Eugene Weekly : Arts Shorts : 12.15.11

 

Little Pleasures, Big-time Finds

Jacobs Gallery probably isn’t a go-to stop on your holiday gift shopping rounds, but with the new “Small Pleasures Invitational” exhibit currently on hand, it would be a good idea to make it one. This holiday season marks the third time curator Beverley Soasey has hosted the exhibit to assist local artists in showing and selling their work at a time of year that might otherwise prove pretty slow. 

“The work is much more affordable because it is small,” Soasey tells me as we look at the mixed-media work of Jo Warren. Warren, a photographer known for capturing the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and the other artists invited to participate in the gallery’s exhibit all conformed to a dimensional constriction of 12 inches or smaller. 

Sculptor Shannon Weber, who normally works with larger woven-basket styles utilizing found objects from the coast, has woven some smaller baskets that have the appearance of fish traps. She also has stitched small, smooth stones into a sculpture reminiscent of a kayak. 

Local artist and woodturner Rich Norman has several pieces on display, ranging from wooden fruit or salad bowls to decorative vessels and urns.  The seamlessly contrasting layers of wood he uses range from differing shades of maple to apple and Bolivian rosewood.  

All work on display runs from $9 to $500 or more. So stop by the Jacobs Gallery and help support local artists spread the holiday cheer, as they prove that a little can go a long way. 

The “Small Pleasures Invitational” runs through Jan. 28 at Jacobs Gallery in the Hult Center; FREE. — Andrew Hitz