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Hello, Summer! Hello, Berries! Hello, Poets & Painters!

Hello, Southern Oregon friends!
Summer’s here. Might I suggest a Saturday afternoon Poets & Painters workshop at Pennington Farms? Their summer berries inspired Mindy Carpenter & me so much, we’re holding a workshop to celebrate the sweet harvest: we’ll eat ’em, we’ll write about ’em, we’ll paint ’em.
Here’s one of Mindy’s berry celebrations:

I’ll help you write a poem (zero pressure!) and Mindy will help you paint a painting (also zero pressure!). No experience needed; this workshop is more like a playshop…it’s all about having fun 🙂
So grab a friend and come play with us:
When: Saturday, June 9 from 11-3 pm
Where: Pennington Farms | 11341 Williams Highway | Grants Pass, OR 97527
Cost: $95 per person (includes all painting & writing supplies, coffee, & berries! Savory treats will be available for purchase)
Register: Email me at [email protected], let me know how many people you’re bringing, & I’ll send you payment info.
You’ll leave the workshop with a finished 8″ x 10″ painting, a poem & berry-stained fingers 😉
Space is limited, so register soon!
Love,
anna elkins
art word spirit

Ashland Gallery Association April Exhibits

Come out and celebrate Ashland’s Visual Arts during the AGA First Friday Art Walk, April 3rd, from 5 to 8 pm! Stroll the galleries in downtown Ashland and the Historic Railroad District. Enjoy this year-round free community event, filled with spectacular artwork, live music, artist demonstrations, refreshments and conversation with other art enthusiasts!

Download the Gallery Tour Map here:

Download (PDF, 367KB)

. For more information about all of the exhibits visit: www.ashlandgalleries.com

Pick up the new complimentary 2015 Gallery Guide in member galleries now!

Ashland Gallery Association Spotlight Exhibits
April 2015

A Taste of Ashland

17 Galleries + Wine + Food = One delicious art experience!

Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th from noon to 4 p.m.

A Taste of Ashland 2015 Festival Poster art by Kevin Christman

A Taste of Ashland Poster art by Kevin Christman

Celebrating its twenty-sixth year, the Ashland Gallery Association’s signature fund-raising event is A Taste of Ashland. This annual walking tour of Ashland galleries pairs local restaurants and regional wineries to create Ashland’s most delicious art experience.

This year’s A Taste of Ashland takes place on Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th from noon to 4 p.m.  Foodies and wine connoisseurs from all along the west coast follow a map to 17 galleries, to discover Ashland’s best restaurants and the region’s best wines.

For a complete list of pairings and to purchase tickets, visit:
www.atasteofashland.com

A Taste of Ashland is HOSTED by: Ashland Gallery Association and SPONSORED BY: Southern Oregon Public Television, Jefferson Public Radio, Ashland Chamber, Southern Oregon Media Group, Ram Offset Lithographers, Mountain Meadows, and Southern Oregon Magazine.

Hill Station

Cathy Schoenberg: “Transition”

Floral by Cathy Schoenberg

Floral by Cathy Schoenberg

Cathy Schoenberg, a painter of some 35 years, lives in the Skagit Valley, 60 miles north of Seattle, on Guemes Island, a short ferry ride from Anacortes, where her studio is located.  The work in this exhibition indicates transition: from the figurative to the almost abstraction of flowers, both following a path of complex, vibrant color, patterns, rhythm and vibration.
” I started sketching with fervor 4 or 5 years ago, not as a precursor to painting, just for my own enrichment, like a daily practice, as in yoga!   But Alas! That is exactly where it led me, to a new frontier: deep onto the texture, shapes, and lush wildness of flowers. ”

Schoenberg was born in Spokane, WA and obtained a BFA in fine art from Fort Wright College in 1975.  Schoenberg’s work has been shown in Skagit Valley area, Seattle, Bellingham, San Juan Island, in various Galleries and venues since 1980.

Studio AB

Electronic Collage Prints by Bruce Bayard

SCREEN CAPTURE / TRANSMISSIONS I, by Bruce Bayard

SCREEN CAPTURE / TRANSMISSIONS I, by Bruce Bayard

Studio A.B will be open for the first Friday Art Walk, and again on Friday April 17, from 5 to 8 pm, which is the opening reception of the new series of “screen captures” by Bruce Bayard. Screen captures are still images derived from the video collage projections as part of a mixed media performance. One such performance occurs the following night, Saturday, April 18 at the Dancespace in Ashland. Tickets are $10 and seating is limited.
Todd Barton, Bruce Bayard and Darrell Bluhm present an evening of improvisational multimedia performance. The event includes quadraphonic sound, music on two Buchla Easels, video projections, and three martial arts forms including Tai Chi Sword.

