Treasures are common at newly reopened Art Barn in Sherwood

By Kelly Moyer

The Sherwood Gazette, Apr 1, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

David Gilmore / For the Sherwood Gazette

ARTIST’S REFUGE — Surrounded by vintage finds and the craftsmanship of local artists, Sherwood painter Darla Boljat uses the Art Barn as a studio in late November. The Art Barn, which houses more than 30 regional artists, reopens this month after a brief winter hiatus.

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Tucked away on a winding road that takes you from Sherwood’s Old Town up and around Parrett Mountain, the Art Barn is one of this area’s best kept secrets.

From the road, you wouldn’t guess that this old, red-washed barn is home to the work of more than 30 regional artists – not to mention an impressive collection of vintage clothes and accessories, the passion of Art Barn owner and founder Jane Keohane.

“This used to be a chicken barn,” Keohane explains after giving a visitor “the tour” of her restored barn. “It still feels like a barn in the winter, that’s why I close for a few months.”

The Art Barn reopens this months from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and will showcase a wide range of mediums, including watercolors, oils, pastels, acrylics, photography, mixed-media, pottery, jewelry and textile arts.

Because she’s operating the Art Barn in a rural area, Keohane still offers farm products – like the basket of sumptuous wool from locally raised alpacas – and wants to add herbs and flowers to the medley of art and vintage clothing.

Darla Boljat and David Gilmore are two artists that show their work – paintings and photography, respectively – at the Art Barn, and say Keohane is easy to work with and offers a unique venue.

“I like being here,” Boljat says. “It’s more casual than places in Portland and Jane is very accommodating.”

On a recent winter day – before the Art Barn reopened to the public – Boljat set up her easel and worked on a painting of a winding road while Gilmore snapped photographs of the artist at work.

“There’s such a variety here,” Gilmore says. “When you walk in, you sort of expect to see antiques, so this is a pleasant surprise.”

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