Art Out of the Fire

Art Out of the Fire…Continued!

If You’re in Southern Oregon this Weekend….

Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.

--Stephen Sondheim

Some of you long-time readers – after all, we’ve been around so long ☺-- will remember that we featured an article on pottery artists who banded together to support their local community in Southern Oregon last year.

This event took place in the heart of Talent’s downtown last November. More than a dozen Clayfolk artists set up their beautiful wares and crafts in the parking lot of the historic Malmgren Garage building at 111 Talent Avenue.

The event was called “Out of the Fire” because of the fire, of course, but also because of the kiln process and the fact that the Malmgren Garage was a pottery supply studio run by Clayfolk Founder and President Bonnie Morgan.

The good news? It’s happening again, just in time for Mother’s Day!

Make up for the time you gave your mom a hand-crafted pot from kindergarten and she bravely said, “It’s beautiful, dear,” and you found it, many years later, in the closet.

You can make amends! Dozens of artists will gather together this weekend to celebrate the future of the Malmgren and art and, indeed, the rebuilding of community.

On Saturday, May 7, over 40 artists are set to participate in the “Art of the Fire” art show at the burned-out Malmgren Garage at 111 Talent Avenue between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

One of the show’s organizers said many of the artists lost their homes, their art, and studios in the fire. Still they persevered to bond for another creative event.

While money from sales will go directly to artists, there will be a special area where donated art will help fund the “Rebuild the Garage Project” to help reconstruct the 98-year-old Malmgren building.

Morgan says, “We’ll have over 40 artists. All the way from paintings and drawings, sculpture, photography, clay, metalwork, our metal sculpture pieces,” Morgan says. “So there’s gonna be a full range of work.”

Some of the pieces at the show come from the rubble of the garage itself, like metal sculptures taken from the collapsed roof.

Taking damaged goods and making them into art is truly an inspiration, and of course has many similes or applications for wildlife survivors still working on building up their lives.

We know that nothing will replace what has gone before, but art out of chaos is a great way to start.