Steve and I are en route to Vancouver, BC. Our travel itinerary included a four hour layover at PDX. Something, believe it or not, we were really looking forward to. Why you might ask? The Port of Portland, which operates PDX, maintains a number of art exhibits and installations at the airport as part of its Arts and Entertainment Program. The work of regional artists is showcased in five different locations throughout the airport, and local musicians often perform live to entertain passengers. So dang cool!

We exited our plane in Concourse A where we were delighted to discover (and mesmerized by) these murals by Xander Griffith. He writes on his website, "Through the soft warmth of felt, I can convey a look and composition that gives honor to my subject matter. My viewpoint is centered on a specific story that is filtered through modern impressionism. With an abundance of colors and combinations, my simplistic of stories can have the most complicated color journey.  Hand crafted and irregular, every point or shape is totally unique, giving credence to the chaotic symmetry of man and nature."
I wish you could see the details up close. Each 'dot' is a piece of rolled up felt. It is absolutely spectacular.


Also in Concourse A, we were stopped in our tracks by the amazing "Book Art" by James Allen. Mr. Allen is a Portland Oregon based visual artist that produces wonderfully unique Book Excavation sculptures. He painstakingly transforms vintage books into sculptures brimming with carefully chosen words, phrases and images.
I wish you could see these works up close, too. Wow. This unique artist begins each sculpture with a discarded book or volume often found at one of Portland’s used bookstores. He then carefully cuts through layers of illustrations and images page by page to create fascinating multi-faceted sculptural displays. Allen thoughtfully combines the mined pages of words and images to allow a new visual story to emerge from inside each classic book.

No trip to PDX is complete without a discussion about its carpet. Yes, this cult favorite (13 acres worth) was installed in 1987. When I read it was being replaced, I was pretty sad about it, until we saw this sweet, last reminder of its glory days (photo above).
The old carpet is an abstract rendering of what an air traffic controller can see from the PDX tower at night. The new carpet represents shapes found around the airport, such as airplane wings, runways, leaves, hiking trails and waterways. But to the untrained, out-of-towner eye, the two look very similar.
And a personal favorite that this exceptional airport has to offer is the Hollywood Theatre. For a cinephile, this 17-seat free microcinema, showcasing short films by Oregon filmmakers, makes this layover a dream.
Another cool component of a layover here is the fact that restaurants are street priced. You will pay the same to eat here as you would at a restaurant in town... no airport price gouging. We chose to have a sit-down lunch at the yummy Henry's Tavern. Our delectable appetizer was tempura cheese curds.