July 28, 2004

Ashland's next wave of artists are...

Pursuing the passion

Stories by Chris Honore
Photo by Andrew Meriman

It's all but impossible to talk to young Ashland artists without the word passion threading its way through the conversation. And it is all but impossible to ignore the fact that to pursue a passion, one that may never fully sustain you, and persevere nonetheless, requires commitment and courage.

A cadre of young artists are trying to make it in Ashland, while juggling the demands of life and work. (From left) Laney D' Aquino, WG Freedom, Leora Pangburn, Arin Ingraham, Jennifer Goldie, Barbara Jean Whitbeck and Georgia Varaday (kneeling).

It requires courage to place your art at the center of your life rather than as an adjunct or hobby. For many, it means that they work to live and they live to paint or dance or sculpt or design.

And so they wait tables, work at juice bars, take care of the elderly, and do whatever else that qualifies as employment, finding time to create in the residual hours, such as they are. It is almost trite to instruct someone to follow their bliss; however, that willingness to pursue your passion with energy and conviction is what defines the artists profiled below. They, and many more like them, are the young artists of Ashland.

Georgia Varaday, 22. Dedication and love for the art of entertaining is a very deep-seated thing inside me because of my history that began for me here in Ashland as a young dancer, musician and actress. I have a 3-year old daughter and I work so sometimes it is a challenge to find time to devote to my art because my schedule is usually so full. But my passion is dance, and ever since I was a small child I have been very aware of this passion.

Belly dance was a huge desire for me since the first time I saw it performed. I saw those elegant, exotically graceful women accentuating the flowing movements and that drew me and I knew I must learn it. I took my first class when I was 13 and it was then that I discovered the ritualistic beauty that belly dance is. It has inspired me deeply and yet I know that something exciting and new is bursting out of me and is making itself more visible day by day.

Barbara Jean Whitbeck, 30. I moved here to Ashland from Juneau, Alaska. I am a painter and have been painting for 12 years and am self taught. My work is free spirited, ethereal pop art featuring modern women in everyday situations. Some say my paintings have a sexy sensibility, for example the women are wearing panties while riding a bike or bird watching. I enjoy contemporary composition and splashes of color which, when combined with the figurative element, make my style fresh.

Leora Pangburn, 20. I was raised in Wisconsin and moved to Oregon when I was 14-years-old. I've resided in Ashland for close to two years. I'm working on developing a clothing line called Meadow of Chrysali, designing.

Originally I was drawn to Ashland because of its friendly, artistic community. There is an incredible amount of creativity floating around this Valley. Inspiration grabbed me and sucked me in. I work full-time as a trainer for developmentally disabled adults. The pay rate is unfortunately minuscule and as many artists will agree what you end up doing for a living is not exactly what you live to do.

When I am designing and creating clothing my quality of life is through the roof. The gratification that arises when I see my work on a human being is really what keeps my hands constantly moving. In the short amount of time that I've lived in Ashland, I have met so many young artists who want to share their passions with the world. Behind so many front doors, in basements, backyards, garages, there are people dancing, composing, designing, painting, and singing their hearts out, just waiting for an opportunity to share their creations.

W.G. Freedom, 32. I grew up in Livermore, near the San Francisco Bay Area. I have lived in Ashland for nearly three years. My parents ran a small art distribution company and all my life I have been surrounded by artists from all over the world expressing themselves visually.

Mass media would always excite me. I would look at rock magazines and be inspired by the layouts, words and photography. So I set out to learn all the skills and techniques needed to create my inspirations: photography, printing, and developing photos, magazine layout, T-shirt screening.

By the age of 17 I had a darkroom in the laundry room, was screening T-shirts in my art class. I guess it's like how a tree knows how to become a tree...by design. I was made for this. The foundation of the art that I do now is cultural design. I work mostly with digital mediums and now I am translating those digital images onto garments for my clothing line FUTURE E4RTH NOW.

Jennifer Goldie, 37. I grew up in Stony Brook, New York, in a town much like Ashland except with beaches and boats. I often frequented New York City and was greatly influenced by the city's museums, street performers, diversity and nightlife. In these formative years, I developed a love of culture, artistic expression, and a desire to voice and explore the beautiful diversity this planet has to offer.

I was destined to become an artist. I went to school for three years at the State University of New York, fell in love and moved to the Southwest. As a young mother I spent my time painting and drawing and lived within a culture of bohemians and free thinkers, scraping by but living fully. My paintings have been shown in galleries in New York, Phoenix, L.A. and here in Ashland.

After moving to Ashland I made a shift from painting to digital art and my world opened. I find art within digital media to be a creative expression of our information age. It enables people to share and layer ideas and techniques. Here the creative process is heightened. I have been making digital prints for three years. I am expanding my production of two dimensional media to include film, multimedia installations and contemporary art promotion.

