Behind the scenes at Angst Gallery

Let us be the first to tell you that the dust is flying at Angst Gallery. Exciting disclosures await, but we'd thought we'd give you a little preview.

And what's behind the wall, you ask. We'll let you know very, very soon.

Carol previews how to party

"I've donated blood before. It doesn't take very long. The needle prick is just that, a teeny-tiny, little momentary sting. It won't even make you blink," reports Carol Doane. "Really, the worst part is sitting through all the questions they ask. Once you've heard them, it's pretty boring."

We wondered why Carol chose to celebrate her birthday by asking her friends to donate blood.

"My heart is truly vested in Be The Match, the National Bone Marrow Registry and especially to raise awareness of people of color registering—half my family is of Asian descent. I would be the un-Asian half," Carol noted, and rubbed the inside of her elbow likely in anticipation of the blood donation adventure. "But @SWBlood sent me a direct message on Twitter and asked if I would spearhead a drive. I am a big believer of accepting the pie on your plate, so I gave them an enthusiastic yes and starting pressing friends and strangers into service."

How many friends have signed up?

"I keep checking the online appointment scheduler and I'm still seeing some open spots, but I'm hoping to fill the day to keep the Puget Sound Blood Center busy. I want it to be successful for the time their staff invests. My other desire is that it will encourage my friends to pause and think a moment about what their gift does during everyday life or disaster.

"It's just incredible how a simple, simple thing changes the world. It costs you your gas, your time to get to the center, maybe a little anxiety, but what you give is unmeasurable."

Carol shared pictures she snapped during her last donation that occurred at her office. The Blood-Mobile drove up, parked in front of their building and opened for business treating donors with juice and cookies, rockin' music and friendly, encouraging smiles.

"I like to engage people in conversation and one of the personnel had worked with me previously, so we spent time catching up. I met another phlebotomists and learned she was married to a youth minister and had just returned from a church retreat. She and I had an interesting conversation in a different way. I talk to everybody who enters my circle."

You mentioned three social media circles where you are promoting this event. What others are you using?

"Oh, my gosh. I am leveraging everything! I posted on LinkedIN, Plancast, created a 'poster' and uploaded it to Twitpic. I'll be writing about it on Blogger, and I'm asking friends to blog about it. I've got a steady chirp of tweets happening, too.

"We made event pages on local social media spots like Guerrilla-Media, and national hubs like Meetup and Upcoming. We actually have two Facebook pages, one through my Facebook fan page and another Facebook event page that the Blood Center set up, which is a lot cleaner than mine. I tend to get too wordy. Oh, and check out my Schmap! What else..." Carol scanned her open laptop to aid her memory, but before she got distracted with gmail, we asked what happens after the event. Her head bobbed up and a big grin covered her face.

"I'm taking a few days off and enjoying spring break with my daughter. Hoping to get a little travel time in. I'm always up for adventure. I'll post pictures either on Twitpic or Flickr and you can watch us on the road via Foursquare. And, of course, if anything extraordinary happens we'll upload it to YouTube!"

We think Carol should pace her social media pursuits, but this project is too good not to throw your whole heart into.

Join Carol on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 for

Carol's Save a Life Birthday Party

Puget Sound Blood Center - Vancouver
9320 NE Vancouver Mall Blvd
Suite 100, Vancouver, WA 98662

Follow the Schmap to the Blood Center
Follow Google map to the Blood Center


Make your appointment online: http://bit.ly/9MBoxg


Want to, but can’t on the 31st?
Call 360-567-4800 for an alternate date.

EACH DAY Western Washington needs 900 people to donate blood.

1. Eligibility: http://www.psbc.org/programs/blood.htm

2. First Time Donors: http://www.psbc.org/programs/drives_first_time.pdf

3. Donation FAQs: http://www.psbc.org/programs/faq.htm

If you would like to see the lives that are touched by blood donation visit the Puget Sound Blood Center patient videos page.

Great Weekend for Angst Gallery

What a great weekend for Angst Gallery. It began with the Jason Wade Phelps show on First Friday, included a post and pictures on Bike Portland.org, and ended with a mention in the local newspaper, The Columbian:

"The internship program started in December as a way to give advanced art students real-world experience, said VSAA fine-arts teacher Crystal Zeller. Zeller approached North Bank and nearby Angst Gallery about collaborating to enhance classroom instruction. She has three students interning at Angst and five at North Bank."

