"The family Wyeth" exhibit coming to Jackson

A seminal exhibition of the work of Andrew Wyeth, his father N.C. Wyeth, and his son James Wyeth, opens in Jackson, Wyoming, on August 21, 2010.

Titled “An American Dynasty: Three Generations of Wyeth,” the exhibition is a long-overdue survey of the legendary American artistic family and includes some 50 temperas, dry brushes and watercolors. It is organized by and displayed at the newly opened Heather James Fine Art in Jackson, a sister gallery to three Southern California galleries owned by James Carona and Heather Sacre. Officially opening to the public on August 21, 2010, this inaugural exhibition ends on September 30, 2010. An illustrated catalogue with a foreword by acclaimed critic Robert Hughes will be published and available for the public.

"We are pleased to be able to organize a show of major works by Andrew Wyeth, his father N. C. Wyeth, and his son Jamie,” says Carona. “The Wyeths are genuine American icons and this exhibition will be on par with a museum presentation. Heather and I also are excited to expand the Heather James gallery vision into such an amazing space and community. Jackson has established itself as a significant destination arts community. We see this as a perfect opportunity to merge our love for the natural world and all that embodies the Jackson lifestyle with our passion for art.”

Continuing his work with the Heather James team in Jackson is internationally acclaimed, Los Angeles-based curator Chip Tom. Tours, lectures and other forms of public programming will be an important
component of the gallery’s activity.

Andrew Wyeth, "Chester County Farm"

As an artist, Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) was deeply interested in the notion of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay. Only his uniquely American relationship with the environment, its vast natural beauty and introspective quietude could have given fruit to “Christina’s World,” the artist’s greatest oeuvre and America’s greatest mid-century representational painting. Another great achievement is the artist’s so-called “Helga Pictures,” a series depicting the model Helga Testorf, which Wyeth secretly executed over the course of 15 years. Many of these watercolors and dry brushes, amongst Wyeth’s best works on paper, will be on view at Heather James Fine Art, Jackson.

Also wonderfully represented in the Heather James exhibition is Andrew’s renowned father, N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), with whom Andrew studied in his youth, and whose variety of illustration styles and dexterity of execution is enjoying a much-deserved revival of attention.

James Wyeth, "Atlantic City Rolling Chair;" dry point etching

Perpetuating his father and grandfather’s interpretations of man’s condition and, like them, painting nearly exclusively in Maine and Pennsylvania, James Wyeth (born, 1946, and known as “Jamie”) imbues his portraiture with a certain melancholia. Still, Jamie’s portrait output adheres to nature as the ultimate source of man’s endurance.

“An American Dynasty: Three Generations of Wyeth” at Heather James Fine Art in Jackson, Wyoming, is a resounding generational statement of the American experience in which rugged individualism and Manifest
Destiny are tempered by environmental reverence and an enlightened humanism.

Heather James Fine Art, Jackson
172 Center Street Suite 101

Jackson, Wyoming

FMI about the gallery and upcoming exhibitions, visit our website http://www.heatherjames.com/ or call Lyndsay
McCandless at 307-200-6090.

New blog post from Page Lambert -- of horses and landscape and Wyoming memoirs

Great to hear from one-time Wyomingite Page Lambert about her recent Literature and the Landscape of the Horse Retreat at the Vee Bar Ranch in Albany County. For an overview, and some insight into the new memoir by Cody writer Laura Bell, go to http://pagelambert.blogspot.com/2010/06/claiming-ground-with-snort-and-buck.html

Wyoming's Mark Spragg: "I write and I rewrite. I've found it never gets easy"

Lander's Susan Gray Gose profiles Cody author and screenwriter Mark Spragg in the latest issue of WyoFile.

Here's the opening paragraphs:

Casper— A middle-aged carpenter in Wind City Books peppers Wyoming novelist Mark Spragg with questions about writing. How do you get started? How do you keep at it? How do you get published?

