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. 

Join us May 3 for the retirement of Marirose Morris from the Wyoming Arts Council



Marirose Morris (photo by Linda Coatney)

 Wyoming Arts Council staffers often kid our colleague Marirose Morris that she knows everyone in the state.

All of her friends and family and coworkers are invited to a retirement reception honoring Marirose for her 19 years of service to the State of Wyoming in her position as Arts Access Specialist at the Arts Council.

It will be held in the State Museum Multipurpose Room in the Barrett Building, 2301 Capitol Ave., Cheyenne, on Thursday, May 3, 3-5 p.m.

If you cannot attend, please send your good wishes to Marirose at marirose.morris@wyo.gov or call her at 307-777-7723. You can also leave comments on this post.

We hope you can join in the fun on May 3!

Call for entries: Cheyenne Depot Museum's Railway Art Show

Align Nonprofit Leadership Institute offers classes for nonprofit arts organizations

Managers and staffers of arts nonprofit orgs may want to look at Align’s classes. Wyoming Department of Workforce Services offers grant funds to defray costs:

Align’s Nonprofit Leadership Institute (NLI) is the region’s leading training series for non-profit management. This series of hands-on classes builds leadership and management skills for the current and future generation of nonprofit leaders. Core topics range from financial and personnel management to high level leadership skills. Participants earn a certificate for each class and gain practical experience to strengthen their organization. Bring any or all of the NLI classes to your community or organization. Call us for details on scheduling and pricing.

Grant funds for tuition may be available to Wyoming organizations from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. For more information, call 307–772-9100 or email info@TheAlignTeam.org

the artist formerly known as Puccini

This dispatch comes from Wyomingarts' friend formerly known as Sophia Puccini. Shown in the photo below is Sophia in her new guise with the mural she has been working on for the last few months which graces the side of her dance studio in Saratoga.

I will be traveling throughout Mexico, Central and South America Jan-March 2012. The pink Burka is my exploration of being an invisible woman in exhile. I am writing a book. Wish me luck.

As they say in the Mahabarata, when in exile, go on adventures, listen to stories, meet people.... Love to you all from Venus Martinez formerly known as Sophia.

We here at Wyomingarts think the winter's as good a time as any to head south. In 1971, the Stones left England, owing more taxes than they could pay, and settled in and around the south of France. For them, what came of that self-enforced eviction was Exile on Main Street, now regarded as their best album. Whatever the reason for exile...see you on the other side. For the young girl still within, Adieu, jeune femme!

 Linda

WAC 2009 visual arts fellowship winner Dave Henderson using Kickstarter to kick-start a new project

WAC 2009 visual arts fellowship judges and recipients at the Visual Arts Symposium in Laramie. From left: Colorado sculptor Lawrence Argent (judge); New York mixed-media artist Gina Ruggeri (judge); Greg Esser (judge), director of the Roosevelt Row artists' district in Phoenix; Dave Henderson (fellowship winner), Worland; Florence McEwin (fellowship winner), Green River; Bart Fetz (honorable mention), Green River. Not pictured: Fellowship winners Leah Hardy, Laramie, and Jill Hartley, honorable mention, Rock Springs.

David Henderson just notified wyomingarts about a project that he is trying to kick-start on Kickstarter. David (fourth from left in photo) was one of the winners of a 2009 visual arts fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council. His work was featured in the 2008-2009 biennial fellowship show at the Wyoming State Museum Gallery in Cheyenne. 

In the 2009 fellowship competition, he submitted a series of oil and enamel paintings on panels that are part of his “American Dream” series. Henderson says he’s “inspired by the nostalgic and iconic imagery of Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers depicting American life. He spent last summer “painting interpretations of the American Dreams of my coworkers, friends, relatives and their children.” This was his first submission to the WAC fellowships. He grew up in Worland and received his B.F.A. in sculpture from the Maine College of Art in 2005.

Portrait of Audrey and Holden Truman ("Young Ambitions"), oil and enamel on panel, 20"x16", Dave Henderson 

David now lives in Portland, Maine. He is continuing (and revising) this project and aims to raise $10,000 for his “American Poor Traits” book. Here’s how he describes it:

"American Poor Traits" will be an art monograph -- a coffee table book -- that will detail fifty Americans struggling with poverty. Through classical portraiture and a true objective journalistic approach, I hope to capture the essence of each of my subjects and tell their unique story, share their own "American Dream" with the rest of the country. 

My plan is to spend one year beginning this January, 2012, traveling the country in my silver little '91 Subaru Loyale and spend one week with one person or family in one community in each state, interviewing and documenting each's experience - their ambitions & obstacles, and then spend the following year of 2013 creating 24"x24" portraits (oil on panel) to compliment each individual's story. 