Oak Leaf Studio

image submitted by Oak Leaf Studio

Image submitted by Oak Leaf Studio

New Artist Joins Oak Leaf Studio Contemporary artist Diana Trygg is now sharing exhibit space at Oak Leaf Studio with fine artist Leif Trygg. Diana calls her pieces “Curated Art.”  Each image, texture, and object has been personally culled from a collection created over the past 15 or more years. Odd items, unusual shapes, textures and colors, or old memorabilia, as well as found objects are used to create unique images.

In addition to Diana’s work, Oak Leaf Studio is proud to announce three new large paintings by Leif are completed and ready for viewing. The first is a large pastel of Ashland Creek with an exciting viewpoint of the stream. The second, also a pastel picture, is a beautiful scene from Lithia Park in the spring. The third captures an Ashland winter sunset against bare trees. All are rich, vibrant illustrations of different parts of our town.

***A Taste of Ashland & AGA May Exhibits***

Poster for the 2014 Taste of Ashland Festival A Taste of Ashland is this Weekend!

Get your tickets before they sell out again this year!!

Art ~ Food ~ Wine Festival

April 26 & 27

12 noon – 4 PM

For more information and to purchase tickets visit:

www.atasteofashland.com

541-488-0178

To view a larger version of this year’s Taste of Ashland poster picture to the right, just click the image! —>

To print and share the 2014 Taste Poster, click here to download a printable pdf file

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Ashland Gallery Association Spotlight Galleries

May 2014

 

Come out for the AGA First Friday Art Walk, May 2nd, from 5 to 8 pm! Stroll the galleries in downtown Ashland and the Historic Railroad District. Enjoy this free community event filled with spectacular artwork, live music, artist demonstrations, refreshments and conversation with other art enthusiasts!

Pick up a Gallery Tour Map at any member gallery, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, or download off of our website: ashlandgalleries.com

Most exhibits run throughout the month of May!

Visit our website for more information about all of the exhibits: www.ashlandgalleries.com

Hanson Howard Gallery

HansonHoward_gumaeliustwosmallmayshow-660-360x360


Sculpture by Robin and John Gumaelius

Gumaelius and Anne Kristine

Collaborating artists and husband and wife, Robin and John Gumaelius incorporate ceramic, steel and wood to create animated human and birdlike sculptures. Their works are comical, bizarre and highly inventive. Robin says, “Radio stories, history books, biking adventures, gardening notes, neighbors spied, strangers watched in stores and parks and cars jangle together in our heads and come so freely to our fingers that when we see the pieces finished we are often delighted – as if we are not their creators; they just come to talk with us for a while and then leave again”. In their unique working relationship, Robin and John combine both skill and imagination together as an artistic team to build a singularly unusual world out of clay and mixed media.
The couple and their four young children live in a wooded environment
near the coast in Washington. While starting with a tree house, they have also built their own home, studio, barn and lush garden.
The May exhibit also includes Paintings by Anne Kristine who is a recent and welcome addition to our gallery stable.

 

 

 

Photographers Gallery

Photographers_David-SHerman-copy-360x360


Photograph by David Sherman

David Sherman Photos of Greece

On September 18th, 2004, I was married in Lithia Park, Ashland. On the next morning, we jumped on a plane, and travelled to a place I hadn’t been to in 20 years. I found my beloved Greece the same. Blue waters with white washed homes, fresh breeze. I took about 5000 pictures in just two weeks; here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

The Photographers’ Gallery features Fine Art Photography by Southern Oregon’s Finest.  Located at the Ashland Art Center, the Photographers’ Gallery is the only one of its kind between Portland and San Francisco. The gallery features work by eleven photographers ranging from nationally recognized to emerging artists. A wide variety of styles are represented including: black & white, landscape, street, travel and abstract photography.

