The Whiteaker Neighborhood’s Last Friday Art Walk invites locals to roam the streets and discover some of the city’s vibrant art culture.
Held on the last Friday of every month, the event takes walkers on a tour of artwork ranging from large public pieces, such as murals and sculptures, to functional art and jewelry from the likes of local metalsmiths. Galleries and studios open their doors for the monthly event to give participants a glimpse of pieces on display and on sale.
The local artists and venues featured help paint the colorful picture that is the art walk. Here are some of  their stories:
Jud Turner
Jud Turner is a longtime Eugene resident who attended the University and trained under professors Ron Graff and the late Frank Okada.
Turner’s artistic philosophy revolves around the notion that “between seeming contradictions lie greater truths,” and his work conveys this aphorism well. A ménage of objects contrast industrial themes with the environment in many of his pieces, often within the same work.
“Duel Nature,” an assemblage sculpture, hints at the fleeting and transformable state of the environment. The piece depicts two flying islands, each occupied by a single Douglas fir. The disclosed undersides of the islands reveal the mechanical innards of the flotation device, an ostensible contrast to the vibrant tree above. Hoisted in the branches rest two cannons; the trees are symmetrical and point the cannons at one another.
Another assemblage piece, titled “Factotum,” presents a sharp critique of capitalist culture where within a working of cogs, a small number of people are standing alone holding briefcases.
“This piece is about the nature of repetitive and meaningless labor that many people are trapped in,” Turner said.
All the cogs and mechanical do-dads were scrapped from old sewing machines, many of which were used in factories; a fitting source for the theme of the piece.
One of his newest pieces, “Moment to Cultural Usurpation,” depicts a 7-foot-tall totem pole in Turner’s series of holy objects for religions that don’t exist.
“It was inspired by Dreamcatchers sold at Walmarts and Kokopelli figures sold at gas stations,” Turner said.
The totem is decorated with Native American symbols made out of tools and pieces from the modern industrial culture, which, according to Turner, crushed the Native American people. The Hoodz-n-Gearz gallery will be exhibiting this piece along with many of his other pieces during Last Friday Art Walk.
Hoodz-n-Gearz
Hoodz-n-Gearz gallery is a compilation of everything owner Kris Stewart finds important in life.
Fine art and clothing sit alongside mixed martial arts fighting gear. The padded mat room in the back, now used mostly for private lessons or training, somehow complements Jud Turner’s work that appears all around the gallery. Other artists include tattoo artist Joe Leonard, painter Joshua South and others.
Since Hoodz’s inception in January 2009, Turner has been represented by the gallery, but connections between he and Stewart go back 15 years earlier when they both worked with people with disabilities.
“Hoodz has art works that you will not see anywhere else in Eugene, or even most Portland galleries,” Turner said.
The rough textures and materials that Turner uses along with the colorful paintings hanging on the walls give Hoodz a completely different feel from your usual art gallery.
“It’s definitely an alternative gallery,” Stewart said, standing by a large painting of singer Erykah Badu by L.A.-based artist Steven Lopez.
Last Friday Art Walk provides the opportunity for the galleries and shops to open its doors and let Eugene partake in its cultural vibrancy.
“What I usually do for Last Fridays or party nights is open the gallery front to back,” Stewart said. “We usually have food, and we always have beer and soft drinks on hand.”
Often the gallery will have live bands perform on Last Fridays, and things draw out to the wee hours of the morning.
Stewart said art is a hard business to be in right now. When the economy is down, art is one of the first things to go, and everyone in the art community can feel the effects of that.
“I know people that right now if they had the money, they’d definitely be buying art, but since everything else is up in the air, they have to wait,” Stewart said.
Tracey Bell and Firefly Jewelry

Firefly nests amid the bustle of art studios along Second Avenue and Blair Boulevard. 
The colorful walls of the studio display Tracey Bell’s artisan jewelry and metalsmith work, which features handmade, elegant necklaces, earrings and bracelets, as well as her fine artwork.
“There’s been age-old debates about how craft fits into art and ‘does art that’s functional fit into art?’” Bell said. “I do both, and the thing about the non-functional pieces is that you can’t afford to do a ton of them.”
Bell tries to make at least two pieces a year that are “non-functional,” but costs have to be taken into consideration.
The non-functional piece hanging on her studio wall now is a silver wreath of grape vines and human veins woven together with the implicit theme of meshing humanity and nature.
“You have to pay rent on the studio. You have to pay for materials,” Bell said. “As much as I appreciate it, as a practicing artist in order to pay the rent, you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Bell’s sentiments are shared by everyone in the art community, especially in this rough economic climate.
“A lot of people look down on you if you’re working at a jewelry store and have a fine arts
degree. But you have to go to school to learn the technique, you have to go there to learn the materials,” Bell said.
The art displayed in Firefly are all handmade and one-of-a-kind pieces.
Silver or gold leaves dangle on the ends of many of the necklaces and earrings. Many objects such as vintage stamps and maps are “captured,” enclosed by metal pieces with rivets. She calls these “urban jewels.”
“Most people wearing jewelry end up wearing mass produced stuff from China. I would rather sell something that’s going to be treasured as opposed to something that’s really cool, something that really pushes boundaries,” Bell said.
On Last Friday Art Walk, Firefly is open, and Bell often performs demos and displays her work for customers and gawkers to view and purchase.
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