Poetry Out Loud state competition March 1-2

Getting ready for Poetry Out Loud, I've asked people if they could recommend any poetry books to give to our student contestants. A big thank you to Nancy Curtis of High Plains Press who sent Learn to Love the Haze (1996) by former Wyoming Poet Laureate Robert Roripaugh; Circle of Light (1995) by Charles Levondosky; Wyoming Promises (1984) and Cowpuncher Poetry (1986) both collections edited by Nancy. I also received, from mom (thanks, mom) who has had them stored in her shed for years, Wordweavers (1986), a collection of poetry by Wyoming Writers published through Wyoming Writers, Inc., a statewide writing organization. Look for info put up by Mike in earlier posts about this year's conference to be held in Cody, June 4-6.

This volume has many wonderful Wyoming writers in it and their bios--Patricia (Midge) Farmer from Gillette, who would go on to write, for the city of Gillette, the proclamation proclaiming April 22 as Poetry Day, the only town in Wyoming to do so; John Nesbitt, who back then was "now teaching at Eastern Wyoming College...and has published short stories, literary articles, book reviews, a few poems and magazine articles," all this before John would be publishing several (more than 20 to date) trade westerns; and Orval Meier, who wrote a humorous poem, titled:

Parking Space

You cruise the crowded parking lot
Hoping to find a parking spot,
One that's somewhere near the store,
So you won't have to walk a mile or more.
Things look bad, and you despair, but
You finally spot one over there.
You mentally shout, Oh, Boy! Oh, Boy!
And leaps your heart with boundless joy.
You rush the space a mile a minute,
Only to find a motorcycle in it.

Students from all over the state will come to Cheyenne March 1-2 to compete in the state competition. Wyoming's winner and a chaperon will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national final, April 26-27, 2010. The students have worked hard to memorize and inhabit the poems they've chosen from the POL website http://poetryoutloud.org, which lists more than 400 poems for students to choose from. Wyoming POL is sanctioned by the Wyoming High School Activities Association. The events are free and open to the public.

Alyson Hagy passed on to me Vol. 1, Issue 2 of The Jackson Hole Review, which she brought back with her after a visit there in February with Philip Gourevitch and other UW writing staff and creative writing grad students.

A forum for local artists and writers in the Jackson Hole area, it is co-edited by Amy Early, Marcia Casey and Susan Marsh, (and Jason Kroman in the first issue); comes out bi-annually in the spring and fall. Submissions are accepted year round. The website http://www.jhreview.org/ has full submission guidelines, and their first issue is their also to peruse.

This issue features several poetry selections by poets Emily Paul, Jessica Flammang, M. Joseph Irwin, JEAL, and John J. Hanlon; a fiction short story by mary Billiter and essays by Elisabeth Ward, Stella Cabot-Wilson, Emily Paul, Jessica Flammang and Linda Hazen, and smattered with B & W photos and other artwork.

Banff Mtn. Film Festival at UW Feb. 24-25

The Banff Mountain Film Festival world tour brings the spirit of outdoor adventure to the University of Wyoming Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 24-25, at 7 p.m. in the Arts and Sciences auditorium.

The free showing, sponsored by the UW Outdoor Program, features award-winning films and audience favorites from approximately 300 films entered in the annual festival in Banff, Canada.

This year's tour features a collection of the most inspiring action, environmental and adventure mountain films. It provides an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

The schedule of films to be shown at UW can be viewed on at http://www.uwyo.edu/Oap/pdfs/Banff_Film_line-up_UW.pdf

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, produced by Mountain Culture at The Banff Center, will visit in about 285 communities and 30 countries across the globe.

The UW presentation is made possible through the Student Activities Council, Cross Country Connection and the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

For more information, call the UW Outdoor Program at (307) 766-2402 or go to www.uwyo.edu/oap/events.asp.

Sessions for non-profit boards at CVC

Center for a Vital Community at Sheridan College sent this announcement:

The following sessions will take place at the Sheridan College Main Street campus training room in Sheridan. Lunch will be provided. Registration Fee: $40 (This will cover your cost for the entire series. We encourage you to attend all 4 sessions. If your schedule changes, please notify the CVC as this affects our limited space.)

March 10
Creating Boards that Lead -- 5 key functions for board members, 5:30-7 p.m. Board members are encouraged to attend and dinner will be provided

March 11
Best Practices for you Board -- interactive session with a take home assessment plan- tips, and tools, 10 a.m.-noon. Staff and directors are encouraged to attend.

Keynote Presentation: Terry Profota is a Founding Board member of the Montana Non-profit Association, professor at MSU for 5 years, wrote and teaches the Nonprofit Management courses through MSU Terry Profota's business and nonprofit experience spans over 30 years. Her company Sage Solutions Nonprofit Consulting, LLC has been helping small to mid-sized nonprofits improve their operational, organizational, and fundraising effectiveness for over five years.

April 14
Your Leadership Cycle, noon-1:30 p.m. Keynote: Jenny Craft, CVC

FMI: http://cvc.sheridan.edu

John D. Nesbitt reads Friday at WWCC

Rick Kempa sent this from Western Wyoming Community College:

Western writer John D. Nesbitt will read from his work on Friday, February 19. The event will take place at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs in Room 1302 at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Nesbitt lives in the plains country of Wyoming, where he teaches English and Spanish at Eastern Wyoming College. He has had more than twenty books published, including short story collections, contemporary novels, and traditional westerns, as well as textbooks for his courses.

His most recent work consists of "Dead for the Last Time," a novella; "Poacher's Moon," a contemporary novel; and "Not a Rustler," a traditional western.

Nesbitt has won many awards for his work, including two awards from the Wyoming State Historical Society (for fiction), two awards from Wyoming Writers for encouragement of other writers and service to the organization, two Wyoming Arts Council literary fellowships (one for fiction, one for non- fiction), a Western Writers of America Spur finalist award for mass-market paperback original novel for "Raven Springs," and the Spur award itself for his novel "Trouble at the Redstone."

The event is made possible by the support of the Arlene and Louise Wesswick Foundation and the Wyoming Arts Council. It is the second in a series of readings planned for the spring, which will also include essayist Peter Anderson from Crestone, Colorado on March 5; and fiction writer Vicki Lindner, formerly of Laramie and now from Denver, on March 26.

These writers will also be offering workshops prior to their readings, in which they facilitate writing exercises, share writing experiences and tips, and answer student-generated questions. Nesbitt's workshop is scheduled from 2-5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, in Room 1408.

FMI: Contact WWCC Associate Professor of English Rick Kempa at rkempa@wwcc.wy.edu or 307-382-1731.

Sighted at 2010 Governor's Arts Awards Gala...

Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso attended the Feb. 12 Governor's Arts Awards Gala sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council. In a brief address to the crowd of 400 at Little America in Cheyenne, he sang the praises of the arts in Wyoming. Here he is shown at the event with constituents. Wyoming's lone U.S. Representative, Cynthia Lummis, dropped in to say hi during the pre-banquet social hour. Photos by Evangeline Bratton, WAC Staff.

Wyoming Arts Council Board member Susan Stubson of Casper (left) and Bobbi Brown Barrasso, wife of Sen. John Barrasso. This shot was taken at the Governor's Residence reception.

