New co-op gallery in Laramie holds artists' reception Dec. 2

Sean Hart is holding an artists’ reception at his new co-op gallery in Laramie, 404 S. Second St. It’s on Sunday, Dec. 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mimosas and coffee cake will be served, along with artwork by Bruce Amimanni, Patrick Kelly, Allison Wagg, and Sean Gote, photography by Jennifer Faulkner and Ryan Parker and jewelry by Dolores De Harte. Sean invites everyone to slide on by and see what these artists have to offer. See you there.

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

Watch artist and UW grad Dan Toro paint latest downtown Laramie mural through Aug. 31

"Growth" by Dan Toro

From a University of Wyoming press release:

Laramie artist and University of Wyoming graduate Dan Toro has begun work on a mural on the Source Gas building located at Third and Custer streets in downtown Laramie.

Titled “Growth,” it is the second mural of the Laramie Mural Project 2012. It will incorporate images of large trees with deep roots as a representation of community accomplishments. Smaller trees without deep roots appear as wind-blown, broken twigs.

“The image of trees with deep roots is symbolic of the community and, when working together, how much can be accomplished,” Toro says. “When one moves away from the community, little gets done.”

Toro is painting the mural on location through Aug. 31. The public is welcome to stop by to watch him work and view the mural’s progression.

The Laramie Mural Project is a partnership among local businesses and artists, the Laramie Main Street Alliance and the UW Art Museum. It has been funded by the Guthrie Family Foundation, city of Laramie, and the Wyoming Arts Council.

“Growth” is the second of as many as four murals planned for the downtown area this year. “Escape” by Meghan Meier, the first new mural this year, can be viewed at Garfield and Second streets. They join three murals that were completed last summer: “Hollyhock Haven” by Travis Ivey, at Custer between First and Second streets; Meier’s ”Grainery Grove” at the alleyway on Ivinson between First and Second streets at the former Whole Earth Grainery; and Talal Cockar’s “Tierra y Libertad,” First Street between University and Ivinson on the Big Hollow Food Co-op building.

“Imagine learning from the masters” is a guiding principle of the UW Art Museum’s programs. 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.

For more information, call the Art Museum at (307) 766-6622 or visit www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum  and blog at www.uwyoartmuseum.org. Follow the museum on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/uwyoartmuseum.  

Photo: Dan Toro’s “Growth” will appear on the Source Gas building located at Third and Custer streets in downtown Laramie. (Dan Toro)

"Upstairs, Downtown" in Laramie Aug. 17

On Friday, Aug. 17, 3-7 p.m., Laramie will hold a "home tour" of downtown's second floor remodeled lofts and apartments. Tickets are $10 per person in advance, $15 the day of and can be purchased at the Laramie Main Street office at 207 Grand Ave. M-F 11 to 3 p.m. or by calling 307-760-3355.

The Upstairs/Downtown tour is sponsored by Mountain Valley Properties, Pence and MacMillian, Advantage Real Estate, The Mortgage Source and Wolf Creek Broadcasting: Hits 106.

FMI: http://www.facebook.com/wyomingartscouncil#!/events/431933180170260/

Call for artists: Only a few booth spaces remaining for 17th Street Arts Festival

Artists in all media are invited to apply to participate in the inaugural 17th Street Arts Festival Aug. 17-18 in downtown Cheyenne. Purchase awards are being committed and Friday night will be a gala event for art patrons and the public. The event will be held on the Dinneen North parking lot, located at 400 West Lincolnway and 17th St. between Thomes Avenue and Pioneer Avenue. Last chance to apply! Space is limited!

Show hours are Friday 5-9 p.m. (catered artists' party) and Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Booth fee is $100 (special inaugural year pricing) for a 10x10 space inside a large tent with electricity.

Contact Bev Bowman at the DDA office for information or an application 433-9730 or mailto:orbev@downtowncheyenne.com

FMI: http://artscheyenne.com/calendar-item/inaugural-17th-street-art-festival-in-downtown-cheyenne-call-for-art/2012-05-31

Corridor Gallery in downtown Casper debuts "Member Smalls" on June 22

Press release from the Corridor Gallery:

The Corridor management recently asked their member artists to prepare a “small work” of original art to debut exclusively at the Corridor Gallery. The Member Smalls concept came to fruition based upon the concept of providing interesting, unique, affordable and easy to hang fine artwork. “We understand that it’s often more of a challenge to integrate large artwork into a space based upon available room and cost. We wanted to offer a more intimate, personalized show with the theme based upon size versus subject matter.” - Zak Pullen, co-owner of the Corridor Gallery.

