Gillette's Joan Sowada and Pinedale's David Klaren get public art commissions for Curt Gowdy State Park

Commissions for artwork for the new Curt Gowdy State Park Visitor Center and the Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College in Riverton, both Art in Public Buildings Projects, have been awarded to three artists.

            The Curt Gowdy Visitor Center will feature artwork created by Gillette textile artist Joan Sowada and Pinedale’s David Klarén. The Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College will house a glass frieze by Massachusetts artist Rufus Butler Seder.

“The Curt Gowdy project was a statewide call and we received 30 proposals from 21 Wyoming artists.” said Art in Public Buildings Project coordinator David L. Newell. “The proposals ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary, and the committee selected two concepts that really suit the lodge-style design of the center.”

Sowada is creating four quilted textile banners, incorporating imagery relating to the park, to hang above the information desk. Klarén is fabricating a series of cast iron fish silhouettes to be incorporated into the concrete sidewalks surrounding the facility and carved into the ceramic tiles of the Great Hall.

“David is bringing his fantastic graphic skills to the project and his interpretations of the fish species native to the park are amazing!” said Newell. “The selection committee was also extremely taken with a suite of iron fireplace appointments designed by artisan blacksmith David Osmundsen of Buffalo. A separate fundraising effort will be undertaken to secure the funds to purchase those pieces.” Newell added.

A national call was issued for the new Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College. “We received 39 proposals from both Wyoming artists and artists outside the region. The building utilizes a soaring glass entryway and lobby space between the auditorium and classroom wings that served as the primary focus for installations, though the exterior plaza also received a lot of creative ideas.” continued Newell. “In the end, the committee selected a glass frieze that will knock people’s socks off. The piece utilizes optics to ‘animate’ its imagery and will morph from a single atom through a series of images, ending with the expanded galaxy. It will be amazing and perfect for a facility dealing with both health and natural sciences!”

Both the Curt Gowdy Visitor Center and the Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College will open the summer of 2013.

The Wyoming Arts Council is responsible for the implementation of the one percent for Art in Public Buildings legislation for the State of Wyoming. By statute, artwork is commissioned as part of all new construction of state buildings with a cap of $100,000.

For additional information, contact David L. Newell, Curator of Art, Wyoming State Museum at 307-777-7677.

Henry Real Bird, Pat Frolander and Rick Kempa to serve as judges for March 4-5 Poetry Out Loud competition in Cheyenne

Henry Real Bird, Montana poet laureate emeritus

The 2013 Wyoming Poetry Out Loud state competition will take place March 4-5 in Cheyenne. Fourteen student competitors, teachers, parents and guests are expected. Guest judges this year are Henry Real Bird, Pat Frolander and Rick Kempa.

Born and raised on the Crow Indian Reservation, Henry Real Bird is a former Montana Poet Laureate (2009-2011). Real Bird has punched cows, rodeoed, and now ranches and raises bucking horses. He holds a master’s degree in general education from MSU Billings and has taught school from kindergarten to college levels. He has worked with the YMCA’s Writer’s Voice, won the Western Heritage Award for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame,  performed at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Arts Festival, and performs annually at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Real Bird has had six anthologies, five poetry collections and twelve children’s books published, along with many articles, tapes and CDs.

Patricia Frolander, Wyoming’s Poet Laureate, works the family ranch near Sundance, WY with her husband, Robert. Patricia’s publications include Grassland Genealogy (Finishing Line Press, 2009) and, Married Into It, (High Plains Press, 2011), which won the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s Wrangler Award for Best Poetry Book of 2011; the Willa Cather Award by Women Writing the West for the 2012 Best Poetry Book; and Best Woman Writer of 2012 by High Plains Book Awards.

Rick Kempa, teaches writing and directs the Honors Program at Western Wyoming College. He is the author of two books of poems, Keeping the Quiet (Bellowing Ark Press, 2008), and Ten Thousand Voices, (Littoral Press). He is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, a past recipient of a Wyoming Arts Council Literary Fellowship, and is a current member of the Council’s Artist Roster. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona in 1987.

This year’s student contestants are from Sundance, Hulett, Buffalo, Hanna, Ft. Washakie, Riverton, Kaycee, Shoshoni, Cheyenne, Casper, Clearmont, Worland, Laramie, and Lander.

The event begins with a dinner for the contestants, teachers, judges and guests. The competition begins at 7 p.m. at the Historic Atlas Theater in downtown Cheyenne. The winner and runner-up are announced at the awards ceremony the next morning, which begins at 10:30 a.m. on March 5 in the Capitol Rotunda.