Laney D' Aquino, 36. I was born in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. I went to Catholic grade school and eventually attended Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales where I got a Bachelors in Fine Arts in theater design. I then attended the University of Delaware's Professional Theatre Training Program earning a Masters of Fine Arts in costume construction.

I came to Ashland to work at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I came for three months and stayed three years. I then worked in film in Austin, and now work as a commercial illustrator at Illustrated Sandwich and have forayed into film.

For the past four years I have been working separately and with Austin VanCampen, a professional photographer and artist, doing fine art. We recently won the Ashland Independent Film Festival poster contest for 2004. I have also worked with Howard Schreiber at Full Circle Communications, in Ashland, as art director on several projects for PBS and was the art director on the Ashland Film, "Raspberry Heaven."

Arin Ingraham, 27. I have lived off and on in the Rogue Valley for 14 years. I was home schooled and lived on a ranch 30 miles outside of Eagle Point until I was 17-years-old, then I moved to Hawaii. I moved back to Portland, then to Ashland, then to L.A. where I lived and worked in Hollywood. I was a personal assistant to an actress/producer/director.

Photography had always been a hobby until one day my grandfather gave me his old Nikon. I took classes and that was it. I was hooked. I began shooting anyone I could get my hands on. I started looking for an internship at a photography studio and found Beyond Images. I am now an associate photographer and remaining true to my heart. I love shooting portraits, especially children and musicians. The innocent raw beauty within them is delicious.

To me capturing a person's essence and beauty is a joyful experience. I love Ashland. I love the community, I love the people, the beauty, the artists, and the awareness. I want Ashland to become more of what it is: more art, more theater, more music, more environmental and political awareness, and dancing in the streets. The artists of Ashland are the heart beat of Ashland. I want to hear it.

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Emerg-N- See: Addressing an age old concern

Perhaps local artist Leora Pangburn said it best: "Behind so many front doors, in basements and backyards and garages there are people dancing, composing, designing, painting, and singing their hearts out, just waiting for the opportunity to share their creations."

The question is, how to create not only the art but the opportunity. Where do young, creative artist go to exhibit their work in Ashland? And how do the artists of the community bridge the gap between what they create and design and fashion and the market place? Therein is the age old question: if you create it, will they come?

Historically, artists have always lived with the tension between what they paint or sculpt or design and the vagaries of commerce. How do they live and sustain themselves so they can carry on and do what they love to do: make art in all its permutations? The economic process can be unforgiving, the market variables fickle, hard-shelled and even whimsical.

The obvious venues for some artists are the galleries and boutiques of Ashland. But who will buy their art? Local artist Barbara Jean Whitbeck says that "The average demographic buyer, meaning retired tourists, wants a more conventional product. But locals are quirky and enjoy groundbreaking art. My biggest hurdle, which probably holds true for most artists, is to continue to do inspired work and just get it out there."

More galleries need to be willing to give young artists a chance, she says.

"Fortunately," she says, "Ashland does offer other avenues for showcasing one's work. Nuwandart supports emerging art and fresh nontraditional art, plus Ashland Bean Scene, Luxe Salon and a few others who are pioneering this trend."

One response to creating opportunity has been the formation of Emerg-N-See, a loosely fashioned artists guild that has as one of its guiding purposes to create venues for artists and assist them in finding the support needed to grow their art. It strives to bring awareness of the ubiquitous talent in Ashland to the general population and civic organizations.

Emerg-N-See's mission statement is predicated on the idea that talent needs opportunity and emphasizes that its members are committed to creating "media venues that bring to the light the latest in underground talent (clothing, visual, music, dance) which provides an arena of artist appreciation and integration into popular culture and commerce while illuminating both local and global issues of immediate and long term concern through active dialogues, fund raising, and direct action."

In other words, guild members are intent on finding ways to introduce their art into the community, opening a dialogue with city leaders, and hoping to expand the base of possible buyers.

W.G. Freedom, a local artist and operator of a small clothing manufacturing company, believes that mostly rich patrons or tourists from out of town are buying local art. He hopes for a whole new level of participation between the community and the artists that is, to date, not endorsed.

"There are enough of us here," he say, "in rich diversity, that most items that people need to fill their homes can be made and purchased here. You can have art that lines your walls and you can have artisans make your chairs, benches, cabinets, glasses, windows, mugs, table ware. Just imagine it and people here can make it. There is so much talent here. So what this can do for Ashland is actually employ the artists as they are rather than most of them working a contortion act, doing day jobs, and then finding time after the race to birth their natural expression." W adds with emphasis, "If we re-employ our artisans we can feed lives here, enrich our city's culture and save the planet."