Corridor member artists Holly Bryson, Mike Flicek, Rod Knowlton, Suzette McIntyre, Aumi Perry, Fred Taraba, Leighton White and Zak Pullen will all have small works debuting at the opening reception on Friday, June 22nd at 7pm. The show will be open to the public 3 days only - showing through 4pm on Sunday, June 24th. With mediums ranging from woodcut printmaking, photography, traditional oil painting, vintage american illustration, watercolor and character illustration this show will be extremely diverse offering a range of style and discipline wide enough to interest most. Adhering to the concept of small works, attendants of the show will find the sizes of artwork ranging from 4 inches square to just around 1 foot square.

Admirers of fine art and supporters of local Casper culture are invited to attend “Member Smalls”, an exhibit of small works. If you’re looking to soak in what new material the Corridor artists have created or acquire a unique small work for a gift or a special place, you will find the show enjoyable. Most of the artists will be present and happy to answer any questions.

Event Details

Event: “Member Smalls” An exhibit of small original works
Location: The Corridor Gallery, 120 E. 2nd St. Casper, WY 82601
Opening & Showing: Opening reception on Friday June 22nd at 7pm and showing Saturday, June 23rd from 10am to 5pm and Sunday, June 24th 12 to 4pm.
Catering: Cash Bar
General Admission: Free
Call 307-259-8001 or email appointment@thecorridorgallery.com with any questions.

Lotte Paul's "Gardens & Landscapes" featured at Clay Paper Scissors Gallery

From Clay Paper Scissors Gallery:

Art Design & Dine is this Thursday from 5-8 PM and Clay Paper Scissors is excited to be featuring "Gardens & Landscapes" by Lotte Paul. Lotte is a long time resident of Cheyenne who has painted prolifically for years and never shown her work. She favors watercolors, but also has some acrylics in the mix. An avid gardener, Lotte loves flowers and it shows in her paintings.

We have hung more than 150 paintings in a profusion of color and light. The paintings are unframed, leaving you to finish them to suit your tastes and home. We hope you'll come by to see the show!

It will be up through July. If you can't make it during Art Design & Dine, please give us a call to schedule a time to come see it at 307-631-6039. Clay Paper Scissors is located at 1506 Thomes Ave, Ste B. We're at the southwest corner of the building facing the tracks, the last door.

A classic western and an Oscar-winning documentary on tap at CIFF

The Cheyenne International Film Festival program for 2012 is completed. The CIFF May 17-20 is highlighted by Cheyenne native Daniel Junge and his Oscar-winning documentary “Saving Face." He’ll be on hand and in person at a reception taking place on the Mezzanine of the Plains Hotel on Saturday, May 19. The screening takes place across the street at 1615 Lincoln.

Saturday also features a return screening of John Ford’s classic western “Cheyenne Autumn” which made its World Premiere at the Lincoln Theater in 1963. Actress Carroll Baker will participate in a live interview via Skype following the movie.

See the entire program here. More info at http://cheyenneinternationalfilmfestival.com/blog/

Meet "The Lunch Box Lady" March 24 at the Paramount Cafe

Matthew Dehaemers wins public art commission for Casper project

From a Nicolaysen Art Museum press release:

After a five-month selection process that involved 86 artists from around the state, region, nation, and the globe, Matthew Dehaemers from Kansas City, Kansas, was awarded the commission for the public art project on the southwest corner of Beech and Collins St. in Casper. The public art panel, comprised of representatives from all collaborators on the project, as well as public art administrators, artists, and community residents felt that Dehaemers synthesized many aspects of life in Casper and in the region, while also creating an educational project that refers back abstractly to the landscape that surrounds us and the elements that sustain our lives.

In early 2011, a unique opportunity arose to integrate public art into a new development for affordable housing located on the eastern edge of the Casper business district and directly across the street from the Nicolaysen Art Museum. Discussions centered on creating a public art project that could be incorporated into existing open green space, and serve as a gathering place for the residents of the housing complex, the surrounding community, and businesses. The new development, the Sunshine Apartments, will utilize green design as one of many initiatives for a ground-breaking direction in affordable housing the state of Wyoming. This project was awarded funding by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of their Our Town initiative. Our Town is the NEA’s new leadership initiative focused on creative “placemaking” projects where partners from both public and private sectors come together to strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities.

