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March 17, 2011 * Portrait: SMALL BUSINESS — BIG IMPACT 65 The business of art

A new venture brings visual art to downtown Beaverton

see) the character hit the paper. You know exactly where you’re at.”

On Cedar Hills Boulevard in Beaverton, you’ll find a store that sells another vintage item: vinyl records. Everyday Music is known for its vast selection of long-playing records. Glance at some of the album covers and you won’t be able to help reliving your past. Scott Kuzma, who owns Everyday Music with his wife, Sarah, says vinyl records are not rare; there’s plenty of sup-ply. When it comes to new and used vinyl, Kuzma says his Beaverton location has approximately 5,000 to 10,000 records. These records appeal to several age groups. The target demographic, says Kuzma, is the 25- to 35-year-old. “You really saw a noticeable decline in vinyl probably by the late ’80s and early ’90s,” says Kuzma. But a resurgence is under way. According to Kuzma, vinyl “was accounting for less than 5 percent of our overall sales maybe five, 10 years ago. Now we’re back up to almost 20 percent of our overall sales in vinyl. We have seen a great increase.”

LP popularity comes and goes. “Back 20 years ago, people were looking for Beatles and Stones records,” says Kuzma, pointing out that, these days, it’s difficult to find Beatles records that are worth a lot of money, except for records that are in excellent condition.

Kuzma says LP’s that will always be desirable include old R&B and old blues. Classical labels, such as RCA, remain popular, as do records with a limited issue. “You may have had some crazy guy in California who recorded 100 copies of something.”

Kuzma speaks highly of the quality of older LP’s — those kept in good condi-tion. These old records are high fidelity and were recorded in analog format, says Kuzma, adding that if you are able to invest in a good sound system and turntable, the LP’s will sound better than CD’s.

Thanks in part to the DJ movement, young kids are starting to discover vinyl. “They see it as something that maybe has a little bit more hipness value to it,” says Kuzma. “Something that disappeared and now is coming back.”

Kuzma has advice for those who feel vinyl has gone the way of the Tyrannosaurus: “There’s vinyl. People always say there aren’t any record stores — there are record stores. You have to go find them. You have to be willing to spend some time looking through them. We’re out there.”

CONTACT INFORMATION

Pacific Typewriter — 1855 S.W. Multnomah Blvd, Portland (503-245-8000 / thetypewriterco.com)

Everyday Music — 3290 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton (503-350-0907 / everydaymusic.com)

By GAIL PARK

new Beaverton venture opened last September. It offers ongoing exhibits and monthly events.

The works of more than a dozen Portland-area, mixed media artists are currently displayed in the small gallery in Beaverton’s historic district. Art on Broadway (formerly Amato’s) is the backdrop for artwork which includes paintings, metal work, jewelry, fused glass, ceramics and stone sculpture. The updated showroom, with a newly raised ceiling, fresh coat of paint, exhibit lighting and a streetside wall of windows, is a spacious quarters to hang and show art. Deep window sills display white marble sculpture, ceramic artwork and jewelry. Sunlight twinkles off the glass beadwork.

Donna Sanson is one of the founders of the gallery. The Sexton Mountain watercolor painter is starting a new chapter in her life, and her art business is beginning to bloom. Eleven artists have joined her and fellow artists and co-owners Joni Mitchell and Bert Cohen. More art members are still being sought.

Florist Karen Amato and the three women gallery founders, recently moved from Karen’s longtime Amato Floral location to Broadway. Amato closed her business and officially locked her doors on Feb. 28. Expanding into the additional space, more artwork is on display. Eventually, small, personalized art classes will be held there.

According to Sanson, the art gallery is an ever-changing canvas of art collections. Artists commit to six-month stays at a time and each regularly brings in new pieces. The changing exhibits are intended to keep the gallery looking fresh and interesting.

Sanson’s goal is to give local artists a chance to share their work on a permanent basis. “This is a good fit for local artists. We get to know each other and become like family,” says Sanson, who moved to Oregon in 2008. “There’s no room for prima donnas here. It’s a cooperative association — we’re all willing to share in our successes and failures.”

The self-proclaimed watercolor purist and her business partners are prepared to bear some extra expenses while get-

ting the business off the ground. “We’re in transition. It’s all about problem solving,” she says about the business’s first six-month period. “If we break even in here, that would be fine.” The 11 selected artists pay $50 a month to exhibit their work. Art on Broadway receives 20 percent commission from their sales.

The collection of art features acrylic, pastel and watercolors by Chris Helton, metal sculpture work by Joe Pogan and mas-tery of traditional oil painting by Linda J. Baker. Nikki Dilbeck and Bruce Ulrich’s abstract acrylics are exhibited along with Joni Mitchell’s stone sculpture and Gretha Lindwood’s oils. Kris Paul’s raku, Annie Salness’ acrylic works and Bert Cohen’s jewlery are in ongoing displays. New artisan’s works include black and white photography selections by Willy Paul, fused glass created by Rae Campbell and acrylic landscapes and abstracts and encaustics by Sue Jensen, a member of LOCAL 14 (a support group of emerging women artists that started in 1968 in Lake Oswego).

Sanson, 65, adds her unique expression to the mix. After working with watercolors for years, she is shifting her paint brush strokes to add new drama to her pieces. Using layers of transparent watercolor, her work is deeply textural and playful. She collages images beneath paint for added dimension. “Once I think less about the painting and start speaking with the work, my creativity flows,” says Sanson, who attend-ed the Fine Arts Department at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas and was further inspired during a work-shop at the La Romita School of Art in Italy.

Sanson operated her own art gallery in California and taught drawing and watercolor to adults, help started Artists 7 (a group of female artists established in 2000) and was one of 10 members of Portola Art Gallery. “I’ve always belonged to an artist group, gallery or cooperative association.”

Art on Broadway’s next artist reception is April 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. Meet the gallery’s participants during the Saturday event. Future events, projected for the first Saturday of each month, will be announced soon.

The business’s regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

NEW IN TOWN — Art on Broadway co-founder Donna Sanson holds “Bird in Red Lantern” by metal maestro Joe Pogan. Her new art gallery exhibits collections that include paintings, jewelry, glass, sculpture and photography.

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