10A • May 20, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Tolovana Arts Colony
Shrinking the distance between artists and students
After 10 years,
the school
continues to
bring arts home
By Nancy McCarthy
A decade to celebrate
EO MEDIA GROUP/SUBMITTED PHOTO
For Cannon Beach Gazette
A weaving workshop.
On Sunday mornings, yoga
enthusiasts head to Tolovana
Hall in Cannon Beach. For
80 minutes, they stretch their
bodies and calm their minds,
meditating on the possible.
Later on Sundays — and
throughout the week — stu-
dents of belly dancing, Zum-
ba, qigong or creative writing
spend an hour or so at the hall
with teachers who want to
share their talents.
They are participating in
a decade-long experiment
to, as Tolovana Arts Colony
Program Coordinator Andrew
Tonry calls it, “shrink the dis-
tance” between the artist and
the student.
For Jean Sells-Williams,
who teaches ukulele at Tolo-
vana Hall, the classes mean an
opportunity to share skills and
have fun.
“We sing, we play,” Wil-
liams said. When they all
perform the right chords and
complete a song correctly,
“everybody celebrates.”
of how things used to be in
Cannon Beach when it was
known more as an artists colo-
ny than a tourist destination.”
The inspiration was to
create a place where, accord-
ing to the colony’s mission
statement, a “community of
artists” could gather in an
“intimate, informal setting for
students of all ages to pursue
their talents, focus their ener-
gies and hone their craft.”
To commemorate the
Tolovana Arts Colony’s irst
decade, a “founders party”
is planned from 6 to 9 p.m.
Friday, May 20, at Tolovana
Hall, 3779 S. Hemlock St.
(See sidebar.)
Inspiration
There may be only one
word to explain why the Tolo-
vana Arts Colony started 10
years ago: inspiration.
Arts colony founders Billy
Hults and Michael Burgess
were inspired to start an arts
school in Cannon Beach af-
ter they organized a show of
painter Steve McLeod’s work
at the Wave Crest Hotel in
Tolovana.
“People volunteered to
help, brought food and donat-
ed time and materials to show
a local working artist that
they appreciated him and his
work,” Hults wrote in a story
that appeared in the Septem-
ber 2005 issue of Hipish.
“That was encouraging,
and it reminded some people
In the beginning
The irst classes, begun
Sept. 21, 2005, featured Bur-
gess’s writing course, which
was popular until his death in
2010; Peter Lindsey’s explo-
ration of Northwest literature;
McLeod’s drawing and paint-
ing sessions; Jackie Quint’s
watercolor painting; and
Marilyn Rooper’s calligra-
phy. Most of the classes were
held in Tolovana Hall, a city-
owned building dedicated to
community gatherings.
Inspiration kept the Tolo-
vona Arts Colony going
through the ups and downs
most any shoestring non-
proit experiences, including
the founders’ deaths (Hults
died in 2009) and the recent
renewal of energy by those
who didn’t lose sight of the
school’s purpose.
“I think the creative en-
ergy has always been there,”
said Watt Childress, chair-
man of the Tolovana Arts
Colony board. With some
new board members, a new
program director and several
people interested in teaching,
EO MEDIA GROUP/SUBMITTED PHOTO
he Tolovana Arts Colony board: from let, Leslie McLan-
nahan, Andrea Mace, Allyn Cantor, Debra Carnes, Walt
Childress, Nancy Teagle and Tracy Abel.
“things have come together,
and we’re able to make it hap-
pen,” Childress added. “And
we’re really glad that it’s hap-
pening right now.”
The key to the organiza-
tion’s mission is to provide an
affordable, accessible path to
art for residents and visitors
and for “struggling artists to
supplement their income and
keep up their struggling artists
lifestyle,” Tonry said. The art-
ists receive 75 to 85 percent of
students’ tuition.
Puttzing around
To pay part of their $29,250
annual budget, the colony ap-
plies for a city Community
Services grant every year. It
also puts on the Puttz, a silly
citywide golf tournament —
another Hults innovation —
where business owners erect
creative holes for participants
to master. The holes are made
from whatever scraps of mate-
rial or bit of junk the business
operators can put together.
Last year, Brian Taylor, from
Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, blew
up a photo of the store’s late
owner, Bruce Haskell; partici-
pants had to chip the ball into a
hole cut out at Haskell’s mouth.
The tournament, along
with a rafle and silent auc-
tion, earns about $4,000 for
the colony, said Nancy Tea-
gle, board member and Puttz
chairwoman. The colony, she
added, is “one of the most
nonproits I know.”
But, she added, the Put-
tz, which is June 7 this year,
“reminds people that we’re
here.”
The colony also conducts
an annual art show featuring
Ten years ago, the Tolovana Arts
Colony began its quest to support
local arts in Cannon Beach.
Now it’s time to celebrate the
past decade.
An open house and anniver-
sary party are planned from 6 to
9 p.m. Friday, May 20, in Tolovana
Hall, 3779 S. Hemlock St. The hall is
across the parking lot from the for-
mer Cannon Beach Children’s Center.
The celebration — free and
open to all — is a combination ret-
rospective, open house and mem-
bership drive, said Andrew Tonry,
the organization’s program director.
Music once performed by the
colony’s co-founder, Billy Hults, will
be played; memories will be shared
by those who knew Hults and Mi-
local artists. It is organized by
board member Debra Carnes,
who displayed her hand-wo-
ven baskets at the colony’s
W H EN TH E
U N EX PEC TED H A PPEN S
expect your a m bula nce costs
to be covered. $59 per yea r
protects your fa m ily* from
needless w orry.
chael Burgess; and art created by
artists who have been featured in
past art shows will be displayed.
Past directors, including Valerie
Vines Magee, Maggie Kitson and
Lisa Kerr, as well as former board
members and former board Chair-
man Jef Womack, who was on the
board for eight years and continues
as a volunteer, also will be acknowl-
edged.
The program also calls for
performances by some students,
as well as a brief tour of Tolovana
Hall, including the newly upgraded
kitchen.
A membership drive also will be
launched, Tonry said.
“We’re energized and moving,”
he added. “Come join us.”
irst art show 10 years ago
when the show also includ-
ed McLeod and painters Ken
Grant and Don Osborne.
L ife Ca re
O N LY
5 9
$
00*
*Full year,
per household.
Family includes you
and household dependents.
BECO M E A M EM BER. IT’S EAS Y .
O pen en ro llm en t thro u gh Ju n e 30, 2016
C redit ca rds a ccepted.
C a ll us toda y 503-861-5558 or stop by our office
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