Face Each Day

Artists

• Jason Sturgill

Statement

This project started with looking at the phrase "Face Each Day" and thinking about it from two different angles. In one way as a reminder to look at each day as a gift and to try and face any fears or obstacles as they come. In another sense it was a simple directive to challenge myself to do more of something I've always been interested in, which is illustration. I began drawing faces and posting them on my Instagram this summer without any real intended purpose other than the ritual. In most of my work, even before entering the world of art, I've been interested in highlighting others either through collaboration, curation, or initiating a project that gives me an excuse to introduce myself to a new person and/or field of work. When looking at the faces I had created I remembered a wooden sign maker in town that I had always been curious about and wondered how these faces would look as large sculptural objects. 

Jason G. Sturgill is a culture worker with a background in advertising, design and various curatorial practices. Having worked for Wieden+Kennedy, Dark Horse Comics, Laika, and Nike along with running his own online art gallery has heavily influenced his current art practice which centers around the intersection of art and local business. Sturgill is a recent graduate of the PSU MFA program in Art and Social Practice and teaches graphic design at PSU.

Don Sorber and his staff are Custom Wood Signs! Since 1982, Don has combined his artistic and woodworking skills to create sandblasted, hand-carved and routed wood signs for commercial, residential and artistic uses. First available only in Oregon, their signs are now shipped throughout the U.S. and to other countries. Don and his staff personally complete each project in its entirety -- from the initial composition and design, to the selection of the finest in clear grained kiln dried cedar and redwood, through the actual wood working and finishing process.

Raised and educated in Oregon, his work often reflects the rustic nature and artistic integrity of the Northwest which is apparent in the quality workmanship of each custom wood sign. Don has been a member of Portland's Saturday Market for the last 30 years.