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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 9, 2005 A MidSummer’s Dream ... will raise money for Ashland schools and Briscoe-based artists Jen Ambrose sings Saturday at Briscoe School as part of “A MidSummer’s Dream.” Submitted photo On Saturday and Sunday, the grounds of Briscoe Elementary School will come alive for the first annual “A MidSummer’s Dream” art and music festival. Festival hours are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. The festival boasts local musicians on two stages, over 60 juried, regional artists and artisans, healthy food, and an area devoted to hands-on pottery projects for kids of all ages. Artists will be on hand throughout the weekend to talk about their art and allow patrons the opportunity to purchase art directly from the artist. The art and craft on display throughout the weekend will include pottery, clothing, hats, fine woodwork, metal art, original oil and watercolor paintings, jewelry, hand-blown glass, exotic plants, handwoven items, stained glass, garden art, handcrafted soaps and body care, face painting, handmade instruments, wooden toys, and much more. Hands-on craft projects for children will also be a part of the festivities. For one of the artists participating in this year’s event, the festival is the completion of a full circle. Sandra Scott, Ashland artist and resident for over 50 years, remembers Briscoe School as her elementary school. A profound experience occurred there in 1952 that changed the way Scott saw herself and the world. Members of the Lithia Arts Guild of Oregon pose under the Briscoe School cypress tree in preparation for this weekend’s events. Submitted photo “My teacher at the time was a lady named Mrs. Hill,” Scott said. “I remember drawing a tree. Mrs. Hill looked at my drawing and handed it to another teacher. Then, she turned to me and said, “Sandy, I have never seen a second-grader draw a tree like this. You have a real gift.’ “From that moment on I saw myself as an artist. It is just amazing to be coming back to that same place for this wonderful event. It is very overwhelming and emotional for me.” Another artist taking part in the event is longtime Ashland resident S. Grace Mantle. Her profound visionary images can be seen and purchased at this event. Mantle is an artist in residence at Walker Elementary School. Before the closing of Briscoe as an elementary school, Grace saw in a dream the grounds of Briscoe “full of many people happily sharing a community meal. Children, elderly, families all feasting and coming together. And there was music coming from out of the heavens; people were dancing; the whole scene felt incredible. I knew when I heard about this event that I needed to be part of it. It just feels like it needs to happen.” “It is truly a serendipitous thing, the whole event,” said Marcus Scott, local jewelry artist and event coordinator. “When I first heard about the closing of Briscoe Elementary, I thought, ‘What a shame,’” Scott said. “But then I remember thinking to myself, ‘What an opportunity to use common space for another purpose — art space.’ The farther along the path of putting this festival together, the more I realized that I was just the conduit to an energy that wanted to come forth. I grew up in this town and have been a part of the Lithia Artisans Market for about 10 years now. However, there has never been a true Art Festival in this town which is so full of talented artists and craftspeople. It is an idea whose time has come.” A MidSummer’s Dream is a culmination of a vision that has been manifesting within the local artist community for well over a decade. Roughly 20 years ago, a group of artists got together and proposed the creation of an open-air weekend marketplace along Ashland Creek in the alley behind the plaza. That was the beginning of the Lithia Arts Guild of Oregon. The Lithia Arts Guild, a nonprofit, artist-driven organization under the direction of its chairperson, Jim Young, worked with Parks and Recreation of Ashland to create the Lithia Artisans Market of Ashland. Working in partnership with the of Ashland, LAMA has been recognized by The New York Times as one of the top small-town art and craft markets in the country. From May through October, the marketplace shines along the creek on what is now called Calle Guanajuato. Nearly two years ago, the board of the Lithia Arts Guild of Oregon had the foresight to recognize an opportunity for the artists of the Ashland area. Turning the old Briscoe Elementary School into an art center was an idea that had never been tried in Ashland. It was an ideal solution to provide affordable studio space for local artists; a venue to expose the greater community to art with festivals and workshops; and a model method of using common space for the enrichment of the community. The Briscoe ArtWing was made into a reality in late 2004, and artists moved into studio spaces last November. “Ashland needs an art festival which honors the very best that the Pacific Northwest has to offer in art, craft and music,” Scott said. “Our collective mission is to make A MidSummer’s Dream into that festival. We take common space and we make it into a community place to gather and celebrate.” This event doubles as a fundraising venture. Four cents of every dollar spent at the festival on art, crafts or food goes directly to the Briscoe ArtWing and the Ashland School District. The event is free; however, donations will be accepted, $3-$10 on a sliding scale. Donations will go toward ArtWing projects like lighting gallery space. For information, call Marcus Scott at 535-3733 or e-mail [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams