Workshop co-director Jesse Morse speaks to a packed audience. The event had several break-out sessions focused on poetry, nonfiction, fiction, imagery, and developing story stakes.
Clark Creative Writing welcomed over 120 attendees for the annual Spring Creative Writing Workshop.
The third annual event, hosted on May 11, invited the Southwest Washington writing community to Clark for free workshops, readings, and lectures. Participants chose three events to attend from the 12 offered and received free lunch, coffee, and pastries. A mix of Clark employees, students, and community members joined. This year, attendance notably increased.
Alexis Nelson, creative writing lead and Clark faculty said, “We wanted it to be something special for Clark students and employees, something that would add even more value and enrichment to our Creative Writing program, and something that would also bring more of the community to campus and help build the sense of Clark as a center for the arts within the area. And we wanted the event to be welcoming and open to all, just like the college. It felt like we accomplished all that.”
Clark faculty Jennifer Denrow and Jesse Morse are workshop co-directors.
Workshop instructors came from as far as Southern California. Sessions focused on poetry, nonfiction, fiction, imagery, and developing story stakes. Vintage Books, a local bookstore, set up a space to sell books by workshop instructors (pictured below).
Instructor Stephanie Adams Santos, a Guatemalan-American writer living in Oregon, taught Dreamscape of the Altar, inviting participants to create their own altar with art supplies, a candle, and an oracle card. She then led poets through an altar meditation to inspire language.
Another workshop led by HR Hegnauer, a poet and book designer specializing in independent publishing, covered the crucial aspects of book cover design and invited participants to design their own book covers.
Poet Mathias Svalina, founder of Dream Delivery Service, which delivers personalized poems by bicycle to subscribers, taught participants to write with dream logic.
Clark’s own Joe Pitkin shared industry knowledge, including using the resource Duotrope to connect with publishers.
Other workshop leaders included:
Sara Jaffe
Lisa Bullard (Clark instructor)
Emily Chenoweth
Michael Guerra (Clark instructor)
Debra Gwartney
Meredith Kirkwood (Clark instructor)
Pauls Toutonghi
Claire Vaye Watkins
About Clark Creative Writing
Clark Creative Writing, part of the English department, offers a creative writing associate of arts track with electives in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, graphic fiction, and publishing. Clark Creative Writing:
Panelists (left to right) Ezekiel Wells, Chishayla Kimmons, Dr. Debi Jenkins, and Chris Smith answered questions about their experiences in college and at Clark.
Clark College graduate, social worker, and restorative justice champion Ezekiel Wells presented an inspiring keynote address at Black Student and Family Night on May 14 in Gaiser Student Center. The event was presented by the college’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Guided Pathways.
The purpose of the free event is to provide opportunities for Black students, and folx of the African diaspora, of all ages, their families, and community to learn about the ways Clark College can be a pathway to college, careers, and beyond. Students and their families learned about Running Start, financial aid, various programs at Clark, and career opportunities. Attendees also learned about available community resources, such as the NAACP and iUrban Teen, among others. A delicious catered dinner of soul food was served. Entertainment for the youngest potential penguins was provided by Nikki Brown Clown.
Dr. Debra (Debi) Jenkins, a tenured professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education/ Psychology and department chair of Early Childhood Education, was an honored presenter. She shared her journey that began as a student at Clark, where she earned an associate degree in Early Childhood Education. She then achieved a bachelor of arts degree and her first master’s degree in Human Development specializing in Developmental and Bicultural Development. Next, she acquired a second master’s degree in Psychology and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration.
She was first hired at Clark as an adjunct faculty member in the Psychology, Sociology, and Early Childhood departments. Now she is a tenured professor and chairs the college’s Early Childhood Education department. Dr. Jenkins has been an influential member of Clark College for 32 years and was the first African American woman to receive tenure at Clark College.
The event’s emcee was Kevin Thomas, Director of Workforce Education Services. In attendance were Clark College Board Vice Chair Denise Gideon and Trustee Marilee Scarbrough as well as Clark College President, Dr. Karin Edwards, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Vanessa Neal, and Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Michele Cruse.
Other presentations included:
Professor Earl Frederick (a.k.a. “Chef Earl”) represented the college’s culinary programs. He shared his own story, the grandson of Black sharecroppers whose education ended in fifth grade. He applied for 150 scholarships and told the students: “Don’t think you can’t get scholarships. Apply for every scholarship you can.”
