Ruth Beller and Sterling Wallach

"Showing art is a great way to relate to people," says Sterling Wallach, recounting the brief history of the Last Friday ArtWalk. "It's been exciting to see how they respond." Wallach and his partner Ruth Beller, both of them art students in earlier days, painted large commercial murals in Florida before they moved to Eugene 15 years ago and launched their ArtTrek painting business. Inspired for years by the Jawbreaker Window Gallery at 4th and Monroe, Wallach and Beller opened their own Whiteaker-neighborhood art space, Possum Place, in September of '04. In October they organized the first Last Friday ArtWalk, with a total of five stops on the tour. "Every month since then, new people have joined," says Beller. "They open their living rooms and studios to show their art." July's Last Friday tour list had 27 stops and participants of all ages, from full-time artists to first-time exhibitors, plus a neighborhood plant sale at Scobert Park and unveiling of the collaborative Whiteaker Puzzle Project. Learn about this month's event, see a map of exhibit venues, and find out how to participate at lastfridayartwalk.org.