December 30 Jam 8

The Hippoh Project hosts a battle tonight - Hippoh Jam 8. It's 2on2 all styles, including but not limited to breakin', krump, urban and funkstyle. With a $100 prize, it's a nice touch to brighten a new year. At Hippoh Project Dance Studio, www.hippohproject.com, 1306 NW Hoyt St. B-1. Doors 6PM, Battles 7

December 19 Publication Fair

Publication Studio, of which we have written before, is the brainchild of Patricia No and Matthew Stadler. They have always pursued with grace, a strategy of promoting many local micro publishers, along with their own projects, a philosophy almost completely absent in business today.

Today they host over a dozen creative book publishers and the shops that sell small run works in their annual publication fair. Last year, they included a video Skype with Amsterdam and collective authoring of a book in real time.

At the Ace Publication Studio www.publicationstudio.biz, in the Cleaners at the Ace Hotel, corner SW 10th and Stark, 11AM-8PM Free

December 16 Post Post Post Punk Jam

Patrick Rock's musical unit Piss, with Jason Powell and Matthew Green, performs a rare Appendix set this evening. Since Appendix is a garage, this would be a garage band event. They win the copywriting award of the month:

"Now Come Sit On My Lap… And smile for the camera…

After a yearlong hiatus riffled with group therapy, rehab, broken ribs, and newborn relationships, as well as successful album, touring, and label hits by (the prettier) individual members. The PUNK-HUNK ‘art trio’ PISS (+ dear friends) triumphantly returns to APPENDIX PROJECT SPACE; For a PISSMAS pageant extravaganza worthy of the heavens opening up and casting down wrath like embracement upon all believers in its glorious paternal bosom.

This performance will coincide with the release of an extremely limited edition, 7”, hand-lathed, mono-recorded, lacquer-pressed, A & B side recording, of the smash hits BERLIN & EMPATHY on RADICALDOCUMENTS"

At Appendix Project Space. On the alley between 26th and 27th, South of Alberta. Wear shoes you can get muddy. www.appendixspace.com Map 8PM to whenever the police come. Free

December 14 Curiosity Club

This is a relatively new event that has become the most interesting regular meetup of Portland object designers. That would include product designers, industrial designers and small run craft flavor object makers. It's not just the refreshments which are drawing an overflow crowd. Over 500 people also tune into the free live webcast off the Core77 site. Tonight industrial designer Joey Roth talks about his personal designs and "Articulating the Beauty of Everyday Rituals" - touchpoints of emotional design and authenticity. They must be doing something right, the last speaker went on just 2 weeks later to give a TED talk. At Hand Eye Supply www.handeyesupply.com/pages/curiosity-club 23 NW 4th 5:30PM Free

December 13 Where Environmentalism Meets Capitalism

An early Peace Corps volunteer, Portland's Spencer Beebe continued worldchanging work with the Nature Conservancy, which preserves wildlands and habitats by buying them, as its president, and cofounded Conservation International because the Nature Conservancy wasn't global. Almost 20 years ago he founded Ecotrust. Ecotrust focuses on new sustainable business models, sustainable because they are based on social and environmental principles. That character establishes their authenticity. Beebe has written an autobiography Cache: Creating Natural Economies. It details his experience, and lessons, perhaps of value to the next generation of world changers. It is part of the Bright Lights series sponsored by the local architecture magazine Portland Spaces and the City Club, a thoughtful public interest group. At Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th Map Doors 5:30PM, discussion 6. Free

December 12 Manya Shapiro

Manya Shapiro is a Portland artist working in alternative textiles. Art moves faster than society and forms a perfect platform for creative discussion of what is going on in the society at large. Shapiro was involved in the early feminist art movement in the late 1960's and early 1970's. That movement cleared the way for todays artists, who continue to comment on where we should be headed as a people. This afternoon Shapiro shows woven dress forms, constructed from non-traditional materials. At the Murdoch Collections 2219 NW Raleigh 4PM-8 Free

December 11 PICA Prints Rocksbox

PICA raises money each year by volunteer artists, many who never work in prints, spending a day making one of a kind monoprints. It's great messy fun for the artists who almost never have the opportunity to produce work in a large scale social environment. That list of artists is on the PICA website. At the Goldsmith Building 20 NW 5th 6PM-9 $100-250, free to look



