In Memoriam: Rod McQueary

We end of the year on a sad note. Rod's poetry enlivened almost every Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko. He served on the WAC artist roster for many years. Recluse, Wyoming, won't ever be the same. R.I.P., Rod.

Rod McQueary

July 16, 1951–December 29, 2012

Beloved husband of Sue Wallis; treasured father of Porter, Cecile, Ian, and Justine McQueary, stepfather of Isaac Wallis, Megan Kruse, and Rys Martin; Boppa of Ezra, Cora, and Maddox Kruse; son of Eloise, and brother of Lyle and Neil McQueary; who has touched the lives of so many, many family, friends, compadres, and like-minded souls who appreciated his articulate wit…has followed his father Howard over that Last Great Divide. He was the epitome of kind.

A memorial service will be held at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada at 10 am on Wednesday, January 2^nd. Instead of flowers, please send generous contributions to the Western Folklife Center for the support of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the center of the art and the culture that Rod defined his life by, and the gathering place of his far flung friends. 501 Railroad Street, Elko, Nevada, 89801.

If you can make it to Elko on Wednesday, please come ready to share stories, songs, poems, and especially jokes. After a short service in the G Bar Three, we will have a potluck dinner in the Pioneer Saloon, please bring something to share. Rod’s daughter Ceci is putting together pictures and videos…if you have images of Rod that we can include please send them to cecilem@cashmanpro.com.

Family and friends will gather again on the full moon of July in Ruby Valley, Nevada and Bitter Creek, Wyoming to scatter his ashes over the mountains and ranches that he rode for the majority of his life.

Please feel free to forward and post, call each other and hold each other close…he loved you all so much…

The Department of Education has announced that the Fine and Performing Arts Standards, which have been in revision for the past three years, are now up for public comment. They are accepting comments from any interested person. The Fine and Performing Arts Standards guide instruction in the public schools by

•  providing information on what students should know and be able to do at 4th, 8th and 11th grade; and
• setting performance standards that help teachers know how to assess students knowledge and skills.

There are significant recommended changes. A quick overview of them includes:

• Rewrite of Standard 4, previously Applications to Life, to Artistic Connections
• The development of separate benchmarks for Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts
• New Performance Descriptors

The current and revised Standards are posted on the Department of Education's webpage. Click on the small arrow to the left of Fine and Performing Arts.

To comment, scroll up on the same page, and click on Request for Public Comments regarding Proposed Chapter 10 Rules. Comment is being accepted through January 11, 2013.

In addition to the standards revisions, the following changes are also being proposed:

• Removal of Wyoming Content and Performance Standards from the Chapter 31 Rules and renamed in their own chapter (Chapter 10);

• Including a date of full implementation for each newly adopted standard;

• Renaming Chapter 31 Rules to Wyoming Graduation Requirements;

• Renaming Section 10 of Chapter 31 Rules to “District Assessment System”; and,

• Explicitly stating that the District Assessment System applies to grades nine (9) through twelve (12).

Cynthia Willson Photo Excursion

In honor of the Winter Solstice, two excursions are planned to Vedauwoo hosted by photographer Cynthia Willson on Thursday December 20 at 2 pm and/or December 21at 6 am.

Cynthia will share her secrets of going beyond a simple point, shoot, and click image by introducing you to new ways to approach photography, adding depth and magic to your images. Come learn from her, one another, and the expereince of being out on scared land -- Vedauwoo -- "The Land of the Earthborn Spirit."

Particpants will carpool from Cheyenne, a 30-minute drive.

Cost is $25 per session, or $40 for both.

FMI, contact Cynthia @ 307-286-7708

More details on the recipients of the 2012 Governor’s Arts Awards

More details about the 2012 Governor's Arts Awards recipients:

Advocacy for Visual Arts (AVA) Center in Gillette, musician Jalan Crossland of Ten Sleep and visual artist and educator Lynn Munns of Casper will be honored at the annual Awards Gala Feb. 8, 2013, at Little America in Cheyenne.

                AVA Center opened in 1998, and now offers a slate of classes conducted by professional and volunteer instructors including pottery, mosaics, pine needle weaving, painting, drawing, felting and tile glazing. AVA recently began the “Uncorked” series as an evening for friends, dating couples, and co-workers to get together to create a piece of art while partaking in fellowship and a favorite wine. “Little Tykes” and “Van Gogh Kiddies” are just two of the many classes AVA offers for children. 

Singer/songwriter Jalan Crossland writes music inspired by his Wyoming roots. His prowess on the banjo and guitar and ability to create humorously honest lyrics dazzles audiences from Nashville, Key West and New Orleans, to towns across Wyoming. He performs every August at the NoWoodstock Festival in his home town. Crossland has toured as the opening act with alternative country legend Robert Earl Keen, and has appeared on television and radio shows. He has been profiled in The New York Times, No Depression and Fingerstyle Guitar. His latest solo CD is Portrait of a Fish.

