PowerShift Marketing with Mark Dennett

Tuesday, May 21, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm

We’re looking forward to this insightful workshop led by marketing expert Mark Dennett. Registration forms are available at Ashland Art Center or online. $15 for AAC members, $20 general. For more information, click here. See you there!

“Mark has a very unique approach to marketing and engaging customers. It’s a contemporary approach that responds to the tough times we’re living in today. With a graduate degree in marketing and as Executive Director of Ashland Art Center, I have a lot of experience with this subject matter. One thing you’ll hear often in marketing is that you need to ‘educate’ the consumer about your product.  Mark has a different message. In his workshop, he talks about creating an experience for your client or customer. He is respectful of the customer, recognizing their needs and expectations. I’m thrilled Mark is presenting his marketing approach at the Art Center, and I look forward to hearing what you learned from the experience.”

- Denise Baxter, Executive Director, Ashland Art Center

Image: “Bird in Tree” by Kay Hagen

Photo by Rory Finney

Congratulations to Hannah Sohl and her team of volunteers! It’s A Rogue Thing: Bringing Climate Concerns Home was an amazing success. We are so happy and proud to have been a part of this Salmon-making, awareness-raising community art project. It brought the community together with art and the goal of making positive changes in our government policies toward our treatment of the planet. There were close to 1300 tiles, making a 117 ft. long salmon! One tile was made by a 2 year old.  Another by a 87 year old. Over 400 people showed up to see the salmon and participate in the day of action. Photos of the Pacific salmon, and the participants and supporters, will be sent to local leaders, state representatives, and on to President Barack Obama. For more photos and information, check out the following links:

Website: soclimate.org/
Facebook: Rogue Climate Art
Mail Tribune: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130218/NEWS/302180316
KDRV: http://www.kdrv.com/local-group-holds-climate-change-rally/

Photo by Keith Henty

Photo by Muuqi Maxwell

From Ashland to Mae Sot

By Kara Q. Lewis

Photographs by Nick Benedetti, Kara Q. Lewis, and Samsamae

When I attended a talk by Fred Stockwell last October at the Ashland Art Center, I didn’t know that in two months’ time, my boyfriend and I would be riding around in Fred’s pick-up truck at a garbage dump in Mae Sot, Thailand, where he has established a direct aid organization, Eyes to Burma, along with the help of a small team of volunteers here in Ashland.

Going to the Saturday Market.

During a whirlwind, three-and-a-half week trip to Southeast Asia, my boyfriend and I spent several days shadowing Fred. It was a life-changing experience.

Hanijo saying “I love you.”

It’s not easy to describe what it was like at the dump, where hundreds of Burmese refugees live and work. It was a shock to see such poverty. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the reality that a simple cut can get infected and put a person’s life and limb at risk. It was scary to think that any of the teens over 15 and the adults could be arrested, fined, and deported.

Mother and son. On our way to the Mae Tao Clinic.

I was surprised by the funny, playful antics of the children. And, I was overwhelmed by the amount of stress and work it takes to provide the people with very basic necessities that they couldn’t get without help.

Moe Moe and Fred after Moe’s infected leg was operated on.

Mostly, I was humbled by the connections we made with a few of the kids there. They are smart, sweet, funny, regular kids. Sometimes, though, if you catch their eye when they’re having a quiet, introspective moment, you can sense their maturity. There’s a depth behind their eyes that makes them look like a world-weary adult. It’s understandable then why they play hard sometimes. It’s because they work hard and have probably been working hard since they were 7 or 8 years old.

Self-portrait by Samsamae.

While we were at the dump Nick and I helped however we could. We took pictures and videos for eyestoburma.org. Nick put up a second shelf in the community center so Fred could organize his supply of medicines. We took a girl to the Mae Tao Clinic to have an infection in her leg cleaned out. And, I had fun sharing a Burmese/English phrasebook with several girls who read the Burmese words to me and had me repeat after them. We got a taste for what Fred said he’s learned from his 6 years at the dump: “The less I think about myself, the happier I am.”