Gaby Posteuca, an admissions recruiter, discussed Clark College programs and told the high school students: “Your story matters.”
Professor Carol Hsu presented an overview of Clark’s engineering specialties and encouraged students to register for Clark’s free Guided Pathways STEM camp June 27-28.
Hernan Garzon, a recruiter for the Automotive Technology program, talked about the program’s hands-on learning opportunities, paid internships at local dealership shops, and the 100% employment rate for the program’s graduates.
Lisa Barsotti, a recruiter for Allied Health programs, gave an overview of Allied Health programs and said, “We really need more people of color in the health care field. If you want a job in high demand that pays well, go into health care.”
Chelsea Perrone explained the various types of financial aid and encouraged students and their parents to complete either a FAFSA or WASFA.
Dany Depuy-Grobbel talked about Running Start and invited the students to check out Clark’s new Penguin Early Center (PEC).
Panelistsprofessors, alumni, and students: Dr. Debi Jenkins, Chris Smith, Chishayla Kimmons, and Ezekiel Wells answered questions about their experiences in college and at Clark.
Some highlights of the panel discussion:
“When we talk about motivation, we consider hopes, wants, and needs. In Black and brown communities, hopes and wants are not something we get to. It was about survival. What would bring me the biggest paycheck?”
“My mom always said: ‘They can’t take away your education.’”
“My advice to someone who is afraid to speak in class is: Speak up! Be bold.”
Roman Eliezer Gonzalez talked to students about opportunities with Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA).
The event’s success was immediately apparent. A high school student approached Professor Hsu and asked for details about the STEM camp. Professor Hsu offered her a flyer about the camp and then gave her several more to take to her friends.
A woman who has worked in her field for more than 22 years told Vanessa Neal that listening to the speakers had impacted her so deeply that she was inspired to go back to school to learn about STEM fields. She told Neal: “I know a lot of people in the community, and I can’t wait to tell them about tonight and the programs Clark offers. There are many people I work with hoping to finish their education, and I will bring them to Clark.”
Another high school student stepped up to Gaby Posteuca’s table and asked how to apply for Clark College. Posteuca smiled and was happy to oblige.
About Keynoter Ezekiel Wells
Ezekiel Wells responded to adversity by vowing to be the change he wanted to see in the world. First, he got an education. He is a first-generation college graduate who earned an associate degree at Clark College and then a bachelor’s degree in social work from Eastern Washington University. Learn more about his work in restorative justice here.
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Women in STEM Tea
Mechanical engineer Amelia Palmer Hansen demonstrates a tool that measures the temperature at air vents.
Amelia Palmer Hansen, an experienced mechanical engineer, sat at a table with five female Clark College students pursuing degrees in STEM fields.
Palmer Hansen described her work inspecting building projects seeking LEED certification. “My job is super interesting, and it pays well.”
She also spoke about the difficulty of engineering courses. “It’s hard to go to school to be an engineer, but it will open so many doors for you. I feel very fortunate to have my engineering degree.”
Palmer Hansen was among five women working in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers who shared their expertise with Clark College women pursuing technical degrees during the Women in STEM Tea on May 15.
Experienced women engineers answer questions posed by engineering students at the Women in STEM Tea.
The event is organized by Professors Tina Barsotti and Carol Hsu. At last year’s event, a panel of Clark alumnae working in STEM fields sat at a table at the front of the room.
Professor Hsu said, “Always looking to improve and create more interactions to help our students network, we decided to try a different format this year: speed networking.”
The speed networking format proved a useful way for Clark College students pursuing STEM careers to mingle and connect with women who paved the way by earning degrees years and even decades earlier. Students formed groups and every 15 minutes, they rotated to another table to converse with other professionals.
Some high school students and women from the community also attended.
Participating STEM professionals were:
Lisa Barsotti, Clark College Allied Health programs
Melanie Handshaw, ConMet
Amelia Palmer Hansen, Glumac
Cynthia Stewart-Irvin, H.B. Fuller
Susan Wagner-DeBusman, Kaiser Permanente
A group of engineering students listen to Cynthia Stewart-Irvin, a senior scientist with H.B. Fuller.
The advice given and comments made by the professionals included:
“The communication, collaboration, and team-building skills that women have are assets in STEM fields.”
“As a woman studying engineering, don’t beat yourself up if you’re getting B or C grades. I’ve rarely seen men questioning their ability. Be patient with yourselves. It takes a while to get there.”
