Gillette's Joan Sowada and Pinedale's David Klaren get public art commissions for Curt Gowdy State Park

Commissions for artwork for the new Curt Gowdy State Park Visitor Center and the Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College in Riverton, both Art in Public Buildings Projects, have been awarded to three artists.

            The Curt Gowdy Visitor Center will feature artwork created by Gillette textile artist Joan Sowada and Pinedale’s David Klarén. The Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College will house a glass frieze by Massachusetts artist Rufus Butler Seder.

“The Curt Gowdy project was a statewide call and we received 30 proposals from 21 Wyoming artists.” said Art in Public Buildings Project coordinator David L. Newell. “The proposals ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary, and the committee selected two concepts that really suit the lodge-style design of the center.”

Sowada is creating four quilted textile banners, incorporating imagery relating to the park, to hang above the information desk. Klarén is fabricating a series of cast iron fish silhouettes to be incorporated into the concrete sidewalks surrounding the facility and carved into the ceramic tiles of the Great Hall.

“David is bringing his fantastic graphic skills to the project and his interpretations of the fish species native to the park are amazing!” said Newell. “The selection committee was also extremely taken with a suite of iron fireplace appointments designed by artisan blacksmith David Osmundsen of Buffalo. A separate fundraising effort will be undertaken to secure the funds to purchase those pieces.” Newell added.

A national call was issued for the new Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College. “We received 39 proposals from both Wyoming artists and artists outside the region. The building utilizes a soaring glass entryway and lobby space between the auditorium and classroom wings that served as the primary focus for installations, though the exterior plaza also received a lot of creative ideas.” continued Newell. “In the end, the committee selected a glass frieze that will knock people’s socks off. The piece utilizes optics to ‘animate’ its imagery and will morph from a single atom through a series of images, ending with the expanded galaxy. It will be amazing and perfect for a facility dealing with both health and natural sciences!”

Both the Curt Gowdy Visitor Center and the Health and Science Center at Central Wyoming College will open the summer of 2013.

The Wyoming Arts Council is responsible for the implementation of the one percent for Art in Public Buildings legislation for the State of Wyoming. By statute, artwork is commissioned as part of all new construction of state buildings with a cap of $100,000.

For additional information, contact David L. Newell, Curator of Art, Wyoming State Museum at 307-777-7677.

Motor City's M.L. Liebler returns to the wilds of Wyoming March 1

M.L. Liebler of Detroit

Jackalope of Wyoming

Our Detroit pal, M.L. Liebler, will be returning to Wyoming in March. His last stop in WYO was last June in Casper. Here's the info:

March 1, Friday at 7:00 pm M. L. Liebler with Grammy-winning Eminem producer and musician Steve King at Western Wyoming Rock Springs Community College in Rock Springs, WY. Free & open to all. We've warned M.L. to watch out for the Jackalopes on the highways to the gig as it's roundup time. Contact Professor Rick Kempa at RKEMPA@wwcc.wy.edu or go to http://www.wwcc.cc.wy.us/

THE Sweet Potato Queen drops in on the Jackson Hole Writers Conference

News from the 2013 Jackson Hole Writers Conference, June 27-29 at the Center for the Arts in Jackson:

Multiple #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Jill Conner Browne, THE Sweet Potato Queen™, has created a global phenomenon — 6,300 chapter groups in 37 countries — based upon her philosophy and world-view as recounted through her rollicking, raucous and riotously funny essays. Women and smart men understand that the bawdy, sassy, down-to-earth humor is simply the vehicle by which the greater message is conveyed — that is, one of self-reliance and empowerment, inspiring all to do what makes their hearts sing.

FMI: http://www.sweetpotatoqueens.com/

Henry Real Bird to conduct public workshop in Cheyenne

In conjunction with Wyoming's Poetry Out Loud state competiton, guest judge Henry Real Bird will be facilitating a public workshop on Sunday, March 3, at the Laramie County Library, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., in the Cottonwood Room on the main floor.

