Drive-by Astoria #16: The Butterfly Fleet

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

W. Marine Drive at Columbia Street and Bond

I was surprised a number of weeks ago to see a new mural in Astoria. Apparently it was unveiled about July 10th. I was no less surprised to learn about the butterfly fleet itself and these amazing sails that look like wings. At one time there were 2,500 of these boats in our coastal waters, but the Maritime Museum was not able to find a single one remaining. The mural was painted by local artist Dorothy Danielson on the side of the Wauna Credit Union building. There is a book called The Butterfly Fleet on Amazon.com. The cover is very similar, but I don't know the connection. The scroll on the mural reads:

THE BUTTERFLY FLEET

BEFORE ENGINES - THEY FISHED

IN BOATS POWERED BY THE WIND

IN THEIR SAILS & WERE CALLED

THE BUTTERFLY FLEET

THEY WERE AT THE MERCY

OF THE WIND & TIDES 

& AS SUCH IT WAS A VERY

DANGEROUS PROFESSION - THEY

DID NOT ALWAYS COME BACK -

THESE PREDOMINATELY SCANDINAVIAN

FISHERMEN & WOMEN PREFERRED 

USING GILLNETS - WHICH THE FISH

SWAM INTO & GOT HUNG UP. THERE

WERE DAY FISHERIES & NIGHT FISHERIES -

THE NIGHT ONES WERE LIKED AS THE

FISH HAD A DIFFICULT TIME SEEING

THE NET, SINCE THEY HAVE BEEN KNOWN

TO SWIM ALONG SIDE OR GO AROUND -

ON A GOOD TRIP THEY CAME HOME

LOADED TO THE GUNNELS --

Speaking of adventures, Lee Spangler is off on a new one. For anyone who would like to follow along, his blog is here.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Autumn Art on the River Walk

 Astoria, Oregon ~ November 3, 2010
Guest Photographer: Alex aka B.G. Owens

Alex wrote: "I happened to be at Safeway this past glorious Wednesday (November 3rd.) and spotted  artists on the other side of the tracks near the trolley stop. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me but, I did have my cell phone, so I snapped these shots thinking what a fabulous November day we are having. Then thought, if any of these pictures turn out, what a great way to remember Astoria in the Fall." 

I think we will all agree, as we enjoy the pouring rain today, January 12th. Thanks for the memories, Alex!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Three Dumpsters

February 11, 2010

These three dumpsters sit at the entrance to Doc's on 12th Street. The one that looks like wood is not. It's been skillfully painted to look like wood. I believe the artist is Jo Brown, whose murals I've shown in earlier posts, and who painted an outstanding mural on the back of the Sears store across from this dumpster. To the left of the dumpster is the River Walk, and to the right is the bank of the Columbia River. The red-topped cans are for recycling.

There was a famous Astoria painted dumpster at the 6th Street Pier when I arrived here in 2001, but it's gone now. It was a fanciful painting by Diane Beeston showing sea creatures and a dancing octopus. I have a photo somewhere and will post it when I find it.

For those who asked about the rooftop garden mural, yes, it is a mural. There are a number of roof-level murals in Astoria, and I'll get their photos taken one of these days :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Fish, Fish, Fish ~ Part 2

Here's another view of the fish sculpture in the courtyard area between the Duncan Law Seafood Consumer Center (shown here) and the Seafood Research and Education Center shown the other day in my May 10 post. In the past few days I've seen people entering both buildings, so I'm not certain what parts of the operations have been closed and what parts are still open. I believe that the seafood cooking classes have been closed. If anyone can give me some up-to-date-info, I'll amend the post.

Someone also asked how many fish were on the sculpture. As you can see, it's hard to get an angle showing everything. There are three halibut (flat) on the right-hand side. I think there are at least 11 fish, a crab pot, and a net, and at the far end is a stylized human. Leading up the steps to the Duncan Law entrance are three more salmon on the side of the staircase, not attached to this standing sculpture. You have to walk around it to see everything. I like the jagged-edged sturgeon near the bottom. We have a lot of these interesting fish in the river here.

Who is the sculptor? I didn't see a name. Vern Wilson is one of the local sculptors who makes fish in metal, but I don't know if he or someone else made this one. Can anyone tell me?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Fish, Fish, Fish

This photo shows only part of the intricate, multi-species fish sculpture outside the Seafood Research and Education Center of Oregon State University (shown here) and the Duncan Law Seafood Consumer Center, behind us and currently closed due to economic woes.

There is more to this statue, and I expect you'll see additional photos soon on this blog, and also the front of the Duncan Law Seafood Consumer Center.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Kathryn George, Congratulations on Your Moo-sical Cow!

