Monday, April 20, 2009

April 18th 2009

There were freaky ceramic characters by Jacqueline Hurlbert and some spare and elegant little animal drawings by Erica Meyer at Hidden Treasures. Troon was there, pouring a new white, a Pinot and their Druid Fluid. The Druid Fluid was tasty, but I can't get past the name. It just sounds like it's made out of people.

Currents Gallery had a crowd, and a bustle. The standout for me were these clay animals. Expressive and well-proportioned, they show their slab-modeled construction like 3D sketches. The title card seems to say Blythe Eastman, but I'll need to look it up.

Donna Lee Rollins showed her Polaroid transfers, and included some information on the process and displays of the cameras. Apparently the transfer film is unavailable, and will be officially discontinued next year. That's a shame, really. So... buy a few good polaroid transfers now, 'cause they won't get any cheaper!
One of the most interesting things was seeing the same image repeated several times, each one unique, and very different from each other.

August Ridge was pouring some nice wines at Found Objects, including a Marechal Foch, which was described as "like nothing you've ever tasted." I scoffed, but it was true. A very unusual-tasting wine, not that great out of a plastic cup, but I could see how it would work well with barbecue or lamb. Their Pinot was good.

Ghost Hill (at Wine Country Kitchen) had their own glassware to taste from, which was pretty cool. I didn't find the wine that compelling, but I'll give them another try.

I'll take notes next month, to keep better track of the artists and wines. I also plan to talk less, so I can see more...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Ford St. Gallery - Polaroid Transfers

The new show going up on the 18th for the Art Walk in Mac is of Polaroid transfers. They look good; I usually like a murkier transfer, but these haven't edged into the realm of "well why didn't you just keep the original?"
I feel that if you're looking for perfect fidelity with polaroid transfers, rather than happy accidents, you're barking up the wrong process. I also think making them from slides is like wood-chipping wine, but no one ever wants my opinion.
They're good. Today they were lined up along the wall, waiting for their turn on the exhibition space. I'll check them out in more detail on Saturday.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

April 2009 ArtWalk this Saturday

Saturday, April 18th will be the next McMinnville Art Walk and wine tasting event. It happens on Third St., every third Saturday of the month.
Hidden Treasures has its new space (next door to the old space), and it's looking good in there!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

McMinnville Art Walk blog revamp


I just noticed that this long-underutilised blog comes up first when you search for McMinnville Art. That's got to be worth something. To someone. Somewhere.

The new plan for this blog is to:
a) Invite participating stores to post their artists and wineries.
b) Profile local artists' work every week.
c) Invite a few anonymous(?) reviewers to review both the art and the wine.
d) See what the art programs at Linfield and Chemeketa offer.
I work downtown at Gearbox Studios, and I'll see if Adam and Don will let me have a little "how to blog" session at Gearbox one evening, in order to get store-owners familiar with the setup.

If you're interested in any of this, send me an email at philip (dot) williamson (at) gmail (dot) com,