I Heart Art: Portland is run by two co-chairs and a leadership council, with the involvement of Etsy, PNCA and the Museum of Contemporary Craft.
If you would like to contact us, please email connect [at] iheartartpdx [dot] com.
Vanessa Bertozzi
Director of Community & Education, Etsy
“Too much is never enough” — That’s Vanessa Bertozzi’s motto, especially when it comes to Etsy and the handmade movement. Vanessa works at Etsy as Director of Community and Education, running a special project to foster partnerships between Etsy and art schools, museums, organizations and locals. Previously she launched and ran the Etsy Blog. Before she joined Etsy in January 2007, Vanessa made a documentary about the history of used clothing and diaspora communities, and earned a Master’s in Comparative Media Studies at MIT. Vanessa comes from a family of artists on one side and bankruptcy lawyers on the other. This dual nature fuels her passion to help creative entrepreneurs succeed.
Christine Claringbold
Secretary
Christine Claringbold is an artist, a teacher, a mom, and a backup singer in the punk rock band Dartgun and the Vignettes. She launched Eye Pop Art in 2003, featuring mandala art, home and garden décor, jewelry, and accessories made from recycled vinyl records.
Christine lives in SE Portland with her husband and two teenage kids. She loves to read good books, listen to good music, and collect vintage psychedelic coffee cups. Her professional experience includes 6 years as the program coordinator for the nonprofit organization Trillium Artisans, and many years teaching classes through local schools, SUN programs, and art studios. She is equally happy leading a mandala workshop for middle school kids, or teaching a group of adults about how to sell handmade items on Etsy.
Shannon Conrad
Education Coordinator
Shannon Conrad is a self-taught metalsmith and enamelist living and working in Portland, Oregon. She started her business, rubygirl in 2005 as a way to feed her artistic side while staying at home and caring for her two children. Shannon is very active in the arts and crafts community, both locally and internationally. She was one of the earliest members of PDX Etsy and is the lead coordinator for the Etsymetal Team. When not working on her various social committees, Shannon can be found spending time with her family or sitting on her porch with her nose in a book. Oh… or making rings. Lots and lots of rings.
Morgan Evans
Community Organizer and Teams Coordinator, Etsy
Morgan is happiest when bringing people together. Her main focus at Etsy is on the Teams program, where anyone on Etsy can self-organize, meet people with common interests and collaborate. Among other things, she runs the Team Grants program and sends out a weekly newsletter detailing team activities and opportunities. At the core of all of these initiatives is her drive to connect people and build communities. She is committed to fostering and encouraging relationships between artists, crafters and conscious consumers all over the world. A native New Yorker, Morgan attended Oberlin College in Ohio and lived in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico before returning to the East Coast in 2009. She lives in Brooklyn, draws comics, rides a bike, screen prints, builds dioramas and surrounds herself with people who inspire her.
JOLIE GRIFFIN
Social Media Assistant
Jolie Griffin embraced crafting at an early age. She believes that solving a creative problem can be more fun than the craft itself and her ‘making do with what you have’ philosophy may have stemmed from necessity, but it was cemented by her love of MacGyver. Growing up in Portland, she has seen this incredible town evolve into a welcoming home for every type of artist imaginable and she has blogged under the name That Jolie Girl for over six years showcasing local artists as well as her own craft adventures. She is happily married to her teen love and her dream is to be a stay at home mom with no kids. Her endless hobbies, which include knitting, embroidering, photography, creating jewelry and painting, ensure that she will never be bored. Her love of the handmade guarantees that there is almost always a craft tool in her hand.
Rebecca Kerr
Chair, “Mom”
Rebecca moved to Portland in 2006 with her husband, dog, cat, and glass studio in tow and instantly fell in love with its wonderful and supportive arts and craft community. In those rare and spare moments when Rebecca isn’t working on I Heart Art: Portland, playing in her studio, or running Slumptown Glass, she’s earned degrees in architecture, devours literature, absorbs design publications, loves to build things and is passionate about sustainable design.
