An Astoria Suprise

My wife and I were wandering the wilds of downtown Astoria, Oregon on the 3rd of December. The old Lovell Auto Dealership has been turned into a local artist's market in the showroom and the shop area is now the Fort George Brewery... but I digress.

We went down a block and strolled Commercial Street which was alive with folks a-shopping and strolling. We chanced upon the RiverSea Gallery - it's right on the main drag. This shot was later in the evening with the lights on.

The RiverSea has always been a world-class gallery in a beautiful old building but what did we notice but a display of the exciting works of  carver and Grip-All Jaws user Rob Artman.

This is the piece by the door that caught my eye.



...And another fine mask. That machine on the floor is a programmable, self-propelled, ion powered, reticulating...oh, I have no idea what the heck it is. But it was really cool and I liked it!

The style is called "Steampunk" and it puts old things to new use.

You may have seen this Asian-looking mask before if you are regular visitor to the blog and it's still stunning in person.

It was wonderful to see Rob's pieces in that beautiful, up-scale setting. And if you are in Astoria, stop and see the RiverSea.