University of Wyoming Fine Arts will host the 27th annual Wyoming Arts Alliance Annual Block Booking Conference in Laramie, November 1-3.
Conference registration begins at 1:00p.m. Sunday, November 1 in the Fine Arts Building. Conference activities include informational workshops, performing arts showcases and block booking session, using technology in this fast paced world, peer networking and state and national arts organizations' updates.
The mission of the Wyoming Arts Alliance (WyAA) is to uniquely combine arts advocacy, professional services and information to advance a creative and culturally vibrant state. Artists of every genre, arts organizations as well as individuals interested in promoting the Arts in Wyoming are encouraged to attend.
Wyoming Arts Alliance partners with the Wyoming Arts Council, a state agency.
FMI: 307-689-8454, email: director@wyomingarts.org or visit http://www.wyomingarts.org/
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Cody High Style: Designing the West
Buffalo Bill Historical Center
720 Sheridan Ave Cody, WY 82414
307-587-4771
SEPTEMBER 21,22
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Two-day workshop: Molesworth-style keyhole chair, John Gallis
Norseman Designs West, 3532 Cottonwood Avenue.
SEPTEMBER 22
All-day workshop: Traditional beading techniques, Lynda Covert and LoRheda Fry
SEPTEMBER 23
8a.m. - 5 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE EXHIBITION (until Sept 26)
- Buffalo Bill Historical Center Special Exhibition Gallery. Featuring more than forty of the nation’s leading western furniture, metal, and fashion designers.
5:30 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE FASHION SHOW #1 - Buffalo Bill Historical Center Orientation Gallery. A runway fashion show presenting couture collections from both up-andcoming and established fashion designers (two identical shows). Reservations required.
7:30 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE FASHION SHOW #2
SEPTEMBER 24,25
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE TOUR
10 a.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE SEMINAR.. Innovative Trends in Rustic Design and Architecture Buffalo Bill Historical Center Coe Auditorium. Author, Ralph Kylloe, Ph.D. 12. - 6 p.m.
STYLE WEST: A FINE WESTERN MARKET OF FASHION AND INTERIORS.. Cody Auditorium, 13th & Beck Ave. Admission $5. Shuttle available to and from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
SEPTEMBER 26
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
STYLE WEST: A FINE WESTERN MARKET OF FASHION AND INTERIORS
1 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION - Progression of Design and People’s Choice winner announcement. Buffalo Bill Historical Center Coe Auditorium. An informal atmosphere to promote western design traditions and the sharing of ideas; Cody High Style brings together some of today’s finest craftsmen and women in round table discussion groups. 2009 Switchback Ranch Purchase Award winner, Scott Armstrong, will discuss the progression of his award winning - Rockabilly - piece. Free to the public.
6:30 p.m.
33rd ANNUAL BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER PATRONS BALL - Buffalo Bill Historical Center. A Night of R and R and Friends, a black-tie gala of fine dining and dancing in the galleries of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Reservations required.
See the full schedule at www.rendezvousroyale.org
720 Sheridan Ave Cody, WY 82414
307-587-4771
SEPTEMBER 21,22
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Two-day workshop: Molesworth-style keyhole chair, John Gallis
Norseman Designs West, 3532 Cottonwood Avenue.
SEPTEMBER 22
All-day workshop: Traditional beading techniques, Lynda Covert and LoRheda Fry
SEPTEMBER 23
8a.m. - 5 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE EXHIBITION (until Sept 26)
- Buffalo Bill Historical Center Special Exhibition Gallery. Featuring more than forty of the nation’s leading western furniture, metal, and fashion designers.
5:30 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE FASHION SHOW #1 - Buffalo Bill Historical Center Orientation Gallery. A runway fashion show presenting couture collections from both up-andcoming and established fashion designers (two identical shows). Reservations required.
7:30 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE FASHION SHOW #2
SEPTEMBER 24,25
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE TOUR
10 a.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE SEMINAR.. Innovative Trends in Rustic Design and Architecture Buffalo Bill Historical Center Coe Auditorium. Author, Ralph Kylloe, Ph.D. 12. - 6 p.m.
STYLE WEST: A FINE WESTERN MARKET OF FASHION AND INTERIORS.. Cody Auditorium, 13th & Beck Ave. Admission $5. Shuttle available to and from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
SEPTEMBER 26
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
STYLE WEST: A FINE WESTERN MARKET OF FASHION AND INTERIORS
1 p.m.
CODY HIGH STYLE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION - Progression of Design and People’s Choice winner announcement. Buffalo Bill Historical Center Coe Auditorium. An informal atmosphere to promote western design traditions and the sharing of ideas; Cody High Style brings together some of today’s finest craftsmen and women in round table discussion groups. 2009 Switchback Ranch Purchase Award winner, Scott Armstrong, will discuss the progression of his award winning - Rockabilly - piece. Free to the public.