Henry's theme for the workshop, "Shadow of Home" will "take participants beyond reflection and past the stars, sending our thoughts in search of rhyme, exploring realms of dreaming in sound and tunes of a life."

This workshop is free and open to the public.

Henry Real Bird, Pat Frolander and Rick Kempa to serve as judges for March 4-5 Poetry Out Loud competition in Cheyenne

Henry Real Bird, Montana poet laureate emeritus

The 2013 Wyoming Poetry Out Loud state competition will take place March 4-5 in Cheyenne. Fourteen student competitors, teachers, parents and guests are expected. Guest judges this year are Henry Real Bird, Pat Frolander and Rick Kempa.

Born and raised on the Crow Indian Reservation, Henry Real Bird is a former Montana Poet Laureate (2009-2011). Real Bird has punched cows, rodeoed, and now ranches and raises bucking horses. He holds a master’s degree in general education from MSU Billings and has taught school from kindergarten to college levels. He has worked with the YMCA’s Writer’s Voice, won the Western Heritage Award for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame,  performed at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Arts Festival, and performs annually at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Real Bird has had six anthologies, five poetry collections and twelve children’s books published, along with many articles, tapes and CDs.

Patricia Frolander, Wyoming’s Poet Laureate, works the family ranch near Sundance, WY with her husband, Robert. Patricia’s publications include Grassland Genealogy (Finishing Line Press, 2009) and, Married Into It, (High Plains Press, 2011), which won the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s Wrangler Award for Best Poetry Book of 2011; the Willa Cather Award by Women Writing the West for the 2012 Best Poetry Book; and Best Woman Writer of 2012 by High Plains Book Awards.

Rick Kempa, teaches writing and directs the Honors Program at Western Wyoming College. He is the author of two books of poems, Keeping the Quiet (Bellowing Ark Press, 2008), and Ten Thousand Voices, (Littoral Press). He is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, a past recipient of a Wyoming Arts Council Literary Fellowship, and is a current member of the Council’s Artist Roster. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona in 1987.

This year’s student contestants are from Sundance, Hulett, Buffalo, Hanna, Ft. Washakie, Riverton, Kaycee, Shoshoni, Cheyenne, Casper, Clearmont, Worland, Laramie, and Lander.

The event begins with a dinner for the contestants, teachers, judges and guests. The competition begins at 7 p.m. at the Historic Atlas Theater in downtown Cheyenne. The winner and runner-up are announced at the awards ceremony the next morning, which begins at 10:30 a.m. on March 5 in the Capitol Rotunda.

The winner from each state and a chaperone receives an all-expense-paid trip to compete in Washington, D.C., April 29-30 at the national finals. Among the activities is the Congressional Breakfast, where students get to meet and have photos taken with the state’s Legislators. Scholarships totaling $50,000 are awarded to the national champion and the other placers.

Poetry Out Loud is memorization and recitation competition for ninth through twelfth grade students. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, the program is administered by the Wyoming Arts Council.

Justine Haka from the Poetry Foundation in NYC will be a special guest of the Wyoming Arts Council at the Cheyenne Poetry Out Loud  events.  

FMI: Linda Coatney, 307-777-6393 or linda.coatney@wyo.gov

February's Mix'd Media "Legends of Mythology and Love"

Arthur Wardle (United Kingdom, 1864 – 1949), 
The Enchantress, 1901.
 Oil on Canvas. 62 x 43 inches.
JKM Collection©, National Museum of Wildlife Art.
© Estate of Arthur Wardle

With a theme in the spirit of the Greek god associated with wine, passion, and revelry, the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s has their February Mix’d Media event scheduled for Valentine’s Day, from 6 – 9 p.m. The event takes as its artistic inspiration from the Arthur Wardle oil, “The Enchantress,” prominently displayed in the museum’s current exhibition “Human/Nature: Exploring Humanity’s Relationship with Wildlife.” In addition to the evening’s hands-on art projects, music, and Greek-themed food and drink, guests at the event will be greeted at the door with free raffle tickets, a glass of pink champagne and a chance to have their photos taken. Cover charge is $5 (free for museum members).

