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Histories & Mysteries: A Pacific fisher named Marty By Peter Finkle for the Tidings Oct 09, 2020 01:34 PM A A My wife and I first saw the “Pacific Fisher” sculpture by Jeremy Criswell on the Bandersnatch Trail art walk in July. As I climbed uphill and saw the front of the mosaic sculpture, one of three sculptures on the trail, I thought, “This is beautiful.” When I walked around to the back of the piece and saw the complex design, color and detail, I said, “Wow!” I immediately wanted to learn what a Pacific fisher is and find out about the artist. When I asked Criswell how he started making art, he laughed and said, “As a kid, I was sure I was not an artist. I couldn’t draw. But my grandpa was a potter. So when I got to (Rogue Community College), I took a pottery class. I was fortunate that it was taught by Tom Wilson, who introduced me to sculpture and was an early inspiration for me.” Criswell’s mentor was Lilli Ann Rosenberg. He met Lilli Ann and Marvin Rosenberg when they were in their 80s, with a lifetime of experience creating public art mosaics around the United States. He and Lilli Ann clicked from the start, and he became her assistant in 2007. “Everything I know about mosaics I learned from her,” Criswell said. “For a number of years, I was her assistant. I was her eyes and hands in many ways. My work is incredibly influenced by her. The things that she held important, they became such a part of me if anything, I think I honor her when I work.” When he is not making art, you will find Criswell in his fourth year of teaching at Madrone Trail, a Waldorf-inspired public charter school in Central Point. The “Pacific Fisher” sculpture exists because Stef Seffinger, Pam Marsh and Sue Springer formed the Watershed Art Group to place public art along a trail above Lithia Park. Their goal was to bring attention to the importance of the watershed. They received support from the Ashland Public Arts Commission, with funding primarily from the Haines & Friends art fund. Since he makes his own ceramic mosaic pieces, Criswell visualized the colors, textures, shapes and sizes of the mosaic pieces for “Pacific Fisher.” Then he handmade all the striped, quarter-moon tiles for the front side of the piece and the round green tiles for the back side. The glass tiles he used on the back side are handmade Italian glass. The core of the sculpture is two-inch-thick concrete with rebar added for strength. It has a different design of ceramic tile mosaic embedded in each side. The hand-molded concrete base for “Pacific Fisher” is embedded with leaf tiles Criswell made from fresh leaves he collected in the Ashland watershed. About 40 people attended the dedication of “Pacific Fisher” on the trail Oct. 9, 2015. Dave Clayton, a wildlife biologist who has studied Pacific fishers, spoke about their role in the ecosystem. The sculpture is named “Marty.” To boost interest, there was a contest to name the “Pacific Fisher” sculpture after someone. At the sculpture’s dedication, Seffinger explained that the name honors Southern Oregon forester and ecosystem restoration expert Marty Main. He has been a consultant to the Forest Lands Commission since 1995, and he is widely respected in the community. Unknown to Main, several people from the Ashland Forest Lands Commission had nominated the name “Marty.” I asked Main to tell me a little about the Pacific fisher, and he explained that they are in the same family as weasels, and are about the size of a house cat. They are rare on the West Coast, and a healthy, growing population of Pacific fishers in the Ashland watershed is a sign of ecosystem health. Throughout Oregon and North America, the population of Pacific fishers was decimated by the fur trade in the late 1800s, the use of poisons at illegal marijuana grows in federal forests (thankfully fewer since the legalization of marijuana) and the loss of old-growth habitat. Pacific fishers nest and rest in large, older trees. They are nocturnal, so they are not very visible. In spite of their name, Pacific fishers don’t eat fish. Their unusual common name is thought to come from the word fiche (or fichet, or fitch, or fitchet), an old term for the pelt of a European polecat, a related animal familiar to 19th century fur trappers. Pacific fishers eat small mammals such as mice, squirrels, rabbits and porcupines. “They are one of the few animals that eat porcupines,” Main said. “They have learned to flip porcupines over to get to the soft belly. They are unique that way.” The Bandersnatch trail begins just above Lithia Park near the swimming hole on Ashland Creek. To get there, take Granite Street south to the swimming hole, then turn left on Glenview Drive. After a short distance, you’ll see two parking areas. Near the smaller parking area on the right is a sign that says, “Waterline Trail” and “To Bandersnatch Trail 820.” You will reach a sculpture called “Elevation” about one-tenth of a mile from the parking lot on the Waterline trail. Next to the sculpture is a sign pointing to the beginning of the Bandersnatch Trail. Head uphill to see the other two sculptures on the art walk, “Pacific Fisher” and “Water is Life.” What is a Bandersnatch? I don’t suppose it’s helpful to know that the Bandersnatch is found in the vicinity of the Jabberwock and the Jubjub bird. It might be more helpful to know that it occurs in the follow-up book to “Alice in Wonderland,” in which nearly everything is topsy turvy. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!” By Lewis Carroll, from the poem “Jabberwocky” in “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There,” 1872 Read Peter Finkle’s other articles about Ashland public art, history, neighborhoods and more at WalkAshland.com. A contest was held to name the "Pacific Fisher" scultpture by Jeremy Criswell ... and "Marty" was the winning entry.