“Get involved in professional development and networking groups, even as a student.”
“It’s exciting to see young women going into the engineering field because we need innovation.”
“The industry could use more diversity today.”
The format worked. Students interacted with the professionals, who offered advice and answered questions. Connections were made.
STEM at Clark College
In Clark’s STEM programs, students gain hands-on, real-world experience—doing everything from studying microbes to designing rockets to troubleshooting computer networks. With an emphasis on innovation, collaboration, and creative problem-solving, our programs prepare students for a rapidly changing global society.
Chelsea Jacobson and Mayra Najera of Educational Services District 112 talk to Clark student Yaki and future student Leticia about job opportunities.
Clark students, alumni, community members, and local employers participated in Clark’s Career Connect event geared for students enrolled or interested in programs in the college’s Public Service, Society and Education area of study on May 7 in PUB 161.
Advising Services, Career Services, and Student Success Coaches worked together to staff the event and assist students. These departments partnered with faculty to coordinate timing for the event that would make the most sense for Education student participation. Faculty also participated in the event as one of the important supportive resources for students in this area of study.
The Career Services team organized the event: Emily Meoz, Trisha Haakonstad, Niira Krupnick, and Alex Kison, with support from student employee Liz Knapp. Kison led logistics.
In 2023, the Career Services team hosted a large-scale Career Fair in Gaiser Student Center that included all the college’s departments and programs. This year, the team is creating smaller events called “Career Connect” focused on only one or two areas of study per event. The first Career Connect in March focused on the Business and Entrepreneurship area of study.
Emily Meoz, director of Advising and Career Services, said, “After hosting two Career Connect events in the last few months, we are optimistic that the format of these smaller scale and more focused area of study events will create tangible opportunities for students and community members to make meaningful career and academic connections. We plan to offer Career Connect events for every area of study at Clark during the 2024-2025 academic year.”
Connecting with Clark’s services
BASTE Student Dana Bunnell talks with Student Success Coach DJ Scates.
During the Career Connect event, Clark student Dana Bunnell chatted with DJ Scates, one of Clark’s three Student Success Coaches who work with students on time management, study skills, goal setting, and more.
Bunnell graduated from Clark College with an associate degree in early childhood education in June 2023. Now she has nearly completed her first year in Clark’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Teacher Education (BASTE) program. It’s the next step on her career path to become a teacher.
Like most Clark students, Bunnell has become an expert multitasker who squeezes time for schoolwork between caregiving for family members, household responsibilities, and more. But even an experienced multitasker can learn new practices to make her more productive and her life less stressful. Scates stepped up to help.
Connecting with employers
As students checked in, they were given a list of sample questions that make it easier for students to practice talking with a potential employer about opportunities. Questions include:
What qualifications do you typically look for in candidates?
What type of college major or degree/certificate is valuable in this industry or typical positions you hire for?
Are there professional organizations or connection events/opportunities that you suggest I know about?
Students also received a Career Connect BINGO card that identified specific tasks to complete at the event. These included having a conversation with an employer, learning about a job opportunity, and receiving guidance from an academic advisor.
Then, with questions and BINGO cards in hand, students entered PUB 161, where local employers were ready to talk with students about job opportunities. The following employers participated in Career Connect:
Simone Thomas of iUrban Teen spoke with students about opportunities in early education via its Future Teacher Pathways Fellowship.
Vancouver Public Schools talked with students about paraeducators to work with children in a variety of settings, from classroom to playground.
Educational Services District 112 spoke with students about job opportunities including special education paraeducators, bus drivers, secretaries, and more.
Washington DSHS Behavioral Health Administration talked about 250 positions the agency will hire to work at a new residential treatment center opening in spring 2025 near WSU Vancouver.
Educational Opportunities for Children & Families (EOCF) talked to students about positions including Early Head Start teacher assistant, preschool bus driver, preschool teacher assistant, and more.
iUrban Teen shared their Future Teachers Pathway Fellowship program with students. This paid work-based learning opportunity for young adults to provide academic support and mentorship to elementary and middle school students is in partnership with the Cowlitz Tribal Foundation, Vancouver Public Schools, and other local school districts.
