Sky-shooting photographer Mike Hollingshead visits Devils Tower

Sky-shooting and storm-chasing photographer Mike Hollingshead isn't from Wyoming, but he spends a lot of time in the High Plains photographing supercells in the Nebraska Sand Hills and night skies over Devils Tower. Here is a bucolic view of Devils Tower in late September among its fall foliage. See more at http://www.extremeinstability.com/2012-9-22.htm

Miss "V" weathers heat wave, fires and rattlesnakes during summer 2012 tour of the West

The Wyoming Arts Council follows the travels of roster artist Miss "V" the Gypsy Cowbelle:

Unwilling or unable to let moss grow or dust settle beneath her feet, The Gypsy Cowbelle has launched her latest “Calamity Unleashed Tour” into the Black Hills country of South Dakota. Following up a reconnaissance trip last spring, Miss “V” scheduled two weeks of shows in a variety of settings. She launched the tour at the Antler Restaurant and Lounge, entertaining the coal-mining community of Newcastle, WY on July 28. Then on to the Silver Dollar Saloon, in Hill City, SD on the 29th, where her Genuine Cowbilly Music was warmly received by motorcycle enthusiasts, ranchers and tourists alike. Sunday, July 1st found “V” entertaining at the “Moonshine Gulch Saloon”, a remote oasis deep in the heart of the Black Hills, alongside new and old friends and local musicians.

Surviving the 100+ degree heat wave, surrounding forest fires, Fourth of July crowds and one very near disaster with a rattlesnake, The Cowbelle weathered the early days of the next week exploring the Black Hills. July 5th brought her into the Historical Landmark town of Deadwood, and the namesake town of the Calamity tour. The street party at the Deadwood Loading Dock was only slightly hampered by a torrential rainstorm, which was welcomed by all as a means of thwarting the ever-growing fires of the area. Then back down to Hill City for a rowdy crowd and multi-faceted birthday party at the Big Horn Crossing Sports Bar. Highlights included a room-wide singing of “You Are My Sunshine” and foot-stomping rhythms along with “The Battle of New Orleans” while “V” frailed away on her homemade banjo. The weekend rounds out with a dinner show and wine tasting at the Naked Winery in Custer, SD tonight, July 7.

This week, “V” is off to climb Harney Peak (the tallest mountain east of the Rockies) and continue her exploration of this very special area, gleaning knowledge of its rich history of outlaws, mining, railroads, Native American culture and unique geography. There is always research work to be done on days off…

The shows resume on Thursday, July 12th at the Historic Homestake Opera House in Lead, SD. Part of their summer “Concerts in the Courtyard” series, this performance will afford “V” the opportunity share her own stories and songs of Western history with the community. Friday the 13th, The Gypsy is back at the Silver Dollar Saloon and the following day she rounds out the tour entertaining on the streets and in the parade for Hill City’s “Heart of the Hills” annual celebration.

The Calamity Unleashed portion of the tour is just the forerunner for the weeks to come. After leaving the Hill Country, Miss “V” is back to her home state of Wyoming. She’ll be on the air live with Leslie Stratmoen on Riverton’s KVOW July 17th at 8:30 am, then at the Wind River Casino the same day for two performances at noon and 8:00pm as part of their monthly “Seniors’ Tuesday” series. Then “V” will kick off Meeteetse’s “Cowboy Days” weekend extravaganza with a street party at the Meeteetse Museums on July 20th at 6:00pm. Whirling up to Three Forks, MT, The Gypsy Cowbelle performs the next day with a porch party at the historic Sacajawea Hotel at 4:00. Her month culminates with a grand finale in Jackson Hole, opening up for the Grammy award winning singer/songwriter, Kostas, at Stiegler’s Austrian Restaurant on July 28th.

