There is an artist on this year’s South Town Art Walk who prints on a cast-iron press built in 1896. The very same year Henry Ford drove his first automobile.
Another artist… is an aquatic ecologist whose block prints landed on the 2026 Corvallis Fall Festival poster.
Just down Bethel Street from Diana Ryan’s pottery studio is the intersection where neighbors painted her Lilly & Bluebirds mural in 2019 (and refreshed it in June 2025).
(Photo: Julia Lont, artist, illustrator, and graphic designer/courtesy South Town Art Walk)
Opinion. South Town doesn’t get enough love. And neither do artists these days.
The 15th annual South Town Art Walk goes from 10 am to 4 pm Sunday, December 6th, with nearly 50 local artists at 17 stops. You can walk, bike, or drive between home studios, a farm, a gallery, and the CoHo Ecovillage.
The whole thing began in 2011 with a handful of artists, a hand-drawn map, and an invitation to neighbors to stop in to see what everyone had been up to. Founding artist Diana Ryan has organized the walk since 2012.
As the tour grew over the years, artists with studios made room for other artists to help them showcase their work. This arrangement is still very visible on this year’s map (posted below).
Ryan said participating artists donate a portion of their sales to local causes and gave more than a $1,000 to the South Corvallis Food Bank in 2025.
This year, visitors who make it to 12 studios will be entered in a raffle for a basket of handmade pieces donated by the participating artists.
At Flicker & Fir, 1465 SE Alexander Ave., look for Emma Svatos, the aquatic ecologist behind this year’s Corvallis Fall Festival poster. Svatos told the festival that “making prints of trout affected by wildfire helped her see how art could communicate her research interests.”
Her work for the walk draws on Pacific Northwest plants and wildlife. The urban farm, which hosts a seasonal Tuesday market, will also have Alexander Enriquez’s dragon-shaped teapots, Naomi Davenport’s hand-painted bags, and treats from Whimsy Supper Club.
At Living Studios, 1445 Crystal Lake Dr., attendees will find paintings, drawings, ceramics, and mixed media, alongside painter Jennifer Deily’s original work, reproductions, and cards.
Farther south, the Kapuler Place, 2385 SE Thompson St., brings together wood-fired and soda-fired pottery by Kusra Kapuler and Keith Moses, along with willow baskets, dried flowers, and arrangements of locally grown succulents.
(Photo: Trey Phillips will show his landscape and wildlife paintings at 1445 SE Vica Way/courtesy South Town Art Walk)
Ryan’s own Diana Rose Studio, at 1515 SE Bethel Street, is a brief walk from the intersection she helped paint. Her pottery and skull mugs will share space with JoLynn Wade’s hand-built mugs and dishes, Juanita Gomez’s insect art, and work by young artists, including watercolors, felted pieces, and ornaments.
After 15 years, it might be fair to say that the pleasure of this walk comes from the art, the artist, and what you learn between the addresses, where you get a more intimate, behind-the-scenes peek at Southtown and some of the residents who made this community what it is.
This article was written by K. Hewlitt at The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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