Amy Goicoechea, associate curator of education for the musuem, studied the painting’s rich symbolism. “I’m interpreting it as Dionysian,” she says, and selected the painting, along with another Dionysian artwork in the Human/Nature show, as “an easy Valentine’s Day theme.” To help her create an event worthy of a Greek god, she called on the design duo of Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer of WRJ Design Associates and the Jackson Hole Flower Company.

Art projects for the February 14 Mix’d Media will include a chance for guests – provided with “cheat sheets” on symbolism related to Greek gods and goddesses – to design their own wine labels, as well as a station for creating valentines. For the evening’s food and drink, The Rising Sage will offer spanikopita and baklava – with ouzo as the themed libation. DJ Era will provide music, and those inspired by the evening’s more mystical elements can enjoy crystal readings by Daria and Power Animal Medicine readings by Teri Gilfilen.

An array of special prizes will be offered for the free raffle, including a pearl bracelet from Thoenig's, a Barker-Ewing float trip, gift certificates to The Boardroom of Jackson Hole, a cozy throw from WRJ Design Associates and roses from the Jackson Hole Flower Company. Guests must be present for the end-of-evening drawing to win.

In addition to its busy art exhibition schedule, the National Museum of Wildlife Art offers a full schedule of year-round community programming, with some 100 free events including art-making activities, films, lectures, “edutainment,” Art in Action guest artists workshops, cultural fun on the museum’s new Sculpture Trail and much more. The museum also provides free high-quality educational enrichment for school children, from online and onsite curriculum for teachers to student art contests and thematic school tours.

The museum was officially designated the National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States by an act of Congress in 2008.  FMI on upcoming exhibitions and events go to www.wildlifeart.org; also on Facebook andTwitte @WildlifeArtJH.

Media Contacts: Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, 307.734.5335,darla@wordenpr.com; Ponteir Sackrey National Museum of Wildlife Art, 307.732.5444,psackrey@wildlifeart.org.

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13 Artist Encore Exhibition in Cheyenne

Join 13 artists at the Encore Reception and Artists' Demonstrations on February 10, from 1 until 4 p.m. at the Nagle Warren Mansion in Cheyenne, 222 E. 17th St. There will be new art

experiences, tasty  food and good conversation.   



Win Ratz will be leading make and take Origami heart sessions.
Take home a heart just in time for Valentine's Day.

Fiber artist will demonstrate some of the techniques
she uses in her work.

"South by Southwest" by Win Ratz

 

"Vedauwoo" by Georgia Rowswell.

 

Georgia Rowswell's studio and gallery.

 

"Best Friends" exhibit reception Feb. 5 at Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library

BEST FRIENDS EXHIBIT on the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library Mezzanine in February

Dolls by Michelle Havenga and Watercolor by Gail Sidletsky

JOIN US for an artists' reception on Tuesday, February 5 from 5 - 7 pm

Call for entries: Wyoming Short Film Contest

The Wyoming Film Office is taking submissions for the annual Wyoming Short Film Contest.  To be eligible, films must be under fifteen minutes, shot in Wyoming, set in Wyoming, or include Wyoming as a character.  The winner will receive a $25,000 prize, for use on their next film shot in Wyoming.       

Film Office spokesman Colin Stricklin says Wyoming offers financial incentives for large-scale productions that shoot in the state, but he says this contest is meant to encourage smaller productions – even amateur films.    “Not everybody has a budget of $200,000,” Stricklin says, “so for those filmmakers that can’t quite hit our film incentive, we instituted this contest as a means to give something back.  The idea being that the $25,000 grand prize can go a long way toward an indie’s production budget.”    

The winning film will premiere at the Cheyenne International Film Festival in May.  Submissions are due April fifth.  There are no entry fees for this competition. 