Spragg, who is in the small bookstore signing copies of his new novel, Bone Fire, tugs at his gray-streaked red beard and answers the man honestly: “I’m starting my fifth book now, and you’d think I have a whole box of tools to draw from, but I don’t. I write and rewrite and rewrite. I’ve found it never gets easy.”

The carpenter frowns.

But Spragg, who was put to work on his family’s dude ranch at age 11 and paid $1 a day, is not one to say there’s an easy route to publishing success.

Read the rest at http://wyofile.com/2010/06/mark-spragg-the-useful-life/

Wyoming Tourism Master Plan survey results now online

From Alan Dubberly, Deputy Director, Wyoming Travel & Tourism:

The Wyoming Tourism Master Plan is moving right along. Seven community meetings were conducted in May to gather initial input from stakeholders and all who were interested. We had over 200 attendees between all the meetings and were very pleased with the amount of participation and incredible ideas generated during the meetings. We have also conducted an initial e-survey via the Master Plan website – projectfrontdoor.

This survey is meant to be a starting point and to gather basic data and information on a very high level. Over 360 surveys were completed to provide us with a starting point on how the industry views some of the broad issues and areas.

We have recently posted the results of the survey to projectfrontdoor.com/process/process.htm.

Keep in mind that this is just the initial work to develop a Master Plan. We are still in the data collecting stage of this plan. We will be conducting other surveys and gathering more detailed information prior to completing the plan in December.

For those of you who took the time to attend the meetings and take the survey, we thank you very much. This plan will only be as good as the input and participation we receive from stakeholders and other interested parties. For those of you we haven’t heard from yet, there is still time to participate. In fact, we are planning a second, more detailed e-survey in August, for which, we will seek your input. At any time, you can go to http://projectfrontdoor.com/contact_team/contact_team.htm, click on Email us and send your thoughts, ideas or comments. Watch for the summaries of the seven regional meetings to be posted next week. We will let you know when they are available online.

Sign up now for Summer Teaching Institute

"Transforming Learning: 2010 Summer Teaching Institute"

Dates: July 26-30, 2010

Location: University of Wyoming, Laramie

Credit available: 3 credits of PTSB certification or UW Continuing Education credit

Who can benefit from this institute?
• K-12 teachers: arts education specialists, general elementary classroom teachers, discipline specific teachers at the secondary level, special education teachers.
• Community educators: Boys and Girls clubs, Parks and Recreation programs, senior centers, museums, libraries, and more.

Join us as we explore two major themes:
• Using original sources as inspiration for teaching and learning (including the Artmobile, traveling exhibits and trunks, local museums, and libraries).
• Building school and community partnerships for art education.

Cost:
• Individuals - $150 per person, $50 non-refundable preregistration fee
• Partners - $150 for first partner, $125 for second partner, $100 for any additional partners, $50 non-refundable pre-registration fee for each partner, all partners must register together

The pre-registration fee is deducted from the total cost of the Institute. Lunch and snacks are included daily. Participants are responsible for their own breakfast and evening meals, room, and travel costs.

There will be a limited number of travel scholarships available courtesy of the Wyoming Art Council’s Arts Access program. Contact Marirose Morris (307-777-7723 or mmorri@state.wy.us) for more information on scholarships.

Description:
What Wyoming resources are available to inspire creative and meaningful learning opportunities? How are partnerships built to support art education programs occurring in schools and through community organizations? How can school educators become more confident in their ability to utilize original art, objects, and books as the starting point for exploring and integrating correlated topics, such as history and art or art and math? How can community educators develop programming that incorporates meaningful creative learning strategies that engage students and audiences in exciting new ways?

