View miniature art, win miniature car

From a press release:

The National Museum of Wildlife Art is raffling a 2009 MINI Cooper, valued at $20,000, at a price of $25 for a single ticket, or five for $100. Proceeds from the raffle will go toward supporting museum programs. Appropriately, the winner of the mini-vehicle will be drawn and announced on Friday, September 18, 2009 during the Western Visions and Miniatures Show. Ticket holders need not be present to win.

“We learned of other museums doing similar promotions to raise money for programming,” says Zeenie Scholz, Director of Marketing for the National Museum of Wildlife Art. “We thought it would be a fun way to involve the community in a fundraiser for the museum – and tying the MINI to our popular annual miniatures show was too good to pass up.”

Information about the raffle can be found on the museum’s website, www.wildlifeart.org. Tickets may be purchased at the museum or by telephone, contact Jennifer Lee at 307-732-5412.

A member of Museums West and accredited by the American Association of Museums, the National Museum of Wildlife Art offers an exciting calendar of exhibitions from its permanent collection and changing exhibitions from around the globe and has been featured in media including the L.A. Times and The New York Times. A complete schedule of exhibitions and events is available online at www.wildlifeart.org.

Media Contacts: Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, 307.734.5335, darla@wordenpr.com; Zeenie Scholz, National Museum of Wildlife Art, 307.732.5437, zscholz@wildlifeart.org

First Person Arts deadline extended

Molesworth exhibit at Wyoming State Museum

An exhibit of rustic Thomas Molesworth furniture is on display at the Wyoming State Museum through October 24.

The exhibit, titled, “Molesworth: Selections from the Permanent Collection,” features 28 pieces of 1930s era furniture designed by Thomas Canada Molesworth. The pieces in the exhibit are from the historic Ranch A located near Beulah in northeastern Wyoming. Three of the pieces were commissioned by former Governor Milward Simpson for his study in the Historic Governors’ Mansion.

Molesworth owned and operated the Shoshone Furniture Company from 1931 to 1961 in Cody.

In 1933, Pennsylvania publishing magnate Moses Annenberg commissioned him to furnish his large retreat Ranch A near Beulah.

Over the span of thirty years, Molesworth created hundreds, perhaps even thousands of pieces of rustic western furniture for local ranches, eastern plantations and hotels throughout Wyoming and Montana, including the TE Ranch, Eisenhower's den and the Rockefeller Ranch.

It is said that Molesworth single-handedly popularized “cowboy furniture,” or the Western style of furniture design. Molesworth’s style combines simplicity and comfort with humor and romance. He was always aware of the entire room and became well known for creating “roomscapes” full of Western and Indian motifs.

The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne.

FMI: 307-777-7022.

Gary Ladd: 40 years exploring Grand Canyon

From a Teton County Public Library press release:

Teton County Public Library hosts large-format photographer Gary Ladd for a slideshow talk "Forty Years of Exploring and Photographing the Grand Canyon" on Thursday, July 9 at 7 p.m. in the library's Ordway Auditorium in Jackson. The program is free and open to the community with support from donations, large and small, to the Teton County Library Foundation.

Ladd specializes in photographing the wilderness interior of the Grand Canyon, the pristine sandstone landscapes surrounding Lake Powell, and the slick rock terrains of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. His photos are included in the library's current exhibition "Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography" from the Smithsonian's traveling program. The
exhibition is on view at the library through Thursday, July 16.

National magazines such as "Life," "Newsweek," "National Geographic Adventure" and many more have published and showcased Ladd's photographs. Ladd has contributed to numerous book projects including "Grand Canyon, Time Below the Rim," "Canyon Light," and "Along the Rim," winning awards for several of the publications.

His most recent book project, "Grand Canyon, Views Beyond the Beauty," was published in July 2008 by Grand Canyon Association. He is currently at work on a self-published booklet guide to Grand Canyon geology (available in the summer of 2009) and a new Lake Powell book with Arizona Highways (scheduled for release in the spring of 2010).

Ladd has lived in Page, Arizona, along the Colorado River (just upstream from Grand Canyon, just downstream from Lake Powell) for 28 years. He is a Museum of Northern Arizona Ventures trip leader, former Sierra Club wilderness backpack trip leader, Arizona Highways photo workshop instructor,Grand Circle Field School and Grand Canyon Field Institute instructor and
Elderhostel geology/photography instructor.

You can view one of Ladd's photos from the Smithsonian's "Lasting Light" exhibition at http://tiny.cc/TYpJ7.

FMI: Education and Program Manager Dimmie Zeigler, 733-2164 ext. 229. Visit the library online at www.TCLib.org.

Sam Western's new book gets kudos in Rattle

Sam Western's new book received a favorable review in Rattle magazine online.

"A Random Census of Souls" is a collection of prose poems by the Sheridan author and a 2000 Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship winner. It's published by Daniel & Daniel Publishers, P.O. Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519. ISBN 978-156474-478-42009, $14. FMI: http://www.danielpublishing.com/bro/western.html

Sam's in fine company on the mag's June review pages. Other featured authors are David Ray, the late Agha Shahid Ali, Allison Hedge Coke and the late Larry Levis.

Read the entire review at
http://www.rattle.com/blog/2009/06/a-random-census-of-souls-by-samuel-western

Here's a sample:

These poems have much to teach us about a life fast disappearing, with their images of baling contractors and spring plowing and planting. In “Feeding the Bears,” lines about planting and composting give way to lines about development: “Any ground good for growing pumpkins is good for growing houses.” A sense of loss is never far away. Several of these poems plant themselves firmly in the past, with specific years as part of their titles (“Garrison Project, North Dakota, 1951,” “Hot Springs, 1955,” and “Inland Nova Scotia, August 1905”).

I particularly love the poems that make me think about something in a way I hadn’t thought about it before. “The Confessions of Quarries” reminds us of how much deep water can hide. “Easter Noir” has intriguing ideas of redemption and spring. “Act of Faith” uses meteorological images to describe a child’s tantrum. “Drinking Townsend’s Solitaire” presents a story of a creek which hears all of the forest’s songs, the creek as “hymnal of the woods,” on its journey to the sea, a journey disrupted by development.

Call for entries: CARVE anthology

Call for entries from Poets & Writers magazine:

CARVE: An Anthology of Ski and Snowboard poems, stories, and essays, is open for submissions. Reprints okay as long as the author retains the rights. Deadline: January 5. Please send work (as an MS Word attachment), along with a short bio, to Suzanne Roberts at carveanthology@live.com.

Mboligikpelani stars in "The Last Five Years"

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming's Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival continues July 7-11 with "The Last Five Years," which chronicles the bittersweet love story of Jamie and Cathy.

Directed by UW Professor Leigh Selting, "The Last Five Years" will run nightly at 7:30 in the Fine Arts Center studio theatre in Laramie. Tickets cost $10 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students. For tickets and information, call (307) 766-6666 or go to the Web site at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

"The Last Five Years" stars recent UW Department of Theatre and Dance graduates Chris Will and Claudine Mboligikpelani. Will plays the role of Jamie, an ambitious young writer, and Mboligikpelani plays Cathy, an aspiring actress. The two characters fall in love and get married before their relationship falls apart over the next five years.

"I'm pleased to be able to present a musical this summer, especially one with this sort of innovative structure," Selting says. "What really attracted me to the show was the idea that we see two people moving through time from different starting points. It allows audiences to know both the end and the beginning of the story. What drives the piece is the journey of these two people as they fall into and out of love."

The festival, established in 2005 as an outgrowth of UW's longstanding summer theatre program and its annual dance festival, continues throughout the summer with one additional play and three dance concerts.