To see how you can help Eyes to Burma and the people at the dump, visit www.eyestoburma.org. If you’re interested in visiting Mae Sot, too, and would like to email me for information, please do, at karaclickhello@gmail.com.

“Above and Below” Intaglio Print by Tiffany Hokanson

We are so pleased to welcome Tiffany Hokanson and Heather Graham to the Art Center community!  Tiffany was awarded the Print Lab Resident Artist position and Heather Graham the Print Lab Monitor.  They were chosen out of a pool of applicants based on their printmaking experience and skills.  They will both put in a minimum of 45/50 hours during January – March 2013 in the Print Lab, working and creating and sharing their love of printmaking with visitors.

Heather will be holding a regular Open Print Lab on Sundays for Print Lab members who want to work in the studio with some support from an experienced printmaker.  Heather is currently working on her Art degree at SOU (Southern Oregon University, Ashland), she grew up in Seattle and moved to Ashland in the past few years.

Tiffany will be developing a body of work that will be unveiled in the Print Lab during the April 2013 First Friday Art Walk.  An Oregon native, she grew up in Roseburg and  recently graduated from SOU in Printmaking.   Tiffany is inspired by mixing media and  exploring the natural decomposition process in different materials.  She writes, “My recent installation based prints highlight the natural processes that occur as materials degrade. I incorporate unpredictable elements such as fire and rust into my artistic process to invite serendipity and in order to create a natural aesthetic… During my three-month residency, I propose to begin highlighting the inherent three-dimensional quality of the paper itself… In addition, I will experiment with using armatures to give these installations new form….  The final outcome of my work relies heavily on which of my experiments succeed and what I learn from my ‘failures’.”

“Americona” Multi Plate Print by Heather Graham

We are delighted to have both of these young women with us, and we invite you all to come visit the Print Lab and get inspired!

• Be simple, clear – explain everything
• Pitch stories that are NEW and UNIQUE – explain what is new, unique and different about the story.
• Will this story change the community?  How?
• They love MILESTONES – the start or the end of an accomplishment
• Crisis and Response gets their attention – are you making art or using your art in a way that relates to a larger news story?
• START LOCAL – Your local newspaper reporter’s stories can get picked up by the AP and guess what!  - Local news reporters read the paper to find stories for the news as well!  Getting in the local newspaper can be the start of something big!
• Be prepared to pitch your story, – answer your phone when they call, be ready with all the facts and pertinent info.
• Focus on PEOPLE – and be a good story teller
• BROAD APPEAL is important, don’t get too bogged down in theory or obscure stuff – make your complicated and nuanced topic as approachable and clear as possible.
• GOOD VISUALS – a picture is worth a zillion words!
• Write your press release like a news story, make sure there is enough interesting information for them to write a 10 – 15 inch story – but don’t make your press release longer than a page.
• When you write- include who, what, when, where, why.  Don’t forget to include the date, ticket prices, hours of show, duration of event, phone number, website – you can’t give too much info.
• SEND YOUR STORY VIA EMAIL – 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCE!
• Attach your press release as a word doc OR in the body of the email – they need to be able to cut and paste -DON”T attach PDF’s.  Attach photos to the email.  Photos are great!
• DON’T:  send webpages embedded in email,
• DON’T:  use superlatives like “Greatest” “World Renowned” “Most Beautiful”
• DON’T: get one reporter in a newsroom to say yes to your story and then keep pitching it to another.  It’s like a marriage proposal; if you say yes to one, then you can’t entertain others without jeopardizing the original proposal.  News Reporters work together as a team and they’re not likely to fight over a story.  They may both just drop your idea.  Remember the Tidings and Tribune are the same staff.

Career Development Workshops are held every quarter. They are free to Ashland Art Center Artist Members and cost $15 for the general public.  Each time we have a different presenter and topic that addresses the business of being an artist.

Artists to inspire Ashland

By Janet Eastman Ashland Daily Tidings Posted: 2:00 AM November 05, 2012