Rogue Valley Messenger: The festival will be hosted online this year. It is a fascinating change: AIFF will be available on FilmFestivalFlix.com. Can you give some insights into this business? Both the idea of online film festivals:  Is this a new, emerging industry?  And what is it about FilmFestivalFlix.com that attracted AIFF to

While accountability gets tossed around the nightly news faster than a hot potato these days, Shut Up & Write members around the world make it a top priority, committing to gathering weekly, regardless of global circumstances, with one goal in mind—write! Based out of San Francisco, Shut Up & Write

“I truly believe art is about expressing yourself with a growth mindset,” says Jenay Elder.   Flowers, at least some varieties, can bloom in the worst of circumstances. Elder is blossoming too in these uncertain times—growing her business online. Usually, she conducts classes and demos at Art & Soul Gallery below

Rogue Valley Messenger: There is quite a robust lineup this year.  What is the decision making process for determining what plays to present?  SAO: As our name implies, we meet together to discuss scripts and ideas for each season. In crafting the 2020 Season, we wanted fun, yet thought-provoking material

  We’ve all been there—struck with a surge of creative inspiration and determined to tackle that unfinished project collecting dust. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for our ambition to be overpowered by our lack of tools, space, or skills. But luckily there’s a solution for budding-builders, and it comes in

Birding enthusiasts from the Rogue Valley and beyond, take note! “The Natural Perspective: Photographs by Judy Benson Lanier,” a collection of strikingly vivid portraits of birds, fluttered through the Rogue Gallery and Art Center this past month. The exhibit contains images taken exclusively from Ms. Lanier’s photo safaris in Africa.

  Joel Hodgson is in Little Rock, Arkansas when I finally reach him on the phone. The creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000—the cult classic and a currently top ranked as one of Netflix’s most popular shows—is on the move, and it has taken nearly two weeks to set up

This past summer, I traveled to Amsterdam with my daughters, and on our first day visited Anne Frank’s house. My girls are 11 and 13 years old, the same ages that Anne Frank was when her family first hid from Nazis and then when she was discovered and taken to

The shapes, molds and purposes that clay can become are really only limited by imagination—and at the 44th annual Clayfolk Show & Sale, that seems to be boundless. The artists participating are almost giddy about their experimentation and expressions with clay—from tea sets to outer-worldly beings, from earthen tones to

Running off to join the circus? A first stop—or perhaps a jumping off spot—is Le Cirque Center in Ashland. The art of aerial dance is a passion of Le Cirque’s new owner Sonya Smith, and we caught up with her between classes to see what the future holds.  Rogue Valley