Make connections
Advising Services: advising@clark.edu or (360) 992-2345 or GHL 108 Career Services: careerservices@clark.edu or (360) 992-2902 or GHL 108 Student Success Coaches: Schedule a session here
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Professional Baking Capstone
Gage Gwynn was pursuing a general associate degree at Clark College when he mentioned to his math professor that he enjoyed baking and had heard positive reviews of Clark’s Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program. His professor talked so effusively about it that Gwynn eventually enrolled in the program.
Gage Gwynn holding a loaf of sourdough focaccia.
“I’m really good at math,” he explained. “And I also like baking. They go together.”
Gwynn was one of eight second-year baking students who presented their capstone project to the college community and their families on May 9 in the McClaskey Culinary Institute Food Court in Gaiser Hall.
An enthusiastic crowd of Clark students, staff, and community members waited in a very long line for an opportunity to sample artful and delicious baked goods prepared by the students.
The much-awaited annual event is the culmination of their capstone project. They spent the first five weeks of spring term creating their final presentations. Each student chose their focus: bread, plated dessert, or viennoisserie (laminated doughs).
Before the ravenous crowd was allowed to storm the bakery tables, all the baked goods were judged by professional bakers who examined the baked goods, asked students questions about their techniques and ingredients—and then tasted everything.
Finally, the judges finished. By this time, the crowd was growing restless. The line snaked through the food court, down the hall, and nearly to the north entrance of Gaiser Hall.
Alison Dolder, center, stands with the judges who volunteered to rate the student’s work.
Then Alison Dolder, Professional Baking and Pastry Arts instructor stepped to the front of the waiting crowd and introduced the 2024 capstone project. She stepped aside as people made a beeline to tables where baking students stood behind mouth-watering displays of their baked goods.
The bakers patiently offered samples of pain au chocolat, tiramisu, cambozola cheesecake Napoleon, salted caramel cream puff, chocolate babka, and much more to the eager tasters.
Students prepping for their final project in the McClaskey cake room.
Real-world experience
These students have completed their classes at Clark. Next, they will get hands-on real-world work experience immersed in internships in professional bakeries in Vancouver and Portland. During the five-week internships, students must work a minimum of 24 hours per week. Some will work more.
In June these students will earn an associate in applied technology degree in Professional Baking and Pastry Arts Management.
First-year students help the bakers get their pastries plated for presentation.
Meet the Bakers
Miranda Kirby
Capstone focus: Viennoiserie (laminated doughs) Internship: Bakeshop in Portland
Isabella Alvarez
Capstone focus: Individual desserts Internship: Di Tazza Gourmet Coffee and Café, Vancouver
For many authors, this was their first time reading their work publically.
The Clark College community celebrated the annual publication of The Swift, the college’s student-run literary journal at a release party that included student readings, coffee and pastries, and stacks of the 2024 issue on May 9 in PUB 161.
As people entered the room, they picked up the journal, sat, and began reading. Many who attended were published in this issue. For some, it was their first time being published.
The event had a very supportive and attentive crowd for the newly published authors.
The Swift’s contributing writers and poets are Clark students and alumni. This edition features the work of 23 writers and includes 10 poems, 10 works of short fiction, and 6 works of short nonfiction. The annual journal was edited by first-time student editors.
In 2023, Clark published the first issue of The Swift. Formerly, Clark College featured art and literature in a single magazine Phoenix, which now focuses strictly on art: www.clarkphoenix.com. This is the second annual volume of The Swift.
Dawn Knopf, Clark English professor (pictured above) and advisor of The Swift, welcomed the guests and invited the writers to take a turn reading their work at the podium. What followed was a lovely time of students reading their work aloud for the appreciative audience.
Poet Colin Sandberg (pictured above) introduced his poem, “Rock and Stone” by saying, “This is my first published work. It starts with an epigraph from Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook.”
As he read, all listened intently. When he finished reading, they clapped. Then the next published writer walked to the podium.
About The Swift
Funded by the Associated Students of Clark College (ASCC),The Swift: Clark CollegeLiterary Journal is dedicated to publishing skillful and inventive creative writing by Clark students, alumni, and staff. The journal is student-run and supported by faculty and staff from the Art and English Departments. Students enrolled in English 277 start the production of the journal each Fall Quarter. An editorial staff of literary students continues production work during winter term with the publication and distribution of the annual journal occurring spring term each year.
Learn more
Submit your poem, fiction, or nonfiction short piece for publication: The Swift: accepts submissions from the Clark College community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. For submission guidelines and timelines contact theswift@clark.edu.
