 
|
|
|
|
Outdoors
Fuji Creek Shelter:
One more snow adventure before the spring thaw.
Visual Arts
Multi-Faceted Show:
MKAC's sculpture plus two.
Morsels
Steaks and Sunflowers:
Mini-reviews of area dining spots.
PLUS: Booknotes.
Multi-Faceted
Show
MKAC's sculpture
plus two.
By Lois
Wadsworth
| |
 |
| |
Sisters I and Sisters
II.Steel, copper and wire by Stephanie Dal Pra, now through March 22 at Maude
Kerns Art Center.
. |
The Maude Kerns Art Center's new sculpture show shows three-dimensional
work by nine artists. Sizes range from tiny (individual glass figures by Serena Smith)
to quite large (Steve Jensen's carved wood poles). Additionally, the exhibit also
includes graphite drawings on paper by two artists. This eclectic showcase will be
at the gallery through March 22.
Jensen's very large totemic sculptures vie for the viewer's attention
with Stephanie A. Dal Pra's large steel, copper and wire pieces. The Seattle sculptor's
eight Island Poles rise eight feet from their base. The wood is carved in flowing
geometric patterns that add fluidity to the stark verticality of the piece.
Dal Pra's work dominates the stage area in the front gallery, expressing
a strength that can contain opposites as well. While her six steel, brass, glass,
copper and wire sculptures take forms readily recognizable as feminine, they are
neither yielding in texture nor rounded in form. A central stove-like, upright object
is flanked on either side by four-feet-tall matching dress-like, stand-alone pieces,
Sisters #1 and Sisters #2 pictured here. On the stove's hammered copper
plates, stitched together with wire, words such as these are stamped: "On Wednesday
May 30 in the morning there came to Joan in her cell Brother Martin Ladvenu to inform
her of the fate ..." Smaller but no less beautiful is Dal Pra's copper and steel
Blue Vest.
| |
 |
| |
Guardian of Kindness.
Graphite on paper by Nan Weed, at Maude Kerns Art Center through March 22.
. |
Truly Ball's three porcelain pieces express an abstract, formal beauty,
as do Tatiana Garmendia's graphite and silver leaf drawings hanging nearby, while
three other artists use whimsy in their work. Harold Hoy's plumber's strap constructions
juxtapose fabulous elements, such as the aptly named "Man's Shorts and Lizard,"
Girl's Dress With Humming Bird," and my fave, "T-Shirt and Toucan,"
in which a large bird with claws of rebar and a copper beak perches on a galvanized
steel T-shirt. Likewise, Christy Puetz's small beaded, mixed media sculptures are
playful and clever.
Serena Smith of Portland creates sculpted fused glass figures,
tiny figures caught in motion. Four acrobats leap or balance in midair in an untitled
piece, while two figures assume a fighting stance in Head Games. But Smith
also embraces opposites in three diorama-like works that are both athletic and fragile.
Sea Life is the most complex of these colorful, kiln-dried scenes. Three figures,
heads above the water line and bodies below, catch a ball, raise a hand or swim away.
A yellow-suited swimmer, a couple of divers and two fish explore the water above
the pond's grainy bottom. Smith's work, which is not kitsch, illustrates the charm
of miniature glass art.
Local artist Nan Weed is showing a number of numinous graphite
drawings on paper. Her work, which she said is like a lengthy meditation, reveals
mysterious forms. You can see the patience in her work as figures, creatures, organic
structures or landscapes quietly define themselves. Weed has worked with graphite
for several years now, drawing in her studio with the windows open to natural sounds
or listening to music.
Graphite provides "the subtlety and qualities of stillness
and simplicity" she said she wants to express. These qualities are palpable,
I believe, in the work she calls Guardian of Kindness, a close-up drawing
of a tranquil face, eyes closed, hand gently cupping the chin. Weed's work has a
very calming effect, even in pieces such as the gorgeous Pollination, which
shows an ecstatic figure framed by a profusion of life, or the contemplative Cactus
Woman, where rocks and pillars reach into a sky dotted with flying birds.
Back to Top
Fuji
Creek Shelter
One more snow
adventure before the spring thaw.
By James
Johnston
 |
|
Fuji Creek Shelter
is a sturdy three-sided affair.
. |
|
Spend the night in the snow and wake up to awesome views of Diamond
Peak.
Hopefully nobody's sick of the snowshoe and ski trips in this column
yet. We'll get back to the conventional lower elevation hikes soon. But first, there's
one more trip you've got to take before the snow disappears from the mountains, which
might not be until well into May or even June at the rate we're going.
The trip to Fuji Creek Shelter is a fairly easy day excursion,
but if you're up to it, the overnight ski (or snowshoe) experience can't be beat.
Directions: Take I-5 south from Eugene for approximately three
miles. Take the Oakridge/Klamath Falls exit (Exit 188A). Stay to the left onto Hwy.
58. Take 58 for approximately 36 miles through Oakridge. Approximately 20 miles east
of Oakridge (about a mile east of a tunnel) take a right at the sign for Salt Creek
Falls. You might have to drive all the way to the parking lot by the falls, but park
as near to the highway as you can because you'll be walking back there. The first
left is a spur road with some good parking spaces for 4-wheel drives. Once you're
parked, walk back up to the highway to the snowed-over road directly across the highway
from the Salt Creek Falls turn-off.