Featured speaker Dawn Ellis (www.dmehelps.com) weaves the skills of researcher, consultant, and multidisciplinary artist to improve public good work, particularly in arts, access, and
education. She will be joined in this workshop by educators, archivists, and librarians from the University of Wyoming Art Museum, American Heritage Center, and Coe Library; K-12
teachers; artists; Wyoming Arts Council staff; and educators from other Wyoming museums, all of whom have experience in developing partnerships for programs that use original art
and other materials at the core of teaching and learning.

Studio time is included every afternoon to explore new materials and ideas inspired by the original art work, objects, and books you will encounter. Whether you have no studio
experience, or are an accomplished artist, this workshop sets the stage for developing new skills and deepening creative experiences with familiar skills.

FMI: Wendy Bredehoft at the UW Art Museum, 307-766-3496 or wbredeho@uwyo.edu.

To register:
• By mail (check, credit card, purchase order accepted)-- complete the attached registration form and return to:
UW Fine Arts Outreach
Department 3951, 1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82071
• By e-mail (credit card only) -- contact Janelle Kilmer at UW Fine Arts Outreach, janelle@uwyo.edu.

Registration questions? Call Janelle at 307.766.5139 or e-mail janelle@uwyo.edu.

Call for entries: "Public Lands, Personal Visions"

Call for entries from Northwest College in Powell:

Northwest College, in collaboration with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Wyoming Outdoor Council, seeks artwork that communicates personal perspectives of, interactions with, and experiences within the public lands of the Bighorn Basin.

The intent of "Public Lands, Personal Visions" is to create a dialogue about public lands in the Bighorn Basin and communicate how these lands are used and their significance to the lives of those who live, work, play in, and otherwise value this area. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently revising its 20-year management plan for all public lands in the Bighorn Basin and it is our hope that a visual dialogue will inspire more public input into this planning process.

"Public Lands, Personal Visions" is a professional-level juried art show that will be exhibited at the Northwest Gallery October 13-November 19, 2010. The Northwest Gallery is located in the Cabre Building at Northwest College in Powell.

Calendar:
Entry Deadline: Sept. 7, 2010, 6:00 pm MST
Notification of Acceptance: Sept. 13, 2010, by email
Accepted Works Delivered: by Oct. 7, 2010, 4:00 pm MST
Opening Reception: Oct. 13, 2010, 7:30 pm
Exhibition Duration: Oct. 13-Nov. 19, 2010

FMI: Elaine DeBuhr, NWC Art Dept., 307.754.6128, elaine.debuhr@northwestcollege.edu

LEAD 2010 -- accessibility, disability and inclusion in the arts

FMI: http://www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/education/lead/conference.html

Festival date correction

The Rocky Mountain Regional Fiddle Championship & Festival is listed in the WAC's Spring 2010 Artscapes newsletter as taking place on August 13-15, but those dates are incorrect. The correct dates are August 20-22, 2010. FMI go to http://www.casperwyofiddleclub.com/ or email Ann Robison at agrobinson@bresnan.net.

Glenrock Pioneer Jubilee June 19

WAC's spring 2010 newsletter

The WAC's spring issue of Artscapes is about to be printed and mailed, but if you'd like a preview, go to http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/pdf/WAC_newsletter_spring_2010.pdf, where you can read about the mural project in Laramie, the 2010 visual arts fellowship winners, Michael Kaiser, president of the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, upcoming visit to Casper in July, The Art of the Hunt's project, "Fishing Traditions," three terrific Wyoming artists, The Governors Capitol Art Exhibition, a short list of Wyoming festivals and events, the 2010 Poetry Out Loud winner and runner-up, and WAC news.

Next show for Wind River Music Showcase is June 26 in Lander

From the Wyoming Public TV web site:

Music is integral to every culture, and with its independent spirit and unique history, Wyoming has its own unique flavor of talented musicians in many genres. Please join us for this four part music series featuring Wyoming musicians performing live at the Museum of the American West in Lander!

Hosted by Wyoming Public Radio’s music director Grady Kirkpatrick, the show celebrates the talent of musicians whose music tells the story of Wyoming’s people.

