DIVA OpenLens Festival Successful. The third annual OpenLens Short Film and Video Festival concluded on Sunday, January 14th with an awards ceremony and reception for festival entrants and guests. This years winners included: Patricia Somers, Ashland, received the "Best of Show" award and $250 for her film "Heat Death in Families".  Julian M. Thieme, Eugene, won both an Honorable Mention and a $100 Audience Award for his film "Pas de Noir". Kaethlyn Elliott's film, "Bermuda Triangle", received an Honorable Mention award. Portland filmmaker and sound designer Kelley Baker hosted the award ceremony. The festival included workshops, screenings, and special events.

DIVA News and Events on Hiatus. Because of server related problems this online newsletter will be put on Hiatus until the new DIVA Center web site is up and running sometime later in February or early March. Meanwhile, if you would like to be placed on a future mailing list to receive notice about each new issue of the newsletter please drop a line to and write subscribe in the subject area.

Artist Salon To Feature Framing Tips and Techniques. At the Salon member artists engage in a group process to choose exhibitor(s) for DIVA's Members' Gallery, as well as creating a place for artist-members to come together to see each other’s work, socialize, and share great food.
    January's program will be a presentation by local frame artist James Denier. With over 15 years of experience, James will share tips and techniques for choosing frame designs to enhance your art. There will also be a simple mat-cutting demonstration.
     This month we will be selecting the show for July. Bring your art, something tasty to share, and you! The Artist Salon will be held Sunday, January 28, from 7-9pm.

Australian Sound Artists To Visit DIVA. The DIVA Center offers an evening of sound and video art with visiting artists from Melbourne Australia and the Pacific Northwest on January 31st at 8:00 PM. "An Evening of Transpacific Diagonalism" bridges the vast Pacific expanse and touches common ground in Eugene when Australian sound artists Camila Hannan and Tarab of Melbourne join Portland's Seth Nehil, Daniel Heila of Eugene, and others in a cutting edge evening of sonic and visual art.
    Hannan has an extensive performance background in Australia and has to her credit film sound track compositions, and numerous sound recordings. Tarab (a.k.a. Eamon Sprod) has been working on the fringes of the Melbourne sound world for the last eight years, primarily examining the interplay of field recordings and sounds generated from found objects.
    Both artists are joined by Northwest artists Seith Nehil and Daniel Tapio Heila for an evening of cutting edge sound and video art. Admission: $5. Student with school ID or DIVA Member with card: $3

Take A Workshop or Class. Winter term workshops and classes begin January 22nd. An array of opportunities is available including: Introduction to Screenwriting, Advanced Screenwriting, Introduction to Bookbinding, Long Stitch Book, Expressionist Acrylic Painting, Manga Drawing for Young Adults, Surrounding the Figure, The Power of Portraiture, Henna (Mehndi) The Ancient Art, Drop-In Figure Drawing. Class registration is taking place now. So, sign up and guarantee a place for yourself. Check out the workshop and course list online.

Lecture presentation on the ancient art of the Mehndi (henna) tattoo. Come downtown to the Center on Saturday, February 3rd, and learn about the ancient art of henna "tattoos" also known as Mehndi. Lecturer Hemali Patel will give a presentation about the history, style, technique and cultural significance of tattoo art form. The lecture begins at 6pm. Admission $5.
    Following the lecture 15 pre-registered participants can obtain their own henna temporary tattoo. Call to register. Cost: $12 for both the lecture and a henna tattoo.

E-Studio Assistance Available. DIVA members can get help with setting up or managing their e-studios! We have an intern from LCC for Winter term only who will be available to meet with member artists needing help setting up and/or maintaining individual e-studios. Interested artists may contact Daniel at to get on his list. Artists on the list will have priority when he starts setting up appointments. This is a benefit for current DIVA members only!

ART Walk February 2nd. Join us for First Friday, February 2nd to celebrate the opening of two new exhibits! In our Members' Gallery M.E. Dunlap's "A Woman's Work" - an interactive installation that addresses social, political, and artistic questions in the form of autobiographical life size paper doll dresses and sculptures. We are also featuring a Youth Media exhibit of award wining videos from Youth Vision and photography by students from the Martin Luther King Education Center (see below). Art walk hours: 5:30-8:30pm.

DIVA Opens Youth Media Exhibits. The video work of local area high school students and the photography of Martin Luther King Education Center is showcased at the DIVA Center during the month of February.      The short films are winners of the May 2006 Youth Visions Festival, a local competition that challenges high school students to create original short videos on designated topics.      The 2006 topics were "irony," "extraordinary," and "hallways". Students submitted their work for review by a panel of film professionals and educators. The films will be shown continuously or on demand in the DIVA gallery.     Also on exhibit is Lifesavers - photographs by artists from the MLK Education Center in the Lane County Department of Youth Services.      In Lane County, estimates suggest that there are over 40,000 stray and feral dogs and cats. Because of animal overpopulation and lack of resources, the euthanasia rate for animals entering area shelters remains high.        This issue concerned youth in the juvenile justice system enough to prompt the creation of a veterinary preparatory program, taught by a local veterinarian.  The program takes on sick and feral cats that Lane County Animal Regulation Authority would normally euthanize due to lack of veterinary access and staff and readies them for adoption.  The youth also work monthly at Pro-Bone-O, a local non-profit providing free veterinary care to pets of low- and no-income owners.        As you view the faces of these youth and the animals and owners they've cared for since the creation of the veterinary preparatory program, you will see that that youth offenders, when given the opportunity, will prove themselves to be empathetic, pro-social, and community-focused.

