Events

Patrice Demmon lounges in her folded paper cranes
Arts, Events July 1, 2014

Fifteen thousand origami cranes by artist Patrice Demmon flock to peace and recovery

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If you’ve recently passed through the ambulance entrance of the critical care ward at OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital you may have noticed the colorful origami cranes hanging overhead. The cranes displayed at Doernbecher number roughly 5,000. The installation, CraneAge, constitutes just one third of an effort by local artist Patrice Demmon. The other two-thirds hang at the Mark Woolley Gallery at Pioneer Place Mall downtown. According to Japanese, Chinese, and Korean tradition, cranes represent good fortune and longevity. After World War II, a young child diagnosed with leukemia sought to fold a flock of 1,000 cranes in hopes of returning to good health, happiness, and world of eternal peace—a practice known as senbazuru. She died before she was able to fold 1,000, but her classmates finished the task in her honor. In these traditions, it is common to place flocks of 1,000 folded cranes at shrines and temples. Chains of folded cranes are often placed around the necks of those suffering from an illness. The gesture represents a prayer for recovery, a wish for happiness, and a hope for sympathy and peace. The intention of Demmon’s installation is no different. The medical team at Doernbecher and OHSU saved her son’s life…

Mario Robert
Arts, Events June 24, 2014

Art Opening at Goodfoot on Thursday, June 26

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Mario Robert began his painting career at the Mexican-United States border, where Jaurez runs abut El Paso, Texas. He was 16. He watched as violence forced a once-beautiful border city, Jaurez, into a bloody ghost town. The images he saw there affected his painting as much as his world view. This impact on his work did not change until he relocated to Portland. His work is now heavily influenced by the kindness he meets on Portland’s streets, which he describes as strange and mysterious. View his work as part of a group exhibit that opens Thursday at the Goodfoot (2845 SE Stark St.). Three other Portland-based artists round out the show, which runs through July 30. Beth Myrick works primarily with spray paint, reclaimed wood, and a positive message. Her art often features depictions of animals that walk the line between realism and fantasy. Heidi Elise Wirz is an illustrator and screen printer, who is influenced by legends and mythology, particularly Norse, Proto-Germanic, and Celtic. Painter, illustrator, and animator Christopher Creath dabbles in surrealism and exaggeration with an appreciation for texture, both synthetic and organic. “Human experience is all I can capture or recreate,” notes Creath. “Hopefully, in some way, this…

Events June 23, 2014

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks play rare PDX show on 6/28

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Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks will play just one U.S. show this summer—and it’s in Portland. The gig, an all-ages benefit concert for Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC), will raise scholarship funds for its students, 95 percent of whom receive financial aid. On June 28, crowds will gather on the meadow of the OCAC campus on Barnes Road in Northwest Portland to witness the rare concert. Tickets are available at www.ocacconcerts.com. Malkmus, an Indie Rock Hall of Fame inductee and Portland resident, was the co-founder, lead singer, and songwriter of the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement. He formed Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks in 2000, bringing together musicians Mike Clark, Joanna Bolme, and Jake Morris. They have six albums in their tenure, the most recent being Wig Out at Jagbags released in early 2014. Below is the video for the song from that album called “Cinnamon And Lesbians,” which was shot in Portland. About Oregon College of Art and Craft Founded in 1907, OCAC has earned a reputation as a leading college of art and craft in the United States.  Known for its exceptional faculty of artists and makers, the uniquely small, mentor-based community is comprised of approximately 180 students who pursue full-time bachelor’s…

Arts, Events June 20, 2014

Preview: Maker’s Dozen at People’s Art of Portland Gallery

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This Saturday marks the third Saturday of the month, meaning the People’s Art of Portland Gallery (700 SW 5th Ave., Suite 4005) that sits atop the Pioneer Place Mall downtown will be ushering in a new exhibit to debut to the masses. For its third annual show, Maker’s Dozen will bring together thirteen artists from different mediums and styles with Portland ties. The reception runs from 5 to 9 p.m., while the show continues through July 13. Peoples Art of Portland, Po Boy Art/Jason Brown, and Chris Haberman co-present the show that aims to showcase the work of new and veteran artists along side one another. The featured poster artist is David D’Andrea, whose style is reminiscent of 1960s and ’70s album art, and who looks to everything from almanacs to crumbling encyclopedias for inspiration. Works by Brian Echerer/ Velo Gioielli, Ali Schlicting, Hilary Larson, Daniel Haile, Melissa Dow, David Guardado, Kyle Gossman, PDX Magazine No. 2 cover artist Kelli MacConnell, Kimberly Bookman, Jessica S. McGrath, Matthew Hopkins, and Sharden Killmore round out the show. Pictured above, work by Daniel Haile. Below are more works from the exhibit                

Events, Featured June 3, 2014

Joshua Ferris and Narrative Mechanics

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By Ross Blanchard Above: PDX Magazine Editor-in-chief Ross Blanchard (left) and author Joshua Ferris at Dave Weich’s Narrative Mechanics event. A couple of Sundays ago Dave Weich, president of Sheepscot Creative, invited around a dozen guests to his home in Southeast Portland for his first Narrative Mechanics event. The gathering focused on interviews and discussions with strategic communicators. His first interviewee was Josh Ferris, who was in town on a book tour for his new novel To Rise Again at a Decent Hour.  This was not a “meet the author, ask him about his typewriter” scene at all. From the moment I entered Weich’s home, I could tell that something different was about to happen. So could the other guests, most of whom it appeared, like me, didn’t have much of a clue what was going on either. There was a camera crew, a small staff, a bartender. Guests were handed tarot-sized cards with inexplicable quotes on the back. We were given small round stickers and asked to place them below similar quotes on posters hung on the dining room walls. The meanings of these activities would be revealed later, I was told (they were). Then we were invited to have a drink, to…

Events May 15, 2014

PDX Magazine No. 8 Release Party Saturday, 5/17 at Ford Food + Drink

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Dear Readers, Get your mitts on our finest issue yet this Saturday at our PDX Magazine No. 8 Release Party. It’s at Ford Food + Drink (2505 SE 11th Ave) from 7:30 to 10 p.m. We have two remarkable Portland writers who are also renowned performers in the lineup: frequent contributor to the mag Famous Author Mykle Hansen as well as poet Leah Noble Davidson, whom we covered in our very first issue of the magazine. Both will ply their literary talents before you. Wander by, meet the staff, hobnob with the many contributors to the mag, get those back issues you’ve missed, and most importantly, pick up a copy of No. 8. When I claim No. 8 is our finest work yet, I’m not being the slightest bit hyperbolic despite the seven stupendous issues that precede this one. Number 8 features a Portland cityscape painted by Chris Haberman (see the image above). At the magazine’s center spread is a removable art poster of this painting minus all the identifying marks we need to put on the cover version. Also, writer Mike Allen falls in with Portland moonshiners, Leo Daedalus survives the world’s most dangerous drinking game. Not that our…