Reflections on our First Year

2014 was a very exciting year for us at Ash Street Project.  In some ways we found that the project drove itself, morphing organically and helping us to see what it was people were looking for and how we could adapt to provide that.  In January, we were still building out the space while welcoming our first participants.  Fortunately they proved to be not only resilient, but helpful in taking up slack where we needed the help. We will always be a work in progress!

A wonderful group formed organically, encompassing artists from diverse backgrounds and experiences.   Along with our mentee Aldin Huff, visiting artist Matt Causey ended up staying on as a resident for the year, Brett Binford and Chris Lyon joined us from Mudshark Studios, and John Shea and Ted Vogel spent extended periods of time at Ash Street working out new ideas. This all was peppered with visiting artists and community night class members.  It was wonderful to see all these threads woven together.  Lunchtime organically grew into a daily brown bag event, often including members of the community who would pop in to visit or discuss issues.  Our third Thursday evening "Conversations" provided us with an opportunity to spread our wings and meet with artists from many disciplines throughout the community.  

This inaugural year has truly been better than we could have imagined.  Now, with our first mentee officially finished, we look ahead to our Summer Invitational Session (more on that soon) followed by a new group of mentees come September.  

Thank you to each and every one of you who helped support Ash Street during our first year!  

Changing Topics Conversation: From Individual to Industry

February's conversation involved an inspiring sample of artists/designers/entrepreneurs from Portland's growing community of production ceramists. Ash Street Project artists had the opportunity to gather insight and share thoughts on the topic of industry and production with ceramists and designers whose work runs the gamut from wheel thrown, one-of-a-kind pieces to full scale production lines. Though time flew and we left with many unanswered questions, we also left with much to ponder.  Thank you to all of our guests for carving out this time for us! 

Changing Topics Conversation: Mentorship

At Ash Street Project we continue to host our "conversation" series, a monthly dinner where we invite a handful of artists and educators from the community to share in a meal and discussion on a chosen topic.  In an effort to reflect back on our inaugural year, we kicked off January with the topic of mentorship.  Many good ideas were brought to the table, with a focus on the need for community connection and scholarship.  More on these developments soon. Thank you to all who participated!  

All participants are artists, affiliations follow.....PIctured L>R: (front row) Daniel DuFord (educator PNCA), Ted Vogel ( educator Lewis & Clark), Brett Binford (Mudshark Studios, Eutectic Gallery, Portland Growler Co.), Thomas Orr (Ash Street Project), John Shea (UW Madison grad student), (back row) Jordan Pieper (OCAC thesis student), Joanna Bloom (Ash Street Project), Brian Jones (artist, Jonescast), Matthew Causey (Ash Street Project Resident), Sarah Coderre (PNCA student), Aldin Huff (Ash Street Project mentee), Chris Lyon (Mudshark, Portland Growler).  

Get on the Bus! Forbidden Fruit Tour

Forbidden Fruit tour at the Chihuly Boathouse

Bus Tour Stop at Ash Street Project

Patti Warashina's Studio

Ash Street Tour

Private Tour SAM Porcelain Room

Lino Tagliapietra at the Tacoma Glass Museum

Chihuly Boathouse

Tour Stop Ash Street Project

Chihuly Lap Pool at Boathouse

This past October, we had the good fortune to have the first annual Ash Street Project show open amongst a wealth of fantastic ceramic events in the greater Portland area.  At the center of it all was the Portland Art Museum's opening of "Forbidden Fruit", an exhibit of Chris Antemann's work from the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory in Germany.  Running concurrently with this event, Chris and her partner Jakob Haslacher, of the LH Project, hosted two dynamic exhibits in the Pearl:  "Nutured by Nature" and "Art out of War",  works by two different groups of their resident artists.  At the same time, Brett Binford of Eutectic Gallery, mounted an exhibit of the works of LH board members, entitled  "2x4".  Following this, Chris and Jakob generously hosted a tour for artists and collectors, to visit studios, collections and galleries in Portland, Tacoma and Seattle.  The Ash Street Project was grateful to be a part of these events!

Night Class

Over the years, we have periodically offered community classes at Ash Street Project, mostly by request.  They are social affairs as much as they are about making, and valued as such.  Our recent night class, " Handbuilt Tableware ", was proposed by a group of friends who wanted a weekly creative escape.  They are now finishing up " Handbuilding 2, the Sequel ", and have given as much to us as we have to them!  This experience has prompted us to rethink how community classes could potentially add a rich layer to the Ash Street Project, providing additional opportunities for our mentees to build experience and connection.

