Today, we take a scenic journey across our listening area to explore two vibrant regional art spaces celebrating the wild beauty of western Oregon.
First, travel east along Highway 126 to Leaburg, where the historic River Run Gallery has reopened under new ownership with an expanded, collaborative creative vision. Among its featured artists is mixed-media painter Claudia Schouten-Jones, whose work is deeply rooted in the McKenzie River corridor.
Having spent decades floating and observing the same stretches of river, Schouten-Jones translates the quiet lessons of water into rich, tactile art. Working on wood panels, she layers watercolor, acrylic, ink, paper fiber, pearlescent pigments, and resin.
The natural wood grain becomes an active participant beneath luminous, shifting surfaces. For Schouten-Jones, water is both subject and metaphor—capturing the "human wake," the invisible currents, ripples of memory, and connections we leave behind.
The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, offering a revitalized stop along the McKenzie corridor.
Next, head north to Monroe, where the non-profit Monroe Arts Association is hosting a special juried exhibition celebrating a nearby crown jewel: the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge. Dedicated to serving rural creators, the gallery provides exposure to diverse voices who turn their lenses and brushes toward the refuge's vital wetlands, oak savannas, and resident wildlife. The exhibition captures the quiet majesty of migrating flocks, meandering prairie creeks, and native ecosystems that define the Willamette Valley.
Both exhibitions remind us that our local landscapes are living sources of creative renewal, whether traced through the rushing waters of the McKenzie or the serene wetlands of Finley. Take a short road trip this week to discover these remarkable regional tributes.
