Boats out of Bandon carried lumber, cheese, milk and passengers south to San Francisco. Contributed Photo

Visitors to Bandon can hardly take a step without bumping into art. Either you’re circling an outdoor art installation, or succumbing to the lure of a fine art gallery. Several local  artists make a practice of opening their studios and working spaces to passersby, and even the local hospital offers original art on its walls.

Through Feb. 29, Southern Coos Hospital offers a quirky take on creativity titled “It’s In the Bag.” Clever, eccentric and oddly fascinating, the exhibit was conceived by three Bandon artists: Karen Briggs, Crystal Landucci and Ruthanne McSurdy-Wong.

It’s an exhibition of handbag art, and the walls of the health center are draped with dozens of bags. There are beaded bags beyond number; cell phone bags (small and soft, with long straps and unique buttons); a basket bag formed of dried sea kelp; and two cigar box handbags, each created by a different artist and each differing in size, color, and impact.

Marion McDonald produced her “Chainmail Evening Bag” during classes at Bandon High School. She used aluminum electric fence wire wrapped around a half inch diameter metal rod, and embellished it with eighth-inch diameter 17-gauge rings forming a saucy, swinging tier at the base. The handbag’s strap is described by the artist as “half-inch diameter, 14 gauge Euro 4-in-1 box weave.” The weight of this purse is unknown. It is oddly elegant, quite unique, and not likely to slip, unnoticed, from a wrist.

What is it about this little seaside town that so inspires artists? The answer might be found within the walls of the Bandon Historical Society Museum, in a building that formerly served as the city hall, fire hall, library and police department.

There, you’ll find a coterie of Bandon residents with a boundless enthusiasm for their town and its history. You’ll meet Judy Knox, who began as a member, then assumed the position of volunteer coordinator, and who now serves as executive director for the museum.

During my visit last month, I also met Katherine Dornath, current president of the museum’s board of directors, and volunteer Betty Hiley. All three were busily engaged with their newest exhibit, a collection of artifacts from the Bandon Cheese Factory.

Bandon cheese was big business along the Coquille River. Knox talks about the history of the factory, describing a lifestyle going back to 1909 that saw farmers throughout the central coast using the rivers and estuaries to bring their milk to Bandon for processing. The factory, famous for its 2-pound bricks of cheddar, its squeaky, giggle-producing cheese curds, and its memorable ice cream, shut down in 2002. Knox and her volunteers were allowed to go through the building before it was torn down this year, and managed to retrieve some original signs, cheese boxes, an apron and a hard hat.

The cheese factory display will join others at the Bandon Historical Society Museum, where students on field trips and curious tourists can view a letterman’s sweater from 1938 and a 1920s' dentist chair. There are information cards stacked against walls, and artifacts that illuminate a remarkably active fleet of vessels whose home port was Bandon.

Today’s visitors to the museum will discover a wealth of curiosities and a collection of more than 6,000 historic photographs. The photos are available for sale, and provide a steady income for the museum.

My favorite is a picture of bathers at Bandon Beach, circa 1910. They wear wonderful bathing costumes — hat included — and they enter the sea with the hunched shoulders and stiff-legged walk of people who might be feeling the cold.

They are laughing and determined. They’re eccentric and unstoppable. Clearly, the pioneers were as indomitable and creative as the people who today run the museum. If you’re looking for a town that nourishes art, you won’t go wrong in Bandon.

Teri Albert reviews art and artists for The World. Comments or suggestions are welcome and can be e-mailed to malbert@uci.net.