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen and wife Diane

Former Wyoming Secretary of State Thyra Thomson (at the Governor's Residence)

Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson of Cody

Sara Needles (center), administrator of the Wyoming Division of Cultural Resources, with WAC Board members David Kathka (left) of Rock Springs and David Neary of Lander.

Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jim McBride (center) at the Governor's Residence reception.

Call for entries: Wyoming Short Film Contest

From a Film Wyoming press release:

The 2010 Wyoming Short Film Contest is open for entries. Film makers can submit their videos online at www.wyomingshortfilmcontest.com. A $25,000 first prize will be awarded to the winning entry with a storyline that takes place in Wyoming, features Wyoming, or presents the state as a major character.

All submissions are due on or before April 30, 2010 and there is no entry fee for the Wyoming Short Film Contest. Entries may be any style or genre of film and shall not exceed 15 minutes running time. The winner shall receive $25,000 towards the production budget of their next project shot in Wyoming.

Wyoming Film office staff has made the process easier this year by using popular video contest software. The new program allows the general public to vote on their favorite entry. A judging panel will then decide the winner based on the top ten most popular entries. Some criteria that the judges will keep in mind when viewing the films include production value, script, acting when relevant and Wyoming tourism value.

FMI: http://filmwyoming.blogspot.com

Jurors announced for 2010 Wyoming Arts Council visual arts fellowships

Applications for the 2010 visual arts fellowships will be mailed by the end of this week. Printable apps will also be available by Feb. 19 on this blog and on the WAC web site at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/.

Postmark deadline is April 1, 2010.

Here are this year's jurors:

KATE BUDD was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1969. She received her bachelor’s degree from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1990, and her MFA in Sculpture from Southern Illinois University in 1995. She has received two Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council and her work has been exhibited in numerous group exhibits in the U.S. and U.K. Solo exhibits include “tableau” at William Busta Gallery in Cleveland; “Thorny” at Rudolph Poissant Gallery, Houston; “Kate Budd: On Site Ohio” at the Akron Art Museum and “Honey” at The College of Wooster in Ohio. Her work has been reviewed in Art in America, New Art Examiner and Sculpture magazines and she is currently represented by William Busta Gallery, Cleveland. Before coming to teach at the University of Akron, Kate taught in the sculpture department at the University of Texas for three years. She is now an Associate Professor of Art at the Myers School of Art where she has taught 3-D Design and Sculpture since 1998. FMI: http://art.uakron.edu/faculty/kate-budd

SUE JOHNSON earned a BFA in painting from Syracuse University and an MFA in painting from Columbia University. She has had one-person exhibitions at the Tweed Museum of Art, Jan Cicero Gallery, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Midwest Museum of American Art, Swarthmore College, Anderson Gallery/VCU, The Rosenbach Museum and Library, and University of Richmond Museums. Grants include awards from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts/Mid Atlantic Foundation Fellowship, and four Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council. Selected residency fellowships include the Arts/Industry Program, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Millay Colony, Art Omi International Artist Colony, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, City of Salzburg/Salzburg Kunstlerhaus Residency Fellowship, American Philosophical Society/Andre Michaux Library Research Fellowship, and American Antiquarian Society research fellowship. Johnson is a professor of art in the Department of Art and Art History at St. Mary's College of Maryland where she has taught painting, drawing, printmaking and book arts since 1993. FMI: http://www.suejohnson1.com/

MARK KLETT photographs the intersection of cultures, landscapes and time. His background includes working as a geologist before turning to photography. Klett has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Buhl Foundation, and the Japan/US Friendship Commission. His work has been exhibited and published both nationally and internationally for over 30 years, including a 2000 show at the University of Wyoming Art Museum entitled “Witness to an Occupied Land.” His work is held in over 80 museum collections worldwide. He is the author of thirteen books including Saguaros (Radius Press and DAP, 2007), After the Ruins (University of California Press 2006), Yosemite in Time (Trinity University Press, 2005), and Third Views, Second Sights (Museum of New Mexico Press 2004). Mark Klett is Regents’ Professor of Art at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. FMI: www.artnet.com/artist/9580/mark-klett.html

Dialogue Clinic with Shawn Klomparens

From a press release:

Attend a free "Dialogue Clinic" with writer Shawn Klomparens on Saturday, February, 27, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., in the Center for the Arts Conference Room in Jackson.

Great dialogue brings life to fiction, but how is it written? How can passages of dialogue feel realistic without being dull, or convey action without seeming forced? Join author Shawn Klomparens ("Jessica Z.," "Two Years, No Rain") for a workshop on crafting tight, narrative-propelling dialogue. The group will read and analyze examples of good and bad dialogue, work through writing and revision exercises, and receive suggestions for further reading. Participants are welcomed (but not required) to submit up to five pages via email by February 25 for possible discussion during the session at klomp@shawnklomparens.com. Space is limited.

Klomparens has been called “the master of dialogue” by the Sacramento Book Review. He studied English Literature and Geological Sciences at Ohio University before coming to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 1994 for what he thought would be a one-year visit for skiing and cycling. He ended up staying in Jackson where he now resides with his wife and two children, and is working on his third novel.

This workshop is compliments of the Jackson Hole Writers Conference and part a series which will include poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction with writers Cecily Parks, Patti Sherlock, Lucy Flood, Karol Griffin-Young, and others.

FMI: Nicole Burdick, http://www.jacksonholewriters.wordpress.com/, 307-413-5235

Deadline is April 2 for WWInc writing contest

Wyoming Writers Inc. (WWInc.) is seeking participants to enter the annual Writing Contest.

Prose entries are limited to 3,000 words and the categories are:
Adult Fiction (which includes genre fiction such as science-fiction, mystery, romance, but no horror or erotica)
Fiction for Children
Novel Segments
Humor
Non-fiction (includes articles, essays, and creative non-fiction)

Poetry entries are limited to 40 lines and the categories are:
Traditional Poetry
Free Verse

Entry fees are $2 per entry for WWInc. members and $5 for non-members.

All entries must include an entry form and be postmarked on or before Friday, April 2, 2010.
Mail your entries to: Ms. Chris Williams, WWInc. Contest, 3229 NW Gumwood Ave., Corvallis, OR 97330.

Winners will be announced at WWInc.'s 2010 conference held June 4-6 at the Holiday Inn in Cody. Certificates will be awarded. Winning entries will be published on the WWInc. web site.

Contest rules and entry form can be found on the WWInc. web site, www.wyowriters.org/events.html

Casting call for film by Cheyenne's RFG

Reveur Film Group is casting seven men and three woman in their 20s and 30s for a short sci-fi film. Auditions will be held on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 22-23, 6-8 p.m., at the Historic Atlas Theatre, 211 W. Lincolnway, Cheyenne. Callbacks on Feb. 24.

Dancers' Workshop presents "Friday Night Fever" in Jackson Feb. 19

Dancers' Workshop presents Friday Night Fever: A 70s Dance Party On the Center Theater Stages, complete with swirling lights and a disco ball.

