Day of the Dead: Portland Style

Last night was the opening of the Day of the Dead show at Guardino Gallery, all part of the Last Thursday Art Walk on Alberta. Lots of my artist friends contributed to the show and Stephanie Brockway was the curator extraordinaire!

The altars . . .



The curator . . .



The musicians. . . .


Some of the people . . .










Some of the art . . .












Overall, it was a campy, high energy opening reception. I'll leave you with a parting shot of a guy dressed up as a female ghoul looking longingly into the gallery.

Dias de los Muertos

Last night was the opening of the Dias de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead Show at Guardino Gallery on N.E. Alberta in Portland. The show was curated by Stephanie Brockway and she did a fabulous job of pulling together a group of talented artists. Here's a peek in the window as Howard and I walked by on our way to dinner at the Vita Cafe. (That's Steph, her daughter Nicole, Tabor Porter and Greg Carrigan in the photo.)


A bit of the show:




Steph with Nikki Blackwood:


And here are four fabulous female artists: Tory, moi, Steph, and Nik (Tory and Steph both had pieces in the show).


The inside altar where we could leave a prayer or a message. Mine is the one about my Dad: My Dad is dissolving. Come back.




Tory telling a joke (which I can't repeat here). She looks good . . . .


We gradually moved outside the gallery, but didn't get very far. Here's the beautiful outdoor altar that Cynthia Mooney created and a shot of Tabor and Howard having a laugh.



After hanging out at the show, a group of us headed next door to the Caffe Vita for lattes: Darlene, Greg, Tabor, Nik, Tory, Howard, and myself. I didn't snap a photo of the whole group lounging on couches, but I did get one of Nik and Tory. Cute.


And surprise surprise. When Nik walked in to the gallery, she handed me a gift!! A birthday gift. I just love a surprise. Meet Old Fogey.


Post Script. The Day of the Dead Show will be up until November 21st. I recommend you stop by to browse (and buy a piece of art!). I didn't get a photo, but I bought a piece of art by Janet Julian.

Open Toed Footwear NOT Permitted

It was playtime on Thursday when I got to hang out with Tory, Steph, and Tabor. After giving Tabor a tour of my studio, Tory had a trunk show, sharing her latest Santos creation (it's gonna be magnificent!).





We ate lunch at the wonderful Wild Pear in downtown Salem (yum yum Sweet Potato Fries).



We made a quick stop off at Mary Lou Zeek's Gallery (to see Tory's art work for sale there).


Then off we went to our destination: Burcham's Metals in Albany.




ONLY TO DISCOVER:


So, off to Goodwill we zoomed so the open-toed shoe people could pick up a pair of closed toe shoes. Success.







Finally we got to explore the junkyard bonanza! Tom, who is the Site Sales Coordinator at Burcham's, served as our guide and liaison - he was amazing. If you ever need anything, he's your man.













Next time we visit a metal junkyard we're bringing four things: Closed toe shoes, gloves, bolt cutters, and baby wipes. Just sayin' . . . .