First Friday: March 2nd

Bridges had its second and last opening March 2nd! What an amazing night to end such an incredible journey. We had the place packed and I spoke with so many enthusiastic people. I’m am truly proud of the artists’ and community’s accomplishments with the installation. The space has completely transformed from what it was  a month ago and I feel so lucky to have met such wonderful artists with big ideas. There are better words out there I could use, but inspirational is the only one I can think of at the moment.

So the big question: was it a success? Were we able to truly bring the two communities together? I’m not quite sure that matters completely. Any project can always be done better and this was certainly a learning experience. And I – learned – a – lot. But I will say this. February’s First Friday was a huge success. There was a tremendous amount of work created within the gallery (or studio, as I have been calling it). The most amazing thing I witnessed? The fact that the artists were able to gather inspiration from work created by the community and turn it into an incredible piece of art – that stands as a successful collaboration in my book. So congratulations, U of O and Eugene communities. You made some really awesome work.

And really. Go in and check it out. You could visit and revisit and see something new every time.

Pulling It Together!

First Friday is just around the corner! With this in mind, the artists have been in the gallery for some last minute construction and final touches. Check it out!

BEST at DIVA

We had the BEST after school program come into DIVA on Thursday this week! For a lack of better words, it was a great experience. Shelley, the BEST art instructor, brought Aaron, Danni, and Lily from Kelly Middle School into the gallery to work with a few of the artists. We gave them the freedom to create whatever they liked and discovered that these three students are particularly talented.

Aaron’s loves graffiti. He’s even creating the school yearbook cover for Kelly Middle School! He created an awesome piece on the wall and appropriately named our little city “Our Streets”. Up on a ladder, sketching out his piece with sharpie, head phones in; Aaron definitely got into a groove. I am really impressed with his sense of space. He filled a corner of the wall that was blank and made it come to life.

Danni really likes manga. Her love for this style is clear in her incredible drawings. While at DIVA, Danni drew five characters with pencil, one actually turned into an illustration. Her use of line is really spectacular; it has the ability to capture a characters emotions and really brings them to life. Her drawings reminded me of my favorite anime film and I couldn’t remember the name for the life of me. Thankfully, Danny is a wealth of manga knowledge and immediately knew which film it was when I described it: “Spirited Away”.

Lily is a lady of many talents! We heard she is really talented with ceramics and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get to witness this while at the gallery. We did get to see her  draw some wonderful, realistic figures. She made two drawings with pencil on paper: one of a portrait of a man and the other is a study of facial features (eyes, mouth, hair, nose). Lily’s understanding of lines and shadows is amazing, just check out the pictures below! She also created a painting on the wall with one of our artists, Lucy. A collaboration in the truest sense of the word.

So head over to the gallery to see the creations from our day with the Kelly Middle School students. We feel so fortunate to have had Shelly, Aaron, Danni, and Lily in the gallery to create work and keep this exhibit a living collaboration.

New Thoughts, New Ideas, More Cohesiveness

In an effort to make the show more cohesive for the upcoming First Friday, Julian and Nina started brainstorming last night in the gallery. Here is a sneak-peek of what they were thinking:

I’m really excited to see the finished product. It’s going to be great!!

To Those Who Helped Make This Happen

It’s time to give a big shout out to those wonderful Eugene organizations that donated countless materials for the creation of Bridges. Each of these organizations greatly contribute to the Eugene and University of Oregon communities.

Thank you, MECCA! MECCA stands for Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts. As stated on their website, MECCA’s store acts as a clearinghouse for scraps and discards that can be reused in art. Local businesses, artists, and individuals donate these materials to the organization; they sort through them and sell them at very low prices. Piles upon piles of materials! I had so much fun going through MECCA’s back room with their director, Mija. Wooden spoons, frames and frame corners, plastic bags, bubble wrap, ties, ropes, wood scraps, plastic objects…the list goes on.

 

Thank you, BRING Recylcing! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink. BRING’s mission is to help people understand how the stuff we use shapes the planet we share. They provide conservation education in the schools and community; recycling information and services; expertise for businesses, and a resale outlet for used building materials. We are incredibly grateful to have BRING donate 5 gallons of award-winning recycled latex paint by MetroPaint! Without this donation, we wouldn’t have been able to start this project off with clean, white walls. As many of you know, DIVA has been rocking awesome fire-engine reds and olive greens on their walls. These are amazing colors, however, the artists believed that a white wall would provide an blank palette and the possibility for participants to work more freely and creatively.

 

Thank you, St. Vinnies! St. Vinnie’s mission is to assist the poor and those in need of consolation, seeking out and utilizing every resource. Being mindful of the sanctity and dignity of all, any charitable work that advances those goals is within the mission of St. Vincent de Paul.  St. Vincent is known for being the community’s go to thrift store. Aside from wonderful reused clothing and other items, St. Vincent provides affordable housing, emergency services, self-sufficiency services, and recycling and manufacturing. They are a truly wonderful organization and clearly strongly influence the community in a proactive and positive way. St. Vinnie’s donations of art supplies such as markers, paint, paintbrushes, glue, clay, construction paper, and pencils have made our “collage and drawing” space possible!

Photo Update

Bridges started with white walls. Now? It looks like this. And it’s only going to grow as the weeks go on. Check back for more updates!

Bridges in the Media

Bridges got some attention by the Emerald Daily Press on Sunday! The Emerald is the leading newspaper for students and faculty at the University of Oregon. Check out the article here!

First Friday opening of BRIDGES!

Our one and only John Watson recorded some video of our opening night of Bridges! Check it out!

 

by Lucy Wallace