Remembering Russell

There’s never an easy way to communicate when we lose a community member. I share with a very heavy heart that Russell Copenharve passed away on July 12th from a brief but difficult battle with pancreatic cancer.

You may remember Russell as the first person you met at Art of Life’s North Shore studio. He was an incredible ambassador of our work. He made people feel welcome and excited as he led many tours with new community members. As a close friend, Nikki said, “Russell had a free spirit and wanted everyone to feel happy and love life as he did.”  

Russell took every chance to tell the world about Arts of Life and the studio’s importance to him. As we process this unbelievable loss, I’m reminded of how important Russell was to Arts of Life.  He has been vital to the success and development of the North Shore studio since joining in 2012. Coming from a creative background, Russell quickly became a leader in our community. He had his hands in everything AofL: teaching studio demos and art classes at Oakton, advocating for and leading the safety committee, being a founding member of the North Shore band Van Go Go, and consistently modeling our collective decision-making process by being an active participant in various committee work. Russell was keen to support AofL’s fundraising efforts and often represented the studio to the larger community at art festivals and presentations. Two years after joining Arts of Life in 2014, Russell received the coveted Artist of the Year award, highlighting his commitment to his creative practice, fellow artists, and the larger AofL community.  Although Russell retired from Arts of Life in 2021, his legacy continues through the lessons we learned from him – the best being “Art is special. It makes me happy”.

Please join the North Shore Studio in celebrating the life of our friend Russell Copenharve on Friday, Aug 11th, from 4-6 pm. We will have some of Russell’s favorite foods, plenty of music, and an open mic for anyone who wants to share reflections on his contributions to our community. We hope to see you there. 

To learn more about Russell and see his amazing work, please visit his artist page on our website.

– Denise Fisher, Executive Director