Culture: Page 192

Contemporary Calico

Jam Tolles explores gender identity and transitioning through art

Culture
Jam Tolles

A painting by Jam Tolles reminds me of “Las Meninas,” the enigmatic 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, even though visually the two have little in common. Velázquez's oil masterpiece depicts members of the Spanish Court in a grand drawing room with a mirror, the figures peering back at you as if you were some sort of peculiar guest popping in.  Tolles filled ketchup bottles with acrylic paint and gooped hundreds of flowers on reflective mylar panels, creating amorphous mirrored pools that reflect the viewer between the blooms. Continue reading →

A Transcendent Year

Dispatches from Pride 2016

Culture

While planning EW’s second annual PRIDE issue, we made no deliberate decision to focus on trans women; the stories just emerged organically. Why? we wondered. The answer was obvious to many trans women, scholars and activists who contributed to this issue.  “Trans women are in the spotlight nationally, especially with Caitlyn Jenner and her entire show,” says Jam Tolles, a local artist beginning her transition (see "Contemporary Calico" this issue).  Continue reading →

We Are Whiteaker

A selection of residents who make the neighborhood, well, the best

Culture

They grow up so fast. The Whiteaker Block Party turns 10 this year and it’s bound to be one for the books — more than 120 years after Oregon’s first governor, John Whiteaker, procured 10 blocks in the neighborhood. To celebrate, EW pays homage to some of the people who keep the Whiteaker weird, whimsical, wayward and wonderful, as well as offering some tips to squeezing the most out of your block party experience. Here’s to the next 10 years.   Continue reading →

Who Gets the Pet?

Plan ahead to keep pets out of custody disputes

Culture

Pets are kind of like practice kids for some of us or, for people like me, they are straight up in lieu of bearing children — just please don’t call them fur-babies; that’s gross.  But just like real children, pets sometimes get caught in the fray of a break-up. When my ex-fiancé and I split, I kept Smudge, the dachshund mix I owned before we got together, and he kept Lily, the pit-Dalmatian puppy we got as a couple. I was possibly more heartbroken over losing the dog than I was over canceling the wedding. Continue reading →

Fix Your Chi

Little dogs are showing up at shelters

Culture
Fritz

Chihuahuas weigh an average of 4 to 6 pounds — that’s about the size of a large bunny. The puppies tip the scale at only a few ounces, and yet, Chihuahuas are all canine, descendants of Canis lupus, just like huskies, malamutes and Irish wolfhounds.  The diminutive stature of Chihuahuas makes it easy to forget that they’re real dogs, not pocket pets or fashion accessories.  Continue reading →

Horses That Heal

RideAble’s equestrian therapy program for special needs changes lives

Culture
Monica Liles takes a client out for a ride.

Seventeen-year-old Courtney Scott stands by the arena at a well-maintained stable in Goshen, a few miles southeast of Eugene. She’s on crutches, her left leg in a cast due to stress fractures from dancing, but her eyes sparkle as she waits for her horse to be brought out for her to ride. The crutches make her weekly ride a little more challenging, but Scott doesn’t care.  Continue reading →