Fairweather House and Gallery
612 Broadway St.
Art Show and Sale
May 1-25
ON YOUR MARKS, an exhibition, featuring NW artists Gayle H. Seely, Diane Copenhaver, Mary Burgess, and Lee Munsell.
“On your marks” a command given to runners at the beginning of a race in order to get them into the correct position to start. In the words of the Fairweather exhibition, it “ means to begin something, indicating the arts season is opening for the summertime”.
The show offers a fresh and dynamic experience with new art specially created for the upcoming summer season.
“For by the coastal summer season, is that nothing is enjoyed without community, without creative collaboration, without pure joy, and resolute faith in living safely and sharing generously with friends, family, and visitors.” FH&G
Seely has been represented by the Fairweather Gallery since 2015.
Seely and her husband live in Seaside where she also has a studio. When she isn’t working, she enjoys walking and spending time with her beautiful dog.
“I love seeing people become so involved in my boxes,” Gayle H. Seely. The artist’s unique creations will be on display at Fairweather House and Gallery’s Art Walk kick off at the ON YOUR MARKS opening reception on Saturday, May 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. Her painting methods combined with fresh, modern energy and emotions create intricate colorful boxes, bound to delight.
Seely, an Oregon native, moved to the North Coast from Trinidad in 1984. She became familiar with the area after her parents, Carol and Al Vernon, moved to Gearhart in 1980.
After graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in fine art, she moved to San Francisco to take a job in an architectural design firm.
To offset the artistic constrictions of her day job, she enrolled at Humboldt State College as a post baccalaureate unclassified, which meant she could take any art class she liked.
“There was a senior year seminar where I was thrown in with the messy artists, and I realized I wanted to feel that,” Seely said.
She decided to pay off her school loan and her and car loan and eventually quit her job in San Francisco to move to Trinidad to make art. To support herself, she took a job waiting tables.
“When I wasn’t working, I drew. I was drawn to seascapes,” Seely said. “I’ve always loved the beach.”
Not long after, Seely had an epiphany she wanted to focus exclusively on boxes, a direction she’s taken for several years.
“The boxes are surprisingly durable,” Seely said. All the same, she said people collect them and regard them as talismans.
Excerpts from Seaside Signal newspaper
END NOTE:
“My dog is a trained pheasant hunter,” Seely says.
It’s easy to imagine one day, perhaps, in May, during the artist talk at the Seaside First Saturday Art Walk… Gayle will describe how feathers found their way into her enchanting and imaginative work…
Please read more about our gallery, our commitment to NW artists, and our products made by NW hands.