Friday, February 19, 8-11 p.m. Age 21+. Tickets: $5 in advance/$8 at the door. Available at Dancers' Workshop, Center for the Arts, 240 S. Glenwood, 2nd Floor, Jacksosn.

FMI: 307-733.6398 for further details

Call for entries: Central Utah Art Center

CALL TO ARTISTS!

Current Utah residents and artists with ties to Utah can apply to the "Utah Ties Juried Art Exhibition" at Central Utah Art Center in Ephraim.

All media are accepted.

Deadline: Feb. 24, 2010

Notification: March 3

Opening Reception: March 12, 6-8 p.m.

Prizes: $500/$300/$200

Juror: Tim Hawkinson: James Corcoran Gallery in Los Angeles

To Apply: Submit 3-plus images, artist statement, CV

Fees: $20 for 3 images, $5 per each additional image.

Apply online

Important Notice

Creede Art Council's National Small Print Show
The dates for the 2010 NSPS are:
April 1st: Prints, entry form and fees due
May 28th: Opening of Show and reception
June 29th: Exhibition Closes

For questions or prospectus, contact Diane Knutzon
719-658-0312 or creedarts@gojade.org

Call For Sculpture Announcement

April 15, 2010
Soliciting on-loan (for sale) sculptures for one year outdoor exhibit, beginning in June 2010 ending May 2011. $500 honorarium. Entry fee.
Contact:
Fachon Wilson
Public Arts Committee
Sheridan, WY
307-674-8027
http://www.sheridanpublicarts.com
rwilson@wyoming.com

More announcements can be seen at
http://artdeadlinelist.com/ads

Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center

Casper's Discovery Center Gets A New Look

The Discovery Center, located within the Casper's Nicolaysen Art Museum, inspires fun and exploration for all ages. Through their hands-on activity stations, classes and special events, the center combines science and art with fun and learning.

In October 2009, the Discovery Center reopened with a fresh new look, including new paint and flooring, as well as five new discovery education/activity stations: Erosion Explosion, Spinning Your Wheels, Build It, Renewable Usable, and City Escape. These stations were sponsored by GSG Architecture.

"The center's programs bring art and science to life in a way specially formatted for children, utilizing the senses and stimulating the mind to work in new and interesting ways."

The Nicolaysen Art Museum's reputation for education and prestige in contemporary art is known throughout the region, and its family activities add to the variety of programs they offer the community of Casper and state of Wyoming. Bring the family the next time you are in Casper!

307-235-5247

Festival of Winds begins at UW Feb. 18

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming's annual Festival of Winds starts Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center concert hall in Laramie with a concert featuring the Department of Music's top wind bands.

Michael Griffith will conduct the Wind Symphony and Brad Williamson will conduct the Symphonic Band for this free concert. Jennifer Turpen will perform as a saxophone soloist.

The Wind Symphony's curtain-raiser will be Caesar Giovannini's "Overture in B Flat." Then Turpen will perform Maurice Whitney's "Introduction and Samba," a showpiece for the alto saxophone. Next is Daniel Buckvich's "In Memoriam Dresden," followed by H. Owen Reed's "Michigan Morn." The Wind Symphony will perform music from the Broadway musical, "Cats."

The Symphonic Band will open with Robert Jager's "Esprit de Corps," a tribute to the United States Marine Corps Band. Next is "Of Sailors and Whales," based on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Dave Walsh, the "Voice of the Cowboys," will narrate this work. "The Jig is Up," by Daniel Kallman, will be played next. The Symphonic Band will close with Robert Sheldon's "Metroplex."
Turpen, lecturer in the UW Department of Music, completed her M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in saxophone performance at the University of Georgia. She has performed throughout the United States as a soloist and in various quartets and is now the alto player in UW's Globe Saxophone Quartet.

For more information, call Griffith at (307) 766-3069.

Photo: Saxophonist Jennifer Turpen is the concert's featured soloist.

Sixth grade art show at Laramie Co. Library

From the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne:

The Laramie County School District No. 1 6th Grade Art Show has taken over our building! Art is hanging on all three floors, and all of our glass display cases are filled to the brim with sculptures and clay pieces. Some "Chihulys" are hanging from the ceiling on the 2nd floor and ancient Egypt has come to life on the 3rd floor. And there's so much more - it's a real feast for the eyes!

All are welcome to come view the art any time during regular library hours: Monday - Thursday 10am-9pm, Friday & Saturday 10am-6pm, and Sunday 1-5pm.

FMI: Jennifer Rife, 307.773.7218

View great vids about "Wyoming Folks" on Facebook fan site

Watch Wyoming Folks: Are Afraid in Travel & Culture  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Dean Peterson, the talented videographer for the Department of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, let us know today about the new "Wyoming Folks" fan page on Facebook.

The page has links to the videos shot and produced by Dean. They include "Wyoming Folks: Are Afraid" (scary stuff) and "Wyoming Folks: Don't Hibernate" (The Great Outdoors) and other neat topics.

To become a fan, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wyoming-Folks/308737917493?ref=ts

Correction to application dates for Arts Northwest showcases

Correction on dates:

The deadline for applying for an Arts Northwest showcase this year is March 22, not the 8th as I originally posted. Please make a note of it!

The 2010 Northwest Booking Conference will be held Oct. 14--17 in Bellevue (Seattle), Washington. Visit the Arts Northwest website at http://www.artsnw.org or www.artsnw.org for more information and to apply. You (or your agent) must be a current member to apply for a showcase. To join, or to renew your membership, go to our web site.

The applications for the Northwest on Tour book will be posted online in mid-March. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Jean Gilliam, Arts Northwest, 360.457.9290, mailto:artsnwadmin@olympus.net>

Valentine's Day Eve reception at KEAG

On Saturday, Feb. 13, noon-5 p.m., the KEAG Gallery, 414 Grand Ave., Laramie, is holding a "Heart Art" reception. There will be Valentine's cookies and tea.

KEAG will feature original works by Jodie Atherton, Wendy Bredehoft, Ellen Bredehoft, Ken Driese, Dona Fleming, Cari Flocchini, Susan Moldenhauer, and Muddy Mountain Pottery.

FMI: (307) 745-3308 or http://keaggallery.com/

Reminder: Reception this evening at Clay Paper Scissors Gallery in Cheyenne

Take a break from the legislative session and get on over to the Clay Paper Scissors Gallery in downtown Cheyenne for a pre-Valentine's Day reception for "Melting Into Spring -- Watercolors by Kandice Starbuck" from 4-7 p.m. today (Feb. 11). Free and open to the public.

Starbuck, a native of Wyoming now living in Fort Collins, has dedicated herself to painting daily. Her delicately painted watercolors capture the luminous winter light, the warmth of spring and the pleasure of flowers.

Her artwork will be on display through March 20.

Hours during the exhibit: Thursdays 4-7, Fridays 1-5, Saturdays 10-2

Miss "V" at Pinedale Library March 9

Miss "V" the Gypsy Cowbelle will be be conducting a program to celebrate Women's History Month on Tuesday, March 9, 1:30 p.m. at the Sublette County Public Library in Pinedale. The event is free and open to the public.

Earlier in the day, "V" will be the guest at the library's story hour. She''ll entertain the kids with stories and songs on her homemade instruments. That afternoon, she'll perform for the library's after-school program.

