This month, kick off your winter festivities by stopping by the Loft’s two-day holiday event, the Artists’ Garage Sale. To make it easier for you to find the most original and creative holiday gifts in town, a dozen of our community’s most ingenious up-and-coming artists will be selling their work—including prints, cards, and even cell phone cases—for discount prices.
In addition to being open on the standard Third Thursday Corvallis Arts Walk, the Loft will be open to the public on the Saturday five days beforehand.
Artists contributing to the show include Loft regulars Johnny Beaver, Tim Blackburn, Cyrus Peery, Sarah Page, and Patricia Smith. New artists Maddy Corbin, Teresa Yoshiura, Kaitlyn Carr, Nazifa Islam, Aaron Davis, and Daniel Watkins will also be selling their work.
Johnny Beaver is an expressionist painter from Corvallis who co-founded the Temporary Artists Guild in 2011. His work deals with themes of the invidual experience, at times touching on anxiety and mental illness. He’ll be present as a member of OSU’s Montage art club, contributing to a group exhibit with fellow Montagers Kaitlyn Carr, Madelaine Corbin and Teresa Yoshiur
Tim Blackburn, also a leader at the Temporary Artists’ Guild, is a stencil-graffiti artist from Albany who creates bold, colorful, and highly recognizable designs for his own label, Drop Out Art. His pop-art aesthetic is punctuated by constant references to American television, movies, and consumerist culture.
Surrealist Cyrus Perry is a painter and sculptor who finds inspiration in music and often creates “live art” in front of an audience. A co-founder of the Corvallis Graffiti Collective, Peery raised funds for a public graffiti wall in Corvallis located on Western Avenue. Peery accepts the natural progression of creation as one that is art in itself, and enjoys making his own tools to carve wood.
Sarah Page, a painter from Salem, creates traditional, Neoclassical-inspired portraits of women surrounded by fantasy worlds and galaxies of glittering stars. Exploring emptiness within space and the visual landscape helps Page work through feelings of isolation and provide a deep catharsis for both the artist and audience alike. During the day, Page works as a caretaker for the developmentally disabled and runs an arts magazine, Midnight Muse.
Patricia Smith is a traditional-turned-digital artist. She has become somewhat of a legend for her prolific collection of sci-fi and fantasy-themed digital paintings. Smith works as an illustrator for fantasy books and role-playing games, and has created art and designs for local businesses like Block 15, Cloud and Kelly’s Public House, and the Red Fox Café. Smith finds inspiration for her visionary art in the process of collaboration, and hosts the monthly Drink & Draw meeting for local artists.
The staff at the Advocate Loft are excited to show Corvallis a diverse collection of art this month. “This time we’re going to have more artists, and the show will have a more collaborative, participatory feel,” said Kerry Hill, who is in charge of running the gallery. “You’ll see a great variety of art, and the best part is that it will be affordable to everyone.”
As usual, the Loft will be serving food and drink, this time with free locally confected chocolates from Burst’s and hot apple cider to warm up the guests.
Serious art-shoppers should show up on Saturday, Dec. 12 from 4 to 7 p.m.
to get first dibs on the best deals. On Thursday, Dec. 17, the gallery will be open at the usual time for the Corvallis Arts Walk, 4 to 8 p.m. The Corvallis Advocate Loft is at 425 SW Madison, upstairs above Einstein’s Bagels
By Kiki Genoa
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