FMI: http://www.wyomingshortfilmcontest.com/

Auditions for rock musical "Rent" set for Feb. 3-5

"Rent" cast performs "Seasons of Love" on Broadway on Broadway in 2005

Auditions for the rock musical "Rent" will be held on Sunday, February 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, February 4, 4:30-6:30 p.m., and Tuesday, February 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Call-backs will be Wednesday, February 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m. All auditions held at the Historic Atlas Theater in downtown Cheyenne

Here's more info from the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players web site:

To audition, we ask that you sing a song from the show "Rent" or another contemporary musical. You may bring your own accompanist or an accompanist will be provided. There will be no cold readings of dialog. We may ask you to sing a song from the show after your initial audition. You will also be learning and performing a short dance. For call-backs, we will be assigning songs from the show "Rent," including duets.  

IMPORTANT!! The Director, Brenda Lyttle, is looking for singing actors who are confident and fearless. "Rent" is an adult show with adult roles, language and situations. The characters must be believable and real. The singing must be strong and confident. This show is set in the Lower East Side of New York City. Racial diversity is crucial. We  strongly encourage singing actors of African-American and Hispanic descent to audition.  

Go to this link for more details: Rent Auditions

Spend the Cheyenne weekend with Jalan Crossland and his band

Jalan Crossland on the songwriters' stage at the 2011 French Quarter Festival in New Orleans.

Ten Sleep's Jalan Crossland will receive a 2012 Governor's Arts Award Friday, Feb. 8, at the annual GAA Awards Gala at Little America in Cheyenne. He'll be performing a few of his trademark songs to wrap up the night's festivities. If you want more, and you probably will, catch Jalan and his band the next night in concert.

The Jalan Crossland Band will perform in concert on Saturday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m., at the Terry Bison Ranch just off of the Terry Ranch Rd. exit on I-25 South, just before you get to to the Colorado border. Doors open at 6 p.m.

PRESALE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ERNIE NOVEMBER RECORD STORE in downtown Cheyenne. Tickets are $12 or $15 day of show.

If you've never experienced Jalan Crossland, you're in for a jaw-dropping experience. He has won many prestigious awards, including second in the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competion and first place in the state Flatpicking Contest. He has toured multiple times with Robert Earl Keen, and toured in Europe and Australia. He has been often showcased on NPR, made multiple TV appearances and been in the New York Times. Jalan is featured in a cover story in the winter issue of Wyoming Artscapes, the quarterly magazine of the Wyoming Arts Council. 

The complexities of his combination of edgy, alt-country and traditional guitar and banjo picking seem effortless as he weaves tales of heartbreak, the sometimes-dark crevices of small town America, and most of all the joy, humor and love that can be found in every rusty-lining.

Hell froze over and his band is back together. The massively talented duo of Shaun Kelley, who plays upright and electric bass and Andy Phreaner plays trapset, wackadoo, harmonica and percussion. You want a show? Well, folks, here's something you'll never forget.

Tickets are still available for the Governor's Arts Awards Gala Feb. 8, 6 p.m., at Little America. Call the Wyoming Arts Council at 307-777-7742. 

Teton County wildlife art gets winterized courtesy of The Knitting Project

The Knitting Project is dressing up wildlife art in Teton County, such as "Bruce the Moose" in Wilson shown above. Find out more at Suzanne Morlock's web site or read an article about the unique project in the winter issue of Wyoming Artscapes, which comes out next week. 

"Carol Prusa: Emergent Worlds" exhibition opens this week at the UW Art Museum

Carol Prusa will give a talk about her work in the "Emergent Worlds" exhibition at the University of Wyoming Arts Museum. The talk is at 8:15 on Thursday, Jan. 31, in Visual Arts Building 111. Free and open to the public. On Friday, Feb. 1, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Prusa will lead a gallery walk-through, followed by an open reception for all of the museum's new exhibitions. The annual student awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m.

