A Whirl Wind Arts Tour and a fond Goodbye

What do you get when you mix a small Oregon coastal town, a bunch of artistic ladies and a visiting art and design consultant from Barbados? A whirl wind arts tour of Port Orford, all done in one morning. And I am here to tell you that Port Orford has a thriving arts community and lots to see.



First stop Rick Cook, a furniture maker par-excellence, then the local library with an exhibition of regional art on a travelling exhibition AND a community education programme to introduce young people to famous artists through immersion and direct exploration.



Next stop: the Port Orford Arts Council where the fibre artist Shannon Weber was conducting a workshop, Cheryl Morse and her stained glass and wood inlay studio Agate Gardens, the small Johnson gallery, a community mosaic by the beach, the fabulous Tri Angle Square gallery owned by Joyce Kinney, the as yet unopened Hawthorne Gallery.






Finally lunch at a Norwegian place nicknamed "Crazies" and the Point B gallery where artists incorporate some aspect of the Internet and I met Bill Gaetjens who even though he was suffering from a cold, was a perfect gent and a very talented artist.



Phew.... Thanks so much to Rotarian Elaine Roeman for organising this wonderful tour - my best vocation yet, and the lovely ladies; Georganne White, Joyce Kinney and Julie Hawthorne for showing me a great time.


I had to then rush off to say goodbye to my lovely host Jo and Roger Rieber - thanks so much for the lovely morning conversations that we had over gorgeous jam, scones and muffins. We really enjoyed ourselves.