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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2018)
community november1 2018 7 Where Are They Now? Back in Vernonia! continued from front page just a really awesome experience.” Among her successes at Oregon State, Carr-Kiprotich received a scholarship to do art research in London, she received a grant to create an art project for the cultural center on the OSU campus where she also taught a series of workshops, she was named one of the top 10 outstanding senior students and was featured during her 2016 OSU graduation ceremony, and some of her artwork was purchased by the University Provost and is now part of the University’s permanent art collection. “Everything just really fell in place for me at Oregon State,” she says. “It was really great to have the studio space and the time to make a lot of different art.” After graduation from OSU Carr-Kiprotich moved to Portland and then Seattle, and was pursuing her art on the side while working several day jobs, including working at an architecture firm doing clerical work. She got married in the summer of 2016. She says her marriage and re- lationship with her husband has been a big influence on her recent art projects; her husband Gideon is an immigrant from Kenya who has lived in the United States for 20 years. “When I traveled to Kenya in 2014 it really sparked a lot of where my work is now. The difference in cultures, and what it’s like to be mar- ried to someone from a different culture. How I fit into his life and how he fits into my life. I’m really interested in that in- tersection of our lives.” Carr-Kiprotich ended up cre- ating an ongoing body of work called “Navigating Race and Ethnicity,” a se- ries of paper collage works. “Right now I have about 20 pieces in the series and it’s something I plan to continue for awhile,” she explains. “It depicts the daily life of my husband and I. It just shows that interrace couples are just nor- mal people. I wanted to just normalize our interracial relationship by depicting scenes from our daily life, like us chat- ting across the dinner table or us taking a walk in the city. I wanted to leave it very mundane and let the viewer bring their own opinion to it.” The City of Kent, Washington recently purchased three of her pieces, so she now has work in two permanent collections. She says returning to Vernonia to teach art was not exactly in her plans, but sometimes things just work out a certain way. “When this opportunity to teach here in Vernonia came available, I had just made up my mind to go back to school to get my Masters Degree in Fine Arts which would have allowed me to teach art in college,” she explains. “That had been my plan all along. Teaching art in a secondary school is a completely different career path because you need a Masters in Teaching.” Carr-Kiprotich applied in May for the open art instructor position at Vernonia. The position was offered to someone else, but they backed out at the last minute at the end of this summer and Carr-Kiprotich was still available. “Now I’m going to go get my teaching degree instead.” She said her past experience teaching several workshops at universi- ties gave her some needed background for her current position in Vernonia. “It is different, because those were college aged students and now I’m working with a younger set of students.” Being back in Vernonia and teaching in the District she graduated from is interesting. “It feels different be- cause this is a new building than where I attended classes,” she says. “It’s been interesting teaching with some of my old teachers, like Mr. Swartz, Miss Safier, Justin and Ashley Ward, and Mr. Brown. That was a weird mind shift when I first started but now it’s become more famil- iar and they feel like colleagues. Mr. Un- derwood was my old principal and now he’s my boss.” Carr-Kiprotich will be teaching two middle school art classes, as well as a middle school yoga class, and three high school art classes, including World Folk Art. She says her middle school art students will learn basic drawing skills and some color theory. High school stu- dents will learn basic art elements and principles, learn how to draw the human figure, and learn about abstract art. The Folk Art class is focusing on Latin and South American art, doing projects from those cultures, including learning about textile molas made by the Kuna, an in- digenous tribe in Panama, different Car- nival celebrations around the world, and are just starting a unit on the Day of the Dead. She says she plans to continue the Junior Salmon Auction, a project in collaboration with Vernonia Hands On Art, which auctions student art work to raise funds for community and school art programs. She says she would love to in- tegrate some field trips for her students, Betsy Johnson Our State Senator DON WALLACE, PLS Professional Land Surveying 1224 E. Alder St. Vernonia, OR 97064 Phone: 503-429-6115 FAX: 1-866-297-1402 Email: DWallace_KLS@msn.com Pastor Sam Hough 410 North St. Vernonia Auto injury recovery/medical billing • Accepting: Medical Benefits Cards lic#5495 CORPORATE MEMBER Remember to vote by November 6 Everyone is welcome in our vibrant & active community! 11:00 am Massage Therapy 503-429-5180 V ernonia C hristian C hurch Sunday Worship Service Marie Krahn • Medical Massage Cupping • Swedish Massage • Reiki • Deep Tissue • Reflexology • doTerra Aroma Touch • Trigger Point Therapy • Myofacial Release We still have work to do. Owned and Operated by Don & Kim Wallace maybe bring in some visiting artists, and encourage her students to submit work and participate in local art exhibitions and contests. In addition, Carr-Kiprotich will get to help design the art classroom that will be part of the four additional class- rooms the District is getting ready to construct. “I feel really fortunate that they’ve asked for my input, which is really awesome. How many times as a teacher do you get a new room, but also get to help plan and design it.” The new classroom will include lots of storage space, some display cases in the hallway where student art can be exhibited, and room for a pottery kiln. For Carr-Kiprotich, it really has been good to come back home. “It’s been really empowering and fulfilling to be here in this role and have an impact on kids in a creative way,” says Carr-Ki- protich. “I had been thinking a lot about Vernonia during the last few years. I read a book recently by a Native Ameri- can writer and a passage really resonated with me. He said, ‘A town dies when the kids move away and never come back.’ And I had been thinking that it would be amazing to come back and serve my community and give back in a way that was given to me when I was here in school. So having this opportu- nity to come back and teach art here, the thing that inspired me so much and got me through school – there was no way I could turn that down. I’m very humbled and honored to be here.” • Youth and Adult Sunday School • Evening Youth Groups 4th-6th Grade Junior & Senior High Mariolino’s Pizza & Grill Open for breakfast, lunch & dinner Daily Specials We have ice cream! Cones-Shakes-Sundaes • Home Study Groups • Outdoor Ministry Christian Bow Hunters of America Annual Sportsman’s Banquet office@VernoniaChristianChurch.org 503-429-6522 mariekrahn@frontier.com Serving Vernonia since 1970 721 Madison Avenue, Vernonia (503) 429-5018
