Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1981)
I Les Tipton: from throwing to sculpting & i While attending Rainier High School, he competed in baseball, ootball and track. Due to his athletic abilities, he was granted the Opportunity to compete in the East/West Shriner Football game, Ind also earned the title of AA State High School Champion in he javelin and the discus for his track attributes. I By the time he was a sophomore at the University of Oregon, |e started setting his sights on Olympic competition. In his senior tear of college, he knew he had a good chance of actually making H to the 1964 Olympics, being held in Tokyo, Japan. ■ He achieved his Olympic dream as he represented the United Htates in the javelin event in ’64. ■ He must be a coach now, right? ■ Wrong. ■ The person in question, Les Tipton, gave up coaching two Hears ago when he resigned from the job of Clackamas head track Roach, to devote more time to his artwork and teaching. I Even though Tipton gave up coaching as a job, he still unof- Hcially coaches College tracksters. I The College art instructor also keeps in touch with his track Hays by conducting track clinics at local high schools and the Col- Bge. ■ Even though art and athletics seem an unlikely combination, ■hat didn’t stop Tipton from taking part in both since he Hiscovered thè two when he was in the eighth grade. ■ “There is a lot of .correspondence between the two,” stated Tip- ■on. “Sensitivity^ ability to think about an idea and then perform it, Hand-and-eye coordination, and both are abstract.” ■ To Tipton, “there is no financial reward (in art or athletics). ■They are abstracted from the norm of life, but there’s a personal Heed to participate.” I “I consider myself more a teacher than an artist,” stated Tipton, Hut he has submitted some of his artwork, to small group shows. I Tipton works mainly in sculpting, but also shows his artisticness )“n ceramics and iewelrv-making. i In his ceramics work, Tipton doesn’t usually create objects uch as cups and dishes, but instead does mostly, scupture ¡era mies. The goal Tipton is working toward in his art is to gain in- lividualism: I In making his decision to give up athletics for full-time work in Hrt, Tipton stated, “Family was the most important thing, but it Has something I had to decide on myself.” I “After 20 years of athletics, I won’t give it up totally,” stated ■Tipton. “I miss the contact with the athletes,” he added. Story by Rick Obritschkewitsch Photos by Karen Marshall Wednesday, April 29, 1981 centimeters Colors by Muriseli Color Services Lab