The winner from each state and a chaperone receives an all-expense-paid trip to compete in Washington, D.C., April 29-30 at the national finals. Among the activities is the Congressional Breakfast, where students get to meet and have photos taken with the state’s Legislators. Scholarships totaling $50,000 are awarded to the national champion and the other placers.

Poetry Out Loud is memorization and recitation competition for ninth through twelfth grade students. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, the program is administered by the Wyoming Arts Council.

Justine Haka from the Poetry Foundation in NYC will be a special guest of the Wyoming Arts Council at the Cheyenne Poetry Out Loud  events.  

FMI: Linda Coatney, 307-777-6393 or linda.coatney@wyo.gov

Auditions for rock musical "Rent" set for Feb. 3-5

"Rent" cast performs "Seasons of Love" on Broadway on Broadway in 2005

Auditions for the rock musical "Rent" will be held on Sunday, February 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, February 4, 4:30-6:30 p.m., and Tuesday, February 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Call-backs will be Wednesday, February 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m. All auditions held at the Historic Atlas Theater in downtown Cheyenne

Here's more info from the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players web site:

To audition, we ask that you sing a song from the show "Rent" or another contemporary musical. You may bring your own accompanist or an accompanist will be provided. There will be no cold readings of dialog. We may ask you to sing a song from the show after your initial audition. You will also be learning and performing a short dance. For call-backs, we will be assigning songs from the show "Rent," including duets.  

IMPORTANT!! The Director, Brenda Lyttle, is looking for singing actors who are confident and fearless. "Rent" is an adult show with adult roles, language and situations. The characters must be believable and real. The singing must be strong and confident. This show is set in the Lower East Side of New York City. Racial diversity is crucial. We  strongly encourage singing actors of African-American and Hispanic descent to audition.  

Go to this link for more details: Rent Auditions

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!

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. 

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.

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.

Call for entries: 2013 Cheyenne International Film Festival

The Cheyenne International Film Festival now is seeking entries for 2013 via Withoutabox. The event will be held in Cheyenne May 16-19. Go to http://cheyenneinternationalfilmfestival.com/blog/film/1850/

Call for entries: Railway Art Show & Sale

Reception Nov. 16 for the “Arts In Parks” calendar artwork display in the State Museum

Artwork featured in the 2013 “Arts in Parks” calendar will be on display at the Wyoming State Museum from November 8 through December 30.  An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Friday, November 16, State Museum in downtown Cheyenne, 5-6 p.m.

As part of Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails 75^th Anniversary, sponsored by Cameco and in partnership with the Wyoming Arts Council, which also provided logistics and funding as part of our Arts in the Parks programming, the calendar features 13 artistic pieces depicting different State Parks and Historic Sites. The artistic pieces include oils, photography, mixed media, acrylics and watercolors.

In conjunction with the Wyoming Arts Council and the Wyoming State Museum, the Division of State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails invited artists from throughout the state to render artistic depictions of any of Wyoming’s State Parks and Historic Sites.

Some of the sites included in the artistic pieces are Ames Monument, Buffalo Bill State Park, Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site, Glendo State Park, Guernsey State Park, Hot Springs State Park, Keyhole State Park, Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site and Sinks Canyon State Park.

Artists included in the calendar are Glenda L. Heimbuck-Haley, Anthony James and Tim Haley of Cheyenne; Alissa Hartmann and Christine Meytras of Jackson;  Joyce Keown and Mack Brislawn of Laramie; Virginia Butcher of Evansville; Mike Conaway of Evanston; Marie Elena Bramson of Frannie; Pat Schermerhorn of Cody; Nancy Brown of Gillette; and Sally La Bore of Sheridan.

Calendars will be available through the Wyoming State Museum Store and from the Wyoming Division of State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails.

Wyoming State Museum is open Mon.-Fri., 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sat. 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Closed Sundays and State and Federal Holidays.

Disaster preparedness for cultural institutions training session set for Nov. 27 in Cheyenne

A regional expert on disaster preparedness for cultural institutions, Terri Schindel, will be in Cheyenne for a free training session on Tuesday, November 27.   The event is free, open to the public, and will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum.  The training is for any site or facility open to the public, including archives, libraries, museums, historic sites, and any other collection-holding institutions. Volunteers, staff, board of director members and others interested in protecting Laramie County’s valuable historic heritage are welcome.

Pre-registration is required. Contact Judy Knight, Project Manager for more information or to reserve a place.

Calling all Cheyenne creatives!

