Astoria Visual Arts Board of Directors

Lawrence Taylor 

Lawrence rejoined the AVA Board in 2009. He previously was a Board member from 2000 to 2004, when he initiated the Riverwalk Arts Installation project. He served on the board of the River Theater from 2001 to 2006, and was a co-founder of the Astoria Music Festival.

Margaret Thierry

Margaret rejoined the AVA board after taking a leave to attend the University of Washington. She has a Bachelor’s of Art (BA), Fibers Emphasis, 1977, and a Master of Fine Arts, Fibers Emphasis, 1988, both from the University of Oregon Eugene. She has a total of 208 undergraduate credits at six different Universities and Colleges from 1957-1963.

Margaret has been exhibiting her woven pieces at galleries since 1978. She has received various prizes over the years for her use of traditional methods, in untraditional ways. Currently she is represented by 'RiverSea Gallery' in Astoria Oregon. She will soon be featured in the March/April, 2010 issue of 'Oregon Home Magazine'.

Scott Reuter

Scott has served seven years as an AVA board member, and was Board President from 2007-2009. He has a BA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, he worked as a professional exhibit preparator for The J. Paul Getty Museum, and was the founder of Exhibit Safety Services, a Los Angeles-based art installation and earthquake mitigation company. Scott is a mixed Media Artist, and has been an art installer for Clatsop Community College Art Center Gallery.

Cheryl Silverblatt

Cheryl’s professional life was spent as a library administrator in both public and academic libraries. While directing the library in Port Townsend, WA, she took weaving classes from a production weaver who had a studio in Port Townsend. After a year at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, Cheryl applied and was accepted for the intensive one-year tapestry weaving program at West Dean College in West Sussex, England. Cheryl earned a Post-Graduate Diploma in Tapestry Weaving from West Dean. Besides serving on the AVA Board, Cheryl also serves as President of the Clatsop Weavers and Spinners Guild and weaves tapestries in her home studio in Astoria, OR.

Helen Repp

Helen has been teaching weaving and art for 16 years. She attended Melbourne University, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been represented in many Galleries exhibiting her hand-dyed silk and chenille garments, as well as rugs and wall hangings done with hand spun wool, representing the Aboriginal Dreamtime.

Rebecca Rubens

Rebecca’s association with AVA began in 1989, when she and other board members founded the organization. She has served as AVA President, during which she led the Fort Astoria Mural restoration, and opened the first of a series of galleries showcasing local artists. After taking the last couple of years off to pursue her own artistic endeavors, she rejoined the board in 2009.