Every third Thursday, downtown Corvallis turns into one big open studio. From 4 to 8 pm, galleries, craft shops, and working artist spaces throw their doors open, so instead of just looking at finished pieces on a wall, you sometimes get to watch the work happen or talk with the actual artist. And, for those that still prefer quietly taking in the art they’re seeing, well, one can still do that.
It’s, as you probably know, called the Corvallis Arts Walk, or The CAW, and we love the lowkey of it all. There is no price of admission or tickets, no set path, just freedom to wander from venue to venue at will.
Here’s a preview for the Thursday, September 17 iteration.
Art in the Valley, 209 SW 2nd Street
Art in the Valley Gallery presents “For the Love of Nature,” featuring work by Linda Ohlson. Ohlson has been a gallery member since being juried in for her fused-glass jewelry in 2015; the show includes her jewelry alongside mixed-media paintings and other fused-glass pieces.
FB: Art in the Valley Gallery IG: @artinthevalleygallery Website: artinthevalley.net
The Arts Center Main Gallery, 700 SW Madison Ave, 4–7 p.m.
The Arts Center’s Main Gallery presents “66 Birds / 3 Degrees | Return to Life,” two projects by Natalie Niblack that use birds struggling to survive as a lens on the natural world amid climate change. The CAW reception, which starts at 5:30, will include presentations from Pacific Northwest artists Niblack, Kathleen Dean Moore and Sarah Bassingthwaighte, who will use poetry, essay, music and painting to bear witness to the consequences of climate change. Wine pours from The Arbitrary will be available at the event.
IG: @theartscenter
The Arts Center Corrine Woodman Gallery, 700 SW Madison Ave, 4–7 p.m.
The Corrine Woodman Gallery presents “Elemental Bodies,” an exhibition by Rose Covert, who uses natural materials to weave sculptural forms. Using reimagined basketry techniques, Covert creates woven landscapes that twist and travel around themselves, evoking the natural world from which they are made.
IG: @theartscenter
The Arts Center Corrine Woodman Gallery II, 700 SW Madison Ave, 4–7 p.m.
The gallery’s second space continues “Elemental Bodies,” showing additional woven, sculptural work by Rose Covert.
IG: @theartscenter
Billy Biondi Fine Arts, 425 SW Madison Ave, Suite B-159
Billy Biondi Fine Art offers colorful abstract paintings, drawings and prints by the artist.
Website: billybiondiart.com
Corvallis Foundry Gallery, 257 SW Madison Ave, Suite 210
Corvallis Foundry Gallery presents “Urban Cascadia,” a show documenting the varied urban settings across the Cascadia region — from small coastal hamlets to the commercial hubs of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea — and how the region is responding to present-day crises through community, commerce and coffee on rainy days. The exhibition also invites viewers to imagine what Cascadia might look like in the future.
FB: Corvallis Foundry Website: Corvallis Foundry
Corvallis Guitar Society, 425 SW Madison Ave, Suite B-113
Corvallis Guitar Society, a nonprofit dedicated to guitar performance and education, hosts “Music at the Plaza.” The organization offers free monthly concerts by guest artists as well as free lessons and opportunities to play with others.
Corvallis Museum, 411 SW Second
The Corvallis Museum presents “MUSE: Death Becomes Her,” bidding farewell to its exhibit “Death Becomes Her: Women’s Mourning Dress, 1860 to 1919.” Local artists will vend creepy, creative and macabre goods in the museum lobby as visitors, encouraged to wear their most fashionable black attire, help give the exhibit a fitting send-off.
FB: Benton County Museums IG: @bentoncountymuseums Website: bentoncountymuseums.org
Adrienne Fritze Art Studio, 460 SW Madison Ave, Suite 12, Second Floor
Adrienne Fritze presents “Art Works,” featuring three commissions from a single artist. For the da Vinci Days board’s Grand Kinetic Challenge — a race of human-powered machines that must be both art and functional, crossing land, sand, mud and the Willamette River — Fritze started with AI-generated imagery, then edited, collaged and set the type in Photoshop. “Revenge of the Beer Sith” took a similar approach, incorporating the faces of the project’s own key players, shot on her phone. Across three seasons of the game “Spectres of Benton County Past,” Fritze built the entire visual world in Photoshop, collaging period photographs, archival scans and architectural drawings. All ten pieces can be viewed online at artworkarchive.com/rooms/adrienneann/3958de.