This info comes from Alan O'Hashi of Wyoming Community Media: Do you have a New Creative Economy business that you'd like to nurture with like minds? Primary job creation will be happening not in garages but in collaborative work environments like what's being planned for The Historic Hynds Building Capitol Core Project! Join the movement! Find out more and discuss possibilities at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wyoming-Creative-MediaPlex/375593379195845

Saturday workshop at Laramie County Library outlines steps to getting your novel published

Local writers are staging a one-day conference "designed to help you navigate the next steps toward the publication of your novel." It will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, 10:15 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Laramie County Public Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave., Cheyenne.

Presenters include Mary Gillgannon, who writes historical novels as well as Celtic and Regency romances; Liz Roadifer, mystery and sci-fi fantasy novelist; Amanda Cabot, author of Christian romances; teen novelist and library board member Tina Ann Forkner; "Saucy Lucy" series mystery novelist Cindy Keen Reynders; and memoirist and sci-fi writer Marjie Smith.

The workshop is free. The day includes a lunch-hour book signing, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Laramie County Library Foundation. You can brown-bag it, or get a delicious lunch at the library cafe. 

FMI: 307-634-3561.

Ginny Rowland's work featured at Cheyenne Artists Guild for Art Design & Dine

Ginny Rowland, "Moments in Monument," oil

From the Cheyenne Artists Guild:

Ginny Rowland is a long time supporter of the Cheyenne Artists Guild. Her work will be featured on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 5-8 p.m. at the newly remodeled art guild located on off of Morrie Avenue in Holladay Park. Drop in to enjoy Ginny’s art and company!

Artist Statement:

“In 1964-1968, we were in Alaska, my husband was in the Air Force. He gave me a box of oils for my birthday and I had no idea what to do with them.  The Service Club offered art lessons for $1 for 1 night per week with a local artist.  I painted for a couple of years until Bob was transferred.  We came to Cheyenne in 1973 but it wasn’t until after the flood of 1985 that I joined the Cheyenne Artists Guild.  I took a class called  Sponges and Rags from Cheyenne artist  Maryalyce Larsen.  I’ve taken several workshops at the Guild and when attending the Wyoming Artists Association Conventions I would sign up for whatever was offered.   I prefer painting in oil but the paintbox got too heavy to carry to the CAG loft where I painted each Thursday.  I joined the Weekly Art Challenge a couple of years ago and have painted  with a box of Pelikan half pans.I had a one person show at the Cheyenne Civic Center in 1994.  Was honored to sell several pieces. The first time I entered the CFD Western Spirit Show, 2000, both my 16 x 20 and miniature painting were purchased. I’ve been juried into the CAG National show twice.”

Artwork by Connie Norman and Lili Francuz featured at studio sale in Old Town Fort Collins

This studio sale is down the road in Fort Collins, CO, but it features an artist from Cheyenne in Connie Norman and another artist with strong Wyoming roots -- Lili Francuz. Until he moved to Colorado, Lili was visual arts coordinator of the WAC and then the curator at the State Museum. So if you're in FoCo Dec. 1, drop in, say hey, and buy some art. 

Marilyn MIller is "Artist of the Month" at Cheyenne Family YMCA

Cheyenne Family YMCA launches Holiday Craft Fair season Nov. 3

FMI: 307-634-9622

Whistle Stop Film Festival screens two films at Mt. Sinai Synagogue on Nov. 3

Andi Jaspersen sends this news: Wyoming Community Media's Whistle Stop Film Festival makes its next stop in Cheyenne at Mt. Sinai Synagogue THIS SATURDAY! This FREE event is on November 3, at 7 p.m. WSFF will be featuring the films "Visas and Virtue" and "Shanghai Ghetto." Both films feature the crossing of two cultures -- World War II Jews and Asians (Japanese and Chinese). Free food and discussion to follow. Hope to see you all there!

Silk painting, pastels and snowflake-making on the schedule for next Art Design & Dine

Art Design & Dine, Cheyenne's monthly in town art tour is happening on Thursday, November 8, from 5-8 p.m . This month features a silk painting demonstration at The Ancient Sage, The Art Abandonment project at Artful Hand Studio and Gallery, a pastel show at the Nagle Warren Mansion and much more. Go to www.ArtDesignDine.org for all the details.

What is the Art Abandonment project?

Artful Hand Gallery located at 302 East 1st Avenue will be holding its annual snowflake-making party during the next Art Design & Dine. This year come and make one for yourself and one to abandon! Also Win Ratz will be showing participants how to make an origami envelope to put the snowflake and Art Abandonment tag in. This event is free and family friendly! For full details go here.