Rocksbox presents The Happiest Holiday by Donald Morgan. It is inspired by the Catalan tradition of caga tió, which, like many traditions doesn't translate well. Morgan is cofounder of Ditch Projects and art professor at UofO. Rocksbox is one of Portland's most experimental galleries and always a great meetup for thinking artists. At Rocksbox Fine Art www.rocksboxfineart.com 6540 N Interstate 8PM-11 Free

December 10 Trish Grantham, Live Painting and Plastics

Longtime illustration-style painter and collage artist Trish Grantham opens a show of her newest work, The Victory Garden, tonight. At Buy Olympia's Land Gallery www.landpdx.com 3925 N Mississippi 6PM-8 Free



Performance painting is always a fun and high energy event, almost whatever the style. Tonight the Hellion Gallery, Matt Wagner's new effort after curating Compound Gallery, presents live painting at Rotture. Portland artists Zach Johnsen and Blaine Fontana. It's part of the regular hip hop show at Rotture 315 SE 3rd 9PM-late



It's a little dated, but the 1967 film, The Graduate, established one of the great 20th century memes in pop culture: plastics. Plastics are a varied synthetic material. The same amount of plastic might cost fractions of a cent as a plastic knife, fork and spoon; a few hundred dollars as a pair of eyeglasses; a few thousand as an artificial joint or engineered membrane. And plastics is the theme of tonight's photography show made with plastic cameras. In this case, plastic becomes part of the value establishing narrative. That some of those cameras were born as children's toys cant hurt either. Curated by Alli Azevedo, artists include Christopher Buckingham, Ann Suckow Mcgarry, Jason Quigly, Justin Morrison, Kim Nguyen. DJ Skinny Miracles for tunes, on vinyl - that's plastic too! At Albina Press, 4637 N. Albina Ave at Blandena. Not sure on the time, 6PM-8 Free

December 9 Photo White Box+

PNCA hosts a free lecture by photographer Eileen Quinlan. Recommended. www.pnca.edu NW 13th and Johnson 6:30PM Free



The University of Oregon's most consistently curated exhibition space in Portland is its White Box Gallery. Tonight they open Art Now, Duration in Common, Contents by Therese Mastroiacovo and Sarah Greig. The artists and the curator give a brief talk at 6:30PM At the University of Oregon White Box Gallery 24 NW 4th 6PM-9 Free



If you are in Seattle and have an interest in butoh dance, a modern form originally from Japan, there is a performance tonight. Joan Laage preforms The Marys Project: Every Baby Is Jesus. daipanbutoh.com/events It's at Good Shepherd Center Chapel. 8PM $10

December 4 Lyrik Orlo Place

The shopping mall as we know it is relatively ancient. An early example was the Arcade of Cleveland, quite beautiful too. Corso Vittorio Emanuele is an outstanding example, though synthetic, it's old enough, and integrated with a faux streetscape, albeit inlaid marble, to have gained authenticity over time. London has several historic arcades. Istanbul's labyrinthine Grand Bazar is essentially a covered soulk. Las Vegas, Tokyo, and the wealthy oil states have their own variations, some including indoor ski slopes. Certainly Disneyland would be considered a specialized shopping mall. Though not an enclosed mall, Two Rodeo, is an outstanding example of a synthetic and surreal shopping environment. Portland has its own variations, including Lloyd Center, considered innovative in its time. Another example is the Rouse development, Pioneer Square. Rouse, founded by James Rouse, later acquired by General Growth Properties, specializes in shopping malls, and has the contacts to bring a certain mix of tenants. In this rough retail environment, some of those carefully planned Pioneer Place spaces are empty, and the artists have moved in.

It is a great location for a pioneering pop up art gallery. And if you can't bring people to the art, bring art to the people! Actually, for a time, the Bellevue Art Museum was in the Bellevue Mall, and I'm sure there are other examples. Organizers Gabe Flores and Gary Wiseman, of Kitchen Sink, among other projects, are the organizers. Their temporary gallery is called Place. A few months ago they showed straight paintings, great installations made of old store fixtures and tormented, I mean, entertained shoppers with performance art in the mall proper. Today they open their next show. They have a big party reception December 4. In the Pioneer Place Mall, bounded by SW Morrison, Yamhill, 5th and 6th. Third floor. 5PM-8 Free



Curated cafe Lyrik has Restored by Patrick Haemmerlein, mixed media. At Lyrik Cafe www.lyrikpdx.com 2035 SE 39th at Lincoln Map



