There's no one
quite like homegrown Northwest writer Chuck Palahniuk.
Chuck will inform Portland audiences how to “Write to Wreck Your Life (and Get a Better One)” at the Willamette Writers Conference banquet August 7. “Writing about the most‐risky, most‐challenging subjects can feel miserable," he explains, "but that suffering will vault you to becoming a stronger, braver person. You might have to sacrifice your short‐term comfort and happiness, but that effort will bring you more happiness and success than you’d ever dreamed possible."
More information and reservations at www.willamettewriters.com or 503‐452‐1592.
—Lisa Parsons
Is print dead? Not if 23 Sandy has anything to do with it. The gallery, which specializes in book arts and printed matter, hosts an artist walkthrough of their exhibit "Book Power" on Saturday, June 14th, at 4 pm.
Book Power brings together books from over forty artists whose work addresses social, political, and environmental issues ranging from racism to war to political upheaval. Join artists Jim Lommasson, Edgar Papazian, Randi Parkhurst, and others, who share the stories that inspired their books and discuss how their work calls for social change. According to the gallery, Lommasson's book, which contains the words and images of returning Iraq war veterans, is especially moving.
If you miss the artist walkthrough, you can still see the show Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays noon to 6 pm.
Or maybe you could just stay home and wait for the iBook.
Award-winning authors Chuck Palahniuk and Ursula K. Le Guin will be sharing their publishing experiences at the Oolicon: Write to Publish open house event, May 23, 2010, at Portland State University. Write to Publish is Ooligan Press's annual conference on the art of getting published. Also appearing are Too Much Coffee Man creator Shannon Wheeler, an Eisner winner and New Yorker contributor, Oregon Book Award-winning children's author Deborah Hopkinson, and National Book Award-winning YA fiction author Virginia Euwer Wolff.
Workshops for writers and industry professionals May 22nd and Open House mixer on the 23rd, $215 for full conference. Discounted writer's price of $130 for both, $32 per workshop. Tickets at Portland State University box office, 503-725-3307.
From our April 2010 email update. Sign up now to receive one in your very own inbox every month or so.
April-May: the Easter Island Project goes to South America + the South Pacific
July: Artist Dinner Series talk
First Friday opening of the TSA Gallery: Meg McHutchison
August: TSA Gallery showing artist Gary Wiseman
Keep reading for all the details...
Artist/curator Nan Curtis, filmmaker/architecture critic Brian Libby and writer Floyd Skloot with host Nora Robertson dig into how Portland's identity is reflected in art locally and to the outside world.
The New Oregon Interview Series joins the White Stag Block Talk in exploring Portland's evolving creative culture and how it is in conversation with other regions. University of Oregon White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch St., Tuesday, April 20th, 6-8 PM, open wine and beer bar, FREE. More info here.
Or over here.
by Tiffany Lee Brown
There's nothing to refresh the soul like an artist or writer residency. In the Northwest, residencies at Soapstone, Hypatia, and Caldera plucked me out of everyday life and into nature. They offered silence and solitude. Most importantly, they reminded me why I do the work: I do the work *to do the work.*
Living in a lull, a bubble in the woods, I am responsible to no one except myself. I'm not thinking about how to pay the rent or whether I should hire a videographer to properly document my next performance so I can try to get another grant someday. I'm not scrambling to doctor appointments and art events. I'm not on the freakin' Internet all day.
I'm just being. I'm walking. I'm feeling the rain on my neck. I'm building fires to keep myself warm. I'm writing, writing, writing... making, making, making... I'm sleeping, too. I'm having afternoon tea and playing solitaire. It's bliss. Productive, amazing bliss.
Whaddowe love as much as making art? Talkin' about it! Oh, and drinking. And food. All at once.
Thus, Linda Austin and Tahni Holt present the 2010 Artist Dinner Series: six dinners featuring conversations with twelve different artists. At each supper, you'll find under twenty guests, along with food, wine, and dessert. Dietary restrictions are accommodated.
Reserve a spot early for July 24, when New Oregon Executive Imperatrix Tiffany Lee Brown and Plazm magazine Art Director Joshua Berger (pictured left) are the guests. Expect a knock-down, drag-out sparring match as these two artists—who may or may not also be, uhh, shall we say, intimately involved with each other—discuss the creative process. Watch out for shrapnel!
Get your reservations (and the secret location of your dinner) by emailing hello@tahniholt.com.
February 27: Angelle Hebert + Angela Fair • March 20: Linda Austin + Kristan Kennedy
April 24: Tahni Holt + Ethan Rose • May 22: Cydney Wilkes + Lisa Radon
June 26: David Eckard + Linda K. Johnson • July 24: Tiffany Lee Brown + Joshua Berger
The TSA Gallery series of temporary, semi-autonomous artworks is a production of New Oregon Arts & Letters. On SE 36th Avenue between Taylor and Salmon (3 blocks north of Hawthorne).
July 2-30: Meg McHutchison at TSA Gallery; Opening: First Friday, July 2, 6-8:30 pm
July 24: Artist Dinner Talks at Performance Works NW. With Plazm co-founder Joshua Berger & New Oregon's Tiffany Lee Brown. Reservations required: hello@tahniholt.com
NOTE: OPENING PARTY / DEDICATION DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED:
August 6-September 23: Gary Wiseman's "MONUMENT (couldn't have done it without you)" at TSA Gallery. Dedication Ceremony: Tuesday, August 10, 7:30 pm. Please email ahead for details: neworegonarts (at) gmail.com .
