The Museum of Contemporary Craft has been around since 1937 and so it shows a maturity and depth of understanding of crafts that you would expect. It is not a big place, but the space is full of light and the pieces are beautifully exhibited across two floors. There is no admission charge, which is much appreciated by students, starving artists, and we under/unemployed souls. A bonus is The Gallery, a fine museum shop with some superb craft pieces, books, videos, cards, and other things available for purchase. Some of the craft pieces were done by artists in the current shows.

One of the current shows, Call + Response, was especially good. I was particularly taken by the amazing wood structures by Karl Burkheimer and stunning textiles by Jiseon Lee Isbara. (The photos below are borrowed from the museum’s web site.)

Karl Burkheimer, Five Fourths, 2008. Wood, birch plywood, rice paper; 83 x 62 x 62 inches	Detail of Jiseon Lee Isbara’s “Scattered,” 2008–09; Cotton fabric, cotton and silk; thread, hand and machine stitched, inkjet printed; 2.5 × 3.5 inches to 8.5 × 11 inches each

This little jewel of a museum should be on your To Do list whether you are a Portland-area resident or a visitor.

Museum of Contemporary Craft, Karl Burkheimer, Jiseon Lee Isbara, Portland

I spent most of the week training some Dept. of Transportation people in Seattle, WA. I decided to take the train because I had never done so. It was a nice change of pace and the scenery was beautiful.

The Portland train station, built in 1896, is one of the oldest continually-operating train stations in the country. One of the highlights was gliding past the Tacoma Narrows bridge just before the sun set.

The training was at the Henry Jackson Federal Building. It was very busy and a bit stressful, but I was to spend some time checking in with some old friends. Part of the fun included dinner with artist and buddy Marjorie Masel, her boyfriend, and a family friend from Chile. They took me out to a lovely dinner in advance of my birthday.

Thursday afternoon I had a few hours between my last training session and my train back to Portland, so Marjorie and I went to the Frye Museum for an exhibit about puppets titled, appropriately, The Puppet Show. A few interesting things, but the highlight was hanging out with Marjorie and discussing art. I returned home pretty tired on Amtrak Thursday evening.

On Friday, our friend Maggie from Washington, DC, arrived for a short visit. We picked her up at the airport and, after a lunch stop, went directly to Multmomah Falls, our favorite Oregon Wonder. On the way, we stopped at Vista House, built in 1916-18 as a view point over the Columbia River Gorge and a “comfort station” for visitors. (More on Vista House in a later blog post.)

After a short rest, we headed to Hopworks Urban Brewery for dinner, where I watched Mike and Maggie test 10 new micro-brews. Guess who was the designated driver.

After dinner we headed to Mock Crest Tavern to see our favorite band, Sneakin’ Out, in their first engagement since returning from the national tour that took them to Carnegie Hall in NYC, Wolf Trap in Washington, DC, and several other great locations.

Saturday we dragged ourselves, and Maggie, to the Portland Japanese Gardens, a tour of the city, and dinner at our place. Then we headed to the Living Room Theatres for a showing of Coraline in 3D, then to Voodoo Donuts before heading home to collapse and feast on donuts.

On Sunday, we drove Maggie through some of our favorite neighborhoods and had brunch at Vita Cafe, in the Alberta Arts District, before heading to the airport to drop her off. We had a great time with Maggie, though I’m sure she is as exhausted as we are.

Train travel, good food with good friends, art, movies; gifts from Mike, Mom, and Marjorie; cards from friends and relatives; calls from Mom and some siblings; flowers from Liv and Scott and the world’s most perfect grandbabes; a visit from Maggie the Party Lady. What more could one ask for a birthday week?

So changing your position is easy and temporary. Changing your heart and mind, however, is different. It is personal, sincere, and believable. When a person changes his or her heart, I believe we are obligated to listen. Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd has done just that on the subject of marriage equality. I think his statement merits reprinting and we are obligated to listen.

Rights, responsibilities and love

Op-ed By U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd

Meriden-Record Journal
http://forums.ctrecord.com/showthread.php?t=3739
June 21, 2009

Public officials aren’t supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it’s important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting with members of the gay and lesbian community from across the state, I had the opportunity to tell them what I’ve learned about marriage, and about equality.

While I’ve long been for extending every benefit of marriage to same-sex couples, I have in the past drawn a distinction between a marriage-like status (”civil unions”) and full marriage rights.

