Dear Hyla,

Well, March came in like a lamb - so who knows what is going to happen next. "They" say there is more winter ahead. So, if "They" are correct, enjoy the sun and warmth while you can.

No matter what is going on outside - the museum is always cozy and inviting. And sometimes, there is chocolate to share! My son can enumerate the "chocolate holidays" in the year. I'm sure you noticed that as soon as the Valentine candy disappeared from the store shelves, the Easter candy appeared.

Enjoy!

Hyla

Executive Director

In the main galleries we have Greg Navratil from Oregon. Greg's title is Minutiae en Masse. He uses applicators to paint with instead of brushes. The end result is almost a pointillism effect. The overall visual effect is stunning. The exhibit opened February 25 and will be here through March 28. We had a reception for the artists on February 26. For those who attended, meeting the artists was really interesting.

What people are saying: Greg's art is amazing. When viewed up close, the image blurs and it's a chaos of colors. From a distance though - wow. Gorgeous landscapes emerge and are a true delight.

The community gallery features Don Woodard from Colorado. Don creates 3-D paintings and mixed media art. This exhibit opens February 25 and runs through March 28.

Interesting facts: There are three main categories of Don's art: Western, landscape, and wildlife. Much of the landscape is from his National Park series and includes Bryce Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns (as seen below). The paint Don uses is watercolor. Then it's sealed.

Greg Navratil and Don Woodard share thoughts about their art.

Thank you to Southern Oregon Sanitation for sponsoring these exhibits.

The Watercolor Society of Oregon is having their spring conference in Grants Pass and the museum is honored to house their exhibit. There will be 80 artists in the juried exhibit. Dates: April 4 through April 23. The opening reception is April 4 from 5pm - 8pm.

Tracy Fredrickson - Under Construction

Katherine Abdun-Nur - Lift

Concerts are always on Thursday and tickets are $25 each.

Concerts are generously sponsored by Welch Investment Group.

Click below to purchase tickets.

By the way - all of the ticket money goes to the musicians. We honor independent musicians!

These films are produced by Exhibitions on Screen. They are truly stunning. The recent Van Gogh film was a sell out - so get your tickets early. The films are on Sunday afternoons and tickets are $10 each. We have limited capacity.

This film is brand new. It depicts the time when the Impressionist artists decided to go out on their own. "To heck with the critics they said." And wow - the result is probably the most beloved time of art ever.

You can purchase tickets by CLICKING HERE!

Click below to register for classes

We try and offer a variety so everyone can participate. I hear so often that people say they don't have any talent. Well, that's not true at all. Everyone has talent. Try a class - you'll see!

Second Friday - March 14

7pm - 9pm

Free

Read a poem, listen to poems, enjoy the company of fun people.

Optional themes: Deer or Luck

(or maybe even Lucky Deer!)

And chocolate - always chocolate!

Cal Kenney, organizer of the Poetry Sharing, starts the evening off with an original poem.

"Mountain Man Mike" performed a poem - complete with buckskins and raccoon hat.

Professional storyteller, Georgia Churchill entertained everyone with her stories. She even had all of us chanting along with her for one of the poems ( about an ant seeking a husband. So fun!)

Georgia brought two violinists with her. Their lovely music inspired many to tap their feet.

Children were at the event also and every time the violins played, the children danced.

Sometimes you can sing a poem. After all, what are lyrics? They are also poems.

We had 40 people in attendance for February's Poetry Sharing. It's a very fun event. Come and find out for yourselves. You can recite poetry, sing a song, tell a story, even perform something. Come for March 14's evening.

Field Trips! First we had an art bag packing event. We had 35 people helping. 22 people were on the actual assembly line. 6 people were runners - meaning they took the finished bags to my office where they are stored. 4 people were in my office stuffing the bags on the special shelves I had built just for this purpose. 3 people were busy breaking down boxes and cleaning up. We set a new record - 500 bags were packed and stored in 25 minutes. Amazing.

Volunteers are so important.

Here you can see the double assembly line. Each person had one product to put in the bags which were traveling down the line.

Here's the beginning - bags are handed to the next person in the assembly line, an item is placed in the bag and on it moves.

Runners are gathering the stuffed bags for their final journey to my office.

The shelves go WAY UP so Bob Brownell (the tallest volunteer) packed the bags on the shelves.

Volunteers included: Joanne and Jack Nahmias, Nancy and Kim Sterling, Terry Ruiter, Cheryl Brown, Charm, Joanne Stumpf, Tracy Fedrickson, Cindi Ogden, Marlene Ryther, Rain, Cindy Van Dine, Doug and Darlene Iverson, Kate Bortells, Debbie and Bob Brownell, Eileen Widdison, Lindi Baker, Ted Demetriades, Nomeca Hartwell, Kazuko Young, Karen Johnson, Denise Oden, Bill Potter, Olga Rusina, Sue Jordan, Tina and Anna Garay, Samantha Woolf, and Dawn Smith. Huge thanks to all! And thanks to Evergreen Bank for supplying the bags. They are purple and the students love them.

One of the field trip classes had the joy of getting to meet the artists for the current exhibit. Here are Madrona students watching Don carve the wood.

After their regular program for the field trips, the class stayed a bit longer and was able to ask questions about Greg Navratil's art.

Sometimes our Greeters go on trips. When Charm told me she was going to Washington DC, I told her to visit the Einstein Memorial. It's my favorite. She sent me this picture of her with him!

Alan Meyer is at the museum giving me a wonderful grant from the Pacific Power Foundation. We are so grateful for the grants we receive and for Alan's friendship.

Corbin Brashear is teaching our greeters how to needlefelt. They are making either a bumble bee or a lady bug.

We like to offer our greeters a special treat now and then. Everyone had a great time.

Volunteers are so important.

Karen O'Brien taught a class in printmaking. The participants made their own stamps of mushrooms and moths. The results were great!

Many organizations use the museum as a venue for an event. The Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals had a meet and greet at the museum. Great networking. And fun to see new people who have never been here before.

THE MUSEUM WILL BE OPEN UNTIL 8:00PM ON FIRST FRIDAY!

(And there will be cookies!)

Also, there will music at Gallery One with Trazia Wylde.

All original art creations by Southern Oregon artists.

Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am - 5pm.

A perfect place to find ART!

ALSO

A great place to purchase jewelry and cards.

FEATURED ARTIST FOR MARCH - DARA DANIEL

HELP US TO PROVIDE YOU WITH

CULTURAL EXPERIENCES

Over the last 46 years, the Museum has showcased art that connects us across time, geography, and cultural differences. We couldn’t fulfill our important mission without the generous support of our members and donors. Today, will you go above and beyond and make a gift to empower our vital work of connecting our community with the power of art?

In the beginning, when Larry Gagosian was young (he's 80 now) he parked cars in Los Angeles. He noticed that another car parker was also selling art posters. Larry decided to do that as well - only he framed his posters. From $20 dollar posters to billions of dollars for art - Larry is an icon in the art world. This story about him is fascinating.