The television series will air in November 2010. Don’t miss your opportunity to hear fantastic live music, get a chance to be on television, and support Wyoming PBS all at the same time!

Showcase lineup for Saturday, June 26, 7 p.m.: The Teka Brock Band (shown in photo above)with opening act Jared Rogerson.

FMI: http://www.wyoptv.org/musicshowcase/

Cheyenne Old-Fashioned Melodrama volunteers invited to June 14 training session

The Cheyenne Little Theatre Players is holding an informational and training session for those interested in volunteering for the Old-Fashioned Summer Melodrama at the Atlas Theatre. The session will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 14, at the Historic Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne.

You're invited whether you've already volunteered or have a hankering to do so.

Volunteer slots to be filled include house managers, box office help, table servers, bar servers and raffle ticket sellers.

Be a part of a Cheyenne tradition -- and have fun in the process.

To volunteer, go to www.cheyennelittletheatre.org/volunteer.asp. Fill out a volunteer form online or print one out and send it to the CLTP.

Or you can just show up Monday evening and sign up in person.

This year's show is:

Rocky Rhoades’ Rodeo Ride
or
The Bigger the Dastards, the Harder They Fall
or
Who Noosed the Moose?

Script by Jim Rolf

Performance dates are July 15-18, July 22-August 1, & August 5-8, at the Atlas Theatre.

Call for proposals: Wyoming Writers, Inc.

Four new Wyoming Writers, Inc., board members were elected at last week's 36th annual conference in Cody. They are Cindy Bower, Casper; Carol Deering, Riverton; Carol Eckhardt, Chugwater; and John D. Nesbitt, Torrington.

One of the new board's immediate tasks is to find people to do various tasks, such as bookkeeping, webmastering, and newsletter editing. WWInc is seeking proposals in which respondents indicate the tasks they could do for WWInc and what you’d like in return.

For more information, including detailed descriptions of these tasks, please contact board past president Joe Megeath at jmegeath@q.com. Proposals and supporting resumes are due by June 30. Winning proposals will be announced by July 31.

For more about WWInc, Wyoming's statewide writers' group, go to www.wyowriters.org

WESTAF will host call-in grant sessions

From a press release:

The Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), is now receiving applications for funding for the second year of its Visual Arts Touring (VAT) program. The application deadline for this second round of grants is August 1, 2010. The VAT program is a competitive grant program that awards up to $50,000 to visual arts organizations to support the preparation and touring of visual arts exhibitions of important regional artists. Projects must take place between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2012. Additional information about this program and full grant guidelines can be found at http://amp.cgweb.org. This project has been generously underwritten by the National Endowment for the Arts.

WESTAF will sponsor three call-in sessions for interested parties to learn more about the program and ask questions. These calls will be held on Wednesday, June 16th at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time, Wednesday, July 7th at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time and Wednesday, July 21st at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time. To sign up for these sessions and to receive a call-in phone number
and access code, please contact Robin Schaefer at: robin.schaefer@westaf.org

FMI: Robin Schaefer, Information Specialist, WESTAF, 303.629.1166, www.westaf.org,
robin.schaefer@westaf.org

Postmark deadline for WAC creative writing fellowships is Friday, June 18

It's difficult to believe, but the postmark deadline for the 2011 creative writing fellowships is one week from today on Friday, June 18.

The competition, open to residents of Wyoming 18 or older, welcomes applications in the creative nonfiction genre. Manuscripts will be judged by Lee Gutkind, author of 15 books and founder of Creative Nonfiction magazine.

Up to three winners will be chosen to receive $3,000 each. They also will receive a travel stipend to read their work with Mr. Gutkind at the Equality State Book Festival Sept. 24 in Casper.

Applications can be downloaded from the Wyoming Arts Council web site at www.wyomingartscouncil.org.

FMI: Mike Shay, mshay@state.wy.us or 307-777-5234.

