Currents
Navigating the Arts and Music of The Valley
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
(Photo by Darcy Wallace, Illinois Valley News)
Artists and admirers congregated in Kerby for the season kick-off of the Southern Oregon Guild for Artists and Artisans. The event was held in Kerby at the Belt
Building Friday, May 27.
Spring has sprung at the guild
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
Striking photography, detailed paintings
and ingenious creations lined the walls and
windows of the Kerby Belt Building during
the Southern Oregon Guild’s new Spring Show
Friday, May 27.
Friday’s opening reception introduced
guests to a variety of new and returning artists’
work, kicking off Memorial Day weekend with
the opening reception of the Guild Gallery’s
newest showing, scheduled to display from 11
a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and light
beverages and had the chance to meet many of
the artists themselves.
Displays included tapestries and figurines
made from alpaca fiber, photography by
retired teacher Jim Lettis, stunning black-and-
white photography by Anita Savio and three-
dimensional work from artisans Cedar Wazell
and Roxanne Hunnicutt, to name just a few.
One enjoyable fiber tapestry, “Global
Warming” by Jeff Merrifield, was created using
‘wet’ and ‘needle’ felt techniques to portray
penguins surfing, climbing palm trees and
hitting the beach — perhaps a lighter take on a
grave scenario.
Ruth Wendover also displayed new tables
during the event, and Jean Robertson’s jewelry
crafted from re-purposed electrical parts sparked
interest for Spring Show guests.
Artists Alan Laurie, Bea Thompson
and Katherine Tilton helped usher in summer
(despite recent inclement weather) with vibrant
colors of oil paintings, watercolors and haute
couture, respectively.
Guild members Linda Stevenson and
Guild board director Anita Savio curated the
show, while a core group of members, including
Merrifield, Joyce Abrams, Andy Mechling and
Sandy Miller, played a major role bringing
things together.
Guild founder Jerry Work said he formed
the Guild eight years ago to help provide
incentive for Southern Oregon artists to
communicate their work through any media, if
they wish to do so.
“We don’t have enough of an indigenous
market here to support very many artists
and artisans on a full-time basis,” Work said.
“[They] had to reach out. They didn’t know
how and didn’t know where to turn to do that.
So the Southern Oregon Guild was formed
for the specific purpose of helping artists and
artisans learn how to become commercially
more successful. And that was the genesis for
all of this.”
There is no shortage of artists or talent in
the Valley, or in the rest of Southern Oregon.
The challenge, Work said, is making their work
look as stunning in a photograph as it looks in
person.
“What was most needed was access to
professional photographic equipment so people
could learn to take professional-quality pictures
of their work,” Work said. “That’s absolutely
mandatory. You can’t even think about getting
juried into a show if you just have snapshots
you’re sending out.”
According to Work, the unique relationship
between the Guild and Rogue Community
College supports the non-profit Guild while
(Photo by Darcy Wallace, Illinois Valley News)
Sharon and Jerry Works caught having fun in Kerby May 27.
running a for-profit gallery for the artists
themselves.
Work said his wife Sharon gathered the
funds for remodeling within the Kerby Belt
Building that could be used as a special events
center for artists when they needed it.
“The idea was whenever [the events
center] was not being used by the college,
everything on display would be put on wheeled
carts I built so it could expand out into this
space; but it could also contract back into this
space when the event center was needed for
something else,” Work said.
“That started what I think is a totally
unique situation where there is a nonprofit
organization operating a for-profit cooperative
gallery inside a community college building,”
Work continued. “I don’t think that’s done
anywhere else in the country.”
Running the Guild is a full-time job, with
volunteers doing everything from show prep to
staffing the Gallery five days a week, providing
security, accounting sales and distributing funds
to artists.
“You provide a vehicle for [artists] to
motivate themselves,” Work said. “All the help
in the world can come from a group of very
talented volunteers as long as they are willing
to take that first step themselves.”
Locals get sneak peek of Caves movie
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
Those closest to the Oregon
Caves National Monument had two
opportunities to view a pair of docu-
mentary films on the monument and
the Oregon Caves Chateau on Satur-
day, May 21, and Tuesday, May 24.
“The Marble Halls of Oregon”
and “The Chateau at the Oregon
Caves” are scheduled to air June 22
on Southern Oregon Public Televi-
sion (SOPTV).
Co-produced by the National
Parks Service and SOPTV in associa-
tion with Greg Frederick Productions,
the films premiered in four Southern
Oregon locations to help draw in
public awareness and support for the
monument and chateau.
The nonprofit group Friends
of the Oregon Caves hosted the film
showings with the park service. The
showings included refreshments, a
raffle and the option for guests to sign
up with Friends.
Friends executive director Sue
Densmore said the documentaries
gave two perspectives on the monu-
ment’s history: one focusing on the
formation of the caves and its role in
society over the years, and the other
featuring the development of the cha-
teau.
“The Oregon Caves monument
is one of the smallest monuments in
the nation that has a Friends group,”
Densmore said. “What’s exciting is
we have many individuals not just in
[the Valley] but throughout the U.S.
who want to support continuing pro-
grams, restoration and cultural op-
portunities.”
On May 24, the Illinois Valley
Senior Center hosted the showing,
featuring local canine Riley, other-
wise known as “Bruno” in the films,
“King of the Siskiyous.”
“Bruno” was the dog belonging
to explorer Elijah Davidson; as the
story goes, he “discovered” the Caves
when he strayed from the path while
hunting to follow his dog, stumbling
upon the complex cave system that
eventually became the monument as
it is today.
The first film, “The Marble Halls
of Oregon,” described the natural sur-
roundings and geographic abnormali-
ties of the Caves and how they were
formed. It also documented how
tourism of the monument evolved,
turning to an educational focus based
on science.
In “The Chateau at the Oregon
Caves,” the film showed the build-
ing’s history from its construction by
Gust Lium, the flood of 1964 and its
present-day status.
Densmore said plans are slowly
beginning for a full restoration of the
Caves Chateau, after more than 75
years of existence.
While bringing safety features
to more modern standards, Densmore
said the group also wants to keep the
original look as much as possible.
“It has 23 rooms and will need
a complete upgrade in plumbing,
electrical, life safety and accessibil-
ity,” Densmore said. “Starting now
[we’re] restoring furniture and much
of the interior.
Full renovations aren’t likely
to take place until a few years later,
2014 or 2015. For now, the group is
in the “research” phase and begin-
ning to raise funds, which could be in
the range of $6 million for this level
of restoration.
According to Densmore, the
Friends of the Oregon Caves group
formed three years ago when com-
munity members noticed monument
attendance had decreased, and some
might have forgotten about what was
in their backyard.
“Different people came together
and realized the monument had kind
of been forgotten,” Densmore said.
“Also the park service hoped some-
one might put together a Friends
group. There has been a wonderful
response, and we have numerous
supporters throughout the U.S.”