Old and new friends reunite and share stories
Our celebration was a great success and here are a few stories shared at the celebration!
Stories about AiA from Members May 2026
Cynthia Herron: I was VP for only one year I think. I helped revitalize the Studio Tour, which I was very proud of. 2 years? And I chaired or co-chaired Paint the Town for several years. Very fun! I’ve also juried Something Red, Paint the Town, and maybe a spring show.
Janet Reese: When I landed in Salem in 2016, I only knew one person in town. I was excited to get involved with the arts community, the local galleries and art opening receptions. I learned about and joined Artists in Action where I immediately felt I welcome. I attended the member meetings where I met so many wonderful, creative people. I felt a sense of belonging in this enjoyable group where artists shared their work, techniques, ideas and conversation. We collaborated to coordinate events, man the booths, create group projects and enjoy social times. AiA opened the doors for me to get back into creating art and entering my work in gallery shows. I am very grateful for AiA and the creative inspiration that emerges from this group.
From Becki Hesedahl, former president
I got involved the first year chairing the annual Something Red Art Show when we still had the First Wednesday Art Walk with participating shops and restaurants in downtown Salem. Lots of footwork to visit businesses and community involvement. This helped the businesses advertise and bring in clients. Chairing the Something Red event opened the door for people to talk me into running for AiA president
Deanna White: I was helping out with the vast studio tour in 2000 so and we were meeting at the old SAA Clay building on 13th St.
Allyson Flagg-Miller: Three years ago, I saw an AIA pamphlet at the Elsinore Gallery while I was purchasing fames for my paintings. Because I was afraid to expose my art, or go out in public, I had painted alone for some time. Several AIA members were in the gallery, and they seemed kind, so I joined. Not only did the love, mentoring, joy, and laughter from the AIA members elevate my art to win awards and be peer reviewed and accepted into the prestigious membership of Oil Painters of America (OPA) and showcased in their juried Spring 2026 online showcase; but I am no longer afraid to share my art or to be in the public. Vincent Van Gogh’s words best describe what AIA is to me: Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.
Carolyn Johnson-Bell: Carolyn moved from Portland to Salem in 2016 where she began working on building a permaculture-based garden on the half-acre property that she and her husband purchased. Having learned the importance of healthy food and being concerned that many people have no idea where their food comes from, she began putting together the concept for an artist’s group called “How We Grow Our Food”, and painting pieces of her own to present to the project. Located within a predominantly agricultural area of the Willamette valley, it turns out that Salem was fertile ground for just such a project. Within a few months after joining several art associations and groups, she began assembling the members. In the winter of 2018, the group artist’s group “How We Grow Our Food” was born. Her personal mission was to bring like-minded Artists together to help enlighten and inspire people from all walks of life to enjoy the process of growing and depicting how food is grown.
Being a part of Artists in Action was just the inspiration and support she needed to jump-start her own creativity and she began producing her own fine art at an increased pace. Under her leadership, this small group of eleven artists had created a wonderful body of food-based work and has had various showings in the Salem area. They have had two successful fundraisers and donate a part of whatever proceeds they make to help feed the hungry. Recipients of their generosity have been the Meals on Wheels People, and the Marion County Food Share Program. Featuring Willamette Valley artists from Milwaukie, OR to the north, and Albany, OR to the south, they meet monthly to plan new ways of getting their message out to the public. Their debut show in 2018 was at the Elsinore Fine Art and Framing Gallery in downtown Salem, and again in 2019. Their exhibits expanded to include such diverse venues as the Oregon’s State Capital in Salem; Kings Farm to Table Farm Store in Wilsonville, Salem Health’s Cancer Institute Survivor Showcase in the Salem Hospital’s building C, The Lunaria Gallery in Silverton, Oregon, The Oregon State Fair, the Civic Center in the City of Keizer, Oregon, The Art Department Supply Store, and LifeSource Natural Food Grocery store. Their final exhibit was at the Philomath Museum/Benton County Historical Society in 2023.
From Eric Wuest:
- I have fond memories of Artists in Action from the very beginning and through the years since. Members or supporters like Kathy Dinges, Jim Richards, John Mohney, Judith Baer, Dayna Collins, Karin Holton, and of course yourself are all in my thoughts. I wish I could remember the names of more of the folks along the way, especially the volunteers who participated in lesser or short-term roles. What a talented and inspiring group of people were brought together through Artists in Action.
I particularly enjoy recalling the many Paint the Town activities and how I made many new friends through them. My late neighbors, David and Coralie Rhoten, were delighted to host Paint the Town several times in their extensive “Kingwood Garden”.
Other locations—Bush House/Park, Deepwood, the Willamette campus, and downtown sites– encouraged public interaction. By painting in these visible, shared spaces, we helped demystify the artistic process for the many folks who stopped to observe and to interact with the artists. It was particularly gratifying to see young people intrigued by what we were doing.
Elsinore Framing & Gallery deserves a special shout-out for being so supportive of the group through the years.
Please give my very best to our old friends and on my behalf wish them good luck in their current and future activities. Thank you again for thinking of me, Diane.
- Studio Tours. That event was also a great boost to the arts community and went a long way to helping people have a little better understanding of where and how the participating artists make their work. It was an interesting experience to have the general public coming through my studio and commenting on finished work, and works in progress. I don’t know that the comments made any difference in how the paintings came out, but it was reassuring when there was agreement about some particular painting or portion of a work in progress. It was a wonderful showcase for all of us (a lot of work, but also very satisfying for both the viewing public and the artists that opened their doors that year. The fact that so many people took the time and trouble to drive around all over town to visit artists homes and studios was very supportive of a profession where people generally spend long hours in a room alone with a painting or drawing that doesn’t really give you any feedback (beyond what it is)
- What a pleasure it was to see how and where other artists worked, and it was fun to open up my modest workspace to guests. I recall that many visitors were not necessarily artists themselves but were curious about the process of making art. Again, as in Paint the Town, many of the folks I met in my studio were young people whose comments and questions were very interesting and rewarding.
- Something else that I am proud of and derived great enjoyment from is “Talking About Art” on KMUZ community radio, which I originated and hosted weekly for several years in the mid-2010’s. It was a half-hour program featuring conversations with artists and other community members in the Mid-Willamette Valley. During its run I had the chance to meet and visit many artists in their studios to record on-site interviews for broadcast.