We like Orlo, a place where artists, writers and environmentalists collaborate. Given our special place in the grand Western landscape, it's perfect. They are having a birthday party for themselves - details here. In an interesting mashup, there is a dance party with DJ and the film Rebel Without a Cause. Not sure that works with their brand. 8PM-late $10

December 3 Project Grow Eastside Art Openings

Project Grow hosts a get together this evening in their new, quite grand, art space. It's an opportunity to meet the project artists, see their work and hear music by Calvin Johnson, musician, DJ an founder of a little thing in Olympia called K-Records. You can read about Project Grow in previous posts or on their website and blog. Project Grow at the Port City Development Center. 2156 N Williams Ave at Tillamook. 7PM-10



Synthesis Series: Part 1 opens this evening. It represents a new experimental model for Tori Abernathy's Recess Gallery. Twelve artists were paired randomly by the project archon into collaborative units. They are Hannah Piper Burns + Allison Halter, Michael Reinsch + Dasha Shleyeva + Tori Abernathy + Jamalieh Haley, Jason King + Shawn Patrick Higgins, Abraham Ingle + Gabe Flores and Chloe Womack + Delphine Bedient. Not sure what the extended viewing hours will be, so see it tonight. At Research Club research-club.org/events/exhibitions/synthesis-series-part-1 215 SE Morrison, Suite 2020. Map Arrive in the first half hour, the door may be locked after that at Research Club 215 SE Morrison #2020 6:30PM-10 Free



Golde Rule has a group show by Lahaina Alcantara, Shawn Creeden, Austin English, Dennis Foster, Israel Lund, Mia Nolting and Paul Wagenblast. At Golden Rule Gallery www.goldenruleportland.com 811 E Burnside, Suite 122 in the back



Curator Sam Korman ends Car Hole Gallery's epic one year half underground run with No More Coats No More Hole: The Unauthorized Greatest Hits & Notes From A Young Curator book release. This gallery has been one of Portland's most DIY galleries with a great curator. Includes Israel Lund, Kevin Abel, Alex Felton, Derek Franklin, Matthew Greene, Calvin Ross Carl, Annabel Roberts-McMichael, Liam Drain, Carmen Denison, Chase Biado, Andrea Glaser, Crystal Baxley, Krystal South, Anna Gray & Ryan Wilson Paulsen, Patricia No, Kit Bowman & Elizabeth Jaeger. At Car Hole Gallery 114 SE 12th x Ankeny

December 2 Westside Art Openings

Portland conceptual functional ceramicist Jamin London Tinsel shows her latest work. Some of her vessels have been purposed to performance too. This show is strictly for looking. At Visage Eyewear 1046 NW Johnson



Digital Soul is a show by Japanese master character illustrators Ippei Gyobu and Baku Maeda. At Compound Gallery www.compoundgallery.com 107 NW 5th



DE May is a minimalist mixed media artist, 2d-3d. It harks back to the early outsider artist period of the South, but minimal not maximal. At PDX Contemporary Art www.pdxcontemporaryart.com 925 NW Flanders Map early close 8PM



Portland landscape photographer Stu Levy also specializes in grid portraits, multiple exposures assembled in a grid pattern. It's primitive photo stitching with mullions. The technique allows the subject to appear in different places at the same time in the final print. At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis



Pulliam gallery has painters G. Lewis Clevenger and Kay French. French specializes in botanical-themed folksy patterns. Clevenger in known for geometric color compositions. At Pulliam Deffenbaugh www.pulliamdeffenbaugh.com until 8



Britt Howard has some large fiber installations, Soft Knots, tangling the walls at Stumptown. Her work is a personal exploration of motherhood and family relationships. She is also founder of the Portland Garment Factory, a resource for clothing designers. At Stumptown www.stumptowncoffee.com 128 SW 3rd



The Everett Lofts, bounded by NW Broadway, Flanders, 6th and Everett are always recommended for your viewing pleasure.



Goodfoot opens a giant show of very inexpensive art. There are over 100 artists, each with about 15 small pieces and all framed. There are no labels, who wants to label 1500 works? A given artist's work is also scattered, not grouped. The show is hung upstairs and down. All works are cash and carry instant gratification. All are $50 too! For a list of artists, see the Goodfoot website: www.thegoodfoot.com/gallery 2845 SE Stark Map Starts 4PM