You can bring Miss "V" to your library or school or community center through a WAC Arts Across Wyoming grant. Just click on www.wyomingartscouncil.org and go to the "Grants" link on the left sidebar.

"Celebrate Pink" Feb. 12 in Cheyenne

DT's Tusker Bar in Cheyenne is hosting "Celebrate Pink" on Friday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m.-2 a.m. A portion of the night's sales will be donated to Art for the Cure. DT's is one of the sponsors for the 2010 Art for the Cure Gala in Cheyenne.

Wyoming Art for the Cure Gala will be held on Friday, April 23, from 6-9 p.m. at Little America Hotel & Resort in Cheyenne. The 2010 honoree is Susan Thomas.

FMI: www.artforthecure.org

Pictured: "Angel Wing Begonia," water-based media, by Jessica DeBall, the 2009 Art for the Cure "Best in Show" winner

Acting showcase at LCCC Feb. 12

Cheyenne actor and director Anna Katen sent this message:

This Friday, February 12, ADIOS will be presenting our Irene Ryan showcase at LCCC in Cheyenne.

The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship is a part of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF) which members of ADIOS will be attending next week in Reno, Nevada.

Actors are nominated from college productions after an adjudicator from the region attends the show. These nominees then travel to the competition to compete against college and graduate students from all around the region. This year we have four Irene Ryan Nominees! Stephanie Haecker and Mark Schaad from Charlotte's Web the Musical and James Sweazea and Anna Katen from Coyote on a Fence.

Each Irene Ryan scholarship recipient prepares two scenes with a partner and one monologue to perform in rounds at the competition. This year, we're showing you what we're taking!! This Friday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the LCCC Playhouse, all four Irene Ryans and their partners will perform their full audition for the public.

Admission is free, so why not attend!!?

Winter Chamber Concert features string quartet

February 12 2010 @ 7:30PM

Walk Festival HallWINTER CHAMBER CONCERT: String Quartet

Judith Cox, violinRaymond Leung, violinJoan DerHovsepian, violaChristopher French, cello
MENDELSSOHN
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
DEBUSSY
String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 10

Festival Musicians from the Atlanta and Houston Symphonies return to Jackson Hole for an evening of music by Mendelssohn and Debussy for string quartet.

All winter concerts are just one hour in length and will be performed without intermission.

The winter concerts of the Grand Teton Music Festival play a vital role in the Festival's education and outreach programs with GTMF artists visiting local classrooms for private music lessons, master classes, and performances.

"New West" reviews Alyson Hagy's new book

Jenny Shank reviewed Alyson Hagy’s new story collection, “Ghosts of Wyoming,” in New West.

She concluded the review this way:

With the stories in “Ghosts of Wyoming,” Alyson Hagy makes a convincing case that restless and unquiet spirits haunt her home state. Or maybe it’s just the wind.

Alyson teaches at UW and is the winner of a 2006 creative writing fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council. She will read from “Ghosts of Wyoming” at the Albany County Public Library in Laramie on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m. She also will participate in a reading of Graywolf Press authors at the AWP Conference in Denver in April.

Read the entire New West review at http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/things_that_go_bump_in_wyoming_alyson_hagys_ghosts_of_wyoming/C39/L39/

Tix available for tonight's Opera Colorado performance of "The Barber of Seville"

Attention opera fans in Wyoming:

It’s not too late to get tickets to tonight’s performance of "The Barber of Seville" by Opera Colorado in Denver. Performance starts at 7:30 p.m.

ACT NOW!

Friday is SOLD OUT!

Sunday is SOLD OUT!

Tonight is your LAST CHANCE to see the show audiences are saying is one of their all-time favorites.

Featuring an all-star cast! Isabel Leonard making her debut as a sparkling Rosina…Lucas Meachem as a charming Figaro…Brian Stucki as the romantic Count Almaviva…Thomas Hammons as a hilarious Doctor Bartolo…Wayne Tigges as the conniving Basilio.

Buy online or call 303.468.2030 for tickets now!

Free acoustic workshop with Bearfoot

Alaskan bluegrass band Bearfoot will be conducting a free acoustic workshop on Thursday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m. in the Sublette County Public Library in Pinedale. Open to everyone so bring your guitar, fiddle or mandolin and talk shop with some real pros. If you don't want to participate in the workshop, you can still sit in.

Bearfoot will perform at the Pinedale Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m.

FMI: http://www.pinedalefinearts.com/

Brandon Mull in Jackson February 18

From a press release:

Teton County Library presents award-winning young adult and children's author Brandon Mull, writer of the best-selling Fablehaven series, for a talk and book-signing Thursday, February 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Colter School Cafeteria, 1855 High School Road, Jackson.

Mull will talk about the writing process and how he engages his imagination to create fantastical characters in his stories. He encourages students to strengthen their imagination through reading and writing during his "Imagination Can Take You Places" tour, which has reached more than 215,000 elementary school students to date.

Thursday's program is free and open to the community with support from donations, large and small, to the Teton County Library Foundation. Mull also will visit with Jackson students in the schools.

For information about teen programs at the library, contact Steve Whisenand, Teen Program Coordinator, at 733-2164 ext. 247. To learn about library programs and find out about upcoming events, visit the library online at http://www.TCLib.org.

Call for entries: High Country News

Do you have an image that reflects a quintessential example of the West's intrinsic natural beauty?

Then the High Country News wants your photo.

Submission deadline is March 1, 2010. Viewers to the HCN web site then vote for their favorite images by March 15. Winners will be featured on he web site and will be considered for the print version of HCN.

FMI: http://www.hcn.org/40years/contests/the-natural-west

"Dont Taze Me Bro" sings the Jalan Crossland Band in Casper Feb. 12

Jalan Crossland Band
February 12, 2010 • 7:30 p.m.
John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School, Casper

Co-Sponsors: GAPWEST Broadcasting and the Parkway Plaza.

Partial funding is from the Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Schneider Fund in the Wyoming Community Foundation, the McMurry Foundation, Natrona County School District No. 1, and the City of Casper.

"There ain't much to see in a small town, but what you hear sure makes up for it" is the old adage. In Ten Sleep WY, population 307, what you'll hear - more often than not - is a clanky old banjo ricocheting off the storefronts and buttes, like a renegade .22 rifle shell. This clamor is Jalan Crossland, local trailer park troubadour, spinning yarns and painting portraits of the lives and people of the rural Rocky Mountain West. "Gossip is even better when you sing it" says Jalan.

Crossland's primary tool of musical expression has always been the guitar. In 1997, Jalan placed 2nd at the Winfield, KS. National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, and 1st in the state flatpicking contest of his Wyoming home. These added to dozens of regional championship awards, attest that his playing is"...so dexterous that when he stops at the end of a song, you realize you forgot to breathe"--The Weekly News, Rapid City SD.

Crossland's songs are vivid, first-hand accounts of life in the small towns and backcountry of 21st century America. Like the people they portray, the songs are tough and honest. They also reflect the tremendous heart and soul of their colorful characters. The sound glides along on the wheels of a country music clearly not to be mistaken for mainstream. Old-time and bluegrass are present, but treated to the creative freedom of rock-n-roll.