Connie Norman to conduct pottery workshop June 19-20 at Lander Art Center

Connie Norman is a professionally trained instructor and ceramic artist who has taught numerous workshops throughout the West. She has been featured in Ceramics Monthly and Great Lakes magazines, and was recently commissioned to create art for the Denver International Airport. Her work will also be featured in the upcoming Lark publication, 500 Vases.

Ms. Norman will be conducting a two-day, hands-on workshop featuring hand-building and glazing techniques.

When: Saturday, June 19 (10 am-4 pm) and Sunday, June 20 (10 am-2 pm)
Where: Lander Art Center, 224 Main Street, Lander, WY
Cost: $60 per person (includes materials, some experience encouraged)

A welcoming reception for the artist will be held Saturday evening. Please call Deborah Britt (307-332-9771) or Lander Art Center (307-332-5772) for details.

This project is partially funded by the Wyoming Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts and Lander Art Center.

UW printmakers exhibit at Gallery 211

From a UW press release:

"Origins," an exhibition by University of Wyoming printmakers, will be displayed through July 9 in downtown Laramie's Gallery 211. A reception is scheduled Thursday, June 17, from 6-8 p.m.

Located at 211 S. 1st St., Gallery 211 is open from noon-4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and from 2-6 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free.

The artists featured in "The University of Wyoming Printmaking Alumni Exchange Portfolio" exhibition have at least one thing in common -- they all were directed by UW Professor Mark Ritchie.

"Origins" features the work of Michael Chavez, Katie Christensen, Rachael Eastman, Kazuko Goto, Sarah Hayman, Lisa Lofgren, Chancey Jahnig, Aaron Miller, Toni Mosley, Julia Goos Pence, Mark Ritchie, Sara Schleicher, Anna Tsantir, Kelly Valdez, Beth Wetzbarger, Michelle Winchellm and the portfolio's curator, Nathan Abel.

Origins will also be open by appointment. Call (307) 258-9507 or e-mail napbelart@gmail.com for more information.

Photo: Katie Christensen's "All Things Big and Small" is among the works in a printmaking exhibition that can be seen through July 9 at Gallery 211 in downtown Laramie.

Call for entries: "Motorcycle & Tattoo Culture"

Chris LeDoux Memorial Park dedication set for June 18-19 in Kaycee

From the Wyoming Travel & Tourism web site:

Celebrate one of Wyoming's cowboy legends at the dedication of the Chris LeDoux Memorial Park in Kaycee. Weekend includes bronc riding and music, just as Chris would have wanted it.

Schedule of events:

June 18
7 p.m. Match Bronco Riding at Harold Jarrard Park with John Forbes and Beau LeDoux

June 19
8:00 a.m. Street Closure and Bronze sale table opens
10:00 a.m. Horse drawn wagon rides from parking areas
1:00 -3:00 p.m. Free food, beer and videos downtown
3:00 p.m. Dedication Begins
Bob Price K2 Radio - Emcee
Mike Thomas
Western Underground
Mark Sissell
Other Speakers
Wine Toasting
Closing with Peggy Ledoux
4:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Music by Western Underground
6:30 p.m.
Cash Bar opens
7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Music by Chancy Williams and the Younger Brothers

FMI: http://www.kayceewyoming.org/LeDoux-dedication-detail.html

Business plaza opens in Fort Washakie

Anne Even sends this invitation:

Wind River Development Fund invites you to attend the grand opening of their new location and be among the first to tour the Frank B. Wise Business Plaza.

Wednesday, June 23, 3-5 p.m.

3 Ethete Road

Fort Washakie, Wyoming

Opening ceremonies will begin promptly at 3 p.m.

Refreshments will be served.

FMI: Anne Even, Business Development Specialist, Wind River Development Fund, Fort Washakie, Toll Free (877) 253-3824, http://www.wrdf.org/, aeven@wrdf.org

Providing financial opportunities on the Wind River Indian Reservation