Manga Character Drawing for Teens. If you're crazy about anime and have always wanted to learn to draw your own Manga characters, now's the chance. The DIVA Center offers a Manga character drawing workshop for teens on Saturday February 10th from 12 Noon to 2:00pm. You'll learn how to pencil, ink, and then color your own characters. Cost: $25.  Instructor Marianne Walker is a children's book illustrator and an accomplished Manga artist.

Every Sunday at DIVA Center. DIVA offers a cure for the Sunday blahs. Each Sunday, the Center will present a special evening of unique film and video viewing ranging from the rarely seen screen gem to the latest in independent film and video. Why not venture downtown, have an early dinner, and then walk over to DIVA for a 7 PM screening. Visit the Sunday At DIVA web site or see the Media Arts Calendar.

DIVA Center Calls for Video Slam Entries. DIVA's monthly Video Slam event continues at 4 PM on Sunday, January 28th. Video artists bring their short videos (10-minute max.) for screening in a competition that follows in the tradition of the poetry slam. A goal of this "show and share" event is to help develop a regional video and film community where work can be screened and discussed by peers. The audience votes to send one of the afternoon's videos to a year's end "Best Of" slam competition. Admission: $2-5.00. Videographers: Free. Information online. Phone: .

An "An Inconvenient Truth" to Screen at the Center. The showing of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is sponsored by Sierra Club Many Rivers Group, is free to the public and will be held Tuesday Jan 30th 7-9pm with a moderated discussion to follow led by Bob Doppelt. He is an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, a courtesy associate professor in the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon and author of "Leading Change Toward Sustainability: A Change Management Guide for Business, Government, and Civil Society".

2007 Art and the Vineyard Artist Marketplace Prospectus. The Artists' Marketplace features of 140 artists and booths located at the heart of Art and the Vineyard, the Northwest's premier art, wine, and music festival. The Marketplace represents the primary focus of the festival and is considered the top attraction by festival patrons. To apply to be a part of the 2007 Artists' Marketplace. Access Information Online.

Crescent Village Public Art Competition. Arlie & Company and Maude Kerns Art Center invite artists and artist teams living in Oregon, Washington, or Idaho to submit proposals for the design and fabrication of original artwork to be permanently installed in the semi-public residential lobbies of the first two buildings be constructed (Buildings A and B) in Crescent Village, Eugene, Oregon's first master-planned Urban Village. All media and materials will be considered. Deadline, February 28th. For more information, email . Prospectuses are available for downloading.

You're Invited: Creative Conversation. Creative Conversations hosts a community discussion with Arlene Goldbard, author of "New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development." Come listen as Ms. Goldbard reads from her new book and shares with us experiences from her 30 years in community and cultural development. A book signing will follow. This program is co-sponsored by the University of Oregon Arts & Administration Program, the UO Cultural Forum and the Lane Arts Council. February 22, 4-6 PM at Lord Leebrick Theatre: 540 Charnelton Street, Eugene.

Gallery At The Airport Presents. With its award-winning reporting and photography, Eugene's Register-Guard newspaper is a vital source of regional, national, and international news. GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS celebrates the Guard's contribution to our community with examples of exceptional photojournalism. Continues through February 15, 2007.

The Archaeology Channel Presents. Supposedly "primitive" Neolithic farmers in western Europe moved huge boulders across the landscape to construct ritual monuments. How this probably was done is the subject of The Sledge of the Stone Age: Transport of a Megalith, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel.

"Coming Into View" at Schnitzer. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon is exhibiting through February 18, 2007, " Coming Into View". This is a traveling exhibition of the work of 12 emerging national and international contemporary jewelers. The exhibition opened in conjunction with the 2006 Society of North American Goldsmiths conference in Chicago. The purpose of “Coming into View” is to define some of the most visible conceptual strategies employed by emerging studio jewelers. More Information.

Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House Offers Lecture. Don Peting will give a free lecture on 19th Century Building Technology. February 25th, 2:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Lane County Historical Museum.

UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History Murals. Murals depicting The Great Basin, Pacific Coast, Western Valleys, and Columbian plateau, are a part of the Museums presentation of natural and cultural history of Oregon. The murals of these four regions were painted by Don Prechtel, an Oregon artist known for historically accurate paintings of the Western frontier and Native American culture. Museum hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

M.E.C.C.A seeks Secondary School Art Teacher. Immediate part-time opening for art teacher for M.E.C.CA.'s Network Charter School program. Mixed-age classroom (grades 7-12) will have approximately ten students. Course syllabus and materials provided , but lots of room for creativity. Potential for increased hours and extended contract. Teaching license preferred but not required. More information online.