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Arts panel work full of energy By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings After just one official meeting the Ashland Public Arts Commission is off and running, with a heavy workload of commission projects and the first public art proposal to consider. "At this point we're just getting started," Ashland City Councilor and commission liaison Kate Jackson said. "We're really capturing a lot of energy." The commission held its first meeting in January, and comes together again Wednesday. Regular meetings are at 8 a.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at the Community Development building (the old Hillah Temple) on Winburn Way. The meetings are twice as frequent as other city bodies, which meet once a month. "Getting established is just part of the job," Commissioner Bruce Bayard said. "This has the potential for bringing so much focus to community that it really has to be carried forward with care and attention. There is a lot of work to be done." First on the agenda is consideration of a proposal for a bronze sculpture of two playful bears to be placed at North Mountain Park. The proposal first came to the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission, which passed it on to the fledgling arts commission for a recommendation - the first step in the execution of the parks commission's own public arts policy. "This is where we'd like the bears to live," said Kari Gies, education coordinator for the North Mountain Park Nature Center. "It's very beautiful and has interpretive value here at the center with Bear Creek so near. Black bears are part of the local environment and it would be a way for kids to remember that and associate it with natural history." "We're kind of the guinea pig on this," Gies added. The sculpture - the 150 -pound bronze "Cubs at Play" - was created two years ago by Takilma artist Sarah Mayer. "I really love them," Mayer said in a telephone interview from her home. Hesitant to lose them to the center, she added: "I'd love to have them in my yard, but at the Nature Center, a lot of kids will see them, and I would really like that." Reviewing the sculpture will be a test for the newly formed commission, which has not had time to create a review policy, according to Bayard. "Quite frankly, it's putting the cart in front of the horse," he said. "There's no process in place to evaluate the project. Creating that process was one of the reasons many of us joined the movement (to form the arts commission) in the first place." The creation of a public arts commission was approved by the Ashland City Council in November. The seven-member group is charged with encouraging and enhancing public art in the city and advising the city planning, parks and recreation and other commissions and city departments on the artistic components of municipal land-use projects being considered in Ashland. Members, appointed by Mayor Alan DeBoer in January, include Bayard, Sharon Dvora, Richard Benson, Kip Todd, Inger Jorgensen, Arnold Kriger and Ron Demele. Bayard and Jackson expect the creation of an evaluation policy will take precedence over other commission projects, especially with a recommendation expected on the bear sculpture. "It brings it up front," Bayard said. "Here's a practical situation and we need to deal with it. But before we do that we have to figure out the process not only for this sculpture but for all sculptures in the future. "We need to resist making snap decisions," he added. "We don't want to start a precedent that we just put out fires." When - or if - the bears get the go-ahead, that's just the beginning. The cost of the work is $10,000. A private donor has agreed to provide $5,000 to acquire the piece for the city, but another $5,000 is needed to swing the deal. "We're going to have some fundraising to do," artist and JEGA Gallery owner J. Ellen Austin said. "But we can't do anything until it's approved." Before the creation of the committee, donation of a piece of art to the city was barely possible since there was no system of evaluating the art. "I'm just waiting to hear what the committee's criteria are going to be," Austin said. "It's a marvelous opportunity. We have some outstanding artists in the area." 'To do' list The Public Arts Commission has already compiled a "to do" list of possible projects it is looking to take on - some sooner than later. Projects include: Establish guidelines for submitting public art proposals; establish advisory panel and guidelines for selecting art and approving gifts of public art; inventory of public art, including history, condition, location ownership; acquisitions; review sign ordinance regarding murals; review site design and use standards for public art; funding for acquisitions, maintenance and publicity; compile resources, including grants, individuals, or organizations; education, such as art tours; developing relationships with other organizations and arts groups; neighborhood identification; find a way to involve Ashland Creek in a sculpture; improvement to the North and South Ashland gateways survey of input from the public on commission activities; an open public meeting on the commission; bring cultural and arts events to city; target funding, pursue gifts, grants and other funding mechanisms; review the sign ordinance and recommend related policies; and, develop neighborhood public art programs and work with community-initiated projects. 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