 

 

Nimbus

Eric Christenson, “Wine Country Artist”

Nimbus_Passion-for-Pinot-BW-300-360x360


“Passion for Pinot” by Eric Christenson

Eric Christensen began painting professionally in 1992.  Since that time he has enjoyed amazing success and a growing reputation as a celebrated Wine Country Artist. Self-taught, he invented a watercolor technique that allows him to create images of vibrant color that go beyond the look and depth of a high quality photograph. Christensen is truly unique in his field and is considered to be the country’s premier watercolor artist capable of hyperrealism through the use of standard watercolor.
Christensen began to develop his interest in painting, along with botany, classical music, and gourmet cooking as a child in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over time he has acquired a commanding knowledge in each of these fields, which have blended to make him the preeminent artist of today. In addition to his interests, Christensen also derives inspiration from the wine country surrounding his home, which is invariably portrayed in his paintings. As Christensen asserts, “it’s about the lifestyle – and the art of Fine Living!”

Join us at the Gallery in Nimbus to enjoy the artwork of Eric Christensen. You must see in person to appreciate his talent and artistry.  His art will be available to enjoy throughout the summer of 2014.  Wine and cheese served on First Fridays. Smiles everyday.

 

 

Hilltop Gallery

Squaring Off

Hilltop_Purple-Maze-mandala-300x300


By Richard Newman

“Squaring Off,” a two-person exhibit by Richard and Rochelle Newman of Ashland opens on April 26 for the “Taste of Ashland” and runs till June 2nd, 2014.

“In this exhibit, the artists’ long-term partnership allows for sparring back and forth and the bouncing of ideas between overlapping, but distinct, sensibilities.  They have chosen to use the square and its incarnations as the departure point for their interplay and exhibition parameters.

The square is a diva, the generator of families of important rectangles that provide both variety and consistency. Despite her stability and uniformity, she is not a bore. Contrary to some opinions concerning her high symmetry, she provides infinite variety through a change in size, color, scale and distortion. She gives a constant length for measure, a constant square for area, and a constant cube for space. Her sub-divisions can be both playful and austere.

This exhibit provides a variety of media in both two and three dimensions for the viewer to play hide and seek by recognizing the compositional use of the square.”

Richard and Rochelle Newman
Artists and Curators

 

 

The Art of Chocolate

 Enjoy the fine artwork of Oregon’s artisan chocolatiers in Ashland next weekend!

Choco header
Home     About the Hotel     Meetings & Events     Weddings     Guest Rooms     Leisure & Attractions
Greetings from Ashland! 

10th annual OREGON CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL is back in Ashland in just two weeks! Join us during the weekend of March 7-9! The festival is a great opportunity to explore Oregon chocolates, wine and beer, as well as meet our amazing artisan food producers and hear their stories. Get ready to sample, buy and learn about chocolate! Support local – support Oregon!
A percentage of the festival proceeds funds fours scholarships (two at the Southern Oregon University and two at the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute).

 

 

 

 

To learn more view 2014 SCHEDULE and start planning your festival weekend.

 

Festival tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Hotel.

 

Festival official website. 

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

See you on Friday, March 7th during the chocolate-themed First Friday Art Walk (5pm to 8pm). Stop by the hotel to view a chocolate sculpture by the Master Chocolatier, Jeff Shepherd of Lillie Belle Farms Handmade Chocolates. Jeff is building a life size guitar in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Fender Stratocastor!

 

See you at Ashland Springs Hotel during the weekend of March 7 and 9!

With any questions email: [email protected]

chocolate nut bars
dark chocolate truffles with salt

Chinese New Year Activities to Look Forward to in Jacksonville

Chinese New Year activities and presentations for Jacksonville Oregon's February 8th celebration of Chinese New Year
Having trouble reading the flyer above? Click the image or the following link to download or read the full size pdf online: Chinese New Year activities and presentation for Jacksonville Oregon’s Chinese New Year celebration

Potato Kale Soup & Santa's Coming to Old Town!

by Geneva Miller with Susan Vanderpool Christiansen

Port of Bandon, Santa, Waterfront - Geneva Miller

Santa is Coming to the Old Town Marketplace!
Visit the marketplace on Saturday, December 14 and greet Santa as he cruises the Coquille River, carried to Bandon by Prowler Charters. Santa and Mrs. Claus will dock at the Port of Bandon boat launch at 1 PM. Say hello to the jolly elf and smile for the camera. Photos will be offered by Angela Cardas, Cardas Photography, from 1:30 to 3 PM at the marketplace.
The Marketplace is open Fridays and Saturdays, 10 AM to 4 PM through December 14, 250 First Street SW, Bandon, Oregon.

Bandon’s Old Town Marketplace hums with holiday cheer. Lights twinkle. Bobbles abound. Shoppers browse art and sample edible delights. The seafood is fresh. The local harvest of root veggies and winter greens inspire warming bowls of soup.

On a brisk winter day, Susan Vanderpool Christiansen, marketplace purveyor of Chubby Girl Cheesecakes, savors a piping hot potato kale soup. “I like a quick soup. And I often do batch cooking just to make my life a little easier,” said Christiansen. “On Sundays, I will often scrub up five pounds of potatoes and will bake them off for use in home fries, twice baked potatoes, or soup.”

Potato Kale Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, quartered or minced
3 fist sized potatoes, cubed
4 cups kale 4 cups vegetable, chicken or turkey stock
½ tsp. smoked paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional: ½ lb. linguica, or spicy Italian sausage, skin removed and sliced
Hot sauce, if you like it!

Heat olive oil or butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, when the oil starts to shimmer, add diced onion and a small pinch of salt. Stir until the onion is translucent.

Add the garlic. If you like the garlic sweeter, cut the one clove in quarters. For a more pungent garlic flavor, mince it. When the garlic is fragrant (2 minutes), add the paprika and the sausage or linguica, if you are going to use it, and sauté it until it’s cooked through.

Potato Kale Soup

Susan Vanderpool Christiansen’s Potato Kale Soup

Next add cubed potatoes (I like the skin on). If the potatoes are pre-baked, just heat them through. When heated, add the stock – or add the stock with uncooked potatoes.

When the stock comes up to a simmer, add the kale which has been stemmed and chopped into bite sized pieces. Cook until the kale is tender – about 30 minutes. Taste the soup for season, add salt, pepper and hot sauce to your liking.

This recipe makes two generous portions or four first course portions. I often bulk this soup up with a sliced carrot, celery or peppers. I like those veggies crunchy and add them when the kale is simmering.

Oregon Chocolate Festival This Weekend!

Choco header
Have you been to the OREGON CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL before? No?!  Now is your chance! This is our 9th year and it’s going to be the best yet. It is taking place this weekend March 1-3 at the Ashland Springs Hotel, so start planning as we hope to see you in a few days – ready to sample, buy and learn about chocolate!Starting on Friday evening join us in the hotel lobby for the Chef Demos. This event is free to the public and a great opportunity to meet chefs who will demonstrate their recipes, cooking tips and baking secrets.

 

View 2013 SCHEDULE and start planning your festival weekend.

 

Festival tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Hotel. Many events have limited sitting and require reservations. Make sure you book your spot today!

 

Festival official website. 

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

During the festival, guest judges will pick their favorites and award them the title of the Best Chocolate Product in 7 different categories.  You get a chance to vote for your favorite product, too! Make sure to participate in the 2013 People’s Choice Award!

FESTIVAL ATTRACTIONS:

 

Meet your chocolatier! – Over 50 VENDORS include Oregon chocolatiers, bakers, wineries, breweries and other specialty food vendors present their products and tease your palate with fantastic and surprising flavors!

(Saturday & Sunday 11- 3pm at the hotel)

Chocolate Makers Dinner (Friday, 6:30 – 9pm) LARKS Executive Chef Damon Jones returns after two years on the East Coast to create this delightful four-course dinner featuring chocolate in each dish. $62 inclusive. Dinner is accompanied by a short presentations from Chef Instructor Darrell Folck, Chef Damon Jones and Larry Chase, the brewer at the Standing Stone Brewing Co.

 

Chocolate-themed First Friday Art Walk (Friday, 5 – 8pm). Enjoy diverse forms of art, local wines and chocolates. A great prelude to the weekend long chocolate extravaganza. Stop by hotel lobby to view Chocolate Sculpture and watch chef demonstrations at 5:30pm and 6:00pm

 

Beer & Chocolate Pairing – Explore the unexpected! Join Ginger Johnson from Women Enjoying Beer for an educational and fun-filled pairing of beers and chocolates. (book in advance, space limited)

 

Guided tasting of world’s 7 tastiest chocolates– Saturday and Sunday (book in advance, space limited)

 

Candy-making workshop for kids. Two workshops for kids and families, at the ScienceWorks Museum (Saturday 11:30 & 12:30pm)

Edible Facial – Chocolate Martini Facial Spa Party – Saturday at 4-6pm – at Lithia Springs Resort. Great chocolate festival night out with friends! SOLD OUT

Chocolate treatments at Waterstone Spa & Salon – enjoy blissful massage, mani & pedi, body scrub and other treatments designed to utilize beneficial antioxidants found in chocolate!

