May First Friday Art Walk in Eugene

If you really want to get an idea of the change of seasons and how sunlight changes as we go from Winter to Spring and shots I was taking last month and the month before in the dark are now being taken with some light still in the sky. The amazing thing is I got to Downtown Eugene and hour and a half later than normal and could see my hand in front of my face.


I started on the other end of the Willamette walk this time [due to parking issues] and I found out why parking was a problem.


Fenario Gallery was wall to wall art walkers and was featuring childbearing.


They were thoughtful enough to have a five [5] foot tall champagne glass filled with M&M's. Now this is one of those tricky treats because visitors aren't sure it's a treat or part of the art. I watched for at least 10 minutes while walking the gallery and not one person touched the chocolate treats until one of the Gallery staff dug in. Then they moved en masse to devour the treats.


As I reached the other end of the art walk and left Jacobs Gallery just past the White Lotus Gallery


I stopped at the alley to get a picture of the inside from the outside of the Karin Clarke Gallery.


This is a very nice piece by Craig Spilman and it was the first to catch my eye outside the gallery.

This is another piece by Craig on the same wall.


This piece is by Margaret Coe and it's called Duality. I found it a very interesting use of both color [Orange & Yellow] coupled with a black and white division in the center separating the halves.


I guess we all have favorites and Robert Schlegel was definitely mine tonight. Here is the man of the hour [Robert Schlegel] who was kind enough to pose with a set of four smaller birds. I was drawn to this one because the birds are the ones we see at our feeders every year [not not the exact same birds but the same species.


Robert's work reminds me of a term used more often for food than art but it is very appropriate here. This is definitely "comfort art" much the same way my mother's home cooking was and Sharyn's is today "comfort food." Art can hit people different ways and these images of birds and homes were very special. It's a little like Deja Vu looking at the soft yet brilliant colors and feeling, well, comfortable.


Just as we find comfort in rural pastoral settings Robert's homes from a city seem to blend into the soul and tickle the mind.


He shows us the beauty in simplicity and it is more than marks of paint on canvas there is detail in the simplicity that transforms the images into thoughtful look back in time, at least for me.

Houses I am sure I've seen in Louisiana, California, Montana or one of the many Midwestern cities and towns I have passed through in my life all start to find their way back to me as I walk slowly through the gallery.


Birds and...


... homes all great - Thank you Robert. You can visit Roberts Personal Web Page by clicking here or typing http://www.robertschlegel.blogspot.com/


Well it did finally get dark about 9:00 pm


So it was time to head to Cafe Zenon's for an after the Art Walk snack, coffee & conversation with my art walk buddies.


I parked behind Cafe Zenon's and walked up [or down depending on your point of view] the alley to Pearl Street and got a glimpse of the Palace Bakery kitchen.


Further up the alley I got a look into the Eugene Public Works department and believe it or not there was a young man working late on Friday night.

Cafe Zenon is a nice place to meet and we had a great wait person who was way too peppy for 9:30 at night. Rob was already there with a plate of Mediterranean dips and Pita bread. I got a taste and ordered some of my own. Renee and Vernon got there just after I arrived and we had a great talk about art and life. Renee and Vern had a game of who would get the last bite of the Chocolate Raspberry Cake and I'm not sure but I think Vern won.

Scrabble Score -

Scrabble Queen won the game before I left for the Art Walk and I think you can get a clue by what she said when I asked "I guess you won by a little tonight" She replied "By a lot"

Quote of the Day

“Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are.” ~ Dinah Maria Mulock (20 April 1826 - 12 October 1887) was an English novelist and poet. She was born at Stoke-on-Trent and brought up in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
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After the death of her mother in 1845, Dinah Maria Mulock had settled in London about 1846. She was determined to obtain a livelihood by her pen, and, beginning with fiction for children, advanced steadily until placed in the front rank of the women novelists of her day.