August holds another West Coast Tour in store for this Wyoming Troubadour known as “V”, The Gypsy Cowbelle. Details are sure to come…

Deadline for WyoFile's "Cold Snap Challenge" is Dec. 16

From WyoFile: With Wyoming’s dramatic transition from fall to winter, the photo opportunities are endless and unpredictable. That’s why WyoFile is excited to announce our 2011 Cold Snap Challenge. WyoFile is seeking compelling photography of wintertime in Wyoming. We’re looking for people, scenery, wildlife or whatever you and your camera come across. The WyoFile staff will pick one photo as our Cold Snap Challenge champion, and the winner will receive a Flickr Pro account and $50! WyoFile will be taking submissions for the Cold Snap Challenge starting today up to midnight on December 16. All photos should be sent to erik@wyofile.com with the “Cold Snap Challenge” in the subject line. Contestants are free to submit as many photos as they like during the two-week contest. By submitting a photo, contestants agree to give WyoFile permission to publish their work in Photo Friday or possibly alongside future articles, where they’ll be credited for their work. Happy snapping!

Old West Days Celebration means music, theatre, parades, good food and great skiing

Jackson launches into summer with the 30th Annual Old West Days (locals call it "Cold Wet Days") Celebration May 27-30. With Jackson Hole's rich history, its no wonder Old West Days is a favorite among visitors and locals alike. People from all over the country come to appreciate live music, theatrical entertainment, arts and crafts, delicious food, rodeo events and much, much more.

For more information, contact the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, info@jacksonholechamber.com, or 307.733.3316.

Bring your skis. According to Jim Stanford at JH Underground: 

Skiers and snowboarders should enjoy good coverage and fresh powder when the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram opens for the season Saturday. Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey is calling for up to 8 inches of snow by Sunday, and the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center has rated the danger as moderate.

Mother's Day grand-reopening of Night Heron Books in downtown Laramie

From the Downtown Laramie Facebook site: "It was a beautiful Mother's Day downtown. Perfect for celebrating the grand re-opening of Night Heron Books!"

B.J. Buckley poems in HoboEye journal

Cheyenne native and Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship recipient B.J,. Buckley has three poems featured on the online journal HoboEye. B.J. now lives in Lolo, Mont.


Read "Bitter," "Shakespeare's Monkeys" and "Cold Prairie" here.


Excerpt from "Bitter:"


Call it snow
but this dust from the moon’s basement
coats the windows of the
sky
until nobody can see out.

Flood recovery update from Nicolaysen

Update from Holly Turner at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper:

The museum is scheduled to reopen to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 11, but will close early that day -- at 2:30 p.m. -- for a private event. Normal hours will resume Sunday, July 12, when the museum will be open from noon to 4 p.m.

FMI: 307-235-5247.

Floods can't dampen Wednesday Night Live at the Nicolaysen Art Museum

By now, you've read about the flash floods that hit Casper last Friday, July 3. Torrential rains flooded a number of buildings on the Casper College campus, including the Gertrude Krampert Theatre which was preparing for "Peter Pan" (for info, go to http://www.caspercollege.edu/theatre/indexx.html). Downtown, water inundated the Nicolaysen Art Museum.

But the show(s) must go on. This announcement comes from The Nic:..

We're cleaning up after storm.

The Nicolaysen Art Museum & Discovery Center will be CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC through at least Wednesday as the staff and contractors clean up water damage from the flash flooding that occurred as a result of the intense rain/thunderstorm last weekend.

Fortunately, museum disaster preparations and planning prevented any of the art works in the exhibitions or collection from being damaged.

Parents of students enrolled in summer art camp classes next week will be contacted about whether the classes will be rescheduled or, if not, refunds given.

Despite the cleanup, "Wednesday Night Live" will still be held this week from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on July 8. Featured group is Dan & Cliff!

The building will be close, but please bring your chairs or a blanket and join us for the music on the lawn behind the museum. It's free!

Art for the Cure event rescheduled

Wyoming Art for the Cure has been RESCHEDULED for Friday, APRIL 24, 2009, from 6-9pm at Little America.

Please be advised that due to adverse weather conditions in the region, the 2009 Wyoming Art for the Cure event has been rescheduled from April 17 to Friday, April 24, 2009 from 6-9pm at Little America. The safety of our patrons is our utmost concern at this time.

All tickets purchased for the originally scheduled event date will be honored on April 24th. Additional event tickets are now available for $40 through Thursday, April 23rd.

If you have any questions please contact 307-432-0606 for further information. We thank you for your understanding and hope to see you Friday, April 24th for a fantastic evening of art and entertainment!