Read the entire story here: Art is in the eye of the beholder

First Friday Artwalk is a HIT!

Flight Over Hydra

The big show at Angst Gallery opened Friday with March's featured artist Jason Wade Phelps. Phelps welcomed First Friday Artwalk guests with an intriguing collection that demonstrates how the creative process makes sense of time, memory and experience. Response was overwhelming for this transplant from Southern Oregon.

Phelps work is on display now through March 31.

From left to right: From Where Crow Found Us and The Archer and 9 Suns.

Mending, Jason Wade Phelps.

Stop in at Angst Gallery Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5:00 pm to encounter thought provoking designs, materials and impressions by Jason Wade Phelps.

You can view more of his work on his blog Jason-Wade-Phelps.blogspot.com.

If you are an artist and interested in discussing your work on display at Angst Gallery contact gallery owner, Leah Jackson. The gallery includes a broad array of media from canvas to ceramic, to fine jewelry, handmade cards, and books.

Gmail: Leah.AngstGallery@gmail.com
Phone: 360.253.1742.

Bike Portland hops the river and connects with client Leah Jackson

BikePortland.org wrote about the new bike corral located on Main Street, just south of W. 11th Ave and in front of Angst Gallery owned by our client Leah Jackson. Leah is a big proponent of biking and can be found traversing the city on two wheels. This installation is of note, because bicycles now have on-street parking in Vancouver, Washington.

More information about bicycling in Vancouver from the city's Web-site.

If you bike in Vancouver, like Leah does, check out this bike map compiled by the city (PDF 6.82 MB).

Read the original article on BikePortland.org:  Vancouver (WA) gets on-street bike parking — UPDATED.

Cover to Cover cracks the book on the hungry writing spirit

The creative economy can only survive if there are outlets to bring the fruits of the artist's labors to the public. Angst Gallery searches out unique offerings to feed the clamoring 'art-soul' from their sunny spot downtown Vancouver at 10th and Main.

Cover to Cover Books attracts patrons in search of well placed consonants and vowels.

Ir's red door at Main and McLoughlin beckons the avid reader to browse both new and used selections. Many drift through the shelves deep in thought or lost in the discovery of new worlds as they explore the vast array of choices.

When the visitor emerges from the rows into the main area, they are greeted by the steady hiss of the espresso machine as it floods the shop with the heady aroma of freshly brewed coffee beans and the vanilla fragrance of custom steamed milk. The bookworm takes up residence in a comfortable chair, soaks up the ambiance of this popular Uptown gathering place, and taps into the free Wi-Fi.

Cover to Cover is vested in the creative community and has become a hub of scholarly activity. They host a variety of monthly programs that spotlight local poets, local authors, and encourages each indivdual voice perpetuating the city's circle of creativity.

We are excited to announce our collaboration with proprietor Mel Sanders of Cover to Cover Books and salute her 'Active Quest' to be the most sought after bookshop in the metro area.

Welcome!

So many authors, so many autographed books

Camas First Friday had perfect weather for the avid audience that meandered in and out of shops on Fourth Avenue in Camas, Washington.

The Deadly Duo, Mike Nettleton and Carolyn J. Rose, packed them by autographing their latest book, The Big Grabowski, at Navidi's Olive Oils & Vinegars, 322 NE Cedar Street. Navidi's handed out awesome tastings of their organic offerings. Don't ever leave town without purchasing the gently flavored lemon olive oil. Incredible. (Pictured above: Carolyn, Mike, and sister Lana).

Thank you, Ron Gompertz, for organizing the “Arts and Letters” event that spotlighted so many wonderful authors. Can't wait to finish reading your book, “No Roads Lead to Rome.”

Contact us about Mike and Carolyn's next appearance: Now@ActiveQu3st.com

Book Signing with Carolyn J. Rose & Mike Nettleton

Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton will be signing copies of their first book in the Devil's Harbor Mystery series, "The Big Grabowski" on March 5th from 5PM – 8PM. Follow the trail of salad croutons left by the duo to Navidi's Olive Oils & Vinegars, 322 NE Cedar Street, Camas, WA 98607.

The First Friday “Arts & Letters” event celebrates local authors and student artists at select locations throughout downtown Camas. Authors will sign, sell, and read from their books, and a collection of signed books has been donated by the authors for a raffle to benefit Friends of the Camas Library, a nonprofit.

