We hope you are doing well and staying not only safe - but cool! I can't believe it's September. We have been enduring "the situation" for half of the year and it's not quite over yet. Hopefully you have all come up with creative activities and ways of communicating with friends and family.

Being on G Street we can see people enjoying themselves in the restaurant Parklets. Having one in front of the museum has created foot traffic for Gallery One and we are very pleased about that. The artists in the Gallery create such wonderful art - it's a great place to visit. The art changes frequently and we have some new artists! Check often. By the way, it's a great place to buy cards.They are original, diverse, and there really is something for every occasion.

The best news is that we hope to open the museum on September 10. We will have the same open days and hours as Gallery One: Thursday through Saturday from 11am - 3pm. We do require that you wear a mask and there will hand sanitizing stations at the bottom and top of the stairs. Social distancing will be observed.

So - now you can enjoy getting out of the heat, seeing wonderful art, and engaging with the museum staff and volunteers.We hope to see you!

In the meantime - stay well. We miss you all!

Hyla

Executive Director

The museum has a permanent collection. It is made up of many pieces of art that have been donated to us. As we open the museum we are going to showcase some of the collection for you to enjoy.

This one is "Containments" by Kay Buckner. American 1935-2012.

Last month we featured many of the foundations and businesses that have helped support the museum in order to offer inspiration to the community. This month we would like to honor all of the businesses and people who donated gifts for the silent action at Black, White, & the Blues last February. We are so grateful for their generosity - and we definitely want you to SHOP LOCAL!

Kristen O'Neill is a great teacher. For over four years she has taught art classes at the museum. People in all age groups enjoy her insights and creative way of "show & tell." While the museum has been closed, many of the classes have taken place in the park. This is a great article by Kathleen Alaks that appeared in the Courier last week. To read more CLICK HERE!

Gallery One was in the news on September 3 with a wonderful article about artist Val Ornelas.

The article is by Kathleen Alaks. To read more click the picture.

Brenda Mallory had an exhibit at the museum a few years ago. She has received a major award from the Native Arts and Culture Foundation. If you are curious to see more of Brenda's art - click the picture to visit her website.

Betty LaDuke, who has had a number of exhibits at the museum has published a new book, Migrants, Border Lands and Social Justice. It is a book of paintings in celebration of migrants and farm workers and all that affects them in their daily lives.

We also congratulate her because the Oregon Arts Commission has accepted two of her large panels, "The Pear Harvest", to be mounted at a public space. Now these two stunning pieces are hung up at the Capitol Building section of the Oregon Senate Offices.  

Suzy Manley took advantage of two different museum offerings. As a member of the museum she was able to check out books from the art library. She really wanted to explore color so she also attended Kristen O'Neill's Color Mixing workshop. She wanted to share her results.

Did you know? (What the museum building looked like a long time ago.)

Note: The bottom floor was totally open!

We don't normally publicize fund raising events from other organizations - however, this yard art auction which is going to benefit Foundry Village includes art from many Gallery One artists and museum member artists. So enjoy and bid! You can follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoundryVillage/

There are some great classes lined up for September. They will all be in Reinhart Park. The classes are from 9am - 11am. Space is limited so sign up now.

September 9: Textures and Leaves

September 16: Silhouettes and Form

September 23: Water Reflections

September 30: Hold Still Ducks! (How to draw wildlife that won't stay still)

If you were unable to attend an exhibit of Susan Burnes and Janet Higgins, you can click the picture and stroll through Rogue Gallery & Art Center.

Take a virtual tour of Frida Kahlo's Blue House (click the picture)

Cancelled (we hope to have it in 2021)

Postponed until June 12, 13, 2021

Open Studios:

Cancelled

Cancelled for 2021

These wonderful evenings have been cancelled until larger groups can gather.

The museum does not receive government funding (other than grants from the Josephine County Cultural Coalition). So keeping the doors open depends on grants, donations, memberships, sponsorships, and rent from the street level businesses (Shoefly and Gallery One). You can do one time donations and you can also do monthly donations. It's easy - and we appreciate you very much!

On additional side benefit - the foundations who offer grants are very pleased to see community involvement. Your donations show your support!

Monthly donations are so amazing. They add up quickly. Just $10 a month means a donation to the museum of $120 for the year. That's fabulous. Please consider this option. The payments safely charged to your credit card.

This quarter, we received $12.96. Every little bit helps a lot. Thank you!

If you get this far ...

Do you know very much about the bears in Grants Pass? Here's a great short newscast about their history. You probably know many of the artists who created the bears.

And finally - my partner John says, "the greatest way to be disappointed it to have expectations." Well, this is a fun illustration of that statement.