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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2016)
ART HUB THE DYNAMIC NONPROFIT ASTORIA VISUAL ARTS HAS A GROWING LIST OF PROJECTS TO ENHANCE THE ARTS IN ASTORIA A Story by DWIGHT CASWELL Astoria is undergoing a renaissance, with a new cultural and economic vitality that is attracting peo- ple to Astoria as both visitors and residents. At the heart of this revival is the arts, and the organization that is doing the most to raise awareness of the arts is Astoria Visual Arts. AVA was founded in , a nonpro¿ t intended to “enhance, strengthen and promote the arts in great- er Astoria area.” Since then it has had its ups and downs, and for si[ years focused on ¿ ber arts, with a group worNing under AVA¶s nonpro¿ t umbrella. 7he Astoria )iber Arts Studio is now its own nonpro¿ t, and a new activist AVA Board of Directors has turned the organization into the most dynamic and creative arts group in the area. AVA now has a growing list of projects, from the Miss Bea Johnson Fund for Young Artists (founded by local artists 1oel and 3at 7homas, which seeNs to promote ¿ ne arts among young people, to a partner- ship with Recology Western Oregon, the folks who 12 | March 24, 2016 | coastweekend.com Photo by Dwight Caswell Astoria Visual Arts’ board of directors includes Astoria artist Darren Orange, left, and Ray Merritt, who has served several terms as president of the board. Photo by Dwight Caswell During her AVA a-i-r residency, which started Jan. 1 and runs to March 30, Annie Eskelin has created a body of paintings and started thinking of herself as a professional artist. collect your trash and recycling, which will support the creation of art from recycled and discarded ma- terials. Perhaps the most visible AVA undertaking is the successful artist-in-residence program (AVA a-i-r, which provides free studio space to emerging artists, with plans to do the same for writers. Participants open their studios to the public during Astoria’s monthly Second Saturday Art Walk. “A-i-r is about ¿ nding emerging artists and giving them con¿ dence and motivation,” says painter and AVA board member Darren Orange, who serves on the AVA a-i-r selection committee. 7his has certainly worked with one of the current artists-in-residence, Annie Eskelin. She had painted in group studios at college and an art collective, but never had a studio of her own, until the AVA a-i-r program. “It’s been unbelievable. I’m taking myself more seriously, creating a body of work, and thinking of myself as a professional,” she says about the a-i-r program. “And my studio is right next to Darren Or- ange and Robert Paulmenn, who actually do it.” Eskelin is interested in getting into a local gal- lery and is impressed by the “tough competition” in Astoria. She says of her work, “I paint intuitively. I start painting and see what happens. I discover things about myself.” Blaine Verley is another local artist who has ben- e¿ ted from the a-i-r program. Verley shows his work at Luminari Arts and WineKraft Wine Bar, and he’s been painting for over 40 years. “A long time, man,” he says. “I always knew it was what I wanted to do, but things got in the way.” Now his art is getting a boost. “I saw the words ‘free studio.’ I’ve never had a studio of my own, and I thought it would be fun.” His a-i-r space is above the Edison Bros Fish Co., on the 11th Street Pier and, says Verley, “I love the water, man.” None of the artists-in-residence have come from any great distance, although applications have come from as far away as Estonia. AVA would like to ex- tend the program to distant artists, but funding for housing continues to be a challenge. 7he latest major AVA project is the Coastal Ore- gon Artist Residency, the partnership with Recology Western Oregon. In a few weeks, AVA will issue a call for artists to apply for the residency, which will take place over the summer. Artists will receive a mod- est stipend and 400 square feet of space at Recology Western Oregon’s Warrenton of¿ ce near the Astoria Regional Airport in which to assemble their art. Orange observes that Recology became involved in the project, “to support and promote the local arts community, and educate the public about resource conservation, recycling, reuse and repurposing mate- rials otherwise destined for land¿ ll disposal.” 7he project with Recology Western Oregon il- lustrates how AVA likes to partner and collaborate with other people and groups. “We facilitate projects that other people would like to do,” says AVA board member Ray Merritt. “7here’s not much money, but we can use our history in the community and our nonpro¿ t status.” Another of these projects is a partnership with the Clatsop County Heritage Museum: an exhibition of Photo by Joshua Bessex Blaine Verley stands by one of his paintings in his Astoria waterfront studio space. an Astoria artist’s work that spans 60 years. Arvi Os- trom owned the Snug Harbor Beer Parlor in Union- town from 1934 to 1970, and when he wasn’t serving beer he must have spent every minute painting be- cause he produced more than 10,000 works. His art often had a nautical theme and featured the people, boats and buildings of Astoria. Currently being cata- logued and conserved in Seattle, the plan is to bring some of the art back to Astoria. “It’s folk art,” Orange says, “illustrative, impres- sionistic and well-crafted nuggets of Astoria history.” AVA is also in the midst of other undertakings. 7he organization is doing its best to resurrect the Luna Phaser, a large sculpture by Jim Fink that would track the relationship of the tide and the moon. First proposed over a decade ago, the Luna Phaser is envi- sioned as the ¿ rst of many public artworks exhibited along the Astoria Riverwalk. AVA is also partnering with the Obon Society in a Japanese-American project that seeks to heal fami- lies through exhibiting and returning personal artifacts taken as battle¿ eld souvenirs during World War II. Nearly 800 people participate in AVA online sites, which include a Facebook page, a Facebook bulletin board called “Art in Astoria,” an Artists Registry for visual artists, and a Creatives Directory for perform- ing artists, galleries, patrons and anyone else inter- ested in the arts. 7he latest AVA vision statement says the orga- nization seeks, “to support artists; encourage artis- tic opportunity and diversity; and serve the Greater Astoria area as an artistic hub of cooperation, edu- cation and information-sharing.” Among the goals Astoria Visual Arts hopes to achieve are a national a-i-r program, a bi-monthly artists’ salon, a speaker series, workshops, a city-wide art fair, and increased advocacy for the arts. Achieving such ambitious goals may seem an im- possible task, but consider all that has been accom- plished in a short time. Nobody can predict the future of the arts in Astoria, but judging by the commitment and creativity of AVA members, the time ahead will be a bright one for artists, art lovers and the local economy. Submitted photo Luna Phaser, an AVA public art installation project, is a kinetic tidal-activated sculpture by artist Jim Fink. The project is in post-planning, pre-implemen- tation phase. March 24, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 13
