Betty LaDuke and Christian Burchard are both Ashland artists that have established international recognition for their accomplished careers in contemporary fine art in America. Christian Burchard skillfully manipulates green wood while allowing it to change organically in the drying process. The result is beautiful interaction of the nature of material and the intimate knowledge he's gained through experimentation. Betty LaDuke will be launching her new book, Bountiful Harvest: From Land to Table, featuring stories from Southern Oregon's growers and farmworkers along with her painted murals. Her large sculptural paintings and giclee prints will be featured and Betty will be available for book signing during the artists' reception during the First Friday Artwalk on February 5th from 5-8 pm.

Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1955, Christian has been living in the United States since 1978. Starting out as a furniture makers apprenticeship in Germany in the middle seventies, he studied sculpture and drawing at the Museum School in Boston then at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver BC.

In 1982 he opened a studio in Southern Oregon. His early focus was on furniture and interiors, but gradually shifted to woodturning and sculpture, moving between vessel oriented forms and sculptural turning. His work has been included in most of the major turning related exhibits of the last twenty something years and is exhibited widely throughout the US. His pieces are part of many public and private collections. His current work includes wall sculptures and freestanding sculptural objects. He is also sought after as a teacher and demonstrator at craft schools and conferences and related turning events. He currently resides with his wife at the outskirts of Ashland, Oregon.

In 2010 painter Betty LaDuke was invited to spend time with the men and women who harvest the orchards, vineyards, and farms in southern Oregon. Betty took to the field with her sketch pads and captured the spirit of each worker in her brilliant and vibrant wood painted panels . She also listened to their stories and the stories of small, organic farmers. Bountiful Harvest brings together the stories and paintings from the vibrant local food movement taking place in southern Oregon.*(White Cloud Press)

LaDuke, who has been painting since 1950, received a scholarship in 1953 to attend the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. While in Mexico she met muralists Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros whose work depicting laborers continues to influence her.