 

Artisan Pastry Baking Class at Deux Chats Bakery – Learn how to make a chocolate dough croissant with pear, cinnamon and chocolate filling! Sunday class is SOLD OUT, but contact the bakery for future baking class schedule.

 

Chocolate discount at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival – Chocolate & theatre! Call OSF box office, mention ‘chocolate’ and receive 20% discount for the shows on March -3.

 

Discount at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre – mention ‘chocolate’ and enjoy 20% off! 541-488-2902

chocolate nut bars
dark chocolate truffles with salt

Register online for RGAC art classes & workshops

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.roguegallery.org

Upcoming adult classes and workshops at RGAC:

Thursdays 1/26 – 2/23 5-6:30 pmBeginning DrawingBrooke Nuckles Gentekos$72 members$85 non-members
Fri. & Sat. 3/23 & 241 – 5 pmIntermediate/Advanced WatercolorLane Hall$72 members$85 non-members
Saturdays 4/7 – 2810-11:30amVisual Storytelling Through Cartoon & ComicsTed Helard$51 members$60 non-members
Fri. – Sun. 4/27 – 29Pinhole Photography Weekend WorkshopMary Wilkins-Kelly$80 members$95 non-members
Saturday 4/281 – 3 pmConsumable ArtAnna Elkins$51 members$60 non-members
Artist Professional Development Series
Saturday March 311 am – 2:30 pmMarketing Your Art For SuccessNikolas Allen$35 members$45 non-members
Saturday March 1012- 2 pmSocial Networking to Promote Your ArtHannah West$35 members$45 non-members
Saturday March 1710:30 am – 12 pmWorking with Images for Artists PHOTOSHOP  (Beginner)Hannah West$35 members$45 non-members
Saturday 3/171 – 3 pmWorking with Images for Artists PHOTOSHOP (Intermediate/Advanced)Hannah West$35 members$45 non-members

For detailed class descriptions and instructor bios, please visit the website: www.roguegallery.org

Also- LIFE DRAWING OPEN STUDIOS every first and third Friday: 1/20, 2/3 & 17, 3/2 & 16, 4/6 & 20: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

Rogue Gallery & Art Center, 40 S. Bartlett St. Medford, OR 97501 (541)772-8118

Scholarships/ financial aid available! Call Brooke: (541)772-8118 ext. 301 for information or to apply. Have a creative day!

Ignite the Mind, Stir the Soul, Open the Heart… Boldly Create! this Winter at the Rogue Gallery & Art Center.

 

 

NEW!! Register For Classes Online!

Did you know?

You can now register for classes and workshops at the Rogue Gallery & Art Center: www.roguegallery.org

Tap into your creativity and discover the class or workshop that’s right for you. Check out the new Winter 2012 catalogue with Art Classes for children, teens and adults- now available online!

Upcoming art education opportunities include:

Adults: Beginning Drawing, Intermediate/ Advanced Watercolor: Water and Sky Workshop, Visual Storytelling through Cartoon & Comics, Pinhole Photography Weekend Workshop and much more!!

Take one of our Artist Professional Development Workshops this March designed to help Rogue Valley artists thrive!

Teens: Drop In & Draw Open Studios and Altered Photographic Images and more!

Children: Afterschool Art Studios I and II, Drop In & Draw, Start with Art- Making Art Together, Earth Paints and Nature Inspired Art and MORE!

There’s something for artists and aspiring artists of all ages and abilities!! Gift certificates available for someone you love!

Need help paying for a RGAC class or workshop- scholarships are available!! Call (541)772-8118 for info.

Ignite the Mind, Stir the Soul, Open the Heart… Boldly Create! in 2012 with the Rogue Gallery & Art Center!

RGAC- 40 South Bartlett Street, Medford, OR 97501  (541)772-118 www.roguegallery.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in volunteering as a studio assistant for our youth classes, please contact volunteer coordinator Andrea Andrus: (541)772-8118 or [email protected].

Have a creative day!!