Brian Freeman has been drawing for as long as he can remember (continually getting in trouble
in elementary school for doodling instead of the assignments). Brian was able to spend his high school years under the tutalege of an excellent
art teacher. Two years of college at Foothill Community College was all Brian
needed to hone the skills necessary to become a producing artist. Landing in
Ashland was fate. His VW van broke down here on his way to see a friend in
Seattle and he was forced to spend the night. On the return trip to the Bay Area his VW van broke down a second time and he
decided to stay.
If you haven’t happened upon his art around town you may have heard his music. At night the art studio becomes a music studio and there Brian has recorded five
CDs to accompany his two LPS and a cassette recording. Born with five fingers
on his right hand Brian performs a unique flat picking style on guitar and
mandolin. He writes original songs as well as performs Celtic (mainly Scottish)
music. His music website is www.brianfreemanffm.com.
Although a big city or ocean town could have called Brian or Cathy they believe
Ashland is where they should be. They always take time to talk to their clients
to get a solid understanding of what the client is looking for. Brian has lived
in Ashland since the 1970s and has a good grasp on what kind of graphics work
best in this town.
Cathy Sherman Freeman hails from Southern California. She grew up one block from the Walt Disney
Studios where her father was head of publications, and public relations in the
1960s.
Her childhood was surrounded by Disney animation and Disney comic books that her
father wrote and edited. She went to Colorado College for two years and then
returned to her ocean to finish college
at the University of California at San Diego as a theatre design major. Her first job after college
was working for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as a lighting technician. She
met Brian at a mandatory crew party at Robert Peterson’s house and all thoughts of returning to the ocean dissolved. Knowing her grandmother wouldn’t allow her to marry a musician without a 9 to 5 job she came
up with the idea for Crystal Castle Graphics. Together for over 30 years Brian and Cathy have been sharing the same four walls
and the responsibilities of being graphic artists.
Cathy wrote a memoir titled: “A Disney Childhood: Comic Books to Sailing Ships” released in March 2012 by BearManorMedia.com It has gotten wonderful reviews from old Disney Historians including Dave Smith,
Disney Archivist, who is putting it in the Disney Archives as part of the
studio’s history. www.ADisneyChildhood.com