"More than just a great picker, Crossland's performances feature graceful delivery and genuine character"--Planet Jackson Hole, Jackson WY.

Crossland and his band have recorded 3 CDs; 'Poorboy Shanty', 'Moonshiner', and 'Trailer Park Fire & Other Tragedies'. They perform full-time, throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia. Jalan has opened on several tours with alt-country legend, Robert Earl Keen, and shared stages with many of the biggest musical acts in the nation.

Edward P. Jones is new eminent writer in residence at UW MFA Program

One of the top contemporary African American writers, Edward P. Jones, will read and sign his books Thursday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. in the University Wyoming Union ballroom.

His Wyoming visit is sponsored by UW's Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing Eminent Writer in Residence Program. During his residency at UW, Jones will teach a writing workshop, visit numerous university classes and offer readings on campus and elsewhere in the state.

Novelist Dave Eggers writes, "Jones' short stories have the ability to stun on every page; there are too many breathtaking lines to count."

Jones' first collection of short stories, "Lost in the City," won the 1993 Pen/Hemingway Award and was short-listed for the National Book Award. His novel, "The Known World," won the 2004 National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Lannan Literary Award.

His most recent collection of short fiction, "All Aunt Hagar's Children," was a finalist for the 2007 Pen/Faulkner Award. Jones also publishes regularly in The New Yorker.

The Eminent Writer in Residence Program is funded by the Excellence in Higher Education Endowment. For more information, visit the MFA Web site at www.uwyo.edu/creativewriting or e-mail Associate Professor Beth Loffreda at loffreda@uwyo.edu.

"Melting Into Spring" at Clay Paper Scissors

Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio in Cheyenne announces the "Melting Into Spring -- Watercolors by Kandice Starbuck" exhibit from February 11-March 20, 2010.

Opening reception on Thursday, February 11, 4:30-7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Hours during the exhibit:
Thursdays 4-7 p.m.
Fridays 1-5 p.m.
Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Clay Paper Scissors
Gallery & Studio on Fifteenth
Downtown Cheyenne

A Survey Shows Pain of Recession for Artists

By Randy Kennedy
Published: November 23, 2009
A major new survey of American artists and how they are weathering the economic downturn has found that slightly more than half experienced a drop in income from 2008 to 2009, a blow to an already struggling group, two thirds of whose members reported that they earned less than $40,000 last year.
James Vira was recently laid off by an architectural firm but is enjoying doing other work, including designing furniture and other objects.
More than 5,300 practitioners in fields like painting, filmmaking and architecture participated in the online survey, a larger response than expected, providing a detailed look at the state of the country’s artists, a group that the Census Bureau numbers at more than two million.
Many of the findings — that working artists tend to work day jobs to support themselves; that more than a third don’t have adequate health insurance; that musicians and architects tend to do better than writers and painters — simply provide statistical support for what artists themselves have long known.
But it also found that the recession has been exceptionally tough for many artists. Eighteen percent of those who responded said their income had dropped 50 percent or more in the last year.
The survey was conducted in July and August and commissioned by a nonprofit artist-support organization called Leveraging Investments in Creativity, which worked with Princeton Survey Research Associates International and the Helicon Collaborative, a consulting firm that advises nonprofits.
The researchers found that in general very few artists’ incomes approach six figures. While the majority of artists have college degrees, only 6 percent said they earned $80,000 or more.
“A lot of the artists who were reporting were telling us, ‘I live in a recession all the time, so this downturn has really not been so different for me,’ ” said Judilee Reed, the executive director of Leveraging Investments in Creativity.
(The groups that conducted the survey, which was paid for in part by the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, publicized the survey through arts organizations and acknowledged that as a result it might not reflect the “experiences of the entire population of practicing artists in the United States.” But they added that the data were weighted to hew as closely as possible to Census Bureau demographics for artists.)
The artists surveyed tended to earn either very little of their overall income from their artwork or almost all of it. Slightly more than 40 percent said that in 2008 they earned 20 percent or less of their total income from their art.
But at the other end of the spectrum 28 percent said creative work accounted for 80 percent or more of their income, and those artists were often those whose incomes were higher, $80,000 or more. Visual artists (who made up half of the respondents) and writers were more likely to earn 20 percent or less of their income from art.
Even artists whose second jobs have carried them through the downturn relatively unscathed said that the climate for creative work was more difficult. Esther Robinson, a Brooklyn filmmaker whose 2007 documentary, “A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory,” was partly paid for with credit cards, money later recouped with an advance from a distributor, said, “This year there are almost no advances available for the same kind of film that is of a certain quality and that is theatrically releasable.”
Ms. Robinson, who also runs a nonprofit arts organization that she founded, said that she was concentrating on short films because “I don’t see a way to finance any of the feature ideas I have for documentaries right now.”
Perhaps because artists tend to have an idealistic bent, the survey found, however, that many also reported upsides to the downturn: that it has given them freedom to experiment and to spend more time on their art when avenues for making money are closed. James Vira, a Manhattan architect who recently lost his job in a round of layoffs at Cooper, Robinson & Partners, is trying to make it on his own by doing consulting work, taking on small projects and designing furniture and other objects.
“It’s allowing me to pursue things that I really want to pursue, and it’s working out so far,” said Mr. Vira, the father of two young children. “I’m very, very hopeful. But I still check the want ads — as a habit, I guess.”

Mohamed Shata Available for UW Faculty and Students

Egyptologist Mohamed Shata will be at the University of Wyoming Art Museum on Tues., Feb. 9. In addition to his Art Talk at 7 pm entitled The Art of Ancient Egypt, Shata will be available at 4 pm to meet informally with students and faculty in the Art Museum's conference room.
For his public lecture, Shata will explain the process, technique and images of the tombs built and decorated for the kings, queens and nobles of ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.).An archaeologist and licensed Egyptologist for the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, Shata received a degree in archaeology at Cairo University. He worked extensively on excavating sites in the vicinity of the Pyramids with Zahi Hawass, Egypt's vice minister of culture and secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. He has also worked on restoring the Sphinx and has discovered many tombs of Old Kingdom royal family members at Giza. Shata was a presenter at the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists.The Art Talk is free and open to the public. All are invited to attend.

Attention ceramic artists: HANDBUILDING conference set for May 28-30 in Atlanta

Ceramic Arts Daily featured this:

The HANDBUILDING conference May 28-30 in Atlanta will bring together a diverse group of ceramic artists to demonstrate, share and answer any questions you have. Each presentation will involve all steps of the process, from the type of clay, to forming, finishing and firing.

This conference will help you build upon your existing skills and learn new techniques that will take your work to the next level.

Space is Limited.

Register today at https://www.pubservice.com/pr/PQConference/handbuilding.aspx?

Deadline to SAVE $75 ON REGISTRATION ends March 21, 2010.

