EDITORS NOTE: The Plumas Sun partners with KQNY to create its radio news program. Tommy Miles is a member of The Plumas Sun board.

On the first Friday of each month, downtown Quincy galleries and art-adjacent nonprofits remain open for an extra few hours to welcome patrons and showcase new exhibits. Wine and snacks are served, as gallery-goers stroll down Main Street, stopping to explore the different offerings. 

At KQNY, next to the Town Hall Theatre, volunteers were on hand May 2 to distribute T-shirts and stickers, chat about new initiatives and drum up support for the nonprofit radio station while DJS played music. As an independent community station, KQNY is unaffiliated with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said station manager Tommy Miles. KQNY aims to participate in upcoming First Friday events, as well as other community events.

The Quincy Hub, at the corner of Bradley Street and Main, is a relative newcomer to the event, said director of technology Jake Williams. The Hub is a collaboration between the Quincy Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Valley Innovation Hub offering tourist information and local goods. Several months ago, seeing the increased foot traffic on Main Street, the organization decided to stay open. For the May event, two local woodworkers were featured: Jim Koehn and Russ Peter.

Peter builds tool boxes, benches and signs using wood salvaged from the Indian Falls Dixie Fire burn scar. He mills the wood into boards himself. Peter leaves his creations unfinished, allowing buyers to apply the paint or stain they like best.

“I was trying to think of something to do with all the wood that nobody wanted,” he said. “I thought: well maybe that’d be something to do with it.”

Members of Vortex Fire Dance troupe gathered on the court house lawn, spinning colorful flags instead of flames on this occasion. The group offers classes for teens and adults from all walks of life. It’s an activity that helps to build confidence and self-esteem, said Director Rayen Lowry. The organization plans to host a free student show at Dame Shirley Plaza May 17 at 8 p.m.

Student showcase

Student art was on display at the Plumas Arts Capitol Gallery, with Quincy Jr./Sr. High School on the east wall and Feather River College on the west.

Danielle Frid is in her 15th year as art teacher at Quincy High, where she offers beginning, intermediate, and AP art, for which students can earn college credit. She also teaches year book and graphic design classes. Students come to Frid as seventh graders, “and I help them grow,” she said.

Studying art gives students a voice, said Frid. For many, it’s a reason to come to school. “It’s a crazy world,” she said, “but in my classroom we try not to stress. We just create.”

“In my classroom we try not to stress. We just create.”

Danielle Frid

By the time they reach the AP level, the students have had the opportunity to experiment with many different mediums and are ready to be more self-directed. AP students choose their own sustained investigation, a thematic exploration of an aspect of art and thought that lasts all year. It’s a deep dive that includes brainstorming, mindmapping, and creative exploration.

“The high school is thriving with AP classes,” said Frid. “It’s just amazing and I hope it stays that way. In spite of everything that’s happening in our district, the arts programs are doing really well.”

About 40 student pieces were on display at the gallery. One of the artists was 11th grade AP art student Adina Black. Black’s main focus this year is an investigation into how color affects mood. Through her work she has realized the importance of tone as well as hue in evoking an emotional response in the viewer. In addition to art class at school, Black paints watercolor bookmarks, for sale at Quincy Pharmacy.

“Its fun to express myself creatively,” she said. “I lose myself in the process. In this world of technology, that’s nice.” Looking ahead, Black hopes to take a couple of art classes in college, but it won’t be her main area of study.

<>

At the Main Street Artists gallery, FRC professor and program coordinator Josh Olivera delivered a short message of thanks to the gathered crowd. 

“Thank you for showing up for the art, and thank you for showing up for the students,” he said. “Most of all, thank you to the students. This is all you.”

Olivera leads a two-person visual art department at FRC offering courses on painting, photography, drawing, figure drawing, art history, art appreciation. 

It’s a lot for one full-time and one part-time professor to take on, but “the students are incredibly helpful,” Olivera said. “They installed the entire show, for example.”

The Main Street exhibit represents a cross-section of FRC’s offerings. Many of those classes are offered in the evening to allow local community members to enroll. “We want to serve the community as well as students,” he said.

In addition to the art, a new photo book “Feather River in Focus” was available for sale. The photos are a result of a collaboration between the equine program and the arts program.

FRC student Lydia Grace Bacon had several pieces on display at both Main Street and across the street at Bear Creek Frames. Bacon has done art since elementary school, but said she had “really been getting back into it” during her last two semesters at FRC. Already she’s seen her skills evolve: “I’ve made a lot of pieces I never would have thought I’d make,” she said. Bacon appreciates the chance to get out of her comfort zone and to experiment with different styles and media.

Main Street Artists is a co-op. The members all know each other and their work intimately, said John Shehan, one of the organizers. It’s fun for them to see new pieces and new subjects in the space. For example, most co-op members focus on the natural world, depicting scenery and animals; it’s nice to have art featuring people, he said. Main Street hopes to keep the show up until the graduation FRC May 23.

At Bear Creek Frames, FRC student artwork decorated the east wall. “I like art and I support it,” said owner and operator Mark Reynolds. 

That’s also the reason Reynolds started the Lost Sierra Pein Air Festival, an annual event that brings Plein air artists from across the country to paint in Plumas County. This year, said Reynolds, artists are expected from South Carolina, Texas, Colorado, and of course, from all over California. They’ll spend the week of May 10 to May 17 painting landscapes in the open air all around our region. Special events include an artists’ reception at the Feather River Land Trust’s new nature center May 16 from 6-8 p.m., and an all-day street fair in downtown Quincy May 17, featuring a quick draw competition. There is still space for additional vendors at Saturday’s street fair, said Reynolds.

The next downtown Quincy first Friday event will take place June 6 from 5:00-7:00