Artists Spotlight: Sarah Ferguson
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| Sarah working on Tree of Life for Providence Newberg Hospital |
Sarah Ferguson, visual artist and educator
Recipient of 2001, 2007 Project Grants; 2007 Professional Development Grant; also, participated in numerous RACC Art-in-Schools Project Grants which schools were awarded.
Sarah Ferguson wants people to experience the creative process as active participants. In addition to creating her mixed media figurative sculptures and assemblages, she is a teaching artist in schools throughout the region. She has also created puppets and performed with Hay Caramba, a bilingual storytelling group.
In her artist residencies, Sarah works with students to create an art installation for the school or other site such as a hospital, clinic, or park. Over the last several years she has worked as an artist in residence with many area schools, including Russell Academy (recipient of a RACC Arts-in Schools Project Grant).
At Russell, over a two year period, Sarah and the school community created a mixed media mural (detail at right) for the school’s entryway, artwork for each classroom, and held a community art night celebration. In creating the mural and other installations, children brainstorm and sketch ideas to help visualize a concept, then work in a variety of media including painting and collage, mosaic, sculpting with clay, and printmaking. Sarah comments that, “the mural is a community project, we create something together that is bigger than any one of us individually, yet each person’s contribution is vital to the process.” In January, Sarah was honored by the Parkrose School Board for her contributions as an artist in residence.
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| Students from Tualatin Elementary visit Hedges Creek Marsh while participatng in the Wetlands Art Project, with Sarah Ferguson (at right). |
In summer 2007, Sarah worked on The Wetlands Art Project, a community art project about the Hedges Creek Marsh in Tualatin (funded in part by a RACC Project Grant). Hedges Creek Marsh is a protected urban wetland in Tualatin. Partnering with The Wetlands Conservancy and The Tualatin Heritage Center, Sarah worked with people of all ages from across the community to create art about the plants and animals of this wetland habitat. The project ties in with The Wetlands Conservancy’s ongoing education and restoration work at Hedges Creek Marsh, and The Heritage Center’s research into the history and natural history of the area. A permanent installation of the ceramic art created, (see the Wetland Art totem below), was installed at Kaiser Tualatin Medical Offices, in October 2007.
Creating art in the community is a way to reach out and make connections and empower participants through the creative process. A community art project acknowledges individual creativity, and also what we accomplish by learning and working together.
The finished piece is a symbol of the process and a source of pride for those who help create it, and an inspiration to others.
Sarah and her husband Richard van Rossum, and their sons Alec and Nic, live in Portland.
Contact Information:
email: ferguson_sc@msn.com
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RACC Staff to Contact
Mary Bauer
Communications Associate
503.823.5426
mbauer@racc.org
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