On Saturday, April 27, the rocket team from the Clark College Aerospace & Robotic program traveled to Brothers, Oregon, and successfully launched their rocket, named “Emperor Penguin,” for the first time this year.
Here are some noteworthy highlights from our expedition:
The crew: Five students Ethan Walters, Vyacheslav Lukiyanchuk, Alex Kari, Rebekah Irvin, and Bladen Mitchell, and advisor Sophie Lin
The rocket: “Emperor Penguin” is 14 feet long and weighs about 63 pounds
The journey: It is a long drive (about four hours) to the launch site in Brothers, Oregon. Departing from campus at 5:30 a.m., the crew arrived at Brothers around 9:30 a.m.
Tasks accomplished: Demonstrating remarkable efficiency, the team accomplished two major tasks during the trip:
An ejection charge test to figure out the black powder needed for rocket separations, and
A flight test to assess the rocket’s design, construction, and avionics system.
The flight test: The rocket soared to an altitude of roughly 7,200 feet before safely landing approximately 0.5 miles from the launch pad.
Retrieving the rocket: Despite a glitch in the GPS system onboard the rocket, the team successfully located it utilizing a radio tracker, with an unexpected assist from a team member and her dog, who managed to find the rocket before the radio tracker.
Other college teams at the launch site: Two other college teams, one from Oregon State University and another from Portland State University, were present at Brothers, though neither managed to launch their rockets that Saturday. During the weekend, the Clark College rocket team was the only college team to launch and recover a rocket without any deployment failure successfully.
Returning to campus: Wrapping up their activities, the team departed Brothers at 7:30 p.m. and returned to campus by 1:30 a.m. the next day.
Next flight test: Looking ahead, the team plans to return to Brothers in mid-May for another flight test, utilizing a motor designed and constructed by their students.
Ultimate goal: The team plans to fly “Emperor Penguin” at the 2024 Spaceport America Cup competition in New Mexico, alongside approximately 160 teams from across the globe. Stay tuned for further updates as we progress towards this competition!
Special Note: Last year, Clark’s team was the only community college team among 1,700 teams.
Learn more
Spaceport America Cup, the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition
Left to right: Authors Andrew Leland and Justin Taylor discussing Leland’s work and process at the spring Columbia Writers Series event.
Andrew Leland quoted Georgina Kleege’s Sight Unseen to explain his own relationship to his work: “Writing this book made me blind.”
Authors Andrew Leland and Justin Taylor discussed Leland’s new memoir, The Country of the Blind, at the Spring Columbia Writers’ event. It was attended by Clark creative writing students, students from the nearby Washington State School for the Blind, and staff from Cannell Library and Disability Support Services (DSS).
Leland’s book shares his experience of slowly losing his sight due to a degenerative eye disease, Retinitis Pigmentos (RP). More than a description of his life, his memoir explores history, disability justice, and what it means to identify as blind.
With emotion, Leland said a blind reader described his memoir as “the story of our people.” Leland added, “it’s incredibly moving for me that it might have value.”
Writing the book helped Leland process his recently accepted identity as a blind person. At the beginning of his journey, “blindness did not feel like a word connected to me.” As he wrote, he evolved from using third person to describe the blind community (they) to using the first-person plural (we).
The book covers some of the history of innovation driven by blind people. The first typewriters, audiobooks, and LP records were adaptations designed for blind accessibility. Adaptations can become their own form of art as blind people experiment with how to communicate information within the world’s inaccessible design. As Leland put it, “Alt text is poetry.”
An early form of Optical Character Recognition was the Kurzweil Reading Machine, which scanned print books and turned them into computer-spoken words. The inventor designed it for blind people, working closely with the National Federation of the Blind.
When Xerox purchased the machine, the company laid off the blind sales staff. The technology then became a foundation for the internet, which today remains largely inaccessible to the blind. Only 2% of home pages are fully accessible to screen readers.
Leland said, “Often, after it [the technology designed for accessibility] gets coopted into the mainstream, the accessibility falls away.”
According to Leland, information access is one of the biggest barriers affecting blind people. The disability justice movement seeks to change barriers to access for blind people and for all those experiencing disabilities — including multiple disabilities. Key to the movement is understanding how experiences of disability intersect with other identities such as race, class, and gender.
He shared his own experience of diving into disability justice, and how his views started out as naive but became more complex as he talked with more people. “My privilege is intact and will continue to be intact as a blind person… to be a blind person of color is a radically different experience.”