6:30 p.m.
33rd ANNUAL BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER PATRONS BALL - Buffalo Bill Historical Center. A Night of R and R and Friends, a black-tie gala of fine dining and dancing in the galleries of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Reservations required.
See the full schedule at www.rendezvousroyale.org
Casper Chamber Music Society
All concerts will be held at : Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church, 4600 S Poplar
Tickets are available at the door
Single Concert: Adults $8.00/Seniors $6.00/Students $2.00
Season tickets: Adults $50.00/Seniors $35.00/Student $12.00
Season tickets: Adults $50.00/Seniors $35.00/Student $12.00
September 27, 2009, 4:00 PM
*Izaak Walton Grounds & Clubhouse
Oktoberfest, with Rainer Schwarzkopf
Oktoberfest, with Rainer Schwarzkopf
Adults $10.00/Seniors $7.00/Students $4.00/12&Under Free
Admission included with Season Pass
Admission included with Season Pass
October 18, 2009, 4:00 PM
WSO Woodwind Quintet
WSO Woodwind Quintet
Delores Thornton, flute: Lindsey Bird-Reynolds, oboe: Jerone Flegg, clarinet: Richard Turner, bassoon: and Pamela Glasser, horn
Join Anthony Sacco and other writers Saturday at Wyoming Book Festival
A number of poets and writers from Wyoming will have book tables at the Wyoming Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 19. One of them is Pine Bluffs writer Anthony Sacco, who sends this:
This coming Saturday morning (9/19/09), I'll be at at Wyoming Book Festival in Lions Park in Cheyenne discussing my three books: Little Sister Lost, The China Connection, and Echoes in the Wind.
The festival is featuring a number of authors, an author's fair, kids crafts, storybook characters, and lots more, beginning at 10 a.m. and going on until 3 p.m., at or near the Ampitheater and the Community Building. I'll have a table, and a few chairs, so we can sit and talk a bit. Will also have copies of my books for sale, so if you'd like a signed copy, this is your chance to get one.It will be a fun day for the whole family. Hope to see you there.
Anthony J. Sacco, 307-245-3304. Find out more about his books at http://www.saccoservices.com/littlesister.php
Potters' Depot
Sign up now for Pottery Classes Fall 2009
Beginning Ceramics – Hand building and introduction to wheel throwing:
Wednesday mornings 11: am – 2: pm starting September 30, 2009
Wednesday evenings 6: pm – 9: pm starting September 30, 2009
Thursday evenings 6: pm – 9: pm starting October 1, 2009
Intermediate Wheel Throwing - focus on improving wheel throwing techniques:
Wednesday morning 10: am – 1: pm starting September 30, 2009
Wednesday evenings 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm starting September 30, 2009
Thursday evenings 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm starting October 1, 2009
Hand Building – focus on hand build projects
Thursday morning 10: am – 1: pm starting October 1, 2009
www.pottersdepot.com
75E. Benteen Street, Buffalo, WY 82834
(307) 684-4555
Beginning Ceramics – Hand building and introduction to wheel throwing:
Wednesday mornings 11: am – 2: pm starting September 30, 2009
Wednesday evenings 6: pm – 9: pm starting September 30, 2009
Thursday evenings 6: pm – 9: pm starting October 1, 2009
Intermediate Wheel Throwing - focus on improving wheel throwing techniques:
Wednesday morning 10: am – 1: pm starting September 30, 2009
Wednesday evenings 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm starting September 30, 2009
Thursday evenings 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm starting October 1, 2009
Hand Building – focus on hand build projects
Thursday morning 10: am – 1: pm starting October 1, 2009
www.pottersdepot.com
75E. Benteen Street, Buffalo, WY 82834
(307) 684-4555
Call for entries: "Landscape Interrupted"
From a press release:
Call for entries for "Landscape Interrupted: A Photographic Exhibition of the Influenced Landscape."
"Landscape Interrupted" seeks to exhibit photographic artwork depicting the influence that humans have within the landscape. Entries should focus on the interaction and change and takes place when humans correspond with our natural world. Landscape Interrupted is a national juried photography exhibition that will be held at the Coconino Center for the Arts, the cultural hub of Northern Arizona and the Flagstaff community, from January 19-February 17.
Juror is a professor of Photography at Arizona State University and formerly the curator for the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House. Jenkins is responsible for the curation of the New Topographics exhibit, an influential photography exhibition that took place in 1975 and transformed the aesthetic and idea of landscape photography.
In addition to the call for entries, "Landscape Interrupted" will display the work of three featured artists, Terry Falke, Joe Trevino and Susan Lynn Smith.
Deadline is November 20.