Thomas Awarded Emeritus Status

Though this is a year and a half overdue, we feel it important to share that back in May of 2013, Thomas was awarded the honor of Professor Emeritus from Oregon College of Art and Craft.  This news came as a great surprise, as the college has never bestowed this honor on a faculty member before!  Needless to say, we were and still are thrilled.  This is further proof of Thomas' gift as a teacher and mentor, and it helps provide encouragement for him to continue on this path as an artist and (somewhat) retired educator.  Much gratitude to the faculty and administration of OCAC for acknowledging Thomas' efforts and skills.

ASP: The First Year

In October Ash Street Project mounted an exhibit of our inaugural year.  It involved the work all who participated in our program in 2014.  It was a lively event, overlapping with several fantastic ceramic shows in town.  More on that in another post.  

Our first year show included the work of mentee Aldin Huff, visiting artists Jennifer Anable, Miles Spadone, Cathy Bloom and Amanda Salov, resident artist Matthew Causey, and participants Brett Binford, Chris Lyon and John Shea. 

Visiting Artist: Miles Spadone

Ash Street Project is thrilled to have Miles Spadone arriving at the end of this week!  

Miles is an artist and designer who lives and works in Portland Maine. He holds a BFA in ceramics from Maine College of Art, and was recently honored as an emerging artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine.   His work blends the study of materials, the process of prototyping, and the utilization of production techniques to create objects of beauty and function. Miles works primarily in clay and gypsum, but relies heavily on wood-working techniques to explore preliminary ideas and concepts. Prior to Maine, he studied at Montana State University and Oregon College of Art and Craft. 

Please stop in for our First Friday reception to meet both Miles and Cathy and see their work, as well as the work of 9 other ASP artists on display.  Details to follow.

Eighth Grade Mentoring Project

These past couple of weeks Joanna has begun a mentorship project with an eighth grade student from Cedawood Waldorf School.  It is tradition, in Waldorf education, for the 8th graders to immerse themselves in an in depth study of a topic of particular interest.  In this case, Grace made the decision to break out of her comfort zone, and work in an area that was new to her.  She has chosen to experiment with making tableware, but the specifics will reveal themselves after some experimentation!  It's nice to have the young energy around the studio.  

Visiting Artist: Cathy Bloom

There is alot going on at Ash Street these days!  We've been reconfiguring the work spaces to make room for a FULL house this fall.  Before September is over,  we will have two visiting artists, who both happen to be from Portland, Maine,  joining the mix.

First to arrive with be Cathy Bloom.  

Cathy received her BFA in sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design in 1979, where she concentrated primarily on metal fabrication. After graduating, she worked as a graphic artist in New York city, while continuing to make sculpture and 3-D artists' books using wood, paper, plexiglass and paint. 

She moved to Portland, Maine in 1990, and explored just about every medium but clay, until 2007 when an opportunity arose to study with ceramic artist Carolyn Judson.  Since then she has thoroughly enjoyed getting her hands into the clay, and is intrigued by the unpredictable nature of glazes.

Cathy will work with us for three weeks.  She will be one of eleven artists participating in our October exhibit  " Ash Street: The First Year ".  More on that event soon!

Matt Causey Workshop: Illustration on the Ipad

Did you know that, with the help of free Ipad apps, you can create your own show announcements and promotional materials? And with the same apps, design decals for ceramics and glass?  The sky is the limit with these tools, and Ash Street visiting artist Matt Causey has generously agreed to share his tips and tricks with the community in this free workshop.  

Matt uses several choice programs to create his layered, dynamic illustrations.  Fletcher Halyburton, graphic designer and owner of Portland's Ellbergen, will be on hand to discuss how he then prints these illustrations as decals.  In the first part of the workshop, Matt will focus on illustration and design options.  Fletcher will be on hand for the later portion of the evening, to discuss the printing of decals for ceramics or glass. 

Tuesday, June 10th, 6:30-8:30pm

Ash Street Project, 524 SE Ash, Portland, OR

Free & Open to anyone with an iPad or iPhone.  