Photo: Claudine Mboligikpelani plays Cathy, an aspiring actress, in "The Last Five Years."

Karol Griffin talks about tattoos as art form

On Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m., author ("Skin Deep") and tattoo artist Karol Griffin will lead a discussion on the history of tattoo as an art form, featuring examples from various local artists. In the Cottonwood Room of the Laramie County Public Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave., Cheyenne. Free and open to the public.

Karol is a 2000 recipient of a Wyoming Arts Council Frank Nelson Doubleday memorial writing award.

FMI: 307.634.3561 or trumpf@lclsonline.org

"Richard II" on tour across Wyoming

The Wyoming Shakespeare Company presents "The Life and Death of King Richard II" at the following venues around the state this summer:

July 1 Lander City Park 6:00 pm

July 3 Pinedale American Legion Park 6:00 pm

July 8 Lander City Park 6:00 pm

July 11 Cheyenne Botanic Garden 4:30 pm

July 15 Lander City Park 6:00 pm

July 17 Rock Springs Bunning Park 6:00 pm

July 18 Green River Stratton Meyers Park 6:00 pm

July 21 Riverton Honor Farm 6:00 pm

July 23 Gillette College 6:00 pm

July 24 Casper Nicolaysen Museum 7:00 pm

July 29 Lander City Park 6:00 pm

July 30 Dubois Dennison Museum 6:00 pm

UW Art Museum offers free classes for children

Paint Pony Express allows students to discover the world of art

Three weeks of free activities for students between the ages of 4 and 11 will be offered at the University of Wyoming Art Museum this July through the Paint Pony Express program. Paint Pony Express takes place Tuesday through Thursday, July 7-23. Children ages 4-5 meet Tuesdays, ages 6-8 meet Wednesdays, and classes on Thursdays are for ages 9-11.

Students will explore original art work from the Peter W. Doss Crow Indian Collection with Penny Isaac, daughter and tribal member, July 7, 8 and 9. They will meet artist-rancher Tracy Linder the week of July 14, 15 and 16 and investigate her sculpture, Tractor Hides, which are molded from the treads of tractor tires. July 22, 23 and 24 students will consider the work of weaver Lia Cook, who transforms childhood images into large-scale weavings.

Under the guidance of the Art Museum ’s teachers, students will then create their own work using writing, movement or performance and visual art/sculptural methods to convey their own artistic response and vision. Parents are asked to stay with children under the age of six. For additional information call the UW Art Museum at (307) 766-6622 or visit http://www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum

"Imagine learning from the masters" is a guiding principle of the UW Art Museum’s programs. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Dr. in Laramie. The museum and Museum Store are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Cultural Trust Fund grants announced

Press release from Renee Bovee at the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund:

As many as 34 Wyoming cultural and heritage projects and sponsoring organizations will benefit from more than $512,000 in grant awards from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund (WCTF).

The grant awards, approved by the five-member Cultural Trust Fund board at a recent meeting in Cheyenne, came from 58 total applications representing 23 communities in 16 counties. The requests totaled more than $1.3 million, with requests capped at a maximum of $50,000.

These requests were for a variety of projects including historic preservation, construction of new cultural facilities, outreach programming, arts education programs, cultural celebrations, staff and infrastructure development, and endowment campaigns.

In 1988, the Wyoming Legislature, recognizing that Wyoming and its people possess a unique cultural heritage, created the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund Act. The mission of the WCTF board is to serve the citizens of Wyoming by supporting the state’s cultural heritage through grant funding of innovative projects for the enjoyment, appreciation, promotion, preservation and protection of the arts and cultural historic resources.

For more information about the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, please contact Renee Bovee, administrator, at 307-777-6312.

This round grant awards were presented to:
CallAir Foundation, Afton, CallAir A-9 Flying Model Exhibit, $5,000
Casper College, Casper, A Trilogy of Music/Theatre Productions, $15,000
Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps, Casper, Development Infrastructure Plan, $10,000
Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Artecoop: Elements of Power – The Aesthetics of the New Energy Economy Exhibit, $30,000
ARTCORE, Inc., Casper, Outreach Programming, $20,000
Wyoming State Archives, Cheyenne, Wyoming Oral History Project, $5,000
Cheyenne Arts Council, Cheyenne, Building Capacity: Promotion and Collaboration Project, 17,760
Discover Cheyenne, Cheyenne, 2009 Mountain-Plains Museum Association Conference, $10,000
The Wyoming Center for the Book, Cheyenne, Wyoming Book Festival, $5,000
Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, Cheyenne, Expansion Plan, $10,000
Cheyenne Depot Museum/SEWIPA, Cheyenne, American Indian Heritage Day, $11,500
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Endowment Campaign for the Academy of Popular Arts, $25,000
Young Musicians, Evanston, Website Development and Equipment Purchase, $7,000
Sweetwater County Historical Museum, Green River, “The Letters of a Woman Homesteader” Radio Production, $11,225
Green River Historic Preservation Commission, Green River, Data Recovery Associated with Green River Expansion Project, $5,000
Off-Square Theatre Company, Jackson, “Petticoat Rules” Musical Production/Touring, $15,000
Dancers’ Workshop, Jackson, Outreach Program and CDW Tour, $15,000
Art Association of Jackson, Jackson, Outreach Programs, $20,000
Jackson Hole Writers’ Conference, Jackson, Development Director, $12,000
Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, Jackson, Collections Conservation
Equipment and Training, $6,454
pARTners, Jackson, Integrated Arts Curriculum, $20,000
Vista 360 Degrees, Jackson, Traditional Craft of Western Wyoming: A Cultural Conservation Project, $21,250
City of Kemmerer (South Lincoln Training and Event Center), Kemmerer, Endowment Campaign, $30,000
Wind River Development Fund, Lander, Native Emerging Artists Training and Exhibition, $10,000
Lander Art Center, Lander, Infrastructure Building Plan, $14,781
Laramie Railroad Depot Association, Laramie, Laramie Railroad Depot Re-Roof Project, $10,000
Laramie Railroad Depot Association, Laramie, Railroad Heritage Park, Phase 1, $13,300
Ark Industries and Rehabilitation Center Memorial Foundation, Laramie, Endowment Campaign for the Creative Arts Center, $25,000
Meeteetse Museum District, Meeteetse, Preservation and Restoration of the Historic Bank Building, $25,000
The Bauen Camp, Parkman, Tongue River Valley Arts Collaboration Project, $10,000
Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation, Powell, Interpretive Learning Center Exhibit Planning and Design, $25,000
Carbon County Museum Foundation, Rawlins, Oral History Project and Professional Development, $6,743
The WYO Theater, Inc., Sheridan, Phase I: Access to New Space, $20,000
Washakie Museum and Cultural Center, Worland, Exhibition Equipment and Fixtures, $25,000

New exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Fort Collins

Breath & Language, an exhibit featuring Jennie Kiessling Michler and Camellia El-Antably, opens July 3 from 6-9 in Fort Collins at Valhall Arts, http://www.valhallarts.com/, on the Plaza Level of the Fort Collins MOCA (enter from the door on the northwest corner of the building). It features new artwork by both artists along with two collaborative pieces which were done on the walls of the gallery. Artist Camellia El-Antably says, "I am delighted to share my new work, and the
new connections Jennie and I are finding every time we work together between our work. "

Photographer and owner of Valhall Arts Laura Brent, was able to document the collaborative process as it developed. She has a video of it on the Valhall Arts website,
http://www.valhallarts.com/, and it is also on YouTube.

United We Serve -- the arts

This announcement comes from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, or NASAA. The Wyoming Arts Council is a NASAA member:

United We Serve is a nationwide service initiative that kicks off on June 22, 2009. Led by the White House and coordinated by the Corporation for National and Community Service, United We Serve asks organizations across America to engage new volunteers in their work and encourages individuals to volunteer and develop community service projects with friends, family, and neighbors.

