We are honored to bring this estate to auction.
Our clients, Gary & Leigh Giovane, have a lovely home in La Conner, Washington, furnished with fine Arts & Crafts Furniture and Decor, Mission Oak Furniture, Art, and lots of nice Housewares and Home Decor.
Giovane Bio
Gary Giovane was originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and Leigh Smith Giovane was originally from Memphis, TN. They met in Washington in the mid-1970s while both were here working at the Ozette Archaeological Project on the Olympic Peninsula. The time spent at Ozette and in Neah Bay was a life-changer. They subsequently taught on the Makah Reservation for 23 years, moving to La Conner in 2003.
Gary then taught at La Conner High School until 2010, and Leigh taught at the Anacortes Home Education Partnership until 2011. After retiring, Gary pursued a career in art, painting in acrylics on cedar. Leigh sang with the Skagit Valley Chorale and took care of their aging horses.
They are in the process of moving to Ireland to be nearer to their daughter Jessie, granddaughter Esme, and son-in-law Adam who live in Carnoustie, Scotland. They are sad to leave their home and friends but excited by the prospect of a new life in Galway.
(The quotes you see in the catalog are from Gary.)
La Conner Community News Interviewed Gary & Leigh - Read That Article Below, Or Go To Their Website
https://laconnercommunitynews.org/2025/03/12/from-fishtown-to-galway-la-conner-artist-gary-giovanes-next-chapter/
From Fishtown to Galway: La Conner artist Gary Giovane’s next chapter
After decades in La Conner, artist and retired teacher Gary Giovane and his wife, Leigh, embark on a new journey.
La Conner artist and retired teacher Gary Giovane calls his life with wife Leigh an “extremely interesting journey.” Their move here in 2003 brought him full circle — back to the place where, three decades earlier, he participated in the famed Fishtown archaeological dig just outside of town.
The Giovanes, who met while doing archaeology on the Olympic Peninsula, resided for a time in blues and rock-n-roll mecca Memphis and taught school for 23 years in Neah Bay, aren’t done moving yet.
The couple, in fact, is about to embark on their next journey. An international one.
They move next month to Galway on the west coast of Ireland to be nearer to their daughter, Jessie, son-in-law Adam, and granddaughter Esme, who live across the North Channel in Scotland.
“We’re excited, but sad, too,” said Gary, who taught science and math for seven years at La Conner High School and more recently served on the Town’s Arts Commission.
Before moving, Gary’s remaining 51 pieces of art — distinguished by a unique blend of Native American, Celtic, and Japanese influences — are being auctioned online until March 16 by Pacific Auctions & Appraisals.
His initial artistic influence came from the Fishtown artists he met when, as a Penn State student, Giovane participated in Washington State University’s archaeological dig near the mouth of the north fork of the Skagit River. He admired their austere lifestyle, but was more impressed with the quality of art they produced.
It was, as events unfolded, the prospect of their own spartan existence that led Gary and Leigh to abandon careers in archaeology and turn to teaching.
“We decided that being archaeologists wouldn’t be a good way to raise a family,” Gary said, “if it meant always living in a tent in all sorts of remote places.”
Gary began painting during his and Leigh’s summer vacations from the classroom. It was a way for him to ease into a new calling once the Giovanes retired from teaching. While at Neah Bay, he met tribal artists who shared their insights and helped get his creative juices flowing.
“I wanted to learn more about Native American art,” he reflected. “I wanted to incorporate it into my art.”
As a result of his interaction with Makah artists, Giovane was drawn to red cedar as a primary medium.
“It’s the grain of the wood that makes painting on cedar so awesome,” he said. “I’ve always loved painting on cedar.”
That is evident in his work, a prolific collection of richly diverse images and forms steeped in social relevance, spirituality, and symbolism.
Celtic art, given the family’s Scottish heritage and Jessie’s decision to study at the esteemed Glasgow School of Art, increasingly helped shape Giovane’s style as well. Ultimately, with Jessie’s family living in Scotland, Gary and Leigh explored the possibilities of relocating there.
But they learned Scotland didn’t have a visa program to fit their situation as retirees.
“Going back to work after we’d been retired this long wasn’t appealing,” Gary said.
The Republic of Ireland, however, loomed as a more plausible option.
“We had an Irish accountant look at our finances to see if we could get a retirement visa,” Gary said. As it turned out, they could.
The Giovanes thus made plans for their next major move and settled upon Galway, a coastal tourist city and Gaelic cultural hub of 85,000, as their chosen destination. They found it to have the vibe of a much larger La Conner.
“It’s very walkable and it has a purple flag designation, meaning it’s even a safe place to walk at night,” Leigh said. “Even though more than 80,000 people live there, it has a small-town atmosphere.”
Leigh, a graduate of Memphis State University — now known as the University of Memphis — has enjoyed singing in local church choirs and choral groups and is hopeful she can continue doing so in Galway.
On a trip to Ireland that she and Gary took earlier this year, Leigh was singularly impressed with Galway’s medieval Saint Nicholas Collegiate Church.
“It was built in the 1320s,” she said. “That must be something to sing in that church’s choir.”
The Giovanes said they have been blessed to live in a wonderful neighborhood in La Conner, making their home on Third Street on the hill.
“We’ve loved it here,” Gary said. “We’ve made so many great friends in La Conner. We’re excited to move closer to our family, but it’s sad to leave here, too.”