He advised college students to be unafraid to engage with the disability justice movement even if their knowledge is incomplete. “It’s an important first step to be like, ‘I think it’s like this’ and then you take the tires off.”
Leland also shared his advice on writing. He advocates for a regular writing practice — even if you’re not writing with a goal of being published — to prepare you to write when you have something important to say.
“The butt-in-chair principle I think is really important,” Leland said and added “don’t be a hermit… it’s important to be sharing your work with readers.”
Find books by Andrew Leland and Justin Taylor at Clark’s Cannell Library or local independent bookstores.
About Andrew Leland
Andrew Leland’s debut book, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, about the world of blindness (and figuring out his place in it), was published in July 2023 by Penguin Press. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s Quarterly, and The San Francisco Chronicle, among other outlets. From 2013-2019, he hosted and produced The Organist, an arts and culture podcast, for KCRW; he has also produced pieces for Radiolab and 99 Percent Invisible. He has been an editor at The Believer since 2003. He lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and son.
About Justin Taylor
Justin Taylor is the author of the novel Reboot, the memoir Riding with the Ghost, the novel The Gospel of Anarchy, and two collections of short fiction: Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever and Flings. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Bomb, and Bookforum, among other publications. He has taught writing at the graduate and undergraduate levels in programs all over the country, including Columbia University, N.Y.U., the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of Montana. He is a contributing writer to the Washington Post’s Book World and the Director of the Sewanee School of Letters. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
About the Columbia Writers Series
The Columbia Writers Series has been a part of Clark College since 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college throughout the year. Writers who have visited Clark College through the series include Ursula Le Guin, Donald Justice, Sherman Alexie, Marvin Bell, William Stafford, Jamaica Kincaid, Gerald Stern, Carolyn Forchè, Natalie Diaz, Karen Russell, Jess Walter, Dana Spiotta, Mitchell Jackson, and many others.
Folkloric Ballet of SW Washington performed at the annual event.
Near the stage in Gaiser Student Center, a preschool girl wearing a polka dot dress and neon yellow rain boots jumped up and down and clapped her hands to the lively music that filled the air. Mesmerized as she watched the Folkloric Ballet of SW Washington dancers on stage twirling in their colorful skirts, she mimicked their twirling movements.
She was joined by many other young children who danced, stomped, and twirled during Clark College’s ¡Celebración de Primavera! / Día del Niño (Celebration of Spring/Day of the Child) on the evening of April 26. Clark’s annual community event offered an evening of free, family-friendly activities that celebrates Latiné culture, children, literacy, and Earth Day.
Students in Clark’s Spanish Club volunteered all around the center to assist dozens of children, from toddlers to young teens. Clark students painted faces, helped children make sock puppets, created tissue paper flowers, designed aluminum foil artwork, drew on reusable cloth bags with markers, and helped kids play the apple game. Without using their hands, kids tried to take a bite from an apple suspended in the air by a string.
Micheal Scheidt and Jonathan of Clark’s Spanish Club delighted children with puppets.
Spanish Club students Michael Scheidt and Jonathan Gauna became puppeteers for the evening. As they worked colorful marionette birds, they talked with children who edged closer to watch. A curious but cautious toddler watched the puppets as she kept a firm grip on her mother’s leg.
At a nearby table Clark student Emily Subroto, who was helping a girl create a sock puppet, asked, “How do you want to decorate your puppet?”
The girl chose a purple sock for the puppet body, a lime green felt tongue, a purple pom pom nose, and wooden buttons for the eyes. Then the girl chose the most colorful hair for her puppet: bright blue, curly yarn. With a hot glue gun, the Clark student attached the elements to the colorful sock puppet. Perfect!
Then the girl gently put her hand into her puppet and moved the mouth. Open and close. Open and close. She looked at her puppet, thanked Subroto, stood up, and headed to the next activity.
Activities included:
Tammy Boyer from Cannell Library brought Spanish-language children’s picture books to be checked out.
Songs by Harney Elementary students
Reading by author Christopher Cousins
Games and crafts
Dancing by Vancouver Ballet Folklórico
Tammy Boyer from Cannell Library brought Spanish-language children’s picture books
City of Vancouver Urban Forestry staffed a booth with Friends of Trees
Dinner provided by Los Amigos in Milwaukie, Oregon
Dance lessons and dance party
Clark College Spanish Club did the first of three presale tabling events for its tamale fundraiser. Follow the Spanish Club’s Instagram profile @clarkcollege.spanishclub
There was so much to do, listen to, and experience. But the event’s focal point was the dancing by Vancouver Ballet Folklórico. Folklórico is a type of traditional dance, music, and colorful costume that highlights regional Mexican cultures.
