You can see this scenic work in my painting approach,” Nighthawk said. “Though our average canvas size there was 60’ by 40’.” Nighthawk also created large figurative carvings done on ancient planks and found beams in old Seattle circa the 1990s. Two of Nighthawk’s sculptures are at the Monarch Arts Center in Tenino, WA and in private collections around the Pacific Northwest. The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 NW Beach Drive. The Upstairs Gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday from noon to 4 pm. For more information call 541-265- 6569 or email twebb@coastarts.org. artsy to build connections between municipal employees and elected officials with the arts community. “The talent in our local arts community is amazing and gets better with every new PushPin Show,” says Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer. selected artist Susan Jones saw the Mayors’ Show last winter and considered the possibility of being selected for a future year. “That singular thought strengthened my commitment to art and inspired the choices I made while weaving my sculptures over the past year,” she said. “I am excited and encouraged to be honored in this way by my community. We are fortunate to have this kind of support.” The Runyan Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. For more information call 541-265-6569 or email twebb@coastarts.org.