Sagebrush Community Art Center features art from Neltje's rooms

The Sagebrush Community Art Center in Sheridan is featuring an exhibition of art from around the world, acquired and exhibited by local artist and philanthropist, Neltje. A group of paintings, ceramics, furnishings, and sculptures that Neltje has hunted and gathered over a period of many years during her travels to far-flung places – a diverse display of color, texture, and emotional integrity. Open to the public, at no charge. The exhibit is on display at Sagebrush, Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, through February 23. For more information, contact Sonja Caywood at (307) 751-8216.

Artists' reception for Pinedale's public art initiative Feb. 8 at Sublette County LIbrary

Sue Sommers' mural "Our Glittering World" in downtown Pinedale

Pinedale’s public art initiative, IN|SITE EX|SITE, hosts an artists reception on Friday, February 8, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Sublette County Library. Artists contributing work to the community will be honored, including Bronwyn Minton, JB Bond, Kirsten and Palmer Klarén, and Sue Sommers.

Music from the Republic of Moldova

The La Taifas Quartet will perform in the Fine Arts Concert Hall at the University of Wyoming on Monday, February 4, beginning at 7:30. Admission is free and open to the public. Joining the group will be the UW Collegiate Chorale under the direction of Dr. Nicole Lamartine.

Members of La Taifas are master panflutist Boris Rudenco; violinist Marin Bunea; accordionist Edgar Stefanet; and cimbalon master Gheorghe Severin; and Maria Bunea, classical guitar. They will be joined by Maria Bunea on the classical guitar.

Traveling with the group are Moldovan musical scholars Diana Bunea and Victoria Tcacenco, who will be presenting historical and contemporary aspects of the rich Moldovan musical heritage to a variety of classes on campus. They will also use visual and aural images of Moldovan music raning from the ancient lautar tradition of northern Moldova to rock opera in Chisinau. T In addition to the concert, these seven Moldovans will be on the UW campus to offer musical workshops and presentations.    

Contact Rod Garnett for more information – rgarnett@uwyo.edu

Sponsored by the UW Department of Music, the World to Wyoming Fund, the UW Student Activities Council, the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, the Wyoming Arts Council, the Wyoming Humanities Council.

La Taifas will also perform in Buffalo on February 1 to perform. Read more here: http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/2013/01/worlds-of-music-present-diverse-music.html

Wyoming author Gaydell Collier passes away

Collier with Maxie

Longtime Wyoming resident and author Gaydell Collier passed away January 18, 2013 at Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Gaydell came from the East Coast and as a child told people she would eventually make her home in Wyoming.

She attended the University of Wyoming, and met her then-future husband, Roy Hugh Collier. While living in Laramie and the Harmony area, Collier worked as circulation manager at the UW library, and collaborated with Eleanor Prince in producing three publications: Basic Horsemanship: English and Western; Basic Training for Horses: English and Western; and Basic Horse Care.

She and her husband purchased their Crook County Ranch in 1977. Collier took over the Crook County Library Director position and was there for 14 years, while also operating her ranch bookstore, Backpocket Books.

She was co-editor along with Nancy Curtis and Linda Hasselstrom on three anthologies: Leaning Into the Wind: Women Write from the Heart of the West in 1997; Woven on the Wind: Women Write about Friendship in the Sagebrush West, in 2001; and Crazy Woman Creek: Women Rewrite the American West in 2004.

Her publications continued in periodicals, reviews, anthologies, and magazines. Her last book was the memoir, Just Beyond Harmony, published in 2012. She received a Governor’s Arts Award in 2004. She was a charter member of Bearlodge Writers in Sundance and of the statewide writers group, Wyoming Writers, Inc., as well as a sustaining member of Women Writing the West and Western Writers of America.

The memorial service will be at Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapel, 450 7th St., Spearfish, SD, at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, January 24, 2013. 

Mark Jenkins presents "Climbing Everest"