Seventy-odd years ago, Fuller Brush men were the ubiquitous door-to-door salesmen known for their entrepreneurial spirit. So successful were they that the character was immortalized in a movie with Red Skelton playing the lead. But in the little Oregon Coast town of Gearhart, the Fuller Brush man is known not for his business acumen, but for inspiring an art club.  

The story handed down over the years takes place in 1946, as the Fuller Brush man finds Mabel Keck at her easel painting and tells her, “We need an art club here. How about you and I starting one?”

While it may sound like a smarmy post-war pickup line, you can’t say it didn’t serve its purpose.   

OREGON CULTURAL HUBS: An occasional series

The resulting club, the Trail’s End Art Association (TEAA), is about to mark its 75^th anniversary. It’ll do so in a building older than the association itself and paid for by members back when $1,000 raised in a rummage sale was enough to close the deal. Since then, members have kept the historic schoolhouse standing and the association alive, taking charge of everything from running the cash register to raffling their artwork.

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The club’s mission is “to provide educational opportunities in the fine arts, to foster creation of original fine art in all media, and to enhance the enjoyment of art in the community.” Its 62 members pay $80 annually, which includes the opportunity to show up to four pieces in the gallery each month, discounts on classes, and free access to the studio and library, among other perks. Most importantly, according to its website, “those who utilize our organization on a regular basis will find a fellowship of other artists.”

The association kicks off its anniversary celebration in June with the dedication of the Free Little Art Gallery at Trail’s End — the first on the North Coast and one with its own distinctive twist.

“It’s just kind of bringing the community together in a different way,” said Tj Lev, who proposed the little gallery. Friends in the community of about 1,900 just north of Seaside are helping build the mini structure, which will sit next to the TEAA gallery and just a leap from the community playground and its little free library. It will be a place to exhibit tiny art and to create it.

“There are lots and lots of free little art galleries,” Lev said. “Ours is going to have a little different component. There’s going to be a fold-down table and art supplies so that the kids that come to visit the playground can create a piece of art. It’s just to encourage the artist in all of us — kids and adults.”

The anniversary celebration continues through the year with a July art walk, followed in August by the Annual Judged Show and 75^th Celebration; a September (limited tickets) cheese and wine tasting and, in December, the holiday art fundraiser — $75 art to celebrate 75 years.

“This is a big year for exposure for us,” said Linda Gebhart, chair of celebration events and past president.  “We want people to know who we are. We’re right there in the middle of what looks like a giant football field or a big park, and yet so many of the folks that either live in Gearhart or come out from other places to stay there aren’t always aware of us, so it’s a big opportunity for visibility.”

There’s rarely been a time when the old schoolhouse wasn’t visible to Kitty Paino, past president of the association.  She took her first lesson there while still in grade school after helping herself to her aunt’s geraniums to make paint. Paino said her mother, a TEAA member, decided “I better send her to a kids’ art class before she destroys all her aunt’s geraniums.” Paino went on to facilitate community classes at TEAA as dean of continuing education at Clatsop County Community College and has since held every position on the TEAA board of directors.

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“I was 10 when I went there in 1960,” said Paino. “I saw the original building, which a lot of people hadn’t.”

The schoolhouse — possibly originally an art gallery — was built about 1903 and moved to its current location after fires in 1913-15 destroyed many of the buildings in downtown Gearhart. There, it is believed it was used as an additional classroom and gymnasium for the Gearhart School.

“Inside, it was very much turn-of-the-century,” Paino said. “It had a giant chimney in the center for heating and was all polished wood on the walls.”

The association bought the building in 1952. Over the years, TEAA has worked to renovate it while trying to preserve the integrity of the original “little red schoolhouse,” which has been designated a Gearhart landmark building, Paino said.

“The floors and the large hanging lighting fixtures are original,” she said. “The original wood on the walls can still be seen, although painted.” The studio still has the original flooring — albeit updated — and all the studio windows were made to order. Even the bathroom has the original wood and lighting.

Still, when change became necessary, there was little hesitation to help one of their own. Judy Madson, a member for about seven years, leads weekly artist gatherings in the TEAA studio. She recalls that during the solitary days of COVID, when she was able to meet with one other artist at the studio, it “pretty much saved my life.” 

Had it not been for the welcoming spirit of TEAA members, the studio would be off-limits to Madson, a quadruple amputee.  

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“When I came, there were a lot of things that were kind of awkward for me,” said Madson, who uses both a power wheelchair and a walker. “I walked into the bathroom, and the first thing was I couldn’t shut the bathroom door. So, somebody got the idea to tie a ribbon on the door so I could pull the door shut behind me. Then they put in bars on each side of the toilet, which makes that very handy.”

The club also moved furniture in the studio so Madson can access the sink and purchased two tables that can be lowered or raised by hand crank. “I usually sit at one of those, so I can have my legs go completely underneath the table,” Madson said. “They’ve been very accommodating.”

While Madson has enjoyed the benevolence of fellow TEAA members, others might not have always felt so welcome. Although the nonprofit cooperative’s mission is to educate and foster creation of “original fine art,” back in the day, “fine art” wasn’t necessarily an inclusive term.

Members have tried to remedy that over the years, Paino said. “We’ve broadened the idea of fine art. For instance, when I joined, they used to not accept photography as fine art. Now, they do, of course. Needlepoint can be considered fine art if it fits the criteria. A woman does papier-mâché and gourds, and that has risen to the level of what is considered fine art. So, the best thing about the organization now is that it’s egalitarian. It isn’t a snooty organization anymore. Everyone is welcome.”

That makes it more appealing to younger artists, crucial to keeping the association alive. Historically, the membership age has tipped toward the senior demographic, with 75 percent of members over 65; now that number is closer to 40 to 50 percent, Paino said.

One of the problems with an older membership is the reluctance to learn new technology, said Gebhart.

“A lot of artists were terrified of not only computers but of Square,” Gebhart said, referring to the point-of-sale payment system. That meant that many of the members couldn’t fulfill the membership duty of “sitting” — volunteering at the gallery to assist visitors and handle sales. Members who opted not to “sit” paid higher yearly dues and greater commission on sales of their art. Recently, the association put a moratorium on “non-sitting” memberships.

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“Before this year, two-thirds of the members didn’t sit the gallery but showed their art in the gallery,” Paino said. “The balance of sitters and non-sitters is almost 50/50 now. The moratorium worked, and we should be able to open more days during the summer because we have more sitters.”

Sherise Smith discovered TEAA after moving here from Reno three years ago and enrolling in a workshop. “I just fell in love with it; I loved the class; I loved the people,” said Smith, daughter of well-known artist Mick Reber.

Today, Smith is the TEAA vice president of operations and has taken on the task of creating new workshop opportunities at the studio.

“Having Trail’s End right there in the little town center and being able to go in when you’re a member and work in the studio anytime you want is really a beautiful benefit,” she said. “Every month, every artist can show up to four pieces, and the beauty of it is it’s all levels of beginner to master artists. That’s kind of the philosophy of Trail’s End, to encourage new artists and help bring them along. It kind of keeps me creating new stuff all the time … and then, having the fellowship of all the artists there, it’s just incredible.”