Matthew Dehaemers received his BFA from Creighton University and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin. His national public art commissions include the recent work Catalyst for the Kansas City Area Transit Authority, Seven Sentinels at the Vehicle Impound Facility in Kansas City and Convergence commissioned by the Los Angeles County as well as Detour commissioned by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Currently he is working on a large scale kinetic public art piece for the Johnson County Public Works facility. Dehaemers has also continued to produce unique issue focused installations for various art center such as Project Reclamation for the Leedy-Voulkos Arts Center, Watered Down for the Creighton University Lied Center and (402)Disconnect/Reconnect for the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art among others. He has been awarded the Kansas Arts Commission Fellowship Award, the Joan Mitchell Fellowship, four Public Art Network Recognitions, an NAACP Community Contribution Award as well as numerous residencies.

Dehamer’s sundial project is entitled “Confluence of Time and Place.” His vision was inspired by “the historical periods of this region.”

Artist Statement:

All along the way life has left its mark on the rugged rocky terrain of the area in the form of bones, fossils, word and image carvings of indigenous people and pioneers. Today we mark the land by utilizing its’ rich natural resources to fuel the community including new alternative sources such as solar and wind energy. Today is just one small point on a continuum of millions of years of existence. As human beings we are use to placing time into a smaller context of years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. When we talk about the geology of the earth we are talking about a macrocosm of 4.6 billion years. It is almost unfathomable to comprehend the true reality of that span of time. This public art installation is a way to symbolically connect these two streams of time. This structure is designed to broadcast with its shadow the time of day specifically for the exact latitude and longitude of Casper. At the same time, various graphically rendered spots surrounding the installation reveal the totality of our earth’s geological history and the existence of life since the beginning of our planet.

This project would not have been possible without the collaboration of the WCDA, the Nicolaysen Art Museum, Grimshaw Investments, LLC, and the City of Casper. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.

For interview information and photographic opportunities, please call the museum at 307.235.5247.

For high-resolution images to accompany stories about this project, visit

http://www.thenic.org/index.php?/media/C52/.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in story and song at the Paramount Cafe

"The Story of St. Patrick: Celtic harp with narration and friendly conversation" by Michael Riversong at the Paramount Cafe, 1607 Capitol Ave. Cheyenne, on Saturday, March 17, 5:30-8 p.m.

This is an informal family friendly performance by Michael Riversong. Children are especially welcomed.

FMI: Michael Riversong, Biblical Bards, http://home.earthlink.net/~mriversong

New music video from Cheyenne's Reboot the Robot

"New West Art at the Hynds" opens tonight

"New West Art Show" opens Feb. 22 in Cheyenne's Hynds Building

“New West Art Show” at the Hynds 1602 Capitol Avenue Cheyenne. 

Featuring the work of 15 artists. Rachael Eastman, Don Hendricksen, Terry Kreuzer, Phillippa K. Lack, Edward Marron, Mike McIntosh, Lynn Newman, Sally Newman, Connie Norman, Do Palma, Win Ratz, Jennifer Rife, Kevin Robinett, Georgia Rowswell, Laurel Shelley-Ruess. 

Public reception this Wednesday, February 22, from 5:30 till 7:30 p.m. 

FMI: 630-4077.

Local musicians featured at Paramount Cafe grand opening Feb. 23

The Paramount Café, 1607 Capitol Ave. in Cheyenne, holds its grand opening on Thursday, Feb. 23, all day long. Here’s the plan:

We are having a Grand Opening celebration! We will have several local musicians playing all day long! We will have specialty drinks and door prizes! This will be an all-day event! Make sure you can swing by. Our performers include Devon Dvorak, a local acoustic artist; Bret Herrick, a local violinist (played at Carnegie Hall); Peat Bog Mysteries, a local Bluegrass Band; and so many more! We will also have Bubble Tea! More info at http://www.facebook.com/events/245044685575977/

Buffalo will hold Feb. 6 public meeting to select artist for downtown murals

The City of Buffalo’s Vision Buffalo Commission will hold a public meeting on Monday, Feb. 6, 5 p.m., in the Buffalo City Council Chambers at 46 N. Main St. The meeting will explain the design parameters of the two murals to be painted on walls in the downtown business district for the Crazy Woman Square Redevelopment Project. Interested artists will be given a deadline to submit their sketches for approval by the commission. The winning sketches will be awarded the contract to paint both murals. Experience in painting public murals is preferred and will be a consideration for final approval. FMI: Zach Montgomery, City Planner at (307) 684-5566, Ext. 4, or tlawrence@fnb-buffalo.com 