After an initial 81 days – June 22 to September 11 – the president hopes that the initiative will grow into a sustained, collaborative effort to promote service as a way of life for all Americans. More information about the initiative is available at http://www.Serve.gov.

By participating in United We Serve, artists and arts organizations can demonstrate the unique and vital contributions the arts make to every aspect of community life. Volunteer efforts may be centered on cultural activities or on those relating to one of United We Serve’s areas of focus: education; health; energy and the environment; and community renewal. In addition to the inherent benefits of volunteerism, either by engaging volunteers or serving as volunteers, artists and arts organizations can strengthen their community ties and make the arts more visible in local recovery efforts.

How to Participate:

• Post a call for volunteers. Invite members of the community to get involved with your organization and its programs. Go to Serve.gov and register your organization and your project(s) in the All for Good database, a national hub of volunteer opportunity listings. Record numbers of volunteers are expected to seek service opportunities this summer, so be sure to capitalize on this momentum.
• Become a volunteer. Contribute your time to a volunteer project taking place in your community – and identify yourself as an artist when you do! Search Serve.gov and All for Good for nearby opportunities.
• Create your own project. Consult the on-line toolkit for tips on how to design local service efforts that make a difference. The best practices profiled there can maximize the impact of any community arts or cultural engagement initiative.
• Share your story. Make the arts a visible part of America’s service movement by sharing your story on-line. Describe how you have engaged volunteers for arts projects and how those projects have transformed lives, galvanized community action or assisted populations in need. Include pictures for maximum appeal. A wealth of stories is being posted on the White House Delivering Change map.
• Promote your participation. A sample press release is available to help you get started.

Additional materials about United We Serve are available on-line, including a video announcement by President Obama, answers to Frequently Asked Questions and a Media Advisory Guide. National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 1029 Vermont Avenue NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, 202-347-6352, http://www.nasaa-arts.org/

New exhibits at UW Art Museum

Lia Cook (American, b. 1942), Face Maze: Tera, 2007, cotton, woven on Jacquard hand loom, doublecloth, 46 x 52 in, lent by the artist. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Ralston Crawford (American, 1906 - 1978), First Ave #1, 1st State, 1954, lithograph, ed. #8/20, 15 x 22 in, Patricia R. Guthrie Special Exhibitions Gallery Endowment Purchase, University of Wyoming Art Museum Collection, 2008.16.2

The University of Wyoming Art Museum opened two new exhibitions at the end of May. Curated for the University of Wyoming Art Museum by independent textile curator Alice Zrebiec, Lia Cook: The Embedded Portrait presents twenty larger-than-life woven portraits that illustrate the artist's exploration of the visual and physical realm where photographic likeness and textured textile meet. Whether in color or black and white, realistic or blurred, the gestures, glances and attitudes of children are imbued with additional presence in hangings of monumental scale and patterned structure.

"We are delighted to present an exhibition of nearly all of the ‘Big Baby’ portraits by Lia Cook; works that reach 16-ft in height," says museum director Susan Moldenhauer. "Cook is an inventor of new weaving constructs that incorporate photographic imagery with digital loom technology."

Ralston Crawford: Lithographs and Photographs features 20th century American artist, Ralston Crawford, who created images of the American industrial landscape. Working in a Precisionist style, his imagery is characterized by flat, geometric planes illuminated by shafts of light and shadow. Crawford worked in a variety of media, including painting , photography, lithography, drawing, and film. "Ralston Crawford: Lithographs and Photographs presents Crawford’s work from the 1950s," explains Moldenhauer. "He worked with master lithographers in Paris to create exuberant images inspired by his favorite city of New Orleans and to experiment with printmaking techniques. His photographs of junk cars and street scenes reinforce the keen eye, intellect, and heart Crawford brought to his compositions."

For additional information on the exhibitions, call the UW Art Museum at (307) 766-6622 or visit www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or the museum’s blog, http://www.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com/.

"Imagine learning from the masters" is a guiding principle of the UW Art Museum’s programs. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Dr. in Laramie. The museum and Museum Store are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

July 4th at Music in the Hole

Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 4th, concertgoers can stake a claim for their favorite spot on Alpine Field, when the Jackson Hole Shootout Gang signals "Land Rush." Armed with stakes, rope and lawn chairs, concertgoers stake out their favorite spot for the afternoon's entertainment which begins at 3 p.m.

Mark "Fish" Fishman returns as MC introducing first-up Jackson Hole Community Band, followed by Thirsty, a local school rock band, then Petticoat Rules, an original production of Off Square Theatre, written by Pam Drews Phillips and Mary Murffit, then the Latin jazz grooves of Brasiliana with Keith Phillips and friends, and last, the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra featuring the return of soprano Christine Brewer with guest conductor Thomas Wilkins.

There will be a host of food concessionaires, a food drive to benefit the local food cupboard, and for the family, the Community Foundation of Jackson's Old Bill's Fun Run Kick-Off

1st Annual Lander Riverfest

The Lander Art Center and Art in the Afternoon have joined forces to bring you the 1st Annual Lander Riverfest.

This event is scheduled for July 26, 2009 at City Park in Lander, Wyoming, starting at 10 a.m. and finishing at 10 p.m. Lander Riverfest will offer a full day of live music, local food and spirits as well as 50 booths for artists to show and sell their art to the community. They are ooking for unique and creative arts/wares for this show. To enter the show, please send pictures and a cover letter summarizing your art for review to:
landerartcenter@bresnan.net. All work submitted must be made and sold by entering artist.
Booth spaces are 10X10 and rent at $40 each (a maximum of two units per artist). Entrants provide their own tables and displays (tents are available at Lander Chamber of Commerce/Baldwin Creek Rentals).
Make payments to:
Lander Art Center
224 Main Street
Lander, WY 82520

Fees are due by 11 July, 2009. Cancellations after 18 July, 2009 will not be refunded. Don't miss the opportunity to participate in this exciting, new event. And, if you haven't already, join the vibrant Lander arts community by becoming a member of the Lander Art Center.
Much thanks,

Lennie Poitras
Director, Lander Art Center
and
Terri Miller
Dashboard Hulas, Art-in-the Afternon

FMI call (307)332-5772
landerartcenter@bresnan.net

Ovation TV for the arts community

From Board Chair Bruce Richardson:

Hi All,
All of you interested in the arts may know of Ovation TV. It uses a lot of user-generated content, has discussions of arts and tries to connect people active in the arts. If like what you see at their website you might let others know about this channel and encourage your local cable provider to add it.
Best,
Bruce Richardson

http://www.ovationtv.com/community/Home/

Celebrate the 4th at Ucross

Celebrate Independence Day at Big Red -- UCross Foundation's 28th annual fireworks extravaganza on Saturday, July 4th. The gates open at 5 p.m. and fireworks start at dusk. There will be games for kids of all ages. An exhibit, The Full Terrain, will feature paintings by Karen Kitchel of Los Angeles and Don Stinson of Denver. Meet the artists from 5 to 8 p.m. Tracy Silverman will play 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. $2 per car. For more information (FMI) call (307) 737- 2291 or go to http://www.ucrossfoundation.org/

The gallery is located at 30 Big Red Lane, in Ucross, Wyoming, 1/2 mile east of the intersection of highways 14 and 16.