I plan to work in whatever capacity I can as I travel from state to state, answering part-time or temporary help wanted ads to pay for food, and will sleep in my car as much as I can during the cold months and camp outside during the warm ones.  I need help with the cost of the travel itself, gas and oil changes and windshield washer fluid and tire rotations.  

When I start the painting part of the project, I will need to pay for supplies; paints, wood for panels, and studio space. 

I will also be creating a website for the project and will be documenting the entire process from start to finish -- from the minute I hit the road to the minute I finish the last portrait in the series.

A $25 supporter will receive a T-shirt from Lead Belly Press with a design by Jamakin Dave. For a $50 contribution, you will receive a signed copy of the “American Poor Traits” book.

Donate at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/20360490/american-poor-traits

Gillette clebrates its "End of Summer Bash" tonight with Jalan Crossland

The AVA Community Arts Center in Gillette invites you to the "End of Summer Bash" with Jalan Crossland and his band.

Here’s the invitation:

Every now and then the workers at the Energy Capitol of the Nation shuts-r-down for a night to kick up their heels and get sloppy with BBQ & Brew!

Since this only happens once a year, you better shut down those drill rigs & park your haul truck on the readyline cause August 19 is the night that we celebrate the hard working people that keep the rest this country going!

Gates open at 6 p.m. at AVA, 509 W. Second St.

$15 tickets available at Coffee Friends and AVA Community Art Center.

FMI: 307-682-9133

While at AVA, take a look at the toilet seat art fund-raiser in the gallery. Bid on a shark or a bucking bronco or a chicken or the pyraminds. Over 40 designs to choose from! Then ejoy the music.

"Tierra y Libertad" the first of many murals in unique Laramie business-artist partnership

Laramie artist Talal Cockar's "Tierra y Libertad" is the first in a series of murals in downtown Laramie sponsored by the University of Wyoming Art Museum and the Laramie Main Street Alliance.

Located on the north exterior wall of Big Hollow Food Co-op, 119 S. First St., Cockar's mural recognizes natural foods and agriculture and is a tribute to the land and the people who work it. The Laramie Mural Project is an extension of the Art Museum's "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" exhibition of public art that opened in 2008.

Cockar has studied and created street art using different media for more than 10 years and has done work in various social and cultural settings from Kenya to New York to Wyoming. 

In the coming weeks, as many as four additional murals will be created in downtown locations. The project pairs a local artist with business and building owners to discuss concepts and ideas so the murals reflect the community and the artist.

Trey Sherwood, Laramie Main Street executive director, says, "The Laramie Mural Project is a wonderful boost to the social vibrancy and diverse aesthetics found in downtown. We encourage the community to come down and watch the artists paint then explore new facets of downtown."

UW Art Museum Director Susan Moldenhauer credits Sherwood for doing "an extraordinary job in identifying businesses and building owners who may be interested in donating a wall for a mural by a local artist."

The Laramie Mural Project is made possible by the Guthrie Family Foundation, Laramie Beautification Committee and the city of Laramie.

For more information about the UW Art Museum, call (307) 766-6622 or visit the museum's webpage at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or blog at www.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com . Located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Dr. in Laramie, the museum is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays. Admission is free.

Photo: A sketch of the mural design by Talal Cockar, courtesy of the artist.

Library of Congress names Philip Levine the new U.S. Poet Laureate

The Library of Congress announced today that Philip Levine, who is "best known for his big-hearted, Whitmanesque poems about working-class Detroit" (New York Times quote), is to be the next poet laureate, succeeding W. S. Merwin.

Congratulations to Mr. Levine, one of wyomingarts' favorite poets.

Here's part of the statement issued today by the Library of Congress:

"Philip Levine is one of America's great narrative poets," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in a statement. "His plainspoken lyricism has, for half a century, championed the art of telling 'The Simple Truth' — about working in a Detroit auto factory, as he has, and about the hard work we do to make sense of our lives."

In "Drum," Levine writes of a "Tool & Die" shop and of the men who "sweep, wash up, punch out, collect outside for a final smoke." In "Coming Close," he presents a "quiet woman" standing for hours before a polishing wheel. But who is she, really? Levine asks. "You must come closer to find out."

You must hang your tie
and jacket in one of the lockers
in favor of a black smock, you must
be prepared to spend shift after shift
hauling off the metal trays of stock
bowing first, knees bent for a purchase
then lifting with a gasp, the first word
tenderness between the two of you

Ways for artists and artisans to help Japan

From Cornelia Carey at the Craft Emergency Relief Fund:

All of us are standing by with great concern as the aftermath of last Friday’s powerful earthquake in Japan continues to unfold. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families as well as those who are on the front lines of the relief efforts there. 

A number of you have written looking for suggestions about where to send contributions and aid. We strongly encourage supporting the first responders and want to pass along Network for Good’s list of some of them: http://www1.networkforgood.org/help-survivors-pacific-quake-tsunami. We have also put feelers out to the arts community in Japan about artists and cultural workers who could use our support further down the line. We will keep you informed about what we uncover. Please also let us know if you have contacts or recommendations for us.