Art never sleeps, although sometimes it gets snowed in

Arts talking and gallery walking in the snow

Photo from Jennifer Mercer's "Window on the World" exhibit at the KEAG Gallery in Laramie

The WAC held a series of roundtables four visual artists tonight at four restaurants around Laramie. Staffers hosted discussion about WAC programs and policies while gnoshing and quaffing. Our roundtable was held at The Library Restaurant and Microbrewery across the the UW dorms on Grand Avenue. Sparking the conversations were me and my WAC colleague, Linda Coatney, along with Laramie photographers Dan Hayward and Susan Davis, Laramie portrait and landscape painter Mack Brislawn, and Gillette fiber artist Joan Sowada. Topics included visual arts fellowships, Individual Artist Professional Development (IAPD) grants, the WAC artist roster and various other topics relating to the future of the arts in the Cowboy State.

Dan Hayward showed off his poster for the Earth Day celebration set for April 22 in Laramie. It featured a photo of a bison Dan shot in Yellowstone. A landscape photographer, Dan is very concerned about the survival of animals on the planet as a whole and in our little corner of it in Wyoming. Dan is one of our WAC roster artists and you can apply for an Arts Across Wyoming grant to bring him to your community for a photography workshop, class or exhibition. Go see the roster at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/.

Susan was one of the presenters at last night's truncated and rearranged 20:20 exhibition. (Note to all symposium-goers: 20:20 will resume at noon tomorrow at the UW Conference Center.) Water is a topic for many of Susan's photos. She then manipulates images on Photoshop and comes up with some amazing patterns. Some she has turned into Zen-like patterns for kimonos. I just love hanging around creative people.

Mack is holding a figure drawing class April 27 (or is that April 29) at Dan's studio. Mack's work features the human figure as well as the state's landscape. Up in Gillette, Joan is doing some amazing work with fiber art, mainly quilts. She says that she's finished some new work lately and is wrapping up a couple of projects that will be featured at the upcoming Gillette Arts Gala.

After dinner, Mack, Dan, Linda and I ventured out into the elements for Laramie's Friday Gallery Walk. First stop was KEAG Gallery on Grand Avenue. An intimate space that featured the photographs of Jennifer Mercer. Jennifer's work featured the the flora and fauna of the island of Madagascar and several countries on mainland Africa. She had a great shot of a road lined with baobab trees in bloom. When not leafed out, the trees seem to be up-side down, with the scraggly branches of this top-heavy tree looking like roots seeking nourishment from the air. Very cool.

Enjoyed talking to Sarah Ramsey-Walters, KEAG's proprietor. She's been open about a year. Sales have been down in 2009, but last month wasn't bad, she said. Galleries like KEAG that feature local artists are a mainstay of any community. Buying local art, food, homemade products are key to our future.

We moved on to Night Heron Books. Melodie Edwards and her husband were minding the store that features great books by local and regional authors and art by Dan and Mack -- among others. Melodie, a fine writer, said that she likes to consider the place a salon, with paintings and photos filling up all of the wall space not devoted to books. While we were there, Melodie's husband had me the sign the copy of my short story collection that had on the shelves. Writers love it when you actually have our books on the shelves. Thanks, Night Heron.

Thus ends our journey. But not the snow.

"Jentel Presents" April 7 in Sheridan

March-April Jentel residents (left to right): Rebecca Hall, Kelly Luce, Emma Tapley, Robert Yoder, Laura Scandrett, Megan Biddle (snow man’s name is Oscar)


From the Jentel Artists Residency Program:

Jentel is proud to present this month’s residents in an event open to the public. "Jentel Presents" will take place Tuesday, from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at Sheridan Stationery, 206 North Main, Sheridan. This month’s presenters include an installation artist, a short story writer, a charcoal artist, a collage artist, an oil painter and a novelist. "Jentel Presents" is a community outreach program that features slide presentations and readings by the visual artists and writers at the residency.

