People

An explorer of everyday wonders, Emese Ilyes is celebrating the potential in every moment, artist, and interaction as the Coordinator at Project Grow. Originally from Transylvania, Emese moved to Portland, Oregon from Michigan to attend Reed College after several years of exploring. She graduated from Reed with the completion of her thesis titled 'The heat beneath the melting pot: the implicit and explicit stereotyping of immigrants'. Nourished by her time at Reed, she was amazed to discover that her education really began when she became part of the Project Grow team. Here she engages in the collaborative community magic that is the studio, the farm, lectures, Learn My Art workshops, and rogue moments of adventure in the world. She is left breathless everyday by the beauty around her.

James Ragsdale is a mover, builder and laugher who trys to live his life in a way that represents his love and concern for humanity and our planet, while celebrating the humor that is found in everything. He loves husbanding animals and plants and has spent most of his life living, playing and working in the mountains of the great Western United States

Tim Donovan is a farmer and maker living in Portland, Oregon.  He was brought into Project Grow by Natasha Wheat to start the North Portland Farm, which at the time seemed a lofty prospect at a whopping 1/8th acre.  The farm, now at over 1 acre, delightfully absorbs/is Tim's social life.  With a background in science and organic farming, Tim explores the resource-intensity of urban agriculture and the post-civilization context of organic gardening and farming in the city.  Project Grow is the best thing to ever happen to Tim.

Laurel grew up in Portland, Oregon and before earning her B.A. in Sculpture and her M.F.A. in Contemporary Art Practices/Social Practice from Portland State University, she was a pastry chef and cake decorator for many years.  She has had other jobs including house painting, janitorial work and teaching college sculpture classes and children’s art classes at the museum. She enjoys traveling and has an art practice that involves collaborative socially engaged work with other artists and people in her community.  Before working in the EC she did some volunteer work at Port City’s Project Grow.

Bekka Holmquist came to Oregon from Palmer, Alaska several years ago. She recently graduated from Portland State University with a BS in Communication Studies and is currently enjoying spending her days sharing smiles with Babs. When not relishing the everyday adventures at Project Grow, Bekka enjoys hiking, camping, laying in the grass, cheekbone smiles and declaring thumb wars.

Shara Alexander was born and raised in Portland. After college in Beloit, Wisconsin and Kobe, Japan, she returned to the West coast. She worked as a contract archaeologist (aka "Dig Bum") across the Western states, but eventually her love of plants won out over lithics and she traipsed off to OSU to study Agriculture. She received her Masters in Horticulture in 1997 and has been working in plant related enterprises ever since, including landscape design, rare plant propagation, and volunteering as a school garden coordinator and teacher. She has two daughters and a husband and they all live in a periwinkle blue house 1/2 block from PortCity. She is a practical person who is drawn to actions that quietly transform and bind communities, just like Project Grow.

Charlie was born and raised in Baltimore, Md. He has previously worked at a retirement home, in a drug and alcohol counseling clinic, and a before and after-school art education program for kids. He received his BSW from Juniata College, a small liberal arts college in the central Pennsylvanian mountains. His travels around the world - a semester in England traveling around Europe and a month in southern India - were the most influential aspects of his education. In addition to travel, he enjoys photography, art, making underwear and other crafts using recycled material, hiking, biking, and seeing the beauty in every inch.

Dasha was born and raised in Moscow, Russia until she was nine, when she moved with her mom to the United States. She is currently working on her BA in Painting at Portland State University. She has volunteered with and worked on various design projects, murals and art show fundraisers with non-profit organizations in California, Oregon and Mexico. She has also previously worked with inner city youth after school programs and distribution centers for the homeless in Long Beach, CA. Dasha loves telling (and hearing) stories, picking around on her guitar, cooking for her friends, cartwheels, and mainly dancing randomly whenever possible.

Originally from Oroville, California, Shannon earned her BFA in Electronic Art from California State University of Chico. After graduation, she moved to Shiga, Japan where she taught English in both a public high school and a school for children with special needs. After three wonderful years of fun & cultural immersion, she traveled to Portland, Oregon and has made it her happy home. Before arriving at Project Grow, she ran an Arts and Culture aftercare program for kids in SE Portland at a Japanese Immersion school. Shannon enjoys rollerskating, karaoke, making movies, dancing, giggling, all things 80s, and online banking.

Jen Erickson is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned her BA in Human Development with a minor in Sustainable Community Development from Prescott College in 2007. While in school, she spent time in Zimbabwe developing the non-profit Friends of the Honde Valley, where she assisted in creating a chicken-raising project for a small community called Gatsi. She has also worked as a massage therapist, a Spanish teacher, and a representative for funeral homes. Jen moved to Portland in 2007 and began developing the weaving studio at Port City in the fall of 2009. In her free time Jen loves cooking, biking, camping, gardening, and traveling.

Sandy Sampson is an Interdisciplinary artist working in painting, video, installation, participatory, guerilla art and motherhood. She received her MFA in Art and Social Practice from Portland State University. Recent public collaborations include projects for the PICA Time Based Art Festival Portland Oregon, Proflux Satellite 2008 North America, Galleria Perdida at Houston's Project Row Houses, Portland Art Museum, and BetonSalon Paris. Also, founding member of www.parallel-university.org

Natasha Wheat is an interdisciplinary, socially engaged artist. Wheat proposed Project Grow to Port City in January of 2009. She received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; she has curated and exhibited at Skulpturenpark (Berlin), Rogaland Kunstsenter (Stavanger, Norway), Disjecta (Portland), Mess Hall (Chicago), Gallery 2 (Chicago), Green Papaya Art Projects (Manila) and at The Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago) where her work can be found in the permanent collection. Natashawheat.com