Casper potter and arts educator Lynn Munns began teaching at Casper College in 1971. During his tenure, he expanded the ceramics program to include an array of course offerings, new equipment and increased studio space. Munns served as the chairman of the Visual Arts Department from 1973-1980, then as chairman of the Fine Arts Division until his retirement in 2006. He also directed the Goodstein Visual Arts Gallery. In 1989, he received two outstanding educator awards. He has served as a board member for state and national arts organizations, including the Wyoming Arts Council.

For more information, contact Camellia El-Antably at the Wyoming Arts Council, 307-777-5305 or camellia.elantably@wyo.gov.
This post has been updated.

Job opportunity: Executive Director of Colorado Creative Industries

Our sister state arts agency in Colorado is looking for a new director. Here's a synopsis of the job description take from a WESTAF press release:

The Creative Industries Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is looking for a new executive director. The agency’s mission is to promote, support, and expand the nonprofit and for-profit creative industries in order to enhance Colorado’s quality of life, drive Colorado’s economy, and grow jobs. The Division grew out of a long tradition of service as a state arts agency and continues many of those traditional services even as it strives to recast its work in terms of the broader “Creative Industries” charge.

The successful applicant will benefit from the interest of an arts and creative economy governor.  As Governor, John Hickenlooper maintains the pro-active interest in the development of the arts and the creative economy he exercised as Mayor of Denver, and as a successful member of Denver’s business community. In addition, the successful applicant will work intensively with Robert Clasen, the recently retired Chair and CEO of Starz, LLC. Mr. Clasen remains active in the entertainment industry and is a working chair of the policy council that guides the work of the Colorado Creative Industries Division.

The position of the Director of the Creative Industries Division is responsible for working with the Colorado Creative Industries Council to develop and implement the Division’s strategic plan. In addition, the Director is responsible for the direction, management, and evaluation of all agency operations, programs, and services, and for maintaining effective internal and external relations. The holder of this position provides leadership to the nonprofit and for-profit creative industries in Colorado; represents the agency and its advisory body to governmental and legislative bodies, arts organizations, creative industry corporations, private foundations, the media, and the public.  The Director manages the administration of agency operations; and provides leadership to the agency’s personnel and contractors. The Creative Industries Director reports to the Director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), serves on the OEDIT leadership team, and is responsible for the management of three full-time employees and three contracted professionals.

Applications are due on Friday, January 18, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to: Laurel Sherman, Search Coordinator, WESTAF, 1743 Wazee, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202. Electronic submittals are welcome: Laurel.Sherman@WESTAF.org

"Swing for Life" Jan. 18 features swing dance lessons and music by the UW Jazz Ensembles

This University of Wyoming event popped up on Facebook today:

Friday Night Fever is partnering with the Jazz Advocates of Wyoming, the Swing Dance Club, and ASUW to bring a Swing for Life event on Jan. 18 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. 

There will be swing dancing lessons provided by the Swing Club and live ‘20s style swing music provided by the University of Wyoming Jazz ensembles. Free food will also be available at the event. The Jazz Advocates of Wyoming and the Swing Dance Club plan to give any optional donations collected at the event to I Love Life and The American Cancer Research Fund organizations.

Read all about it here. 

AVA, Jalan Crossland and Lynn Munns are 2012 Governor's Arts Awards honorees

Announcing the 2012 Wyoming Governor's Arts Awards recipients: Advocacy for Visual Arts (AVA) Center of Gillette, musician Jalan Crossland of Ten Sleep and artist and educator Lynn Munns of Casper. Congratulations! See you all at the awards gala Feb. 8 in Cheyenne. More details soon !

Grants available to develop "tourism assets" in the Lander area

If an arts organization isn't a "tourism asset" we don't know what is:

Lander's Tourism Asset Development (TAD) Program offers assistance through the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce from lodging tax proceeds from the Wind River Visitor’s Council.

All applicants are subject to guidelines for requesting Tourism Asset Development funds from the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce.  All requests require appropriate application materials and recommendation of the TAD committee and approval of the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  Eligible candidates include groups that are able to demonstrate that their programming has a direct benefit to the tourism industry specifically in the Lander area.  The purpose of the TAD Grant program is to attract potential visitors from outside of the Lander area.

Those eligible to apply for the TAD program are non-governmental tourist-related organizations, non-profit organization, Civic organizations or tourism related organizations for the purpose of developing tourism assets in the Lander area.  Eligible expenditures include but are not limited to print media, website, radio, television.  Other expenditures may be eligible dependent upon approval of the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

TAD grants may be awarded for applications in any amount up to $1,000.

Applications must be submitted to the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce by February 1, 2013 for projects to be completed in 2013.