For more information, please visit our website at http://www.culturalpartners.org/landscape.htm
Joe Cornett, Program Coordinator, Flagstaff (Ariz.) Cultural Partners, jcornett@culturalpartners.org
928.779.2300 x103.
Call for entries for "Landscape Interrupted: A Photographic Exhibition of the Influenced Landscape."
"Landscape Interrupted" seeks to exhibit photographic artwork depicting the influence that humans have within the landscape. Entries should focus on the interaction and change and takes place when humans correspond with our natural world. Landscape Interrupted is a national juried photography exhibition that will be held at the Coconino Center for the Arts, the cultural hub of Northern Arizona and the Flagstaff community, from January 19-February 17.
Juror is a professor of Photography at Arizona State University and formerly the curator for the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House. Jenkins is responsible for the curation of the New Topographics exhibit, an influential photography exhibition that took place in 1975 and transformed the aesthetic and idea of landscape photography.
In addition to the call for entries, "Landscape Interrupted" will display the work of three featured artists, Terry Falke, Joe Trevino and Susan Lynn Smith.
Deadline is November 20.
For more information, please visit our website at http://www.culturalpartners.org/landscape.htm
Joe Cornett, Program Coordinator, Flagstaff (Ariz.) Cultural Partners, jcornett@culturalpartners.org
928.779.2300 x103.
You're invited to pre-Summit workshop on arts-based development in the West
This e-mail invitation comes from wyomingarts' colleague Randy Oestman:
Greetings Everyone,
I'm hoping you might be able to spread the word on this Pre-Summit Workshop I am putting together. Anyone may attend free regardless of attending the WAC Arts Summit.
Pre-Summit Workshop
"Creating and Sustaining Arts Based Development in the Rural West"
Facilitated by Dan Wecks
Wednesday September 23, 2009
Location: Cheyenne Depot Museum
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This Workshop is free to all, but attendees must RSVP!
More than ever communities across Wyoming are realizing the importance of Community Development and the Arts with may of the same questions being raised. Where do we start? How do we determine and communicate the importance of arts and creativity? What are possible projects? How do we attract participants? How do we fund this project and make it sustainable?
This will be an open discussion exploring successful and unsuccessful examples of Community Development and Arts projects from smaller communities with an opportunity to glean information from a very successful Community Development Leader. This meeting will also provide an opportunity for community leaders with similar visions to network and connect for assistance in making things happen throughout Wyoming.
Dan Wecks has a broad background of experience including government, non-profit, and private business. Before deciding to follow his heart to do what mattered to him, he was President of a large real estate and development company. He was elected to the Manitou City Council and later as its Mayor. During this time he became the Executive Director of the Business of Art Center, a business incubator for artists and arts organizations in Manitou Springs.. Dan’s twin loves are assisting arts/community organizations, schools and government in looking to creative solutions to community issues and helping build Strength Based organizations through the development of their people.
In recognition of challenging economic times, the Wyoming Arts Council is offering travel stipends to Wyoming artists, arts organization representatives and community leaders interested in attending the Arts Summit Sept. 24-25 at Little America in Cheyenne.
Thank you!
Cheers,
Randy Oestman
Wyoming Arts Council
Community Development and the Arts Specialist
307.777.7109
Greetings Everyone,
I'm hoping you might be able to spread the word on this Pre-Summit Workshop I am putting together. Anyone may attend free regardless of attending the WAC Arts Summit.
Pre-Summit Workshop
"Creating and Sustaining Arts Based Development in the Rural West"
Facilitated by Dan Wecks
Wednesday September 23, 2009
Location: Cheyenne Depot Museum
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This Workshop is free to all, but attendees must RSVP!
More than ever communities across Wyoming are realizing the importance of Community Development and the Arts with may of the same questions being raised. Where do we start? How do we determine and communicate the importance of arts and creativity? What are possible projects? How do we attract participants? How do we fund this project and make it sustainable?
This will be an open discussion exploring successful and unsuccessful examples of Community Development and Arts projects from smaller communities with an opportunity to glean information from a very successful Community Development Leader. This meeting will also provide an opportunity for community leaders with similar visions to network and connect for assistance in making things happen throughout Wyoming.
Dan Wecks has a broad background of experience including government, non-profit, and private business. Before deciding to follow his heart to do what mattered to him, he was President of a large real estate and development company. He was elected to the Manitou City Council and later as its Mayor. During this time he became the Executive Director of the Business of Art Center, a business incubator for artists and arts organizations in Manitou Springs.. Dan’s twin loves are assisting arts/community organizations, schools and government in looking to creative solutions to community issues and helping build Strength Based organizations through the development of their people.
In recognition of challenging economic times, the Wyoming Arts Council is offering travel stipends to Wyoming artists, arts organization representatives and community leaders interested in attending the Arts Summit Sept. 24-25 at Little America in Cheyenne.
