Arts Hound

KLCC’s arts and culture reporter Eric Alan hosts the Dec. 5 First Friday ArtWalk starting at 5:30 pm at Eugene Piano Academy and hitting stops MECCA, MODERN, Oh So Jo and The Gallery at the Watershed. Keep an eye out for the beautiful modern and almost Fauve-like painting of Shelley Roenspie at Oh So Jo as well as new works by Adam Grosowsky — stunning gestural large-format oil portraits  — at Karin Clarke Gallery (off the guided walk). Continue reading 

The Queer Conundrum

John O'Malley

Post-punk. Post-war. Postmodern. Post-gender. Post-queer? With the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the recent state victories for marriage equality and a rising generation of people whose fluid identities don’t fit neatly into the he-she binary, we could be on the cusp of a post-queer moment, but that depends on whom you ask.  Continue reading 

Birds of Prey

Mockingjay, on first read, wasn’t my favorite book in the Hunger Games series — not by a long shot. A long trudge to a deadly battle, it was initially memorable for all the time Katniss seemed to spend crying in a closet, worrying about Peeta Mellark, who was captured at the end of Catching Fire’s Quarter Quell. I didn’t want crying Katniss; I wanted victorious Katniss, angry Katniss, a Katniss who would lead the rebellion against the Capital. Continue reading 

Trash to Treasure, the Saturday Market Holiday Market makes old new again

Dress fashioned out of T-shirt material by Kendra Brock

Artisans at the Saturday Market’s Holiday Market use anything from spider webs to pressed flowers when crafting their creations. Some are known especially for reusing materials to make something new. Recycling, upcycling, reusing — people have different names for it, but whatever you call it, the resulting products bear little resemblance to the “old” materials from which they came.  Continue reading 

Beat the Crowds, Shop Local Online

Amy Clancy with her handcrafted creations.

I hate the holidays. No, that’s not quite it. I hate the shopping that comes along with the holidays. I hate circling the asphalt for parking spots. I hate bundling up against the cold, wind and rain, fighting crowds, waiting in line and feeling like I have to spend money I can’t afford to spend. Sometimes I even hate having to remember my reusable shopping bags.  One thing I love is supporting local artisans. Luckily there’s a way to avoid the holiday horrors and still shop locally, and it’s Etsy.  Continue reading 

Rent a Potted Christmas Tree and Plant It after the Holidays

Purchasing a cut-down Christmas tree can be a sad ritual for the sustainability-minded celebrator, or for those who find their post-holiday disappointment embodied by the malnourished or petroleum-derived tree in the living room.  However, Willamette Valley residents have the option of doing something a little different — renting a potted, living tree from Portland-based The Original Potted Christmas Tree Company (TOPCTC) to be picked up later and planted by conservation groups in local parks and watersheds. Continue reading 

Electronica Does Emo

Ryan Hemsworth

The Ryan Hemsworth show at WOW Hall has been canceled. Canadian electronica producer Ryan Hemsworth describes his most recent single, “Snow in Newark,” as something he made to “get back to my first love, emo music.” This may come as a shocking change of pace to those accustomed to hearing Hemsworth either throw down thick, hawkish hip-hop remixes or candy-coated, J-poppy originals.  Continue reading