Americans for the Arts (www.americansforthearts.org) Ten Reasons to Support the Arts Reason #1: “Arts promote true prosperity. The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts help us express our values, build bridges between cultures, and bring us together regardless of ethnicity, religion, or age. When times are tough, art is salve for the ache.”

ART’clectic Artisan Market—ART’clectic is a group of southern Oregon artists you may remember from their first event at the IOOF last December. Art Presence is pleased to host ART’clectic’s second event, featuring handcrafted items, fine art, cottage furniture, and books by local authors. The show runs May 1–31 from 10:00am-5:00pm every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with an artist reception Saturday, May 2 from 1:00-3:00pm. Shop their fine art and handmade gift items displayed in a boutique–style setting. Learn more at eventsARTclectic.blogspot.com or Facebook/EventsArtclectic.

Art Presence Authors Read—On Saturday, May 2, enjoy readings and get signed copies of books by the following Jacksonville authors:

1:00pm: Phyllis Anderson reads from Remembered My Way, Act I

2:00pm: Julia Helm Hoskins reads from her novel She Caves to Conquer

3:00pm: Terry Erdmann and Paula Block read from and discuss their collection of nonfiction guides to the TV series Star Trek.

Call to Artists!—Art Presence invites all artists to participate in Moon Lunacy, our third-annual October Creative Challenge. This year’s challenge is to create Halloween-inspired or autumn artwork of any size, in any 2-D or 3-D medium, with an unconventional twist and incorporating a moon. Entry deadline is Monday, June 29. Find more info and application available at art-presence.org.

Visit our offsite exhibits for more original art created by Art Presence members:

Katharine Gracey’s exhibit of paintings at Pioneer Village continues through July 10

Art Presence member Catie Faryl exhibits works from her collection, The Bridge to 2020, at the Medford Library, now through June

Walt Wirfs exhibits oil paintings in Jacksonville Library’s Naversen Room now through August

Hone your skills in life drawing sessions with professional models! Sessions take place in our classroom every Monday from 1:00-3:00pm for $10. Instruction upon request. No need to sign up, just arrive ready to draw!

Schedule our upstairs room for your class, workshop or meeting! For more information and to reserve dates, contact Anne Brooke at 541-941-7057.

Image: Still life in oil by Walt Wirfs