Dorene Ludwig presents "Double Duty: The Working Women of America" March 29 in Casper

Dorene Ludwig will explore women's roles in the workforce and at home in "Double Duty: The Working Women of America" on Tuesday, March 29, 1:30-2:45 p.m. at the Bureau of Land Management Plains District Office, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper.

The performance is free and open to the public.

Dorene is the artistic director of the American Living History Theater in Greybull.

FMI: Teresa Johnson, 307-261-7510.

Poetry and music Feb. 26 at the Atlas Theatre

Detroit performance poet M.L. Liebler and L.A. musician Peter Lewis will perform Saturday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., at the Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne. Tix are $5 general admission, $3 for students, military and seniors. M.L. and Peter are in town as part of the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud project sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Poetry Foundation. More info at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us.

M.L. this to say about the Saturday performance:

"We'll do some of the songs that are sort of more or less poetic, songs we've written together and then Peter will perform acoustically some of the Moby Grape songs from his group, some of his own original pieces. We kind of have a nice little set where we're merging some of what we do together, some of my poetry in music, some of his Moby Grape and some of his original."

Take a 3-D trip to "Wyoming Entrepreneur Island"

This info comes from Mark Atkinson, Regional Director of the Wyoming Entrepreneur Small Business Development Center in Rock Springs:

I am teaching two small business classes (seminars) in the 3-D virtual world, Second Life, at our facility called Wyoming Entrepreneur Island.

The first one will take place February 10th at 12 noon. This is a business startup class for starting a small business in Real Life, although the basic principles apply to a business in any environment.

If attending and you live in Wyoming, please register for the free event at http://www.wysbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=10310001.

The second class will take place on March 3rd at 12 noon. This is an eCommerce class that teaches entrepreneurs how to sell online with a website.

If attending and you live in Wyoming, please register for the free event at http://www.wysbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=10310002.

All are welcome to attend whether living in Wyoming or not.

FMI: (307) 352-6894 or (800) 348-5205

Author Laura Bell speaker at next Buffalo Gal luncheon in Cody Oct. 5

From the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody:

"As a child I'd hidden within the pages of books, crafting my own particular fantasy of a life lived out, with mountains, horses, a cabin, animals that I alone could befriend," writes author Laura Bell. "...to me it seemed idyllic," she remembers. "I longed for it."

In 1977, when she was just 22 years old and at loose ends after graduating from college, Bell got the chance to live that childhood dream. Visiting Wyoming with a sister, Bell got a glimpse of sheep herding in the Big Horn Basin and the life seemed to fit her idyllic fantasy. Drawn to the life of solitude and physical work, she left her family home in Kentucky for what turned out to be a wild and unexpected adventure.

Bell wrote a memoir of her experiences herding sheep, titled Claiming Ground, published by Alfred A. Knopf in March 2010. She became a member of the sheep herding community-perhaps the strangest member as a young woman in a man's world. At the next Buffalo Gals Luncheon at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Bell shares background experiences from that time in her life.

The luncheon, open exclusively to patrons of the Historical Center, takes place Tuesday, October 5, noon - 1:30 p.m. in the Center's John Bunker Sands Photography Gallery. Seating is limited and advance reservations are required for the $20 luncheon and program. The presentation is followed by a book signing at the Center's Museum Store.

Bell currently lives in Wyoming, where, in addition to her writing, she has worked for the Nature Conservancy. She has received two literature fellowships from the Wyoming Arts Council, and has won the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Award and the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her work has been published in several collections.

Only a few seats remain for the Buffalo Gals Luncheon; to register, contact Membership Manager Jan Jones 307.578.4032. More information on the Historical Center's other membership benefits can be found by exploring the "Get Involved" section of the Web site, http://www.bbhc.org/.

Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience-history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and the nature of Yellowstone-into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is currently operating its fall, schedule, open daily 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. For general information, visit the new http://www.bbhc.org/ or call 307.587.4771.

Photo credit: Sheep wagon and flock, Pitchfork Ranch, ca. 1920s - 1930s. Gift to BBHC of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Belden.

"Working Words" anthology features Cheyenne story

Michael Shay, Wyoming Arts Council staffer and one of your trusty wyomingarts bloggers, has one of his stories in the new anthology "Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams," fresh from Coffee House Press in Minneapolis. Editor is Detroit's M.L. Liebler, who's been to Wyoming several times (and may travel this way again -- stay tuned). Check out the book at http://www.coffeehousepress.org/working-words.asp

The story, "The Problem with Mrs. P," was in Mike's first collection, "The Weight of a Body," published by Ghost Road Press in Denver. The story is set in Cheyenne.