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| How Teal Began |
web inquiries, contact lauren ohlgren
TEAL Artist Cooperative
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copyright 2008 Teal Artist Cooperative P.O. Box 1616 Corvallis, Oregon 97339 541-754-6338
Marti and Gary Spehar were newly married and looking for a way to
finance their artistic lifestyle. They began selling jewelry at local
Oregon festivals from the back of their VW van. They couldn’t have
guessed that Oregon Jewelry would still be a presence more than
three decades later, flourishing and supporting the successful
jewelry making careers of them and their children. Integral to
their success, has been their involvement in the TEAL Art Gallery
since the beginning of the gallery’s inception.
Fellow artist, Ken Pate, a potter and one of the founders of the
TEAL ART Gallery, invited them into the gallery. The first year was
a success, and what began as a small cooperative gallery of local
artists looking for somewhere to sell indoors during the cold and
rainy winter seasons, has turned into TEAL, a gallery that for 23
years has opened its doors every November to many shoppers
whose idea of a great gifts is something hand crafted as well as
pleasing to the eye.
For the Spehar’s, TEAL is about art and family. Their daughter
Sarin works with them, and their son, Chaum, and daughter-in-law
April also show their soap in the gallery. But all of the artists, many
of whom have been involved in the gallery for years, feel a sense
of family and renewal that is so much a part of TEAL.
The gallery is reinvented in downtown Corvallis every year and is
always showing the work of new artisans. From fine leather goods,
to handmade soap, to sparkling new jewelry, to beautiful
woodwork, TEAL showcases the talent and creativity of the
Willamette Valley artisan community.
finance their artistic lifestyle. They began selling jewelry at local
Oregon festivals from the back of their VW van. They couldn’t have
guessed that Oregon Jewelry would still be a presence more than
three decades later, flourishing and supporting the successful
jewelry making careers of them and their children. Integral to
their success, has been their involvement in the TEAL Art Gallery
since the beginning of the gallery’s inception.
Fellow artist, Ken Pate, a potter and one of the founders of the
TEAL ART Gallery, invited them into the gallery. The first year was
a success, and what began as a small cooperative gallery of local
artists looking for somewhere to sell indoors during the cold and
rainy winter seasons, has turned into TEAL, a gallery that for 23
years has opened its doors every November to many shoppers
whose idea of a great gifts is something hand crafted as well as
pleasing to the eye.
For the Spehar’s, TEAL is about art and family. Their daughter
Sarin works with them, and their son, Chaum, and daughter-in-law
April also show their soap in the gallery. But all of the artists, many
of whom have been involved in the gallery for years, feel a sense
of family and renewal that is so much a part of TEAL.
The gallery is reinvented in downtown Corvallis every year and is
always showing the work of new artisans. From fine leather goods,
to handmade soap, to sparkling new jewelry, to beautiful
woodwork, TEAL showcases the talent and creativity of the
Willamette Valley artisan community.