Leading up to the 4th celebration, a public conversation about contemporary art of the West will be held at the historic Sheridan Inn on Monday, June 29, at 7:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Ucross Foundation, the event will feature Kitchel and Stinson. The talk coincides with the exhibit The Full Terrain: Karen Kitchel and Don Stinson, which opens at the Ucross Foundation Art Gallery on July 1. Kitchel and Stinson have both been artists-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation and their work is included in many museums across the country, including the Denver Art Museum. The moderator for the conversation will be Mindy Besaw, curator of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The event is open to the public at no charge.

Besaw, who wrote the essay for the Ucross exhibition, The Full Terrain: Paintings by Karen Kitchel and Don Stinson, says of their work: "Through beautifully rendered paintings, they address issues, raise questions, and make statements about contemporary life….Kitchel and Stinson answer my plea for meaningful and beautiful paintings. Each artist is engaged in a constant dialogue with the past….The artists play off tradition to address change."

Edre Maier, Executive Director of the Sheridan Heritage Center, notes, "We hope this is just the first of many public events at the Sheridan Inn to be hosted by the Ucross Foundation, inspired by artists connected to Ucross."

Sharon Dynak, Ucross Foundation President, states, "We are excited to bring these fine artists to Sheridan to talk with the community about contemporary art and life in the West. The historic Sheridan Inn is the perfect venue for a discussion of this nature, and we are especially delighted that Mindy Besaw will travel from Cody to lead the conversation, after opening the new Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the BBHC."

The Full Terrain: Paintings by Karen Kitchel and Don Stinson will be on view at the Ucross Foundation Art Gallery from July through September. Both artists will also be at Ucross on July 4th from 5 – 8 p.m. during the Ucross Foundation's 28th Annual Independence Day Celebration. The exhibition was made possible in part by Ucross Foundation supporters Jim and Judy Bauman, Mark and Jennie Gordon, Mike and Francesca Hammer, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Chip and Barbara Lawrence, Christy Love, Gordon McConnell and Betty Loos, as well as by the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art. Regular gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., with special hours available upon advance request.

About Karen Kitchel:
Karen Kitchel's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S., and is in many private and corporate collections, including the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Pomona College Art Museum, the U.S. State Department, the Children's Hospital in Denver, and the New York City headquarters of Pfizer, Inc. In 2009 her paintings will be on view at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada, and the Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles, California. Kitchel graduated from Kalamazoo College, and received an MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 1982. After several years of living and painting in the Rocky Mountain towns of Billings, Montana, and Denver, Colorado, she has returned to southern California, where she is a full-time artist, working in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the northern edge of Los Angeles.

About Don Stinson:
Don Stinson received his BFA from Colorado State University and his MFA from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He has been a recipient of a Colorado Council on the Arts Director's Grant and his work is in the collections of the Denver Art Museum and the Art in the Embassies Program in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has been featured extensively in group and solo exhibitions in Colorado and Texas with prominent showings at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming, and Artist Space, New York. He lives and works in Evergreen, Colorado.

National Musuem of Wildlife offers night of discussions

National Museum of Wildlife Art patrons have the opportunity to hear not one but two experts discussing the museum's summer offerings at a special Summer Exhibitions Reception on July 9. Martin "Bubba" Wood, publisher and owner of Dallas art gallery Collectors Covey, will talk about wildlife art collectors Curtice and Bob McCloy, and children's literature expert Philip Nel will lecture on the work of author/illustrator Dr. Seuss.

The Summer Exhibition Reception will take place at the National Museum of Wildlife Art on July 9. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with lectures to begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free for members or with museum admission.

The McCloy family holds one of the most significant collections of contemporary wildlife art in the nation, including multiple paintings by Robert Kuhn, Ken Carlson and Tucker Smith. Wood will offer insight on the collection, subject of the just-released book Patrons Without Peer - The McCloy Collection. To coincide with the book's publication, 31 pieces from the collection are on display at the museum through September 11 in "Patrons Without Peer: Selections from the McCloy Collection," offering a rare chance to view masterworks never before publicly exhibited together.

Original artwork created for The Lorax, Dr. Seuss's cautionary tale of greed and consumerism wreaking environmental devastation, is on display at the museum through September 7 in "The Lorax: Original Illustrations by Dr. Seuss." Dr. Nel, Professor of English and Director of the Program in Children's Literature at Kansas State University and author of two books about Seuss, will speak to Seuss's political message in " 'A Person's a Person:' The Politics of Dr. Seuss."

A complete schedule of exhibitions and events are available online at http://www.wildlifeart.org/

(editor's note: Tucker Smith was a Governor's Arts Award winner for 2007)

NEA announces Big Read grants

Yesterday the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced that it would grant $3,742,765 to 269 organizations nationwide to fund Big Read programming from September 2009 to June 2010. Libraries, colleges, municipalities, and arts and sciences organizations from forty-four states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will each receive grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000.

Organizations are given the funds to establish readings, discussions, and other forums for their respective communities to celebrate one of thirty novels selected by the NEA for the Big Read. Some of the recent grantees have elected to read titles such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, while others have chosen to focus on several works by specific writers such as Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Dickinson. In addition to grant money, the Big Read will provide each community with reader’s guides, teacher’s guides, and an audio recording of an established author or other public figure reading the selected work.

This fall, the NEA will also debut on the Big Read web site four short films about authors of titles selected for the program. Video profiles of Rudolfo Anaya, Ernest J. Gaines, Cynthia Ozick, and Tobias Wolff will "offer intimate portraits of each author, including their writing philosophies, work spaces, and favorite books," according to an NEA press release.

Several Wyoming organizations have received Big Read grants in past years. None are listed in this round. For complete list, go to http://www.arts.gov/national/bigread/press/bigread2010list.php?sortby=state

Bronze class fires creativity

Kayaking guy and mermaid by Diane Maclean, Pinedale High School

Just back from the bronze class in Green River and excited to have learned yet another new fine art technique. Shane Steiss runs the program at Green River High School and his art room is wonderfully equipped. Some exceptional art coming from this program (see Artscapes, Spring 09 issue, "Wyoming High School Art Symposium"; a photo of his student Teri Walsh's Theo).

Bottom image: Saucy Red Riding Hood wearing the big bad wolf''s tail, Shari Kumer, Independence High School, Rock Springs

I brought home my bronze panda. Haven't named him/her yet, but figure there are enough pandas in captivity with names, so I'm happy to just let him sit on my shelf for now.

This is an industrial process -- modeling a figure from beeswax, casting it in plaster, melting the bronze to liquid form and getting it into the mold. Shane uses a centrifugal process (many jewelry makers use this small process). The piece fits into an iron "pipe" about 4"-5" in diameter and about 7 inches long; the model has to be fastened to the rubber "lid" with clay and toothpicks. This is fastened on and then the plaster is poured in. The tube has to be tapped fast all around with a hammer until the plaster sets up, (although Berta suggested that Shane get something that vibrated to hold against the tube) to release the air bubbles that will cling to the beeswax model. The plaster has to set up overnight and then put in the oven for several hours, melting the wax and heating the mold (pouring the hot bronze into a cold mold would result in a geyser effect with the molten bronze). My little bear is only 3" high and weighs about 8 lbs. The pipe comes out of the centrifuge and is put in the water bath. The plaster breaks down in the water and there's the piece! A few sessions with the sand blaster and the small hand grinder (sounded like the dentist's drill) getting off all the bubbles that didn't rise, and it's ready for patina. Lot's of finishes to choose from.

Shane has been teaching at Green River four years. Shane is also a painter and mixed media artist -- one of his pieces was chosen for the Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition show this year. He conducts open studio evenings at the high school throughout the school year, which take place after school hours. Art teachers who took the class could earn PTSB credit.

Whitney on the eve of grand re-opening

Wyomingarts was strolling by the BBHC's Whitney Gallery of Western Art in Cody on Thursday evening and caught this view of the facility at sunset. These lots will be filled this weekend for gallery previews, pow wows, and the official public opening on Sunday.