Cheryl Larson
Communications Coordinator
Cheryl Larson, having never been to Portland before, sold all of her belongings and moved from Iowa City to Portland in 1996. With a double major in Communication Studies and Fine Arts, this Gemini needs to exercise both her right and left brain. In 2004 Cheryl launched her marketing and PR shop, redhen communications, designed to serve small business communication needs for crafters, creatives and entrepreneurs. When the economy had client budgets shrinking, Cheryl found the timing ripe to nurture her more creative side and started holden lee tees with her eight-year-old son, Holden. When not crafting copy for a client or screen printing tees in her basement studio, Cheryl supports the PR efforts EtsyKids.
Kirsten Moore
Social Media Coordinator
Kirsten has an irresistible tendency towards making things and sharing information. A staggering amount of ribbon has passed through her fingers. She created her Piper Ewan line in 1998, and was featured seller on Etsy in January 2008. Kirsten is passionate about making people and her surroundings look beautiful. Besides I Heart Art: Portland and making things, she likes to wander around the neighborhood and throw peanuts to the blue jays and crows, annoy her neighbors by practicing her flute, look out the window with her pet cat, and sew hearts over the holes in her quilt.
Jen Neitzel
Special Events Coordinator
Jen Neitzel is a life longer maker and lover of creative ideas and projects. She started Knot Ugly Designs, featuring knit crocheted and reconstructed fashions in 2002 and DIY Lounge a few years after that. DIY Lounge is Jen’s love child with the creative community. For years DIY Lounge operated as a classroom space for creative classes. Now DIY Lounge produces and directs online video tutorials that feature unique art and craft mediums. When Jen isn’t managing her businesses she works as something of an event planner putting on craft sales, such as Bargain Hunting and GIVE handmade Sale, formerly known as the Secret Society Sale.
“I want to use my hands, words and ideas to make the world around me a better place. I Heart Art squares with my values and thinking. It’s a project about enriching the professional lives of the community of makers here in Portland. This is done in collaborative and creative ways and supports the type of community I want to be a part of.”
Photo by shesawthings
Cathy Pitters
Food and Beverage Coordinator
Cathy Pitters is a mom, artist and seamstress who lives in North Portland with her husband, 12-year-old son and two cats. She runs her business, Bossa Nova Baby, out of her flamingo pink craft bunker in her basement. She creates one of a kind, vintage-inspired clothing and accessories that she sells in shops and craft fairs across the country. She is co-founder and organizer of Crafty Wonderland, an art and craft event that, over the last four years, has evolved from a smaller monthly show to a large scale twice yearly event. She is also one-fourth of the women’s craft collective PDX Super Crafty, who wrote a how-to book entitled Super Crafty in 2005. In her spare time, Cathy can be found digging for treasure at thrift stores and drinking coffee.
Dennie Wallace
Volunteer Coordinator
Deenie Wallace is a busy, creative, multi-faceted Portland artist. Her passion for making art led her to experiment with a wide range of materials, including traditional painting media, clay, and wood, while successfully working toward a BFA through PNCA’s Intermedia program. Self-taught in glass flameworking, she launched Jubilant Glass & Art in 2003 to promote her jewelry designs and visual art. She remains a proprietor and artist for Jubilant Glass & Art, producing paintings and glasswork from her home studio.
When not busy with her many artistic projects (and sometimes even when she is), she spends time reading, cooking, and raising her feisty toddler. She enjoys connecting with and participating in the vibrant Portland community of foodies, micro-enterprisers, and creative makers.
Isaac B Watson
Member at Large
Isaac B Watson is a man of many hats. In addition to a serving as Co-Chair to I Heart Art: Portland, he has a full-time job in academic communications and marketing. In his spare time, he upcycles broken camera parts into jewelry as Focal Length Designs and oversees MGS Development, an iOS app startup.
A self-prescribed design nerd, typography critic, camera buff and grammar guru, he is also a culinary hobbyist and enjoys writing when he can find the time. Isaac was born and raised in the Portland area, but spent 2002–2004 abroad in France and Belgium, lending a unique European flair to his outlook on life. With a passion for social engagement, collaboration and shared success, he believes strongly that the best way to balance our commodity-driven culture is to contribute to the community through the open exchange of knowledge, ideas and information.
