In addition to our Featured Artists, we are pleased to host a guest artist in our newly opened Guest Artist Gallery, located in our Thrown Stone Gallery.
Featured Artists for July –
Cheryl Kempner and Amy Baumgart
Music will happily be provided by – The Holy Misfits
Cheryl Kempner – Ceramic and Metal Artist
Cheryl Kempner collects vintage resin globes and salvaged steel for her creations. She cuts with a plasma torch and husband Ken welds. We create colorful GARDEN ART that is long lasting and something no deer would ever eat!
Amy Baumgart – Wood-turning
I started turning in Fall of 2019 and was quickly consumed with a passion for this work.
My body of work is still rather broad and eclectic. Everything from functional bowls to more artistic bowls, vases, lidded boxes, a few kitchen items to hollow forms and lidded vessels. The latter made with the intent of an urn – pet urns or keepsake urns. (I had one customer tell me they used theirs for a fancy loose change holder!) I work with both wood and resin. The resin allows me to introduce color and include other natural items in my turnings. I often combine the resin with pine cones for a lovely effect.
For every design, each piece I create is a unique, one of a kind item made with Joy and Passion!
Featured in our Guest Artist Gallery
Everyday Heroes – Healing Through Art
Ashland Art Works is delighted to showcase “Everyday Heroes – Healing Through Art” in our community art space. This is the first of two shows featuring the artwork of healthcare workers and first responders organized by hospitalist Dr. Monika Mehrens. The first show is in July and the second in September. The July show features paintings by Heather Olson, RN, Julian Bell, MD, and Justin Zigenis, Firefighter/EMT, and wood-turning by Steven L. Hersch MD.
Dr. Monika Mehrens says
“We have come into art in different ways and periods in our life but covid was a turning point for most of us as we searched for a way to cope with the isolation, stress, trauma and despair. As a collective, art has given us a voice and an outlet to express what words cannot and has helped us to find strength, healing, beauty, and peace in the everyday landscape, figure and abstract. We demonstrate that to be an artist, you are not required to be born gifted nor do you have to be trained professionally in the arts. With curiosity, dedication and an ounce of bravery, anyone can hone a craft or make art. We appreciate the opportunity to tell our story and share our voice about what art means to us and how it helps us to survive and heal as we work tirelessly every day to care for our community in a challenging healthcare system.”
Justin Zigenis, Firefighter/EMT
A firefighter by trade, Justin’s foray into the visual arts began in 2019 with graphite and markers. Quickly transitioning to a digital medium, he took to creating logos for local businesses, through which an appreciation for value and color and the art form of composition led to the study of classical painting in 2020. He picked up a brush during the COVID lockdown, and a love for oil painting began.
Heather Olson, RN
I have been an amateur artist for about 4 years now which coincides with my personal journey of becoming a nurse. Expression through art has been a self care, therapeutic outlet for me in navigating the day to day experiences of being a healthcare provider. I like using acrylic on canvas to create “Erotic Pop Art”. I enjoy highlighting the joyful expressions and passions of the human experience depicted with bright, fun colors. In this way my aim is to celebrate some of the greatest joys of being alive!
Steven L. Hersch MD, FACP
I am a self-taught woodturner, still developing and refining techniques. I value and enjoy the intense concentration required when holding a razor sharp tool against wood rotating at 2000 RPM. The effort is rewarded after a few hours or a weekend with a functional piece of natural beauty that just feels good to touch and hold.
Julian Bell, MD
Julian Bell is a painter based in Ashland, Oregon who works in digital images and oil on canvas. He is interested in representational art based on landscapes, still life and portraiture, with designs and coloring partially abstracted. He is self-taught with help from the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been displayed at the Crooked Mile Gallery, the Central Art Supply gallery in Medford, the Schneider Museum in Ashland and the Collier Gallery in Medford, Oregon.
Ashland Art Works 
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