Article on the plight of arts organizations

This Time magazine article addresses the major concerns of arts organizations, particularly large ones, with the drop in funding. It also includes information about an organization called Arts in Crisis which is offering help and advice to organizations struggling to stay afloat.

Planet JH: Arts orgs drawing more on local talent and community experiences

Wyomingarts is a fan of feisty local newspapers (print and online), especially those that cover the arts.

Matthew Irwin, writing in today's issue of Planet Jackson Hole, surveys the local arts scene and finds some intriguing trends:

Jackson Hole, Wyo. -- If you talk to local arts organizations about how they’re getting through the down economy, they’ll probably tell you that though the bad economy has caused them to roll back programming, it has provided some needed course correction.

Whereas the almighty tourist dollar continues to be a focus of marketing efforts, arts orgs have decided to draw more on local talent and provide more community-oriented experiences.

This redirection could represent a sea of change in the local arts scene, not only in the way organizations plan programming, but also in the willingness of residents to support the arts in an official capacity, say, through language in the Comprehensive Plan update.

Though this idea certainly has skeptics in Jackson Hole, the reported influx of volunteers, who also happen to be patrons or workshop students or event attendees, say otherwise.

WAC Manager Rita Basom was interviewed for the article, as were WAC roster artist Macey Mott (of Riot Act, Inc.) and a number of our grantees, such as the Art Association.

To read the entire article, go to http://www.planetjh.com/news/A_105133.aspx

Cheyenne native wins "Nashville Idol"

Sue Castaneda, Wyomingarts' very creative media-arts colleague in Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, sends news about her talented Marine son, Sean (pictured above). During his down-time, Sean plays guitar and sings. In March, he won the "Nashville Idol" competition. That's the U.S.S. Nashville, not the Nashville of C/W fame.

Here's a story about the event from the Marine Corps News via Military.com:

ABOARD USS NASHVILLE — Service members from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Army, along with various Africa Partnership Station (APS) Nashville international maritime professionals, filled the USS Nashville (LPD 13) mess decks for ‘Nashville Idol,’ a Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)-sponsored talent show.

The event gave the crew a chance to come together for some fun while showcasing their talents. A majority of participants sang or played an instrument, while others danced or performed comedy skits.

The first-place winner was Cpl. Sean Castaneda, advisor, Marine Advisor Team (MAT), with second and third place going to Machinist’s Mate Fireman Stephen C. Ball and Culinary Specialist Seaman Andre Smith, respectively.

These contestants may have been the top contenders, but they were just as nervous as everyone else to go up and perform in front of their comrades.

“It was really nerve wracking,” said Castaneda, a Cheyenne, Wyo., native. “I only had an hour to prepare and I had never played guitar and sang at the same time in front of a crowd.”

Many others overcame their fear as well and surprised the crowd with a variety of talents. According to Ball, the crowd was very encouraging and enthusiastic.

“I think the turnout and participation was good,” said Ball, a Rockville, Ind., native. “It was awesome. People were really getting into it, laughing, having a good time cheering and holding up signs. It made it a lot of fun to be in and to be around.”

“It was a great time,” said SSgt. Lenny Lindsay II, advisor, MAT, APS Nashville, and Nashville Idol judge. “I thought it was a good morale booster, and I think other ships should do it as well.”

Nashville is currently deployed in support of APS, an international initiative under the auspices of Naval Forces Africa which aims to work cooperatively with U. S., European and African partners to enhance maritime safety and security on the African continent.

Literary Connection returns Oct. 2-3

The Laramie County Community College Foundation announces this:

We are excited to announce that the Literary Connection will return Oct. 2-3.

Our three guest authors for this year are Pam Houston, author of the best seller "Cowboys Are My Weakness"; Colorado native and "Sky Bridge" author Laura Pritchett; and fiction writer and essayist Bill Roorbach from Massachusetts. This year, we are introducing our morning workshop session on Friday with our three guest authors. They will each talk about the skills of writing, the process of literary development and more. On Saturday, we will reintroduce our authors as they present a guest lecture, again taking time to answer your questions and sign copies of their books.

Please visit our guest authors' websites for more information:
www.pamhouston.net/bio.html
www.laurapritchett.com/about.html
www.billroorbach.com/bio.htm

We hope you will join us! Click here to register online.

FMI: http://www.lccc.cc.wy.us/Index.aspx?page=1608

Editor's Note: Wyomingarts is happy to see the return of Laura Pritchett to Wyoming after a brief hiatus. She was in Casper last October to read with the three WAC creative writing fellowship recipients she selected during the competition. She also conducted a writing workshop -- a great teacher. Bill Roorabach has been a presenter at the Casper College Literary Conference and also served as a judge for the WAC Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards. Pam Houston has never been a judge for the fellowships -- an oversight on our part. But she has been to the Cowboy State to teach workshops, read her work around the campfire, and conduct research for "Cowboys are My Weakness."

UW presents "The Underpants" June 23-27

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming's Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival continues June 23-27 with "The Underpants," the hilarious adaptation of a turn-of-the-century German farce.

Directed by John O'Hagan, "The Underpants" will run nightly at 7:30 inside the Fine Arts Center studio theatre. Tickets cost $10 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students. For tickets and information, call (307) 766-6666 or go to the Web site at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

Adapted by the incomparable Steve Martin, the Emmy- and Grammy-award-winning funnyman, "The Underpants" tells the story of a stuffy, puritanical bureaucrat, Theo, who is horrified when his delectable young wife, Louise, accidentally drops her unmentionables to her ankles during a parade for the king.

The unfortunate gaffe turns Louise into an instant celebrity, earning her many determined new admirers.

"Most farce deals with what happens when we get caught with ‘our pants around our ankles,' and this piece almost literally takes us there," O'Hagan says. "It's a wonderful mix of Steve Martin's intelligent and sometimes absurd wit and his goofy, wild and crazy side."

The festival, established in 2005 as an outgrowth of UW's longstanding summer theatre program and its annual dance festival, continues throughout the summer with three additional plays and three dance concerts.

"New Beginnings" reception June 18 in Jackson

"New Beginnings" is the theme for a group show featuring all artists at Galleries West Fine Art, 70 S. Glenwood, Jackson. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 18, 5-8 p.m., during the Third Thursday Art Walk in Jackson. The work will be on display through July 2.

"New Beginnings" means that "art has the power to be reflective, to comfort, and to inspire; qualities much needed in the current state of our world. In that spirit, artists have been asked to create works based on the concept, New Beginnings."

Work from these artists will be featured: Michael Calles, Kim Casebeer, Mary Ann Cherry, Kate Ferguson, Gaylene Fortner, Jim Gilmore, Judy Hartke, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Dinah Jasensky, Pat Jeffers, Bonnie Latham, Karen Latham, Rebecca Latham, D. Lee, Karol Mack, Lori McNee, Erin C. O'Connor, Marilyn Paine, John Potter, Marilyn Salomon, Debbie Edgers Sturges, Hubert Wackermann, and Bart Walker.

FMI: 307-733-4412.

Student art work exhibit in Cheyenne

(Click on images for larger view)

Student art work from the Wyoming High School Art Symposium, which took place this past April in Casper, will be on display in Cheyenne in the lobby of the Barrett Building and the Wyoming Arts Council Gallery through September 11, 2009.

Cheyenne Little Theatre fund-raiser June 26

On Friday, June 26, wet your whistle with cocktails at 6 p.m. Chuck Wagon dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. Dinner includes: Flat-iron steak cooked on an open-air grill, Bit-O-Wyo baked beans, baked potato, homemade applesauce, rolls, dessert, drink. Tickets are $50 each. Reserved table for 5 (plus 5 tickets to the 2009 Melodrama) is $300.

