6A | SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Arts & Culture Arts CG gets ‘mugged’ by Sophia Edelblute sedelblute @cgsentinel.com For many longtime res- idents of Cottage Grove, the historical significance of downtown and the beauty of the many murals that dot the walls is just an everyday fact of life. For Jacob Monroe, a ceramist out of Eugene, it’s inspira- tion for his art. “I heard Cottage Grove had a preserved historic district and I knew I need- ed to check it out,” Mon- roe said. Three of his pieces fea- turing our little town have been put on display and showcased all the way across the country in a gallery in Humboldt, Tennessee. Not just any gallery either, the Com- panion Gallery, a contem- porary ceramics art gal- lery which features work from all over the US. “I’ve always had a ton of respect for them and always wanted to see my artwork in their gallery, and so this experience has been pretty incredible for me,” Monroe said. All three of Monroe’s Cottage Grove mugs sold on the opening day. Monroe has been mak- ing ceramics as a full-time job for nearly three years, and regularly sells at the Saturday Market in Eu- gene. He only started re- cently, as he’s only been in Eugene for about a year. “I’ve been meeting a ton of really amazing people, and I’m just really enjoy- ing the culture around here,” he said. Talking to people at the market, in fact a “long conversation with a cou- ple from Cottage Grove,” is how he discovered the mine of inspiration that our town had in store. As a musician originally, he always had a focus to- wards the art, and towards the challenging. When he was 17, he found ceramics and decided to put his en- ergy into it. Getting start- ed professionally was all about luck, and a chance he had to apprentice un- der someone who knew all about the science of ce- ramics. “I had all these ques- tions about glaze chemis- try, and I was really, like I had found this art that wasn’t just making some- thing, there was all this science behind it,” he said. “It was really difficult, and I think I was just attracted to difficult things.” From there, he says, one opportunity led to another opportunity and now he’s lucky enough to make art full time. He loves creating with clay and glaze because the materials he use can be a bit volatile, as he says, so it’s especially nice when they come out of the kiln and are still in one piece. “When it works out, it’s really rewarding,” said Monroe. “Like when I open the kiln, and, I’m making my own porcelain and using really unstable clays, [so] when things turn out at the end it’s a pretty awesome feeling.” The best part of the pro- fession though, he said, is the moment one of his pieces finds a home. “Knowing that they’re gonna live a life after when I have agency” and the fact that each one is a unique, one-of-a-kind memory PHOTO COURTESY OF JACOB MONROE All three of Monroe’s Cottage Grove mugs sold on the first day of their display in the Companion Gallery in Humboldt, Tennessee. This mug features the historic Coca Cola mural on Main St. and 7th. The other two featured the Cottage Grove Hotel and the I.O.O.F. Hall. of sorts is something that keeps him creating. For now, Cottage Grove is immortalized in three ceramic “memories” of Monroe’s, and in the fu- ture he hopes to keep making art as often as he can. Free rides offered between Eugene and Roseburg Umpqua Public Trans- portation District (UPTD) has started a new bus route called the Lane-Douglas Connector (LDC). This new service offers safe, reliable, accessible transportation to veter- ans and the general public in rural communities for better access to healthcare services and shopping op- portunities. Lane-Douglas Connec- tor operates from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays with sched- uled stops at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Rose- burg, Ray’s Food in Drain, Walmart and PeaceHealth Medical Center in Cottage Grove, and the Veterans Af- fairs Clinic in Eugene (LTD bus stop nearby). The stop in Drain serves as a connection point for passengers of the North Douglas Betterment shut- tle. 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