By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews
YACHATS — Art-spangled banners are yet again waving over downtown Yachats, thanks to the work of local artists and the sponsorship of nonprofit Polly Plumb Productions.
For the sixth year, artist Michael Guerriero of Yachats is managing the project, which decorates 18 street light poles along U.S. Highway 101 downtown with original, colorful banners.
Under the theme “Always a Long Story in Yachats,” the 2023 banners feature 36 creative designs in acrylic paint on one side, and the word “Yachats” on the back.
Asked about the theme, Guerriero said, “The more time I spend in Yachats, the more layers of stories I hear. I thought this theme would stimulate thought and conversation.”
Each artist was given creative license to apply the theme, and the results vary from seascapes to Bigfoot, kite-flying to sunsets, all on canvas measuring about 18 by 48 inches.
The banners will be on the light posts through the early fall, taken down and then be displayed during a fundraising auction by Polly Plumb. Proceeds help pay for next year’s banner project and buy supplies for the Waldport High School art department.
Last year, a strong windstorm in late May “pretty well destroyed” about two-thirds of the mounted banners, Guerriero said. The banners were taken down and returned to the artists, with many restored and donated to the auction. To avoid a repeat, the banners now feature a cuff and flap at the curved bottom, anchored to a bar bracket.
Weeks and weeks of work go into the project. First, Guerriero’s wife, Rose Valentine, irons all the canvases to get them ready for a seamstress. Then the individual artists — all volunteers –go to work on their creations, devoting up to 40 hours to each one. At that point, Guerriero and a few volunteers paint the backs, screen print “Yachats” on the back, and then varnish both sides.
Public feedback over the years has been “all pretty positive,” he said. The display “gives more interest to the downtown space. Artists are gratified to see their works up, and it really fits the cultural bent of the town.”
The project was inspired by a banner effort in the Nye Beach area of Newport several years ago.
To see all the banners online, in addition to artists’ credits and descriptions, go to the gallery on Polly Plumb’s website.
Guerriero gives special credit to Polly Plumb for supporting the project, and to local web designers Nancy Bolton-Rawles and Bruce Rawles for their work in creating the online gallery.