Net proceeds from each ticket benefit Cheyenne Little Theatre Players.

This is a family friendly show! Seating is limited, so make your reservations now at 307-638-6543.

Wyoming Writers, Inc., 2009 contest winners

Adult Fiction:
1. Castle Gardens: Daniel R. Lemon, Casper, WY
2. Rip Rap: Jerry Sanders, Buffalo, WY
3. Sold: L. G. Vernon, Cheyenne, WY
1st Honorable Mention. Anniversary Blues: Helena Linn, Big Piney, WY
2nd Honorable Mention. All In Good Time: Helena Linn
Special Honorable Mention. Signs: Lynn G. Carlson, Cheyenne, WY for a 99 word entry that was complete in every way.

Articles:
1. A Female Mark Twain: Roxie Olmstead, Sheridan, WY
2. Time to Exalt The Lonely Toothbrush: Roxie Olmstead
3. Tooth Talk: Cynthia Bower, Casper, WY
1st Honorable Mention: The Little People: Habitats on the Moon, by Mary Beth Baptiste, Laramie
2nd Honorable Mention: Making Hay: Mary Beth Baptiste, Laramie, WY

Childrens Fiction:
1. Stuck in the Middle: Fred Savage, Rawlins, WY
2. The Rabbit in the Moon: Cynthia Bower, Casper
3. The New Baby: Zoe Kalber, Big Piney, WY
1st Honorable Mention: Is He Really Santa? Roxie Olmstead, Sheridan, WY
2nd Honorable Mention: Snapper: Jerry Sanders, Buffalo, WY

Creative Non-Fiction:
1. Toby and Aunt Leah: Pat Forbis, Modesta, CA
2. That One Kid, Bruce: Fred Savage, Rawlins, WY
3. It’s Not Me, It’s You: Jonny Clinton, Sheridan, WY
1st Honorable Mention. Live! Monster Truck (and Motocross), a Letter: Phyllis Dugan, Thayne, WY
2nd Honorable Mention. Dancing With the Muse: Lynn G. Carlson, Cheyenne, WY

Essays:
1. Choosing the Good Parts… Ann Hoffmann Harris, Lander, WY
2. Leave Our Flag Alone: Michele Sherwood, Green River, WY
3. The History of a Small Place: Ann Hoffmann Harris
1st Honorable Mention. Does It Matter If God Exists: Cherie (CJ) Clark, Hardy, Ark.
2nd Honorable Mention. Nothin’ But My Spurs On: Sharon Salisbury O’Toole, Savery, WY

Free Verse Poetry:
1. Interdisciplinarian: Mary Kate McCarney, Casper, WY
2. Pending Migration: Meaghan #-L Elliott, Brighten, MI
3. Everyday Depravity: Mary Kate McCarney
1st Honorable Mention. Codge’n Sara’s Mercantile: Carol L. Deering, Riverton, WY
2nd Honorable Mention. Renascence: Bob Cherry, Cody, WY

Humor:
1. The Near Death Windmill: Linda G. Vernon, Cheyenne, WY
2. Haunted: Vickie Goodwin, Douglas, WY
3. Mrs. America Candidate: Roxie Olmstead, Sheridan, WY
1st Honorable Mention. The Fandango Tango: Cherie (CUJ) Clark, Hardy, Ark.
2nd Honorable Mention. The Naked Bumper: Roxie Olmstead, Sheridan, WY

Memoir Segments:
1. Teton-Two-Step: Mary Beth Baptiste Laramie, WY
2. The Upper Limits of Normal:David R.Shlim, M.D. Kelly, WY
3. Wrong Number?: Cynthia Bower, Casper, WY
1st Honorable Mention: Logged Out: Barbara Jo Guilford, Cheyenne, WY
2nd Honorable Mention: Wellspring: an excerpt Sharon Salisbury O’Toole

Novel Segments:
1. The Inspector of Snow and Rain: Ann Hoffman Harris, Lander, WY
2. Dead Man, Talking: L. G. Vernon, Cheyenne, WY
3. On the Little Crazy: Steven R. Laird, Buffalo, WY
1st Honorable Mention. Trapping Jessie: L. G. Vernon, Cheyenne, WY
2nd Honorable Mention. Blood Talks: Pat Stuart, Powell, WY

Traditional Poetry:
1. An Epitaph: Charles w. Popovich, Sheridan, WY
2. Earthbound: Sharon Salisbury O’Toole
3. Cruel Wilt: Lee Ann Siebken, Douglas, WY
1st Honorable Mention. To Be A Mountain: Wanda Sue Smith, Wapiti, WY
2nd Honorable Mention. Power of Suggestion: Kathy Bjornestad, Sundance, WY

NicFest 2009

NicFest is coming up June 26-28 and has three days packed full of a variety of musical entertainment, artists displaying and selling their art work, chalk art competition and stuff for kids to do. The Cabriri Performance Troupe will also bring their Ariel Dancers, Stilt Walkers and Fire Performances. Buffalo from "Where The Buffalo Roam" fundraising project a few years back will be on display inside the museum.

This is a terrific festival and attracts artists from around the U.S. For more info go to http://www.thenic.org/ and click on events, then NicFest link.

Encampment's Cora Wood is "8 Seconds" finalist on CowboyPoetry.com

On June 12, CowboyPoetry.com announced its fifteenth Lariat Laureate and "8 Seconds" winners in a global competition.

Martin, S.D., rancher and poet Ken Cook, a finalist in previous competitions, was recognized as Lariat Laureate for his poem, "The Conversation."

The youngest of CowboyPoetry.com’s eight "8 Seconds" finalists is Cora Wood of Encampment.

Cora is seven years old. She is following in the footsteps of her parents. Her poem, "Chester," is about a horse she rides when working cows with her ranch manager father. Her mother is Western singer/songwriter Laurie Wood. Cora performs at events across the West. She writes songs and poems, and is also known for her yodeling, which is showcased in her new recording, Cora's Cowgirl Yodel.

Read Cora’s poem, and find out more about her, at http://www.cowboypoetry.com/winner.htm#Wood

Save the date for the Arts Summit

Construction update on Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center

Architectural plans for Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center in Park County (above) and (below) construction continues at the center (photo by Pat Honstain).

Construction is coming along for the Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center in Park County (see photo above). The grand opening of the learning center, located on the site of the World War II Heart Mountain Relocation Camp, is scheduled for June 2010. You can mark the progress of construction as you drive Wyoming Hwy. 14 between Cody and Powell in Park County.

Here's a description of the project from the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation web site:

The ILC will provide an overview of the wartime relocation of Japanese Americans, including the background history of Asian prejudice in America and the factors leading to the enforced confinement of West Coast Japanese Americans. Special emphasis will be given to constitutional issues, civil liberties and rights, diversity education and training and ethnic understanding. The Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center will also provide links and virtual connections to other historical sites, research centers, and collections dealing with related issues.

Historic events specific to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center will be the central focus of the ILC’s content. Camp life, internee responses to relocation, debates over military service and the draft, the relationships between the internees and their Wyoming neighbors, the camp’s contribution to the area’s agricultural economy, the sacrifices of Heart Mountain servicemen, and the postwar experience of the internees will all be brought to life in the Learning Center’s multi-media exhibits.

Drum into summer at AVA Center

Cheyenne artist Eddie Marron exhibit

The Esther and John Clay Fine Arts Gallery at Laramie County Community College will host an exhibit by Cheyenne artist Eddie Marron, "Building Blocks on Silk: a clause for self-reflection" from June 26-August 14, 2009. The reception is June 26 at 4 p.m.