Deadline to Reserve your Hotel for a discounted rate, ends Wednesday, April 28, 2010
　
What you will learn:
* Learn how to make colored clay patterns,and how to use it in several different ways.
* Develop these techniques to add to your resume: utilize thrown & altered elements, coils, slabs, incising, sgraffito, ‘poor man’s Mishima,’ slip-trailing & inlay, carving, press-molding, texturing, tearing, slumping and bumping.
* Participants will learn the innovative, straightforward
*Patz Process Ceramic Technique* which is a method of connecting clay forms to make creative animal sculptures or figures in clay. Attendees will also learn how this technique is used to attach clay appendages to traditional pottery such as; pinch pots, slab work, coil built pieces and wheel thrown pottery.
* Learn the broomstick technique that shows how colored clays and textures can be added to the form while the clay is taking shape.
* Learn how to hand build functional pots which have good form, function well, and have a sensitivity to the human touch as well as other senses.
* Understand how to apply texture to soft slabs using found objects, cut out inlaid shapes, clay stamps and bisque molds of textured surfaces which the clay is rolled on, producing a full
slab of texture.
* Learn how to make various pottery forms starting from a basic cylinder of clay, which is altered by cutting darts or pinching, and pushing out the clay to round out the form. Alternate ways of treating the bottom of a pot with regard to added feet or foot rings will be included, as well as various types of handles made from slabs and coils.
　
Host is Spruill Center for the Arts, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30338
Phone: (770) 394-3447
Website: http://www.spruillarts.org/

FOR WYOMING CERAMIC ARTISTS: The Wyoming Arts Council provides Individual Artist Professional Development grants to help defray costs of conference registration, travel and lodging. For more information, go to http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/ and find IAPD category under the "Grants" link on the left sidebar.

Sublette County Artists' Guild offers scholarship

Cat Urbigkit in Pinedale sent this announcement:

Sublette County Artists’ Guild Scholarship available to university (does not have to be UW) junior or senior students who are residents of Sublette County or graduates of Sublette County schools who are majoring in fine arts, communications, journalism or humanities.

Provided by: Sublette County Artists’ Guild

Number of awards: one

Value: $500

Recipients selected by: Sublette County Artists’ Guild

Other Instructions: Minimum 3.00 GPA required. Applicants must submit a letter of application, a resume including achievements and goals, two letters of recommendation from faculty members in applicant’s major, and a transcript of college grades.

Application materials must be received by Barbara McKinley, Sublette County Artists’ Guild, Box 88, Daniel, WY 83115 by May 1.

(Additional information: University sophomores should apply in the spring of 2010 for the fall 2010 semester of their junior year; additionally, current juniors would apply for their senior fall semester.)

Third Times a Charm for Cheyenne, WY

Cheyenne had an excellent increase in participation this year for their Third Annual NAP Exhibit. The show was much larger than the previous years with almost a third more participants. Over 150 pieces of artwork by 82 artists were hung in the Cheynne Civic Center. Coordinator Dan Moede said that "utilizing the Cheyenne Civic Center again was great as it gave artists and their families room to spread out and really enjoy the festivities."

In addition to the large public turnout at the awards reception held on November 10th, the Honorable Mayor Rick Kaysen and Todd Freezer, the Assistant Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, were also in attendance.

The picture above is called "In the Shadows" by Kate Zynda, Works on Paper, Teen 13-18 first place winner.

Local Music: LCCC Faculty Recital

LCCC's private instructors of voice, piano, strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion will perform their favorite solos and duets for their students and community. Admission is free, and it will be held on Sunday, February 21, at 3 p.m. at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church.

Fanciful American bison at Carter Museum

In 2009, the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to catalog and digitize the entire works on paper collection, which is comprised of over 7,000 drawings, watercolors, and prints. Museum staff is posting some of the newly digitized work on its blog with this comment: "You’ll notice that these are unusually whimsical images, most likely drawn by Europeans who had not seen the American bison (or his friend, the deer) in person." As an example, here's a 1790 (approx.) etching by Swiss artist Johann Rudolf Holzhalb (1723-1806), "Americanischer Aur-Ochs. Bos Bison." For more, go to http://www.cartermuseum.org/blog/notes-from-underground/it-works-on-paper-the-fanciful-buffalo

Wyoming writer and photographer team up to document "Pronghorn Passage"

From a UW press release:

"Pronghorn Passage," a multimedia presentation documenting the annual 300-mile migration of pronghorn antelope across western Wyoming, will be shown Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. in Room 310 of the University of Wyoming Classroom Building in Laramie. Admission is free.

"Pronghorn Passage" is a collaborative project between wildlife photographer Joe Riis and environmental writer Emilene Ostlind, both UW alumni. Over the span of two years, they traveled the migration corridor of the Teton pronghorn herd to capture this unique journey in pictures and words. The presentation will include maps, video clips and still photographs collected during the project.

"While biologists and local residents have known about this migration for years, no one has documented it as intimately as Joe and Emilene," says Daniel McCoy, UW Outdoor Program director.

The UW Campus Recreation Outdoor Program sponsor's Wednesday's program. For more information contact McCoy at (307) 766-6488 or dmccoy@uwyo.edu.

Humstone & Beck shine a light on Sunrise

Mining town of Sunrise during its heyday

From Sarah Ligocki at the Wyoming State Museum:

The history of Sunrise, the southeastern Wyoming mining town, will be brought to life by Mary Humstone and Sophia Beck at a presentation on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne.

Humstone and Beck’s talk, "Remembering Sunrise Mine and its Community: Portrait of a Company Town," is presented by the Wyoming Humanities Council and sponsored by the Wyoming State Museum Lecture Series.

From 1899 until its close in 1980, the Sunrise Mine was the principal source of iron for the Colorado Fuel and Iron plant in Pueblo, Colorado. In addition to the mine itself, the company built and maintained a company town at Sunrise, which at its peak had an ethnically diverse population of more than 500 people, including Italians, Hispanics, Greeks, Japanese, Poles, Scandinavians, and British. Having conducted oral interviews with former residents of Sunrise, Humstone and Beck are able to present the history of this community through personal stories and contemporary photographs.

Humstone, a research scientist at the University of Wyoming, along with her graduate students, conducted extensive research of Sunrise and successfully nominated the property to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Beck, the office manager for the UW American Studies, grew up in Sunrise and has a personal connection with many former Sunrise residents.

Humstone and Beck’s presentation is offered by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities through its 2010 Humanities Forum. The Wyoming Humanities Council provides public humanities-based programs in partnership with local organizations and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The event is free and open to the public. The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne. For more information about this and other State Museum programs, please call 777-7022.

Masterson's "The Ice Storm" premieres Feb. 8

From a Natrona County School District press release:

NCTV is proud to announce that Natrona County High School senior Michael Masterson will premier his feature film, "The Ice Storm," at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8 in the John F. Welsh Auditorium in Casper. Admission is free, and the film rums 1 hour 47 minutes.

"The Ice Storm" is about a small band of high school students who try to survive as machines are turning the earth into a permanent ice age.

"From what I have seen so far," Lance Madzey, NCHS film and video production teacher and mentor, wrote, "you will not leave disappointed. [Michael] is going to go far! Come witness the beginning of his bright future!"

Call for entries: UW Art Museum 20:20

This announcement comes from the UW Art Museum:

Calling all high school, LCCC, and UW art students! You’re invited to participate in a 20:20 presentation at the UW Art Museum, 2111 Willett Drive, Laramie, on Monday, March 1, 7 p.m.

