P ORCELAIN
SCULPTURE EXHIBIT OPENS
COOS BAY — A show of porcelain
sculptures by the late Elena Karina
Canavier will open at the Coos Art
Museum on Friday, Dec. 9, with a recep-
tion from 5 to 7 p.m.
The event is free and the public is
invited.
The works will remain on display
through Feb. 11, 2017.
Few people of Oregon’s South Coast
know that we had a major ceramic artist
in our midst. Elena Karina Canavier has
works in important collections through-
out the United States, including the
Boston Museum, the Oakland Museum
of Art and the Smithsonian Institution.
At the time of her death in 2010,
Canavier was building a dream studio on
a mountaintop south of Langlois.
Family members and friends have
plans underway for shows in Los
Angeles and New York, but since the
work is currently here, they have agreed
to have the very first showing of the
finest pieces right here at our own muse-
um in Coos Bay.
Says Coos Art Museum director
Steven Broocks, “This is a very special
opportunity for the people of Southern
Oregon to see a show which normally
would not find its way to our area; I am
very excited about this exhibit, which
coincides with the 50th anniversary of
the Coos Art Museum.”
Elena Karina Canavier was born Sept.
2, 1931, in Tientsin, China, where her
Russian father was chief engineer for the
construction of the Mongolian Railway.
The family moved to Los Angeles
when Elena was young, and she studied
art at the Jepson Art Institute, received
COURTESY PHOTO
“Acrobat” porcelain sculpture by Elena Karina Canavier
her bachelor or arts degree in architec-
ture and printmaking from University of
Southern California, and her masters
degree from California Southern
University in Long Beach.
While there, she spent a great deal of
time beachcombing, and her fascination
with tide pools and marine creatures
translated into her works of art.
In the 1970s, Canavier moved to
Washington, DC, where she became
Crafts Coordinator for the National
Endowment for the Arts, and later served
as special adviser for the Arts Office of
Vice-President Walter Mondale from
1978 to 1980.
She taught ceramics in Los Angeles
and Washington, D.C., wrote for many
publications including Art Week and Art
News, and was a featured artist in many
galleries, most recently at the prestigious
Davis and Cline Gallery in Ashland.
John Davis said in a telephone inter-
view: “Elena was a consummate artist;
her work was visionary…She was a true
master of the medium, as well as a
delightful human being.”
Canavier became acquainted with
Bandon artist and curator Victoria
Tierney shortly after coming to the South
Coast in 2001.
When she started AVK Arts with funds
Friday Foreign Film series continues
COOS BAY — The “Friday
Foreign Film” series at Coos Bay
Public Library continues at 7
p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9.
This month’s feature is the
acclaimed anime feature “Tokyo
Godfathers.”
On the streets of Tokyo, three
homeless characters: Gin, an
alcoholic and middle-aged hobo;
Hana, a transgender woman and
former drag queen; and Miyuki, a
runaway teenage girl, are surviv-
ing as a makeshift family.
On a snowy Christmas eve, the
trio discovers a baby while rum-
D EC . 9
maging through the trash. Gin
insists they go to the police and
return the abandoned baby, but
Hana, who has always dreamt of
being a mother, has made her
mind up to keep the baby and
names her Kiyoko, meaning
“pure one.”
With only a handful of clues to
the baby’s identity, the three take
it upon themselves to return the
baby to her parents.
What follows is a journey
through Tokyo that is beautiful,
ugly, gritty, stylized, nihilistic
and hopeful all at once, in the
way that only the best of
Japanese anime can be.
In a harrowing comedic and
uplifting adventure they discover
their own history and happiness.
The “Friday Foreign Film”
series, sponsored by the Friends
of Coos Bay Public Library, is
normally held on the second
Friday of the month and is free to
the public.
Many of these films are not
rated and parental discretion is
advised.
For more information call 541-
269-1101.
AT
CBM
left to her by her aunt and uncle,
Antonina and Vladimir Koulaeff, she
approached Tierney and suggested that
they might work together to promote the
arts in Bandon.
“She was an ideal patron of the arts,”
says Tierney. “She trusted us completely;
I never had to write out long detailed pro-
posals and apply for grants. She simply
wanted to know what each show cost,
and she paid for them.
“She sponsored over 50 shows. It was
a great stroke of wonderful luck for
Bandon.”
In gratitude for this support, Tierney
has offered her services to curate this
show at the Coos Art Museum.
“It is a labor of love for me,” says
Tierney, who serves on the Exhibitions
Committee of the museum. “I think peo-
ple will be blown away by the quality of
the work. I encourage all of you to take
advantage of the chance to see this
show.”
The museum will also be showing
important works from its Permanent
Collection, as well as scientific illustra-
tions of tidal pool animals done by mem-
bers of the Oregon Guild of Natural
Science Illustrators and low tide photog-
raphy by members of the Willamette
Valley PhotoArts Guild.
These will complement Canavier’s
delicate porcelain creations inspired by
tide pools and marine creatures.
Coos Art Museum hours are 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 1 to
4 p.m. on Saturday.
Museum admission: $5 general, $2
students, veterans and seniors, free to
museum members.
FRAA to host Winter
Artisan Fair Jan. 14-15
The 15th annual Winter
Music Artisan Fair will be a
two-day event, Saturday, Jan.
14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
and Sunday, Jan. 15, from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
This is a must-see event for
the weekend and admission to
the Artisan Fair is free.
This year, the Florence
Regional
Arts
Alliance
(FRAA) will be the event
committee for the Artisan Fair.
There will be artisans, both
local and regional, who will
come and demonstrate their
creative talents and bring
their latest creations.
The artisans will vary from
wood craft to herbs; knit, cro-
chet and fiber creations to
ward off the winter’s chill;
artwork to stir the imagina-
tion and tastings to warm the
heart.
For more information, con-
tact Claudia Brown, event
chair, at 541-902-1933.
D E C EM BE R 20 1 6 • Ar t s & E n t e r t a i n m e nt • C OAST C ENTRAL •
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