Tina Welling offers free writing workshop July 17 in Sheridan

Jackson novelist Tina Welling will be conducting a free writing workshop at Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library, 335 W. Alger, Sheridan, on Friday, July 17, 2 p.m. Contact http://sheridanwyolibrary.org or 307-674-8585 ext. 15.

Register at the library beginning July 1.

Welling's two books of fiction are Cry Baby Ranch and Fairy Tale Blues. She's been on the faculty of the Jackson Hole writers conference for 15 years. Her workshops last weekend at the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference in Casper were standing-room-only.

For more about Tina, go to http://www.tinawelling.com

Sound Check II concert June 27 in Pinedale

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council sends this:

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council is proud to present the second annual "Sound Check," an evening of free music on Saturday, June 27, at American Legion Park in Pinedale beginning at 5 p.m.

After a successful show last summer, Sound Check II will feature a bigger lineup this year, most notably headliners The Jalan Crossland Band. Crossland, of Ten Sleep, is one of the most respected guitarists in the country and his name remains at the top of the list when mentioning great alt-country and Americana acts of the past decade. Crossland's songs are vivid, first-hand accounts of life in the small towns and backcountry of 21st century America. Like the people they portray, the songs are tough and honest. They also reflect the tremendous heart and soul of their colorful characters. Even where the warp and weave is of hardship or heartbreak, the songs are threaded with strings of optimism and humor.

Also playing Sound Check II will be Screen Door Porch (shown above), featuring Jackson Hole singers & songwriters Aaron Davis and Seadar Rose. Screen Door Porch is carving a contemporary duet sound that’s more than just two people with guitars and voices. Utilizing percussion, folk instruments, harmony and ambient textures, Rose and Davis add a new-found depth to Americana music.

Opening this year’s Sound Check will be local singer/songwriter Terry Hill. Hill has played a number of Pinedale Fine Arts Council functions over the past three years and plays locally on a weekly basis. His 2007 album, "Paso Por Aqui," is arguably the finest record to come out of Sublette County.

The now annual Sound Check was first conceived a year ago by the Pinedale Fine Arts Council as a means of testing the new sound system they purchased with grant money from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. The Town of Pinedale and the Sublette County Recreation Board also helped support this event. As this is a park setting, please feel free to bring a chair, cooler and don’t forget sunscreen.

PFAC’s Sound Check II is free, though donations are greatly appreciated.

FMI: http://www.pinedalefinearts.com/ or 307.367.7322.

WAC grants training session in Cody June 20

Wyoming Arts Council staff members will conduct a grants training session on Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m.-noon, at the new Park County Public Library, 1500 Heart Mountain St., Cody. This event, co-sponsored by the Park County Arts Council, is free and open to the public.

The session will be conducted by Annie Hatch, WAC folk and traditional arts specialist, and Michael Shay, WAC individual artist specialist. They will discuss grant guidelines and offer tips on navigating the on-line application process.

All non-profit organizations, governmental entities (including schools) and individual artists are invited.

For more details, contact Michael Shay at 307-777-5234 or Annie Hatch at 307-777-7721. Find out more about all WAC grants and programs at the web site, http://wyoarts.state.wy.us

For information about library hours and location, call 307-527-1880 or go to http://parkcountylibrary.org/cody/

Clay Paper Scissors Classes!

Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio is offering fun classes this summer! Classes open to all ages include:
Introduction to Silk Painting, June 13-14 9-noon, members $40; cmty $50
Intermediate Silk Painting, July 11-12 9-noon, members $40; cmty $50
Handbuilding Section A, Aug 3-19 5:30-8:30 PM, members $120; cmty $150
Handbuilding Section B, Aug 4-20, 9-noon, members $120; cmty $150

In addition, there will be an Art Camp for Jr and Sr high aged students from July 6-10, 9AM to noon, members $120; cmty $150

For more information and registration forms, please email claypaperscissors@gmail.com or call 307-631-6039.

Hangin' out at AVA Center this summer

Cowboy fest for kids at Old West Museum

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum will hold its 13th annual Kids' Cowboy Festival on Saturday June 13, 10 am. to 2 p.m. This free event features western entertainment and western crafts including hide painting, branding, quilting, beading, and more. Children are encouraged to wear western attire and compete in the “Best Dressed Buckaroo” contest.

FMI: Contact the Curator of Arts and Education, Kristen Ruck at mailto:mkristenruck_owm@hotmail.com or telephone (307) 778-7289.

Call for artists: "Mother/mother" exhibit

A.I.R. Gallery, a nonprofit gallery space in Brooklyn, N.Y., advocating for women in the visual arts since 1972, invites artists working in all media to submit artwork to be considered for its fall 2009 exhibition “Mother/mother.” Curator Jennifer Wrobleski is seeking work (by women and men) made during a pregnancy or within five years of the birth of the artist’s child. Submissions need not be specifically about parenting or childbirth, though the curator is particularly interested in work resulting from changes in artistic processes or new thematic concerns that arise out of pregnancy. Proposals must be postmarked or hand delivered to the gallery on or before July 1, 2009 at 6 p.m., and online submissions must be received on July 1 by 11 p.m.. A downloadable application is available here.

Yoga and poetry workshop in Barbados

"Poetry maven" Judyth Hill has served as a WAC creative writing fellowship judge and has conducted many poetry workshops in Wyoming. She and a colleague are conducting a yoga and poetry workshop in Barbados this summer. Although an island on the eastern fringe of the Caribbean is quite a jaunt for most of us in the Rockies, Wyomingarts felt like passing on the info because Judyth is a pal to writers in the state and the poster is neat-o.

Celtic harpist Michael Riversong on the mend, plans June 26 concert in Cheyenne

Wyomingarts sends a "get well soon" message to Cheyenne musician and poet Michael Riversong who recently underwent emergency surgery in Fort Collins, Colo.

Michael had his big toe and part of his foot amputated due to a severe infection.

Here's part of an e-mail message he sent yesterday:

So far the healing thing seems to be going fairly well. They transferred me out of the hospital to a temporary home a few days ago. Here I'm getting daily antibiotic IV treatments and a nurse comes by to re-bandage the amputation site about every other day. The amputation wasn't too bad actually -- mainly the big toe on my right foot and some area behind it where an infection had entered bone. My doctor says he knows people who lost toes to frostbite while climbing Mount Everest, and afterward they went back and climbed it again. I'm not sure if that means I'm supposed to climb Mount Everest in the future.

Great to see that Michael's sense of humor is still intact.

He's not driving yet, but he has scheduled a performance on Celtic Harp at the Plains Hotel lobby in Cheyenne on Friday, June 26 at 6 p.m. It's sponsored by Phoenix Books. For info, contact Phoenix Books at 307-632-3476.

Get well soon, Michael

Richardson: "A Short History of American Art"

Wyoming Arts Council board chair Bruce Richardson will be presenting a program entitled "A Short History of American Art" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 11 (tonight) in the Laramie County Public Library's Cottonwood Room, 2200 Pioneer Ave., Cheyenne. It's described by the library as "a 90-minute journey through American art and history. This won't just be a lecture on art history with slides in a dark room (remember those?) -- Bruce doesn't want us to fall asleep! So bring your thoughts and comments for lots of Q&A."

FMI: Jennifer Rife, LCLS Community & Media Relations Specialist, 307.773.7218

"Pint-size Picassos" at AVA June 25-26

Hot peppers & tunes enliven Chili Cook-off

From the Cheyenne Depot Museum:

Union Wireless Peppers on the Plaza, Cheyenne’s Chili Cook-Off will be held at the Cheyenne Depot on Saturday, June 13th and Sunday, June 14th.