20:20 is a fast-paced presentation format where presenters may show 20 images for 20 seconds each. It is an opportunity for you update the art community on new artworks, projects or accomplishments. Sign up is on a first-come, first-served basis.

To sign up: Contact Assistant Curator Rachel Miller at 307.766.6621 or rmiller@uwyo.edu

Deadline to submit images: Monday, Feb. 22, 2010

Images must be in PowerPoint format!

Details announced for 2011 U.S. arts budget

On Monday, the Obama Administration released the president's budget for Fiscal Year 2011. For information on the section that addresses arts funding, go to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies web site at http://www.nasaa-arts.org

"Please don't tease the rattlesnakes"

Samuel Western, winner of a Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship in 2000, wrote an article for WyoFile about the Vore Buffalo Jump near Sundance. It starts off with a bang (or maybe we should say "bite"):

...A sign warns: Please do not tease the rattlesnakes.

Not your normal tourist welcome message perhaps. But for all its lack of charm, the Vore Buffalo Jump is an utterly remarkable place. For anyone traveling in the Black Hills or visiting Devils Tower in northeast Wyoming, in fact, this amazing and little-known phenomenon is worth a short detour...

Read full article...

Max McCoy to deliver keynote & conduct workshops at 2010 WWInc conference

Max McCoy will be a presenter at the annual conference for Wyoming Writers, Inc., at the Holiday Inn in Cody June 4-6.

Here's a description of Max's presentations during the conference:

Saturday workshop sessions:
1. "Find your story." Why narrative matters, narrowing a topic down to a story, and how the best stories often find you. The similarities between good journalism and good scholarship.
2. "Find your audience." Determining how big your story is, who you're writing for, and how to pitch an editor. Also, answering the big question: are you writing for love or money?
3. "Find your voice." Putting it all together, honing a style and tone that is appropriate, knowing the rules and knowing when to break them.

Saturday keynote address: "Narratives of the Damned." Max McCoy talks about interviewing and writing about those on the edges of society, from a-bomb survivors in Hiroshima to serial killers on American death rows -- and what their stories reveal about truth, writing, and (maybe even) art.

Sunday morning roundtable: "Sunday Morning with Max McCoy," discussion and Q&A.

Bio:

Native Kansan Max McCoy is an award-winning journalist and novelist.

He won the Spur award in 2008 from the Western Writers of America for his novel, Hellfire Canyon. It’s the story of a 13-year-old boy and his mother who walk across Missouri during the Civil War and become part of the gang lead by Alf Bolin, the notorious Ozark serial killer. Hellfire Canyon was also named a Kansas 2008 Notable Book.

McCoy is the author of fifteen other books, including four original Indiana Jones adventures for LucasFilm and the novelization of Steven Spielberg’s Into the West. His fiction debut, The Sixth Rider, about the 1892 raid on Coffeyville’s banks by the Dalton Gang, was published by Doubleday and won the Spur/Medicine Pipe Award for Best First Novel by the Western Writers of America.

USA Today has described his writing as “powerful.” In addition to westerns and historical fiction, McCoy also writes contemporary adventures. Publishers Weekly called his novel, The Moon Pool, an “intelligent thriller… tightly drawn characters, a vile villain and a satisfying, thought-provoking conclusion make this a compelling read.”

McCoy grew up in Baxter Springs and most of his books are set in Kansas or Missouri. He began his career in journalism at the Pittsburg Morning Sun and writing for pulp magazines such as True Detective and Front-Page Detective. Most recently, he was the investigative writer for the Joplin Globe. He has won first-place awards in investigative journalism for his stories on serial killers and hate groups.

His latest book is Canyon Diablo (Kensington 2010), a sequel to Hellfire Canyon.

McCoy’s an assistant professor of journalism at Emporia State University and working on a nonfiction book about meteorite hunters in Kansas. He is also at work on a new novel, Damnation Road.

For more information about the 2010 WWInc conference, go to http://www.wyowriters.org/

KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Showcase

Friday, February 12, 7:30 p.m.
College Community Center, LCCC Playhouse
Join us for an evening of scenes and monologues from LCCC's Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival participants. Admission is free.

"Life, the Universe and Everything" writers' conference at BYU Feb. 11-13

The “Life, the Universe & Everything” writers conference is coming up and all are invited to attend. It is a conference geared toward genre writers, mostly fantasy and science fiction, but also focuses on young adult fiction and epic poetry. Guests of honor for the 2010 LTUE are authors Brandon Sanderson, Marty Brenneis, and James C. Christensen. Comic writer Jack Black will also be in attendance. The dates are February 11-13 at the BYU student center, on the BYU campus in Provo. The event is free. For more information, click here http://ltue.org/LTUE2010.html

This listing comes from Guy Lebeda's "LitOps" e-mail newsletter. To subscribe to LitOps, send an email to gwl1973@gmail.com with “subscribe” in the subject line.

Thanks, Guy.

Wyoming Art for the Cure celebrates art & life

This exhibit will be held on April 23, 2010 at Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne, WY! Since 2003, the organization has raised nearly $200,000 which goes directly to the Wyoming Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. We invite all artists to donate an original piece of art for the event, and if you wish, you may donate "in memory of" or "in honor of" someone you know who has battled breast cancer. Categories for the 2010 Art for the Cure include oil, pastel or drawings, photography, water-based media, sculpture, and mixed (or other) media. By donating you will also be eligible for cash rewards! To participate, obtain and return a pink commitment postcard by Feb. 19th to PO Box 832 Cheyenne, WY 82003, and the donated artwork must be delivered to Deselms Fine Art by April 16th. For more information or questions, contact (307) 432-0606 or visit www.komenwyoming.org/wyomingartforthecure.

Henderson School Show

Jill Van Overbeck, art teacher for Henderson Elementary, will be hanging a show for the whole school in the Cheyenne Artists Guild gallery on February 6th until March 9th. Everyone is welcome to see the childrens' wonderful art work. There will be a reception February 13, 2-3pm.

2010 US Bank Glass Art Celebration

The show will be held from February 5th through 14th at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens from 8:00-5:00 Mon-Fri and 10:00-4:00 Sat-Sun. Admission is free! for information and entry forms, call 307-637-6458 or visit www.botanic.org

"When a Mathematician Weaves Beads"

Gwen L. Fisher, Ph.D., presents "When a Mathematician Weaves Beads" exhibit through Laramie County Community College Cultural Events.

Her work will be on display from Feb. 1-23, and the reception is Friday, Feb. 19, 3 p.m., at the Esther and John Clay Fine Arts Gallery. Admission is free.

"I create art to appeal to people's affinity for organization," says Dr. Fisher. "I use mathematics, including geometry, symmetry and topology, as an inspiration for the structure of my creations."