Most of this trip will have you snowshoeing or skiing along this
road. Walking or skiing on a road may seem kind of lame, but just wait for the views.
The Fuji Creek Road (FS 5894) climbs gently uphill for about a mile through a nice
forest before turning abruptly to the east. At this point it's another two miles
or so to the shelter. And all along the way are spectacular views of Willamette Pass
to the east, Mount Yoran and Diamond Peak to the south, and, occasionally, Maiden
Peak to the north.
Approximately three miles from Highway 58 you'll see prominent
markers and a helpful map on the left-hand side of the road that'll steer you to
the Fuji Creek Shelter, a sturdy three-sided affair. There's a big stove and there's
usually plenty of wood, although you shouldn't count on it. If you decide to spend
the night, you've got a good sleeping bag and pad, and you can get the stove going
(bring along some newspaper and a small axe for kindling), you'll stay plenty warm.
The open side of the shelter faces directly at Diamond Peak.
Once you've got the fire going, and if it's a clear night and you
really want to have some fun, strap on the skis or snowshoes and get back on the
trail. There's nothing quite like skiing at night. If it's a clear night with a big
moon you won't even need a light, and you'll have the time of your life gliding across
moonlit snow, a million stars overhead.
Skiing at night is technically not all that smart. The light of
the moon and stars on the snow wrecks havoc with your depth perception. Don't ski
off a cliff.
If you've spent the night, or if you're on a day trip but still
have some spare time, you'll want to explore some of the network of trails to the
north of the shelter. These trails receive hardly any use in the winter, but are
sporadically marked with blue diamonds. The trail from the shelter splits in about
a quarter of a mile. The left-hand turn will take you west and drop you onto Fuji
Creek Road about a mile from the highway (this route is hard to find from the road
while you're coming up). If you continue north the trail will lead you Island, Verde
and Birthday Lakes, and eventually into the Waldo Lake Wilderness.
If you haven't gotten out in the snow yet, this might be your last
chance.
Rent snowshoes at:
Berg's Ski Shop, 13th and Lawrence, 683-1300
McKenzie Outfitters, Broadway and Oak, 343-2300
REI, 3rd and Lawrence, 465-1800
Back to Top
Book
Notes
...Merry Pranksters and "Further" at 3
pm on March 23 at Tsunami Books.
Back to Top
Steaks
and Sunflowers
Mini-revies of
area dining spots.
Bouquet
Garni
8th and Oak, Park blocks. 606-3537.
11 am-3 pm M-F. $.
A new food cart started up downtown. The sign above it reads: Bouquet
Garni: Hot Soups and Live Foods, in bright pastels and clean lines. The place speaks
freshness and life, and the food does, too. The friendly server chatted about how
exciting the food is to work with, and how new, even scary, it was for some. Looking
down at my Sunflower Wrap, I had to agree.
Raw food is steadily gaining a place in Eugene cuisine, but it
isn't in the group consciousness yet. Most of us read wrap: tortilla. Here, read,
wrap: collard green leaf. It's filled with a paste of spiced sunflower seeds, fresh
orange slices, avocados, and basil leaves. The intense flavors are richly satisfying,
yet uneasily unfamiliar. It tastes like it's good for you.
In the soups, Garni shines. Tomato Basil, creamy Cashew Broccoli,
and the rich and meaty King Boletus Chowder, served with Eugene City Bakery bread.
You would never guess it was vegan, in fact it was even a little too heavy to finish.
Of course, the new is always a little scary, that's the fun of
it. Jesse O'Reilly and Alyssa Palmer, co-owners, worked with David Nyles as he broke
the ice for raw food in Eugene, and it looks like it's here to stay. --MT
Ocean Sky
1601 Chambers. 342-4848
11 am-9:30 M-TH, 11 am-10:30 pm F, noon-10:30 SA, noon-9:30 pm SU. $-$$$
Sometimes I crave sizzling rice soup, so I go to Ocean Sky, knowing
what I'll find. Keeping the rain off my bowl of hot chicken and shrimp, baby corn
and water chestnuts, and of course rice, is a roof covering a high ceiling in a big
room, one of the largest dining rooms in town, full of the salty smell of Chinese
food.
Circular lazy Susans spin on central tables, suitable for large
parties (which there often are), and plastic-lined booths paste the walls. Many windows
send southwestern light upon the hustling staff, illuminating heaping servings of
steaming grub as it's shuttled from exposed kitchen windows. Families abound, as
the price is right for monumental portions.
The menu is as expansive as the cavernous interior, offering every
common Chinese dish imaginable. The soups gelatinous are, I feel guilty to say it
(for organic they ain't), satisfying. If you dig crustaceans, Ocean Sky doesn't skimp
on shrimp, their Black Bean Shrimp my other favorite.
While Ocean does break rule one of the triad of Chinese-food cardinal
sins (photographs of their dishes on the wall), at least they honor rule three: they
don't serve hamburgers and spaghetti. Ocean sends away hundreds upon hundreds of
full customers every week, bouncing doggy bags 'gainst proud bellies. --BF
Back to Top
Table of Contents
| News | Views | Arts & Entertainment
Classifieds | Personals
| EW
Archive
|