JUNE 29, 2017 // 3
SCRATCHPAD
To public artists: Thanks for letting us judge you
By ERICK BENGEL
I’m trying to imagine what it
would be like to write this column
with several dozen pairs of eyes on
me — scrutinizing my expression,
second-guessing my word choices,
judging my abilities. Would I block
them out, or treat myself to a nice
public meltdown?
During the last two weekends,
I attended Cannon Beach events
where artists had to do that very
thing: Craft something in full view
of murmuring spectators.
First came the Sandcastle Con-
test, where teams set out to build
impressive, yet delicate, sand sculp-
tures while thousands of visitors
coast
streamed by (not to mention judges
— of whom I was one — taking
notes and assigning scores).
And on Sunday, at the Plein Air
& More arts festival, painters, sculp-
tures, ceramicists and others plied
their trade outdoors amid throngs of
opinionated onlookers.
I asked Mike Rangner, an oil
painter and guest artist at Bronze
Coast Gallery, how he can even con-
centrate in a setting where his process
is analyzed as much as his product.
“There is a little bit of insecurity
when you fi rst start any event,” he
said. “You always feel a little bit of
insecurity.”
It helps, he said, to show up with
a work-in-progress, so that most
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major decisions have already been
made.
Later, I asked Michael Orwick
and Anton Pavlenko — featured
artists at DragonFire Gallery — how
they got over their stage fright. “Al-
cohol,” Orwick joked.
They, too, came prepared with
small-scale versions of their planned
paintings to use as a jump-off point.
Every year becomes less
nerve-racking, they said. But the
anxiety is still there, a faithful friend
that can be more or less audible.
“Sometimes thoughts creep in
like, ‘What if this goes horribly
wrong?’” Pavlenko said.
“And paintings do, all the time,”
Orwick added.
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That’s the real fear, right? Not
that people are watching, but that
we will lose the moment, stumble,
and people will judge us. What
if this pile of sand looks nothing
like a singing porpoise? What if I
completely botch this beachscape of
Haystack Rock?
Judging the work of people who
put themselves out there is an easy
and necessary pastime, and — let’s
be honest — a fun one. We lay down
our standards and dock points when
those standards aren’t met. Human
nature.
But here’s to the people — from
artists to athletes to city councilors
— who know this and choose to
work in public anyway, who let us
watch them make mistakes in real
time, who are brave enough to let us
judge them. CW
PHOTO BY DANNY MILLER
Features Editor Erick Bengel