Call for proposals: Fort Collins Linden Street Pocket Park Public Art Project

Old Town Fort Collins

The City of Fort Collins, Colorado, Art in Public Places Program is seeking to commission an artist/team to work on the Linden Street Pocket Park Project.  The artist will collaborate with the project team in developing the overall park design and to develop a site-specific art component(s) incorporated into the pocket park which will engage the community, complement the existing Linden St. Streetscape Project, integrate into the planned urban design of the River District area, and have an educational component. The Linden Street Pocket Park is near the historic site of Camp Collins in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This project is open to all professional Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico artists/artist teams, legally residing in and authorized to work in the United States. Artist must be able to work effectively and collaboratively with the project’s design team selected by the City of Fort Collins. The total contract amount for all applicable expenses, which includes all fees for consulting with the design team, the design, execution, transportation, site preparation, and installation of all artwork selected as well as a project plaque, shall be an approximate amount up to $125,000.  This figure will also include any travel expenses.

Submissions must be received by January 31, 2012. Artists may download the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) #7322 from the City’s Purchasing website at http://www.fcgov.com/purchasing/

For questions regarding the Art in Public Places Program, please contact Ellen Martin at (970)416-2789. Questions regarding proposal submittal or process should be directed to James B. O’Neill II, CPPO, FNIGP, Director of Purchasing and Risk Management, (970)221-6775.

CLICK! gathering kicks off an exciting series of conferences this year in Pinedale

http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/p/click-conference-details.html 

Sam Luvisi writes in the Sublette Examiner about a series of conferences coming to Pinedale this year. One of them is “CLICK! A Weeked for Wyoming Visual Artists.” It will be held March 30-April 1 at the Sublette County Library and several other venues. Co-sponsors are the Wyoming Arts Council, Pinedale Fine Arts Council and the UW Art Museum. Sue Sommers, Pinedale artist and member of the Pipeline Art Project, was interviewed for the story. Here’s an excerpt:

“The name “CLICK!” suggests that thing that happens when you reconnect with colleagues and get inspired by new ideas, which occurs continually when Wyoming artists congregate,” said Sue Sommers, a local artist who helped organize the event, and is hoping to expand on the visibility and interconnectedness of Wyoming’s art community with those near and far – something she also tackled recently with the Pipeline Art Project.

In a showcase of real ability for local artists to survive a large-scale project, large amounts of both local and faraway support (through a competitive process the group was selected by U.S. Artists for the USA Projects “crowd funding” website) helped send local artists (including Sommers, metal sculptor JB Bond and painter David Klarén) across the country to showcase at the Red Dot Art Fair through “Pipeline to Miami.”

“We learned so much, and gained exposure and some solid ideas for showing our work outside Wyoming over the next couple of years,” she said, adding they do not expect to be “crowd funding” anytime soon – as local supporters “have done more than their share.” 

Like Pipeline, CLICK! is working alongside the Wyoming Arts Council (WAC), who shares a database of Wyoming artists and helps plan and partially fund the project. The Pipeline Art Project was awarded funding by the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund to help expand the WAC’s annual 2012 Fellowship Awards reception with a variety of speakers and topics; there Pipeline artists will share lessons from Miami. 

During CLICK! the Pinedale Library will exhibit artwork by the five Pipeline members, with a re-created Red Dot booth on display in the Labyrinth Room. 

CLICK!, which also is organized and contributed to by University of Wyoming (UW) Art Museum and the Pinedale Fine Arts Council (PFAC), will likely host a free public “kick-off” reception on its Friday evening, as a way to give back to the community. Light food, beverages and discussion will be a part of the night where the art exhibit will be open and the UW Art Museum will host a “20/20” slide presentation featuring artists from all over the state. 

Sommers is excited, not only for the possible impact to downtown Pinedale, but for the discussions and connections to be had by local artists. 

“That dialogue and sharing is as essential for success as having the right paintbrushes,” she said.  

Read the entire article at http://www.subletteexaminer.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=1937

Christi Mitchell workshop on "Creating One-Person Shows" begins Jan. 28 in Cheyenne

CHRISTI MITCHELL PRESENTS A NEW ROCKIN’ WORKSHOP, CREATING ONE-PERSON SHOWS, BEGINNING ON SATURDAYS, JANUARY 28, AND CONTINUING TO MARCH 10, FROM 10 A.M. TO 12 NOON AT THE HYNDS BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN CHEYENNE!

ONLY $100 PER PERSON.

THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE OFFERED THROUGH LARAMIE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S LIFE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM.

ALL AGES ARE WELCOME!

TO REGISTER, CALL (307) 778-1236

Support Rock Springs Main Street at "Top Hats and Tiaras" on New Year's Eve