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News from
Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon
Public information officer: Joan Aschim, (541) 463-5591, aschimj@lanecc.edu
September 23, 2004
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| Master woodcarvers from Japan, Yoshiki Kawada and Mineo Shimada, help install a mahogany relief panel on Lane Community College main campus. The sculptors collaborated with students in instructor Lee Imonen's site specific sculpture class to create the piece, titled "Long Life." Materials were donated. |
International collaboration results in wood sculpture
EUGENE, OR - Students in Lee Imonen's site-specific sculpture class worked with two master woodcarvers from Japan last year to create a large, two-sided mahogany relief panel titled, "Long Life." The panel is displayed in a large covered frame and is installed on Lane Community College main campus to the west of the Center Building cafeteria.
Yoshiki Kawada and Mineo Shimada worked with students for two weeks in spring 2004 to create the panel, and later returned for its dedication in June. The sculptors are from Inami, Japan, a small town in Toyama Prefecture, an Oregon sister state with a long and rich history of carved wooden sculptures. Imonen attended the Inami International Wooden Sculpture Camp in 2003 and was so inspired that he coordinated the cultural exchange that resulted in the student-artist collaboration.
Students began working with the sculptors at a weekend retreat at Siltcoos Station on the coast near Florence, Oregon. There they got to know their international guests and watch them work while receiving one-on-one instruction. The students worked diligently to complete the project for the dedication ceremony.
Materials for the undertaking were donated. The Moshofsky family of Eugene donated the cedar, Emerson Hardwoods provided the mahogany at a deep discount, and Zippo Logs contributed milling labor. Lane facilities staff assisted with installation.
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