Call the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce at 307-332-3892.

Poet and labor activist Mark Nowak wants to hear your story about "Working in Wyoming"

Poet, teacher and and labor activist Mark Nowak will serve as eminent writer-in-residence for the University of Wyoming creative writing program in February. He sent this info about the "Working (in Wyoming)" project he'll be conducting when he's in the state. Here it is:

Working (in Wyoming) is a community-building, creative investigation of what it means to labor in Wyoming.

A series of creative writing workshops will be held in southeastern  Wyoming (Laramie and Cheyenne) in February of 2013. These workshops will be facilitated by Wyoming writing instructors and students in the University of Wyoming's MFA program in creative writing. In these workshops, Wyoming workers of diverse backgrounds will have the opportunity to collaborate with others in the Wyoming community to create a short piece of creative writing (a poem, a parable, a short story, a piece of flash fiction/nonfiction, etc.).

Working (in Wyoming) will culminate in a large-scale yet intimate evening event in Laramie on February 28. Here working people from across the state will have the opportunity to share what it means to work in Wyoming with a presentation of pieces created in workshops.

FMI: Kay Northrop at knorthrop@uwyo.edu or Brie Fleming at briennafleming5@gmail.com

Read more on the project's Facebook page. 

Cheyenne Artists Guild features work by Donna Person and Dee James for Art Design and Dine

Donna Person and Dee James invite you to come by the Cheyenne Artists Guild in Holliday Park and visit with them during the December 13 Art Design and Dine. Both Dee and Donna are active in supporting the Guild.  Both serve on the board, Dee as 2012 President and Donna as Secretary. This December 13 from 5-8 pm, they will be showing some of their favorite pieces of art for this last Art Design and Dine of the 2012 season. Be sure to come by to say hello to Donna and Dee and view their beautiful works of art!

BYU Chamber Orchestra in concert Jan. 11 at SLTEC in Kemmerer

At the South Lincoln Training and Event Center in Kemmerer. Go here for tickets.

Beth McIntosh and Friends in concert Dec. 22 in Jackson

At the Center for the Arts In Jackson. Get tickets here. 

2Shot Art Show in Torrington offers close encounters with work by 21 regional artists

From Laramie's Joy Keown: This watercolor painting, "Close Encounter," was done from a photo that I took during our 2009 visit to the Serengeti in Tanzania.  I will be showing several Africa paintings as well as landscapes, western and wildlife paintings at the 2Shot Goose Hunt Art show this Friday and Saturday in Torrington.

View work by 21 artists from around the region at the annual 2Shot Goose Hunt Art Show at the Goshen County Fairgrounds Rendezvous Center in Torrington. Hours are noon-4 p.m. today with a quick draw from 6:30-7:30 p.m. with an auction to follow. Hours on Saturday, Dec. 8, are 9 a.m.-4 p.m., followed by a banquet and art auction from 7-10 p.m. FMI: Toby Lewis at 307-532-7364.

UUCC WinterMart Dec. 14-15 offers local handmade wares for the holidays

Gifts made by artists, crafts people and other vendors of handmade wares can be found at the annual Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne WinterMart, 3005 Thomes Avenue, December 14-15, Friday 4:30-6:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am-4:00 pm. Lunch and baked goods will be available. Proceeds benefit programs supported by UUCC. For information, call Terry at (307) 214-3932, UUCC at (307) 638-4554 or go to www.uucheyenne.org.

Community Fine Arts Center celebrates the beauty of Wyoming's Red Desert

From the Community Fine Arts Center in Rock Springs:

Please join us for a variety of art-related events in January at the Community Fine Arts Center in Rock Springs and help celebrate the beauty of the Wyoming's Red Desert 

Wednesday January 2, 2013: 

Free Public Lecture and Discussion by Joan Hoffmann 

"History of American Landscape Painting and Public Lands"
7 pm - 8 pm

Thursday January 3, 2013:

Art Class by Joan Hoffmann
For more details call:307-362-6212

Free Exhibition Critique
4:30 pm -5:30 pm

Free Exhibition Opening Reception
Free refreshments!
5:30 pm– 7:30 pm

Exhibition Duration:
January 3-28, 2013

Art and Landscapes the Red Desert is is a professional-level juried art exhibition that includes photography and fine art pieces by local and national artists. The intent of Art and Landscapes of the Red Desert is to create a dialogue about public lands in the Red Desert and communicate how these lands are used and their significance to those who live, work, play in, and otherwise value this area. The BLM is currently revising its 20-year management plan for large portions of public lands in the Red Desert and it is our hope that a visual dialogue will encourage community engagement with this public land planning process.