April 24, 2010

I was walking through Safeway buying groceries and minding my own business, when I encountered this rare and wonderful sight. I took some photos, of course, but I didn't know much about it. When I finally got around to posting this beautifully-painted cow, I looked it up online and realized just how special it was. Cow-painter Kathryn George is one of only 20 students in the entire U.S. who was a finalist in the Lucerne Art of the Dairy cow-painting contest. Congratulations, Kathryn! Your cow is beautiful and you are talented. I love blue. I'm glad I got a chance to see this!

Kathryn attends Knappa High School. For those who don't know the area, Knappa is just a few twists and turns up the road east of Astoria.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Colorful deterrent

January 12, 2010

This colorful gate is nailed shut at the moment. It can be found on the east side of the white building on Pier 11. Yesterday I posted the "Oregon Wild Products!" mural from the other side of the building. Can you tell it's been raining?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Dots 'N Doodles: Astoria needed this!

Wedged in between two very left-brain establishments is one very right-brain shop. Can you tell which one I'm talking about? It's no longer a brand new business, but it is one of Astoria's newcomers, and it's very popular among the local artists. Astoria is visibly an artistic community with quite a large number of galleries for a town so small.

When I arrived in 2001, there were plenty of artists in Astoria, but no art supply store. I had to drive miles and miles to buy any supplies that could not be found at the stationery store. People told me that for some reason the art supply stores would come and go, never quite able to sustain themselves.

But Dots 'N Doodles seems to be doing very well. The proprietors breezed into town one day with supplies and ideas galore - and obviously a few cans of yellow and red paint. The operation took off. They sell both hard-to-find and easy-to-find supplies, hold interesting classes, and have become a destination for creative people up and down the coast.

I will admit that, despite everything, I have not been inside. I know it's going to be an interesting day for my bank account once I break that barrier. I'll wait until I start painting again. Maybe in 2010? I hope so. At the moment, it's work, work, work for another month or so. 'Tis the season, and the economic climate, too.

Searching for dragons on Tillamook Head

This enchanting photo is courtesy of our first guest photographer, Daryl Moore. Among other things, Daryl is President of Astoria FOG. More about that organization in a minute. Daryl posted some pix on Facebook a few days ago from a hike he and his small son, Benton, took on the incredibly beautiful Tillamook Head trail, hunting dragons, as the captions said on Facebook. (Daryl didn't say what they planned to do if they'd found any.)

The north end of the trail starts about 25 minutes from Astoria on the coast just south of Seaside. Lee and I took this hike a few weeks ago, and on that day it looked less like a site of a dragon's lair, as the sun was shining brightly without the mist. If you hike over Tillamook Head and don't continue on the southern extension along a bluff overlooking the beach, you have walked about a five and a half miles through exquisite deep forest that is very little changed since the days when the Louis and Clark Expedition found it and made notes that are now part of our country's history. This is one of the most beautiful forest trails I have ever seen.

Whether you take the entire trail, or just hike in part way from one end or the other and come back out, it is a truly memorable place to visit. The forest floor is covered with ferns, the trees stretch to the sky, and you can even see a few old-growth trees that have escaped the loggers. The trail rises steeply from sea level to the edge of Tillamook Head, overlooking the ocean. The views through the trees are few, but breathtaking. We watched at least three bald eagles cavorting in the air above us, while the rocky beach was hundreds of feet below.

Now, here's the promised info about Astoria FOG:

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Astoria FOG is a consortium of individuals and businesses that work to promote and market the arts and crafts industry in the Astoria, Oregon area.

We believe that a strong arts community is a significant benefit to the community at large. Because of this, we work tirelessly to promote and market the arts to benefit both the businesses that participate in FOG and the community in which these businesses participate.

FOG works hard to help promote and market its member businesses and artists by: providing group marketing efforts; producing educational seminars for members to help them better market their art and businesses; encouraging new arts and crafts businesses to establish in Astoria; providing additional channels for members to market themselves, including FOG’s Facebook Page, Twitter Feed, and website; and more!

Participation in FOG is available in several forms: Business Membership, Artist Membership, General and Program Sponsor.

Contact FOG for more information:

Astoria FOG

PO Box 966
Astoria, OR 97103

Daryl Moore

info@astoriafog.org
503.338.8799

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Earlier, when I had asked about the acronym, Daryl wrote: "You nailed it Sheryl. Astoria FOG was originally conceived by a few galleries in town, so the name Astoria FOG stood for Friends of Galleries. But although we loved the name (since it's often foggy in a beautiful way around here) we instantly recognized that FOG is not about just the galleries, but it's about the business of Art in all forms. That includes music and crafts. So we kept FOG, but added the tagline 'Friends of the Arts' -- because that is what we strive to be."

So, there you go. Any questions? :)

I'm submitting this lovely photo as my entry for Watery Wednesday. Please see that site for more pix about water in various forms. Not to mention, it's drizzling again today while the rest of the country bakes! It's a tough job living here, but somebody has to do it!