Presenters include: Megan Biddle, Croton-on-Hudson, NY; a sculptor and installation artist, Megan weaves her work through the field of glass. She traveled extensively in India recently; Rebecca Hall, Austin, TX; a novelist, Rebecca has degrees in creative writing, architecture and psychology. She is currently on work on a novel set in Macedonia; Kelly Luce, Woodside, CA; a fiction writer, Kelly’s collection of stories set in Japan merges the fantastical with the literary in the same way that Japan’s modernity is indelibly linked to its traditional past. She keeps a hula hoop in her car; Laura Scandrett, Santa Fe, NM; using charcoal on paper, Laura makes large scale drawings. Many years ago she lived as a vagabond for a year to raise her two puppies full time. It became an art project; Emma Tapley, NYC; a painter using oils on clay panels, Emma is also a photographer. She is a native New Yorker, runs a high-end decorative painting business and is an avid runner; Robert Yoder, Seattle, WA; A collage artist, Robert grew up in Virginia, has lived in normal and interesting places and hopes to travel to Denmark.

For anyone looking for a stimulating evening, come join the crowd at the Sheridan Stationery on North Main. There is no admission charge for "Jentel Presents" and refreshments are available.

The Jentel Foundation offers dedicated individuals a supportive environment in which to further their creative development. While at Jentel, visual artists and writers have the opportunity to experience unfettered time to allow for thoughtful reflection and meditation on the creative process in a setting that preserves the agricultural and historical integrity of the land.

The Jentel Artist Residency Program accepts applications twice a year from visual artists in all media and writers in all genres for a one-month residency. A residency includes a comfortable accommodation; common living, dining and recreation areas; a private workspace and a stipend to help defray expenses during the program. For more information please visit
http://www.jentelarts.org/ or call Jentel at (307)737-2311.

No woes here

California cows might be the happiest, but as far as people go, Wyoming comes in at #3 in a Happiness Poll. Read the full article at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090311/ap_on_re_us/states_of_happiness.

Quadra Dangle Society in Laramie holds tornado recovery fund-raiser

Remember the tornado that ripped through Laramie last spring? It damaged a number of buildings. One of them houses the Quadra Dangle Society, a square dance group.

The Quadra Dangle Society is holding a Square Dance Lagacy Gala Tornado Recovery & Special Projects Fund-raiser on Saturday, Dec. 13, 6 p.m., at the Ramada Inn, 2313 Soldier Springs Rd. (intersection I-80 and U.S. Hwy. 287), Laramie.

The event will feature dinner, entertainment and a live auction of an original oil painting by internationally renowned Laramie artist Robert Seabeck. Robert received a 1990 visual arts fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council.

Tickets are $50. Deadline for reservations has been extended until Dec. 9. Mail checks to Quadra Dangle Society, 1402 E. Curtis St., Laramie, WY 82072. Attn.: Wilma Harnden.

FMI: Wilma Harnden, 307-745-3700 or Betty Mann, 307-745-8480.

Bad weather cancels arts & crafts show

From a press release:

Due to inclement weather and wet conditions, the Wyoming State Museum Volunteers Arts and Crafts Show scheduled in Cheyenne for tomorrow (Aug. 16) has been cancelled. The event will not be rescheduled.

It has been determined that sloppy conditions on the grounds of the Barrett Building in downtown Cheyenne would not allow for the event to go on as scheduled.

Persons with questions regarding the cancellation can contact Carolyn Turbiville at 307-632-8244, addiet_3@msn.com; or Sarah Ligocki at 307-777-7021, sligoc@state.wy.us.

Flash flood swamps Cheyenne Civic Center

A flash flood Tuesday night dumped more than 500,000 gallons of water into the Cheyenne Civic Center, home of the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra. The flood damaged electrical equipment, buckled a wooden floor, and swamped a grand piano.

According to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:

Although the theater itself wasn't damaged, two events at the Civic Center have been cancelled -- the BoDeans show that was scheduled for Monday and the Act Two Studios dance recital that was scheduled for Saturday.

The dance recital will take place at Cheyenne's East High on Saturday, with full shows happening at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., said the owner of the studio, Leslie Connaghan.

Refunds for the BoDeans are available at the point of purchase starting Monday. [Civic Center Director] Dru Rohla is examining possibilities to reschedule that show.

The Cheyenne Heritage Quilters show, which starts today, is not expected to be affected.

FMI: Civic Center at 307-637-6364.