The reason was simple: I was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And as many other Americans have realized as they’ve struggled to reconcile the principle of fairness with the lessons they learned early in life, that’s not an easy thing to overcome.

But the fact that I was raised a certain way just isn’t a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore.

The Connecticut Supreme Court, of course, has ruled that such a distinction holds no merit under the law. And the Court is right.

I believe that effective leaders must be able and willing to grow and change over their service. I certainly have during mine - and so has the world. Thirty-five years ago, who could have imagined that we’d have an African-American President of the United States?

My young daughters are growing up in a different reality from what I did. Our family knows many same-sex couples - our neighbors in Connecticut, members of my staff, parents of their schoolmates. Some are now married because the Connecticut Supreme Court and our state legislature have made same-sex marriage legal in our state.

But to my daughters, these couples are married simply because they love each other and want to build a life together. That’s what we’ve taught them. The things that make those families different from their own pale in comparison to the commitments that bind those couples together.

And, really, that’s what marriage should be. It’s about rights and responsibilities and, most of all, love.

I believe that, when my daughters grow up, barriers to marriage equality for same-sex couples will seem as archaic, and as unfair, as the laws we once had against inter-racial marriage.

And I want them to know that, even if he was a little late, their dad came down on the right side of history.

I have always been proud of my long record fighting for the civil rights of the LGBT community. I’ve co-sponsored legislation to strengthen hate crime laws and end discrimination in the workplace. I’ve spoken out against “don’t ask, don’t tell” and always supported equal rights for domestic partnerships.

But I am also proud to now count myself among the many elected officials, advocates, and ordinary citizens who support full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

I understand that even those who oppose discrimination might continue to find it hard to re-think the definition of marriage they grew up with. I know it was for me.

But many of the things we must do to make our union more perfect - whether it’s fighting for decades to reform our health care system or struggling with a difficult moral question - are hard. They take time.

And they require that, when you come to realize that something is right, you be unafraid to stand up and say it.

That’s the only way our history will progress along that long arc towards justice.

Christopher Dodd, Meriden-Record Journal

In many cases, the fractures between friends, family members, and coworkers were deep. The Church announced that righteousness had prevailed and that the proximate demise of the family unit was spared. This angered gays and lesbians, who were by implication not righteous and were out to destroy marriage and families. The wounds were rubbed with salt when LDS headquarters asked for civility and sounded the victim trumpet. This further awakened memories of ecclasiastical abuse, broken homes, and damaged souls. The chasm just widened.

A new web site, www.LDSapology.org calls for reconciliation on this issue. It contains a petition that will be delivered to the First Presidency on the first anniversary of the passage of Prop. 8. It calls for forgiveness on all sides, recognition of responsibility, and a beginning to the healing. I think it’s a good start and I recommend you visit www.LDSapology.org, read the material, and ask for a reconciliation. We don’t have to forget, but we have to forgive. Otherwise, our families really will be destroyed.

“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” Hannah Arendt, writer and Holocaust surviver

Proposition 8, Mormon, Prop. 8

Margaret Haberman, The Oregonian
Wednesday June 10, 2009, 3:00 PM

It’s amazing what a small gesture can do.

Someone left a neatly sealed envelope on a stack of free papers in one of the boxes outside Powell’s Books. I happened to be the lucky one who reached in and found it.

On the outside, someone had written: “Finders Keepers!” In smaller lettering on the side: “Remind someone you love them, when they least expect it.”

The envelope was sealed. Something was inside — it felt a little chunky. With a message like that on the front, it could only be good, right?

The chunkiness turned out to be a zipper baggie. Inside: a $10 bill.

Thanks to the Film Board of Canada and sponsor YouTube for providing avenues of support for such talented filmmakers during a time in our history when artists are underappreciated and underfunded.

Film Board of Canada

Canada understands that a country’s culture must move forward. The National Film Board of Canada has supported filmmaking for many years. During that time companies have stepped forward with some minor sponsorship support. The films are cutting edge and engaging on the most basic human level.

I’d like to share a quite distinct film by one of the finalists. In it, we are introduced to Sebastian, a new selfless hero. I’ll link to a new film each day this week until the last one.

Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC

Also, see our earlier blog about another Portland hero. If you see or hear about a business or individual who shows extra kindness during these tough economic times, please share it with us.