As this year comes to a white and snowy end, I reflect back on a year full of festivals, new friends, artistic inspiration, Netflix, weddings, traveling and optimism. Economy be damned, let’s raise a drink to you, 2008. Here is a list of 3 things that made 2008 most enjoyable for me.
1. First Thursdays
Every year seems to top itself when it comes to Portland’s artistic community’s shining day, the First Thursday art walk. Summer First Thursdays are the most popular, drawing the biggest crowd. This summer, I even saw a professional tour guide, walking backward leading a large group down the crowded streets. The summer street fair is littered with fire dancers, pot and bucket bands, and interpretive street performers who will act out answers to any of life’s problems. While winter First Thursdays lack the street performance element of the summer, they make up for it with quality, and presence of wine. Here are a few unique exhibits I saw this year.
The Core gallery is advantageously positioned on the 2nd floor of the Everett Station Lofts, the microcosm of Portland’s new and experimental art spaces. What is unique about this gallery is that it exists in a crawl space, so it is only 3.5 feet tall. Forcing adults to shed their footwear and experience art while on all fours. It has been host to many unique exhibits including the recreation of woman’s womb.
November’s opening at the new Anka Gallery also at Everett Station featured ” The Magic of Spontaneous Expressions.” And, instead of featuring finished art pieces, they displayed and exploited the artistic process. Several artists, young and old, took up brushes and painted from their colorful palettes live, with no particular goal or end result in mind.
Also at the Anka Gallery was this stunning exhibit by Portland photographer, John Wiley Howington. His large-scale moody photographs were taken with a pinhole camera, and in the 30 minutes it took to record the photo, a sound recording was made as well. As you stand before saturated images of the European cities of Prague and Vienna, through the headphones you can hear the noises of your surroundings. Doors creak, a woman strolls by in high heels, and a couple passes, speaking in foreign tongues. A truly unique gallery experience.
2. Farmers Market
I have truly come to appreciate and utilize the Portland Farmers Market this past year as I focus more on eating more healthy, sustainable and local food. While I more often attend the Farmers Market close to home, Hillsdale, on occasion I find myself in the center of Portland’s finest, in the South Park Blocks. I enjoy the spectacle of colorful booths overflowing with fruits, vegetables and unidentifiable roots of all varieties. There are kids in strollers, hippies and students all crowded around vying for a sample of artisan cheeses. I purchase a bag of fresh pears and a container of the best organic tomato juice and smile on my way down Park.
Every year I try to involve myself in some sort of charitable endeavor whether it be pro bono design work, cleaning up litter, or Big Brothers Big Sisters. This year, among other things, I got involved with p:ear, an amazing organization devoted to the cause of creatively mentoring homeless street youth. Having no previous experience with homeless street youth, the thought of working with these kids was quite intimidating and daunting. However, with the encouragement of Joy and the p:ear crew, I started devoting my Thursday evenings to helping out at the center and playing with the kids. I found the experience to be quite comfortable, natural, and rewarding. I had my palms read and fortunes told by a burgeoning mystic, I talked about the benefits of a Linux system with a savvy computer entreprenuer, and I lost many a game of Boggle and “pirate Scrabble.” Unfortunately now, the schedule no longer includes Thursday evenings so I am left to volunteer for p:ear in other ways. Lately that has namely been pouring beer at benefit events, and planting hundreds of tulip bulbs (see image above). Hopefully this year brings more involvement.
Cheers to 2009!
