Street Art In Salem

Update, 1/26/2014
Adorable bits of art are everywhere in Salem, I just didn't know where to look. I have photo photo on film, but I need to get a good scan before I can post it. So more on that later. :) I found this scary wall monster yesterday while checking out the old apartment window mural.

Original Article, 12/2/2013
There isn't a lot of impromptu street art in Salem. I'm not condoning vandalism* , but unexpected beauty is still beauty and its fun to capture it when it happens.This post will be dedicated to photos of art that is a part of the city. Statues and sculptures are beautiful works of art, I'm not dismissing them. I just want to highlight the more creative ways art is integrated into the city. These are more fleeting moments of art, because many are taken down or made of materials that can't stand up to the elements. As fleeting as they might be, they are still marks of humanity and imagination; maybe even a peek into another world, and deserve to be admired as art.

*Vandalism is the act of deliberately destroying or damaging property as per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. In some cases it is up to each individual person to decide what "damage" means to them and also what "beauty" or "art" means to them. Just some food for thought.

Update, 12/6/2013: Looks like I need to get downtown again! Someone is yarn bombing downtown light posts*. :) If anyone knows more of these projects please let me know so I can get out there and photograph them.

*See below for the photos I took of the yarn bombing on the block of Liberty downtown.

Collage Art From Scraps, Discards & Leftovers

I first got the idea when my boyfriend showed me a picture of a Painted Bunting. They aren't local birds, they prefer warmer climates, but that didn't stop me from making a collage so I can enjoy the Painted Bunting's beautiful colors.

 I ripped a few pieces of music from a discarded music book, pictures from an out of date craft magazine, words from a discarded childrens' library book, and hand-me-down card stock from a friend.

After arranging and gluing the background down, I drew the bird and branch. I cut out each pice I needed for each color and glued them together and onto the background. This first photo is of the whole piece so far.

 Next I painted the bird to add the color variation that makes the Pained Bunting such a distinct bird. You could choose to cut out more piece, but I preferred to have the painted look.

The whole piece ended up looking pretty nice. All it needs now is a nice coating of modge-podge or some sort of sealant.

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Salem, Oregon's Places To Photograph

**Please practice safe social distancing and wear masks as well as sanitize hands if going out.**

This list is a work in progress  I'd been thinking lately that I need a physical list of places in Salem (Oregon) I want to photograph. Salem has many beautiful landscapes and landmarks, but I keep forgetting the cool little places I mean to go back to, especially the once a year or seasonal events I miss for various reasons.

Places To Photograph Around The Salem Area

Places I Want To Photograph

• Abandoned "bean bus" on Fairview Industrial Dr (morning light only)
• Abbey at Mt Angel 
• City of Dallas, and surrounding farms
• Couch Races at Davenport Days (summer)
• Fairview Hospital (this one is iffy, can you legally photograph it?)
• Farm land around Cordon Rd (magic hour)
• Frank Lloyd Wright house at the Oregon Gardens (Summer/fall)
• Great Oregon Steam Up, In Brooks (summer)
• Mission Mill (museum and grounds, winter for best light before closing)
• Oak Grove Church, West Salem (different seasons, not sure of best light)
• Oktober Fest in Mt Angel (early fall/late summer)
• Oregon Gardens (spring/summer)
• Silverton - dowtown (spring/summer or fall)
• Spring Valley Community Center (morning or before the sun goes over the hill, 5pm late summer)
• Spring Valley State Park (mid spring & for birding)
• World Beat Festival (River Front Park, summer)

In addition, I've found these helpful websites of historic places to check out.

http://www.salemoregon.com/historichomes/
http://salem-heritage-network.blogspot.com/

The pioneers, Oregon State Capitol - photo by Lisa Miller

Places Around Salem I Have Photographed

• Ankeny NWR (great for short hikes! or birding)
• Baskett Slough NWR (more difficult, but great hike)
• Bush House and gardens
• Bush Park - Camas Field (spring)
• Campus at the Department of Forestry (Spring - camas, Summer - ? not done, Fall - forest & creek)
• Capitol Building and Golden Pioneer
• Church St & State St (fall color)
• Croisan Meadow Loop hiking trail
• Darrow Bar, cute hike (winter for snow on branches, birding; I've done Fall, it's beautiful!) 
• Deepwood Estate (Both inside and Out, Love, love, love this place)
• Downtown Salem alleyways (art/vines/old murals)
• Elsinore mural & Elsinore Theater
• Joryville County Park (beautiful hiking!, spring)
• McDonald Forest (near Corvallis, but still close, great hikes, old growth)
• Minto-Brown Island City Park & The old car wrecks at Minto-Brown Park (3 total)
• Oregon State Fair, rides at night, animals, street photography (late summer)
• Pringle Creek area
• Salem Sunday Streets (late summer)
• Silvercreek Falls State Park (fave for hikes, Spring, Summer & Fall - best!, Winter)
• Soap Box Derby (Bush Park, late summer)
• State Capitol Mall Cherry Trees (late march)
• Storm clouds & fir trees from Bryan Johnston Park 
• Sunset & view from Crestview Dr 
• US Bank Building, downtown  (great for black & white architecture)
• West Salem orchards & wineries in the hills - (beautiful landscapes)
• Willamette Mission State Park (the ghost mission, hikes)
• Willamette University Campus (fall for foliage, summer!)

Antique car wreck, Minto Island - photo by Lisa Miller

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