This event recap is provided by Arts Assistant Moriah Arnold.
On the 20th of March, attendees from the Central Oregon area gathered in the classroom at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture for the first Open Studio of the season, where they heard from the current residents. The first cohort, which stayed during the wintry March weather included multidisciplinary artist Mallory Craig, lens based artist Ellie Kingsbury, and author Margaret-Mary (MM) Sulentic Dowell.
The night began by splitting the attendees into two groups, one stayed in the classroom with Margaret-Mary (MM), and the other followed me into the Old Shop Studio with Mallory Craig.
The Old Shop Studio with Mallory Craig
Upon entering the old shop, participants were met with a warm and cozy scene. The fire was crackling, creating a welcoming atmosphere, where participants listened and would later ponder questions posed by Mallory.
Mallory came to the Ranch with a curiosity for rural foodscapes, and how they differ from more urban areas, like where she lives in Harlem. During her time here she has been asking the questions, “How do we reciprocate care? What are the foods that tell you, you are home? How would you describe the taste or flavor of this land?”
Mallory is currently working on a project inspired by “The Pleasure of Eating” by Wendell Berry, where he describes eating as an agricultural act. She has been exploring feelings of solastalgia through her art. Solastalgic feelings often come up when one’s home is impacted due to environmental factors, like impacts from climate change. Mallory welcomed attendees to join her in considering the factors that make a home.
After visiting Mallory in her studio, my group went back to the PMRCAA classroom to hear more about MM’s project.
Margaret-Mary (MM) Sulentic Dowell in the Upstairs Studio
During her residency, MM set out to write two children’s books on the lives of lesser-known water stewards Ernest Oberholtzer and Margaret “Mardy” Murie. Over the past two weeks, MM has been working day and night to finish the first of the two books. This one tells the story of Mardy Murie and her life. On the walls of the classroom were her completed pages. During her presentation, she invited the attendees of the Open Studio to read what she’d written on Mrs. Murie and suggest any ideas for changes.
It was clear to those in attendance that MM has spent a lot of time studying the life of Mardy Murie, and has worked to make this book both accessible and educational for children. Our attendees enjoyed learning more about Mardy and her efforts in wilderness protection and conservation.
After the two rotations, all attendees joined together in the classroom to listen to Ellie Kingsbury, our Lens Based Artist.
Ellie Kingsbury in the Downstairs Studio
Ellie Kingsbury came to The Ranch with a handful of questions and a project in mind: a commentary on water issues and conservation. Ellie’s project started from a realization she had when looking at disaster relief efforts. One common component of disaster relief is providing plastic water bottles to those affected. While it does help in one way, it also does a good deal of harm. During her stay, Ellie met with a handful of professionals and experts doing work in water conservation and issues. She noted how hard it was to find discarded plastic water bottles here in Oregon.
Ellie asked the audience to engage with her project and share or write their own musings on water. Scattered around the classroom were various images Ellie had taken or found centered around the topic. Some contained timelines and graphs with the history of the plastic water bottle. Others were pictures of oceans, rivers, and water falls with various musings written on them.
After the Visits
The artists enjoyed being able to connect with community members and were grateful to the attendees for taking time to attend the Open Studio and participating in conversations.
Thank you to our artists and community members for making this first Open Studio event a success. Our next Open Studio is schdeuled on May 8th from 4 – 6 p.m. During this event guests will hear from writers Josh Anderson and Karen Edmonds, and multidisciplinary artist Ben Erlandson.
Photos by Loma Smith Photography
