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