Rsvp to reserve a space and receive info on apps to download in advance.  joanna@ashstreetproject.com

Changing Topics Conversation: The Direction of Art

For our recent 3rd Thursday conversation group, we wanted to probe the question "where is art going", as a compliment to Ash Street's up and coming exhibit " "Purple".  Purple (see gallery page), program participant Aldin Huff's curatorial debut, is a sampling of work he has chosen to represent youth culture in art.  By luck gen x, gen y, millennials, boomers and the "greatest generation" were all represented.  Suffice it to say we did not agree on every point, which left our conversation lively and thought provoking.  Thank you participants!  

This month's artists:  Aldin Huff (ASP mentee, clay/glass), Ned Siegel (Shoemaker), Thomas Orr (Ash Street), Joanna Bloom (Ash Street), Brett Binnford (Mudsharks/Portland Growler, Ceramics),  Matt Causey (ASP visiting artist, clay).

Visiting Artist: Matt Causey!!!

We are so excited to have Matt Causey joining us in the studio next week!  Matt is a prolific maker/illustrator, typically using cups and plaques as his palate.  He will be exhibiting at Eutectic Gallery with Lauren Mabry in June, but in the mean time he will be trying out some new ideas at Ash street.  He plans to work on a "Portland Portrait Series",  a series of illustrations of local influences based on the "Famous Potter Plaques" he has been creating for Garth Clark's CFile shop.  We are excited to have Matt infuse Ash Street with his energy and aesthetic.   

Unveiled: Ash Street EAMP Launch Party & Exhibition

Thank you to ALL of you who came out to see the work of Jennifer Anable, Aldin Huff and Spencer Brewer,  as well as to celebrate the launch of our new vision.  It was a beautiful night, and wouldn't have been the same with out each and every one of you.  THANK YOU!

Changing Topics Conversation: Authentic Voice

Last night we hosted our second "conversation" dinner.  This rotating monthly series, designed to supplement the mentorship program, addresses a wide range of topics as they relate to the studio artist.  We are so grateful to the rich community of artists Portland has to offer.  Many thanks to our diverse panel of artists who kept the topic of  "authentic voice"  lively and thought provoking.  What a great topic, may have to revisit.  This month's artists:  Thomas Orr (Ash Street), Dave Tinman Edgar (Painting), Joanna Bloom (not pictured, Ash Street), Karl Burkheimer (wood, mixed media, installation), Eli Osborn (multimedia, resident builder), Spencer Brewer (ASP mentee, clay), Jennifer Anable (ASP visiting artist, clay, mixed media), Lisa Kaser (Sculpture, 2D), Aldin Huff (ASP mentee, clay).

Tom Beardman Memorial Scholarship

Tom was our dear friend and studio partner in the early days of Ash Street.  He loved the space, and would spend most of his days there.  He was a prolific maker, and even after his diagnosis of leukemia, would continue to come to the studio daily to work.  We lost Tom in 2011.

In Tom's honor, we have created a scholarship fund.  One hundred percent of Ash Street T shirt profits will go towards supplementing the education of our mentorship artists.  Typical use of funds would be to help send students to the NCECA conference, supplement their materials, bring in speakers, or simply help defray tuition costs.  Non tax deductable donations are also gratefully accepted.  

You can find T shirts to purchase ($15) at our studio launch party, February 14h from 5-8, at our on-line shop at ashstreetproject.com, or by contacting us at info@ashstreetproject.com.  Thank you.

Ash Street Project T Shirts Have Arrived!!

These new beauties are hot off the press and and the boys say they are "sick". They will be ready for their debut at our February launch party, and available at our on line shop.  100% of proceeds to benefit the Thomas Beardman Scholarship!!  Specifics on scholarship fund will follow in next post.

Changing Topics Conversation: Getting Started

Our Changing Topics Conversation Dinner at Ash Street Project is a monthly discussion group that addresses a variety of topics as they relate to the studio artist.  A rotation of artists from a wide range of disciplines and experience are invited to share their take on the subject.  This month we tackled "getting started".  Artists present: Thomas (Ash Street Project), Hilary Pfeifer (Sculptor), Robin Lane (Do Jump Theater), Sonya Nidever (Multimedia), Phil Harris (Photography/Sculpture), Spencer Brewer (Emerging Artist Mentorship Particpant), Aldin Huff (EAMP), Joe Davis (Potter/Sculptor), Joanna Bloom (Ash Street Project).

OCAC Post-Bacc Exhibition

OCAC Post Bacc Studio Visit, October 14, 2013