FB: AdrienneFritze IG: @AdrienneFritze Website: adriennefritze.com
Idyll Hands Tattoo & Art Studio, 460 SW Madison Ave, 2nd Floor, Suite 15
Visitors can see handmade art and oddities at this active tattoo studio, including signs and placards, multimedia and 3D canvases, miniatures, dioramas and collages.
FB: LovelyMzD IG: idyllhands23
Living Studios Gallery at Cornerstone Associates, 1445 SE Crystal Lake Dr #101
Living Studios Gallery presents “What’s On TV?,” drawings on canvas by Doreen Beckstead inspired by classic television shows including “Magnum, P.I.,” “Knight Rider,” “Jeopardy!” and “CHiPs.” The gallery is not participating in CAW this month but invites visitors to stop by.
IG: @livingstudioarts Website: Living Studios Gallery
New Morning Bakery, 219 SW 2nd Street
New Morning Bakery will be open in September; but no program information at press time.
Old World Deli, 341 SW 2nd
Old World Deli will be open in September; but no program information at press time..
IG: @the_old_world_deli Website: oldworldcenter.com
Olivia Rivers Art, 464 SW Madison Ave
Olivia Rivers shares her open studio and showroom for Carbony musical instruments at The Dragon’s Whistle. Her paintings depict vivid Celtic landscapes, fantasy symbolism and cross-cultural depictions of the Goddess.
Painting Poetic Art Studio and Gallery, 425 SW Madison Ave, Suite B169
Programming for Painting Poetic Art Studio and Gallery had not been confirmed at press time.
PashCo Studio, 425 SW Madison Ave, Suite B181
PashCo Studio presents “Rock & Roll Art, Memorabilia, Collectibles,” a showcase of vintage and original art from dozens of artists focused on 1960s and ’70s music venues, alongside albums and other music collectibles.
FB: PashCo Posters IG: pashco_posters Website: pashco.com
Pegasus Gallery, 312 SW Madison Ave
Pegasus Gallery presents “Reimagining,” an exhibition reflecting on how people are rethinking their art, community, country, planet, health, business and relationships — and visualizing new, creative ways to adapt to the present moment.
Plant Posse, 133 NW 2nd
Plant Posse hosts “Community Garden Collage,” inviting artists of all ages to join local artist Betty Turbo in contributing to a collaborative garden-themed collage. Participants can draw or paint a vegetable, flower or garden creature, with design prompts available for inspiration. The collage-making takes place amid Plant Posse’s group exhibition “How Does Your Garden Grow?,” featuring garden-inspired artwork by 22 local Oregon artists.
IG: @plantposseart FB: Plant Posse
SeeSidStamp, 425 SW Madison Ave, 4–7 p.m.
SeeSidStamp hosts an open studio, showing its handmade linoleum block prints. Each piece is an original, drawing on subjects from the natural world to the fantastical, including pop culture, local plants and animals, and custom pet portraits.
IG: @seesidstamp
Tarweed Folk School, 400 SW 2nd St
Tarweed Folk School invites visitors to learn about and take part in place-based practical arts. This month’s offerings include fish-skin leatherwork with The Reclaim Cooperative, woodcarving and other craft skills.
IG: @tarweedfolkschool Website: tarweedfolkschool.com
Terra Viva Gallery, 354 SW Madison Ave
Terra Viva Gallery shares the work of Anna Russell, including abstract paintings, handmade ceramics and artisan silversmith jewelry.
IG: @terravivaart Website: terravivabyannarussell.com
Treefort Children’s Boutique, 117 NW 2nd St
Treefort Children’s Boutique presents watercolor artist, author and illustrator Sharon Gracen, who will share her artwork along with her new children’s book.
IG: @treefortchild
By Advocate staff
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