Supported in part by a grant by the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts

Artful Hand's Japanese Design show puts the "D" in Dec. 13 Art, Design & Dine

The Dec. 13 Art Design and Dine art walk in Cheyenne features this show at Artful Hand Studio & Gallery. This is the final AD&D of the season. Stay tuned for the spring 2013 schedule. 

Latest Alexander Payne film "Nebraska" on location near Buffalo

Alexander Payne's ("The Descendants," "About Schmidt") latest film "Nebraska" is shooting at the Lake Stop near Buffalo. The film is about "an aging, booze-addled father who makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes prize." And we know that all roads from MT to NE go through WY. Shots are production stills taken off of the Wyoming Film Office's Facebook page.

Made in Wyoming Chamber Music announces composition contest

Made in Wyoming Chamber Music is pleased to announce a composition contest for residents of Cheyenne and Laramie County. The contest has two divisions: student and adult. The student category includes junior and senior high students. The adult division includes college students and other adults.

There will be two winners in each division, and a fifty dollar prize will be awarded to each of the four winning composers. The winning compositions will be performed at the open rehearsal for the Made in Wyoming concert, Saturday, May 11, 2013 as well as the concert on Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Compositions submitted are to be between four and six minutes in length, and are to be for woodwind quintet (flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, French horn). Compositions must have been never performed, recorded, or distributed in public. Made in Wyoming reserves the right for first public performance, but copyright remains with the composers. Decisions of the judges will be final.

Compositions must be typeset with a program such as Finale or Sibelius. Submissions include a copy of the score and parts identified by title only, and without the name of the composer appearing on any of the music, as well as an mp3 digital recording of the composition identified only by the title of the composition.

Composers should include the following information on a separate piece of paper: their name, the title of their composition and its length, which division they are entering (and where they attend school, with their music teacher’s name if they are entering the student division), and contact information (address, contact telephone, email address).

Submissions may be mailed to: P.O. Box 15776, Cheyenne WY 82003, or emailed to: WyomingChamberMusic@yahoo.com. For more information, please write to the email address.

Deadline for receipt of entries is Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. In the case of mailed entries, this is a postmark deadline.

Call for applications: Rosemary Kennedy Internship Initiative

The 2013 Rosemary Kennedy Internship Initiative is now open and accepting applications from qualified organizations. This initiative provides funding of up to $25,000 to arts organizations, from across the country, to initiate internship and apprenticeship programs for youth with disabilities that provide pre-professional skill development in the fields of arts, arts management and arts education.

Application deadline is January 7, 2013.

FMI:  Sonja Cendak, Assistant Manager, Artist Services, VSA / Accessibility Department, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, (202) 416-8823 or http://www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/career.cfm

Lone Wyoming audition for Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps this weekend in Cheyenne

From the Casper Star-Tribune:

The only Wyoming audition for the 2013 Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps — brass, percussion and color guard — will be held Friday evening through Sunday at Cheyenne’s Storey Gym.

“Anyone interested still has time to register on our website,” corps director Fred Morris said. Other camps are being held this month in Texas, Las Vegas and Daytona Beach, Fla.

The elite 150 people chosen will represent Wyoming’s 55-year tradition of participation in the world class drum and bugle corps activity.

Selection at audition camps is based on musical ability, positive attitude, time commitment and the ability to meet financial requirements.

Even if summer participation is uncertain at this point, students who are interested are encouraged to attend a camp. Each member receives an evaluation at the end of the weekend with suggestions for improvement and an assessment of placement within the corps.

The nonrefundable fee to audition is $75, and the camp fee is $50 for meals, facilities and miscellaneous expenses. Tuition for the 2013 season is $2,550, payable on a monthly schedule January through August.

For information, visit troopersdrumcorps.org.

Cowboy Christmas Poetry Gathering Dec. 15 at Buffalo High School

Wyoming Arts Council artist roster application is now available online

The Wyoming Arts Council accepts applications annually for its artist roster. Artists and arts groups in the literary, performing and visual arts can now apply online via the CaFÉ (Call for Entry) program of the Western States Arts Federation. Folk artists may apply in any of these categories.

The WAC has extended the application deadline to Jan. 7, 2013.

Wyoming residents can register for CaFÉ for free at http://www.callforentry.org. Once registered, look up the call name of “Wyoming Arts Council Artist Roster” to begin the process.

The WAC roster seeks to value artistic excellence through the selected artists, and to engage the public as patrons and advocates for the arts. Roster artists not only represent artistic excellence, but also become ambassadors for the WAC, and are a form of dynamic public art. Organizations, schools and festival presenters can write Artists Across Wyoming grants to bring these artists to their communities.

A roster directory is printed annually, distributed statewide, and posted online on the WAC web page at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org

For more information, contact Karen Merklin at the WAC, Karen.Merklin@wyo.gov or 307-777-7743.

Crazy Woman Fine Art Gallery in Buffalo holds open house Dec. 8