This will be the International Chili Society’s (ICS) Wyoming State Championship and the Chili Appreciate Society International’s (CASI) Cook-Off. The Cheyenne Chili Cook-Off will have 20 cooking teams on Saturday and more than 35 cooking teams on Sunday. This will be one of Wyoming’s largest chili cook-offs ever held.

This event is being hosted by United Way of Laramie County, Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation and the Cheyenne Depot Museum. Union Wireless is the sponsor. The City of Cheyenne, the Cheyenne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Historic Plains Hotel are also supporting this event.

This family event will include free children’s activities and musical entertainment. Children’s activities will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The free entertainment will be on the Cheyenne Depot Plaza on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On Saturday, Pride of Five will be performing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m; Seven Sundays will be performing from 1-3 p.m; Warwick Jones will be performing from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and our Saturday headliner -- Delta Sonics -- from 6-8 p.m.

On Sunday, Avenue will be on stage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m; followed by Allison Draw from 1-3 p.m. The event will conclude with Country Club from 3-5 p.m.

FMI: Cheyenne Depot Museum at 307-632-3905 or Pam@cheyennedepotmuseum.org.

Russ Schnitzer photo exhibit opens June 21

This dispatch comes from Russ Schnitzer:

I am writing to let you know that I'll be opening up an exhibit of photographic prints at Lander's Folklore Coffee House on June 21. There will be an evening reception from 7-9 p.m. Displayed work will be primarily themed on Wyoming's outdoors, wildlife and fly fishing. All displayed prints are limited-edition giclee on fine art paper; much of the framing has been done by Fremont Frameworks. All prints are available for sale.

Following is a brief bio/statement:

Russell Schnitzer is a award-winning photographer ranging throughout the West. Recent gallery shows have been in Denver and Kansas City, with awards received for both color and black-and-white images. Publication credits include ESPNOutdoors.com, TU.org, TROUT Magazine, Patagonia catalogs, Fly Fish America, Fly Rod & Reel, NewWest.net, and several conservation titles.

Schnitzer grew up in rural northern Minnesota, and has lived in Idaho, Montana, Michigan, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and Colorado. He now resides south of Lander. My primary photographic ambition is to communicate the power, passion and subtlety of natural landscapes, and life within those landscapes -- flowers, fish, wildlife and people. My images represent my values, and my personal relationship with the natural world. I enjoy sharing that connection with others, who, through their unique perspectives, deepen the value of an image's time and place. I shoot primarily with full-frame digital equipment, and do not digitally manipulate images. Having learned photography using film, I subscribe to the photographic principle that "one exposure equals one image."

FMI: Russ Schnitzer at http://schnitzerphoto.blogspot.com; 307-332-9656.

Still time to register for Jackson Hole Writers Conference

Tim Sandlin of the Jackson Hole Writers Conference sent this over the weekend:

Hello Writers,

As you may well know, many writers conferences have scaled back their programs or closed their doors entirely for 2009. And people like you are finding new ways to revel in your passions during eccentric economic times. Refocus on goals and dreams. Make every moment count.

That's also what we're doing at the Jackson Hole Writers Conference, June 25-28. And that's why we are alive and well. This is our continued priority and our commitment to you. We promise you an unforgettable 2009.

Thank you to those who have already registered. We invite the rest of you to look more closely at what we have to offer. See if we're a fit.

The conference remains intimate yet powerful after 17 years. The setting, in the backyard of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, adds to the unique nature of this literary experience. We are inspired and know you will be too. Check out the lineup of speakers and workshop presenters for 2009.

As a non-profit organization, our supporters - your supporters - know this Conference is an important part of Jackson Hole's cultural community and a valuable component of many writers' lives. This commitment keeps the registration cost of our conference beyond reasonable. Our programs stay fresh and on the grow. Just last year we added a poetry track.

We thank all of you, and the publishing world at large, for keeping us on our toes, making sure your ideas are flowing toward print and that quality and creativity are always at their peak.

This is the year to visit Jackson Hole. And we're giving you the perfect excuse.

Call us with questions at 307-413-3332, or simply sign up.

UW Summer Teacher Institute July 26-31

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming Art Museum and the UW Fine Arts Outreach Program will host "Transforming Learning: The 2009 Summer Teacher Institute," July 26-31.

The institute, a concentrated week-long workshop for teachers, uses original art work as the inspiration to find answers to questions such as: How can art help us explore new places? Can art help us learn new things about those places most familiar to us?

Registration fee is $50 per person. Residence hall rooms, breakfast and lunch are included. Participants are responsible for their own evening meals and all travel costs. To register, call UW Fine Arts Outreach, (307) 766-5139.

Observe, question, explore, create and reflect becomes the model for discovery as teachers become students. The new Ann Simpson Artmobile exhibition, "Where We Are Is Just the Beginning," will serve as resource and inspiration, as will the summer exhibits in the UW Art Museum, including the mixed media sculpture of Montana artist Tracy Linder, watercolor sketches, drawings and prints by Thomas Moran and selections from "Adornment: Native American Regalia."

The institute is funded in part by the Sigrid See Excellence Fund for the Art Museum Teacher Institute, the UW Fine Arts Outreach Program, the UW Art Museum, the Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art.

"Imagine learning from the masters" is a guiding principle of the UW Art Museum's programs. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Drive in Laramie. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.

Photo: Cheyenne elementary art teacher, Virginia Allshouse, works on her sculpture during the 2008 Summer Teacher Institute. (UW Art Museum)

News about the new WWInc board

At the Wyoming Writers, Inc., membership meeting Sunday morning in Casper, the members voted to change its governing structure.

For most of its 35 years, WWInc operated with a slate of volunteer officers elected at each annual conference. It included a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and five members-at-large (MAL), each representing 4-5 Wyoming counties.

That structure proved to be unwieldy in an era in which people are mobile and communicate mainly through electronic means. There's no need, for instance, for geography-based MALs when members go right to the source of organizational info, whether it's on the web, e-mailed newsletters, or the new listserv.

The four officers were bound by bylaws that were rigid and constricting. The organization lost many officers during the past five years, and the bylaws made it tough to get replacements.

At the 2008 WWInc conference, members approved a resolution by Joe Megeath to from a committee that would come up with ideas for a new structure. That committee was named the Organization Restructuring Committee which was almost as unwieldy as the structure itself. I volunteered to lead the committee and renamed it ORC in honor of the creatures in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The ORC committee members were not nearly as ugly and brutal as our namesakes, but we did have to make some tough choices. We forwarded our recommendations to the board meeting and discussed them June 5 in Casper.

Thanks to all the ORCs who participated in online meetings and fired off tons of suggestions via e-mail and by phone. They were Nancy Curtis, Glendo; Joe Megeath, Denver (formerly from Lander); Katie Smith, Sundance; John Beach, Denver (long-time Rock Springs resident); Pat Frolander, Sundance; Phyllis Dugan, Thayne; Midge Farmer, Gillette; Gaydell Collier, Sundance; Chris Williams, somewhere in Idaho; and yours truly. WWInc Prez Jeanne Rogers was an interested bystander.

So, WWInc members first voted for a change in bylaws that replaced the officer structure with a governing board. The only board position would be immediate past president, which in this case is Jeanne Rogers, WWInc's fearless leader for the past year. A slate of seven other members ran for the six remaining spots. The newly elected board includes Jeanne, Ann Heberlein, Casper; Julianne Couch, Laramie; Pat Frolander, Sundance; Katie Smith, Sundance; Joe Megeath, Denver; and Mike Shay, Cheyenne.

We spent three hours after the conference revising the bylaws. And that's just the beginning. Look for more updates from the board in the usual WWInc news outlets. Stay tuned...

--Posted by Mike Shay