September/October 2010

If you have visited the Corvallis Library in recent weeks, no doubt you have been treated to a view of the Library’s wonderful new art piece, “Siuslaw Sun Showers,” by University of Oregon graduate Michele Gutlove. This glasswork is meant to evoke the feeling of light moving through the layers of our nearby Siuslaw National Forest.

But you may ask yourself, “How on earth can the Library afford something like this when they have had so many budget cuts?” The answer is that the piece, along with all the other art in the Corvallis Library, is a gift to our community, meant to enhance the experience of those who come to our most-visited public building. Tax money was not used to purchase any of the art in our libraries. The children of former Library Director Jeanne Larson and her husband Robert have generously given the Library Foundation funds to commission the art piece. They are also responsible for the gift of many books and furnishings, as well as other art pieces such as the statue of the children reading in front of the building and the blue “Marys Peak Bear” in the children’s section.

During the depths of the Great Depression, a vision for the continuing need for arts and culture, even in hard times, resulted in many great buildings and art works funded by the WPA, including Oregon’s own Timberline Lodge. Let’s not forget the need to nourish our souls while we endure economic difficulties. Thank you, Larson family, for your commitment to the community where you grew up and to the Library your mother so ably led.