FMI: www.lccc.wy.edu

All Laramie County, WY Art Show and Sale

The show will be held at the downtown Cheyenne historic distric at 124 West Lincolnway, next to the Plains Hotel from Monday, March 1st through Sunday, April 5th. Only Laramie County artists are eligible to enter, and all levels of experience are encouraged to participate. The show is designed to feature and reward ($1,200 worth of cash prizes) the talent we have here in Laramie County. All media style and subject matter is accepted and encouraged. Entry forms and fees are due on, or before, Feb. 22nd at Deselms Fine Art, 303 East 17th Street, Cheyenne, WY. There is a $10 entry fee (up to 5 pieces per artist), and all work must be framed and ready to hang or have a secure base. All artwork must be hand delivered to the location on Feb. 25th between 10am and 6pm. Also, 25% of retail price will be retained. For more information, call Deselms Fine Art at 307-432-0606 or visit http://www.deselmsfineart.com/ Encourage collectors, friends and family to attend the show!

Meet Dollie Iberlin at "Meet the Artist"

For the first event in the "Meet the Artist" series, local artist and author Dollie Iberlin will share her unique artist chair series and talk about her development as an artist over time in this informal, free, public presentation.

At the Johnson County Public Library in Buffalo on Monday, Feb. 1, 7-8 p.m.

FMI: http://www.jclwyo.org/

"Fantastic League of Extraordinary Heroes" dance performance at UW Feb. 6

From a University of Wyoming press release:

Kinetix, a professional dance and performing arts company from Fort Collins, Colo., will perform an out-of-this world entertainment experience Saturday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Education auditorium.

"Fantastic League of Extraordinary Heroes" features styles such as jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary and acrobatics. Appropriate for all ages, the performance is based on several popular super heroes. Tickets, $10 for students and $12 for general admission, are available at the Brown ‘n Gold on 21st Street and Grand Avenue.

Kinetix dancers have performed in Los Angeles and New York City for artists such as Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg, Pink, Christina Milan, Justin Timberlake and others.

Brown ‘n Gold Outlet, Appaloosa Broadcasting, Lambda Pi Eta and Inertia Performing Arts sponsor this event.

NEA Chairman announces a request for proposals for a new "Art Works" logo

Chairman Rocco Landesman wants the new logo to embody the three meanings of "Art Works."

During a visit to a graphic design class at the Design and Architecture Senior High school (DASH) in Miami ’s Wynwood/Design District on February 1, 2010, Chairman Landesman announced that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has released a request for proposals (RFP) for a new "Art Works" logo; the RFP is available at www.arts.gov/grants/apply/RFP/artworksdesign.html
　
The visit to DASH was part of the Chairman’s latest stop on his "Art Works" tour across America; h e was in Miami to see the role that design, architecture, and artists play in creating the greater Miami area we know today.
　
When used by the Chairman, the phrase "art works" has three meanings: "art works" are the plays, paintings, dances, films and the other works of art that are the creation of artists; "art works" describes the effect of art on audiences and viewers, art works to transport, transform, inspire, and challenge us; and "art works’ is a reminder that arts workers are real workers with real jobs who are part of this country’s real economy. The proposed logos should incorporate all three of the meanings of "Art Works" and tie them to the NEA in such a way that the proposed logo might be used alone or in conjunction with the NEA’s current logo.
　
Chairman Landesman said, "Those two words – "art works" – pretty much sum up everything we are about at the NEA, and I hope you will see them everywhere. Art, artists, and arts professionals work to change the communities they inhabit: they are placemakers and help create livable, sustainable, complete communities. I look forward to having a logo that conveys that."
　
Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, February, 26, 2010. Potential proposers must direct all inquiries to Latonca Harris at harrisl@arts.gov

Wyoming Arts Council board meets Feb. 11-12

The Wyoming Arts Council will hold its next quarterly board meeting on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 11-12, at Little America in Cheyenne.

The WAC board invites individuals and organizational representatives to attend any part of the meeting to observe the board process, and to address the board during the public comment session at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11. Comments about the agency's policies, funding priorities, on-line granting system, and other arts-related topics are welcomed.

Topics to be addressed include: review and award process for the Arts Council’s Art Works for Wyoming grants, using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding; discussion of future Arts Summits; approval of Wyoming artists to the WAC artists’ roster; selection of counties to be included in the state’s Community Vitality Index study; and development of a timeline for the Arts Council’s next five-year strategic plan.

The meeting coincides with several other Friday, Feb 12, arts events. The Wyoming Arts Alliance sponsors Arts Advocacy Day from noon-1 p.m. at the State Capitol, and the annual Governor’s Arts Awards gala begins at 6 p.m. at Little America.

The mission of the Wyoming Arts Council is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Wyoming by providing resources to sustain, promote and cultivate the arts.

To obtain a detailed meeting agenda, make reservations for the Governor’s Arts Awards, or for more information, call the WAC at 307-777-7742. On the web at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org

Spring/summer deadlines for NEA grants

Thanks to Arts Northwest for this info:

The National Endowment for the Arts has announced spring and summer deadlines for funding opportunities for arts organizations can be found here. An organization may submit only one application through one of the following FY 2011 Grants for Arts Projects categories (see http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/GAP10/Eligibility.html#limits under "Application Limits" for the few exceptions to this rule). For most organizations, these categories represent the full range of funding options for the entire year.

Applicants should examine the goal and purposes of their project as well as the review criteria of these three categories, and apply to the one category that is most relevant. The Arts Endowment will not transfer applications between categories.

• Access to Artistic Excellence: To encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. (Deadlines: March 11 and August 12, 2010). More information at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/Presenting.html This link takes you to the "presenting" category - applicants need to apply through their particular discipline, ie, visual arts, music, literature.
• Challenge America Fast-Track: To support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. Grants are for $10,000. (Deadline: May 27, 2010). More information at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/GAP11/Challenge.html
• Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth: To advance arts education for children and youth in school-based or community-based settings. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. (Deadline: June 10, 2010) More at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/Artsed.html

More about Arts Northwest at http://www.artsnw.org/

Photo exhibit documents child labor in U.S.

From a SPCR press release:

A photographic exhibit documenting the harsh conditions endured by child laborers during the early 1900s is on display at the Wyoming State Museum through March 6.

Titled, "Let Children Be Children: Lewis Wickes Hine’s Crusade Against Child Labor," the exhibit features 55 enlarged photographs that reveal the circumstances that poor working children endured until legislation against child labor prevailed as late as 1938.

Hine was a sociologist whose photographs captured his abiding concern for children, immigrants and working class people.

He was hired by the National Child Labor Committee in 1906 to document the harsh conditions in which children worked. Hine spent 10 years photographing in the canneries, coal mines, cotton mills, farms and sweatshops common during the 20th century.

Through the use of photography, Hine and the NCLC endeavored to gain the attention of the government to arouse public sentiment against child labor practices in the United States.
Organized by the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, New York, the exhibit provides excellent educational programming opportunities from both historical and sociological standpoints.

The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne. Please call 777-7022 for more information about this and other State Museum programs.

WYO Theater in Sheridan presents "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"

The WYO Theatre presents I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, a rollicking musical comedy about the most basic and still complex constant in everyone's life -- the relationship. It's a story of people desperately trying to make (and often missing) connections.

Shows are Feb. 6-7 and 11-14. Times: Thurs.-Sat., 7:30 p.m. Sun.-2 p.m.

Directed by Erin Butler. Musical Direction, Kathy McNickle. Book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. See www.loveperfectchange.com

FMI: http://www.wyotheater.com