The evening ended with salsa lessons and a dance party. To prepare for the dancing, members of the college’s Spanish Club had taken two salsa lessons at O’Connell Sports Complex recently. Advisor Felipe Montoya said the students were ready to salsa!
Event organizer, Michelle Golder, offered many thanks to the event’s planning committee: Betsy Ubiergo and Erika Nava, Spanish faculty; Felipe Montoya, Spanish Club advisor; and Rosalba Pitkin, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion representative.
Clark College Spanish Club
Spanish Club tamale fundraiser. Left to right: advisor Felipe Montoya with students Stephanie Wagner, Javier Castro Sanchez, and Eduardo Ramirez.
Spanish Club promotes the Spanish-language culture around campus and its communities through events, fundraisers, and activities that provide an active learning experience for students and the community. To learn more, contact Advisor Felipe Montoya at fmontoya@clark.edu
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
May Art Talks
Archer Gallery is bringing three artists and multiple events to campus in May. All events are free and open to the public, so invite your colleagues, friends, and family to attend with you. Except where noted, all talks take place in Archer Gallery, located at the lower southwest entrance of the Penguin Union Building. See you there!
Originally from Honolulu, Kanani Miyamoto practices art, teaches, and curates in Portland, Oregon. An individual of mixed heritage, she most identifies with her Hawaiian and Japanese roots, which are celebrated in her artwork. Miyamoto holds a Master of Fine Arts in Print Media from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and a Bachelor of Arts in Art Practices from Portland State University. She is the arts coordinator at p:ear.
Important to Miyamoto’s work is sharing and honoring her mixed cultural background to represent her community and the beauty of intersectional identities. She hopes to create critical conversations around cultural authenticity in the arts. She uses traditional printmaking techniques to create large-scale print installations and murals. She also is an advocate for art education and a passionate community worker.
Miyamoto said about her work: “I’d like to tell the story of survivance and resilience through reclaiming this tradition. I want to recognize our ancestors and feel their hands through my hands.”
David Eckard utilizes diverse materials, techniques, and presentational strategies in his studio practice. Futility, function, authority, queer masculinity, and persona are the primary notions investigated, critiqued, and exploited in his work. Eckard fabricates fictive artifacts and enigmatic objects with various materials and techniques. These sculptures exist as singular objects, installation components, and performance props.
His rendered works on panels and paper are biomorphic, sexualized schematics that address the body as a carrier of histories, fantasies, potential, and trauma. Through performance, Eckard orchestrates transient theatrics and deploys temporary monuments in civic spaces for incidental audiences.
Eckard has exhibited internationally. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, Sculpture, Flash Art, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Artnews. He is the recipient of multiple fellowships and awards including the Individual Artist Fellowship (2015, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oregon), the Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts (2010, Ford Family Foundation, Portland), and the Bonnie Bronson Fellowship (2010, Portland).
Nicole Seisler
Tuesday, May 7 from 9 – 11:20 a.m. Frost Art Center, Room 011 Ceramics Studio https://nysprojects.com/
Nicole Seisler is a Portland-based ceramic artist whose practice comprises making, educating, and curating. Her sculpture, installations and public art investigate time, materiality, process, psychology, and the overlapping roles of artist, viewer, participant and collaborator.
Seisler received her master’s in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her bachelor’s in fine arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her work has been exhibited at Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Tallahassee, Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and Craft Contemporary in Los Angeles and American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, California. Her work is featured in the “In Hand” exhibition at Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University. During the pandemic she published the book Recipes for Conceptual Clay (in the time of Covid-19)”.
She has taught ceramics for more than ten years at universities including School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Washington, Scripps College, and UCLA. She is an assistant professor and head of ceramics at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. As founder and director of the contemporary ceramics platform A-B Projects, she has curated over 30 exhibitions and offers alternative educational programming that reevaluates and redefines the trajectory of contemporary ceramics.
Across her practice, Seisler creates dialogue and perspectives around ceramics that exist in the same conditions as the material: malleable, shifting, adaptable, and enduring; existing within, between, and beyond conventional definitions.