In addition to the literary offerings, participating Downtown Camas businesses will showcase the art of local students. Paintings and drawings will be juried with prizes for People’s Choice, Judge’s Choice, and Honorable Mention for both middle school and high school students. The event is intended to feature the depth of artistic talent of the students in the Southwest Washington community.

For more information on Downtown Camas and Camas' First Friday visit DowntownCamas.com or contact Carrie Schulstad at 360-834-5445 or 360-834-5445.

Rose and Nettleton teach writing skills through the Clark College Community Education program. More about the mysteries they write can be found on their Web-site: Deadly Duo.

In the News: Carol Doane

Carol Doane greeted in the local newspaper by retiring journalist, Julia Anderson.

Speakers Bureau: make your next event FUN

Contact us about a speaker for your next event. Topics include writing, editing, curating art, bicycling, starting a small business, and marketing that business via traditional and social media. Email: now@ActiveQu3st.com


Writing
Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton, authors and writing teachers, present an audience-involvement session on the causes of writer’s block and strategies to cure “blinking cursor creative paralysis."

Rose and Nettleton write as a team an as individuals. They have seven published mysteries to their credit, including The Big Grabowski, a cozy set on the Oregon Coast, just out from Krill Press. Two more books will be published next year.

In addition to sharing their experiences with writer’s block, they’ll offer advice gleaned from other writers, and involve the group in exercises to diagnose the causes of creative paralysis and find ways to write with more ecstasy and less agony.

Topics:

• Art of Writing Short Fiction
• Writer's Block
• Writing with a Partner
• TV News, why I'll never go back

Learn more about Carolyn and Mike on their Web-site: Deadly Duo Mysteries. Carolyn tweets as @CarolynJRose


Critique Group Start-up
Melanie Sherman has spent two years in an active and lively critique group. Learn how easy it is to start one (coerce strangers to read out loud to each other), the benefits of sharing the writing experience (smile through the criticism), and how her experience led to winning the 2009 Pacific Northwest Writers Association literary award in the mainstream category (a critique partner coerced her to enter).

Melanie blogs at Meanderings of Melanie Sherman, and tweets as @Scupperlout.


Researching Historical Fiction
Sharon Axline is a computer programmer with the civil war always running in the background. Her historical fiction follows a woman whose adventures include enlisting in the cavalry (posing as a man) to protect a brother with a young family. She speaks about the process of starting her novel, the search for historical resources, finding a mentor and coach through the local college community education program, and how networking landed her a lucrative spot in the city's most sought after critique group.

Sharon gave the critique group a name, The Dead Bunny Club, taken from a salient scene of one of the member's coming of age manuscripts. Sharon is also a dog lover and boasts two active, in-training Lhasa Apsos who are learning barking is not the only way to greet a guest.

Sharon blogs about food and life at Preposterous Ponderings and tweets as @nwfoodie.


Social Media Strategies
Carol Doane brings her years of expertise working for the largest daily newspaper in Southwest Washington to the podium. An avid Social Media fan, she's helped businesses harness the power of online as they build their sales strategies to generate revenue flow. Now discover how to incorporate social media with the larger audience venues offered by traditional media. How do you start? Where do you begin? When can you quit advertising?

Carol blogs on business issues at 360 Convos and on her fiction writing adventures at Pearl of Carol which includes the popular, "Celebrities Who've Met Me!" posts that are entertaining and embarrassing.

Find Carol on Twitter as @TheClassicCarol and @TheFirstCarol. Tweeters beware, either persona may claim to be the twin of the other at any time.


How Not To Start A Gallery
Leah Jackson, founding director of Sixth Street Gallery, struck out on her own to open Angst Gallery in 2008. She's one of the founding members of Lower Columbia Alliance for Living Sustainably: LOCALS, keeps tabs on local politics, is active in the Portland metro area bicycling community, while searching for unique art offerings to feature in her gallery. Learn how collaboration with both local and state government offices led to quickly identifying and resolving issues as she ventured into expanding the gallery to the neighboring space for a strategic yet complimentary use.

Angst Gallery Web-site, on Facebook and on Twitter as @AngstGallery.



Your Next Event
Contact Active Qu3st about a speaker for your next event. Topics include writing, editing, curating art, bicycling, starting a small business, and marketing that business via traditional and social media.

Follow our adventures on Twitter: @ActiveQu3st.

Email us at: Now (at) ActiveQu3st (dot) com.