Art, Wine & Music Make the Season Jollier

The Ashland Gallery Association is a collection of more than 30 galleries and studios, with dozens of artist members offering remarkably diverse and high-quality works of art. Most of the galleries are located within just a few blocks of each other in the downtown area, and every gallery welcomes all comers.

On the First Friday of each month — in December it’s December 6 — the gallery association hosts an Art Walk where gallery and associate members open their doors from 5-8 pm, most with live music and appetizers. This is a great opportunity to meet the artists, view demonstrations, and enjoy traditional and innovative works of art. It’s an eclectic mix of visual delights, interesting conversations, intimate music, and tasty treats.

Major art-only galleries in Ashland include Art & Soul Gallery, Ashland Art Center and Photographers’ Gallery and Walton Art House on Main Street, Howard Hanson Gallery just off Main on Oak Street, Ashland Art Works on Oak Street, the Schneider Musem of Art and CVA Galleries at Southern Oregon University on Siskiyou Blvd., and Galerie Karon in the Railroad District. Art exhibits and receptions are also held frequently at several downtown retail businesses, local wineries and working studios.

December’s map to the Art Walk
Each month, the Ashland Gallery Association creates an online version of the Art Walk Map detailing current exhibits. Just go to http://www.ashlandgalleries.com/events/first-friday-artwalk/ to print out a handy reference for wandering and visiting. You also can discover more details about the exhibits by visiting member galleries’ individual web pages, listed on the Ashland Gallery Association website.

Jacksonville’s Art Walks are on hold for the winter months, but Art Presence Art Center in Jacksonville has two major shows and exhibitions coming up before the holidays.

The Holiday Treasures annual shopping show is open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 11 am-5 pm through December, featuring inspiring gifts for just about everyone on your list, from the small treasures for a hostess to significant works of art for that special collector. You can take art purchases home with you to wrap and gift in time for the holidays, and artists will be replenishing the gallery throughout the show to make sure there’s always a wide selection.

Angels opens on December 6, with a festive reception on December 7, 1-3 pm. The show will be on display through December 29, showing concurrently with Holiday Treasures. Expect to find a wide variety of artistic interpretations of angels, including impressionist, realist, abstract, mystical, cute, fierce, imploring, helping and celestial. Every medium is represented from oils, watercolors, and acrylics to ceramics, bronze, glass, and assemblage with natural and/or manmade materials. The show is sponsored by the Southern Oregon Artists Resource, and is open 11 am-5 pm, each Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December. For more information — art-presence.org

Medford will host its next Third Friday ArtWalk December 20, 5:30-8 pm in the downtown area, with live music, artist demos and artwork in every medium. Participating galleries include the Rogue Gallery & Art Center, Art du Jour, and LifeArt Studio. The ArtWalk is part of the larger Third Friday Downtown celebration, with musicians and dancing in the street, food carts, specials at restaurants and many shops, all staying open late to accommodate holiday visitors. See Medford’s Third Friday on Facebook.

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