Thank you!
Cheers,
Randy Oestman
Wyoming Arts Council
Community Development and the Arts Specialist
307.777.7109
Monday, September 14, 2009
Call for entries: Serendipity Poets anthology
Ed Warsaw dropped into WAC HQ today to talk about poetry.
He's been shepherding the publication of the Serendipity Poets annual anthology for a lot of years. He's now seeking submissions for the 14th annual edition.
So, please submit poems in all forms, 32 lines or less, geared for a general audience (G-rated) to:
Serendipity Poets
415 W. 28th St.
Cheyenne, WY 82001
No entry fee.
Deadline is Oct. 30.
Ed says that it's O.K. to drop your submission through the building's mail slot. Make sure it includes your name, a short bio, address and phone number.
You may also e-mail submissions to chyserendipity@earthlink.net.
FMI: Ed at 307-635-4725 or Michael Riversong at 307-214-1553.
Ed invites all local poets to come out to the weekly gatherings of Serendipity Poets each Tuesday, 7 p.m., at Synergy Cafe, 459 Vandehei Ave.
He's been shepherding the publication of the Serendipity Poets annual anthology for a lot of years. He's now seeking submissions for the 14th annual edition.
So, please submit poems in all forms, 32 lines or less, geared for a general audience (G-rated) to:
Serendipity Poets
415 W. 28th St.
Cheyenne, WY 82001
No entry fee.
Deadline is Oct. 30.
Ed says that it's O.K. to drop your submission through the building's mail slot. Make sure it includes your name, a short bio, address and phone number.
You may also e-mail submissions to chyserendipity@earthlink.net.
FMI: Ed at 307-635-4725 or Michael Riversong at 307-214-1553.
Ed invites all local poets to come out to the weekly gatherings of Serendipity Poets each Tuesday, 7 p.m., at Synergy Cafe, 459 Vandehei Ave.
RSVP WAC to attend sessions on grants training and creating arts-based communities
The Wyoming Arts Council requests that people interested in attending its Sept. 23 pre-conference sessions at the Arts Summit send in their RVSPs by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
A grants training session will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 23 at the Wyoming Arts Council conference room. This free session will be led by WAC staffers Mike Shay and Karen Merklin. To RSVP, call Karen at 307-777-7743 or e-mail kmerkl1@state.wy.us.
Another session, "Creating and Sustaining Arts-Based Development in Small Town Rural West," will be facilitated by Dan Wecks from 1-5 p.m. at the Historic Depot in downtown Cheyenne. This workshop is free to registrants of Wyoming Arts Summit. To RSVP, call Randy Oestman at 307-777-7109 or e-mail roestm@state.wy.us.
The Arts Summit kicks off at 5 p.m. on Sept. with registration and reception at Little America in Cheyenne in Wyoming Rooms A&B. Stick around for the 20:20 presentation for 7-9 p.m. This event is hosted by the UW Art Museum.
A full slate of Arts Summit presentations and panel meetings will be held on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 24-25, at Little America. Still time to register for this one-of-a-kind statewide event that addresses the crucial role that the arts play in community development.
FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Events/ArtSummit2009registrationbrochure.pdf
A grants training session will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 23 at the Wyoming Arts Council conference room. This free session will be led by WAC staffers Mike Shay and Karen Merklin. To RSVP, call Karen at 307-777-7743 or e-mail kmerkl1@state.wy.us.
Another session, "Creating and Sustaining Arts-Based Development in Small Town Rural West," will be facilitated by Dan Wecks from 1-5 p.m. at the Historic Depot in downtown Cheyenne. This workshop is free to registrants of Wyoming Arts Summit. To RSVP, call Randy Oestman at 307-777-7109 or e-mail roestm@state.wy.us.
The Arts Summit kicks off at 5 p.m. on Sept. with registration and reception at Little America in Cheyenne in Wyoming Rooms A&B. Stick around for the 20:20 presentation for 7-9 p.m. This event is hosted by the UW Art Museum.
A full slate of Arts Summit presentations and panel meetings will be held on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 24-25, at Little America. Still time to register for this one-of-a-kind statewide event that addresses the crucial role that the arts play in community development.
FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Events/ArtSummit2009registrationbrochure.pdf
Friday, September 11, 2009
Cheyenne Little Theatre Players Event
Dates: Friday, September 11 2009,
Time : 7:30pm
Location: Historic Atlas Theatre
MORE: Strong Language and Adult Themes. Not suitable for children!
Marilyn Miller artist reception tonight at the Y
Not sure what to do on a Friday evening in Cheyenne?
Drop by the Cheyenne Family YMCA from 5-6 p.m. for a reception for artist Marilyn Miller. Her work is on display (and for sale) through the end of September. You don't have to be a YMCA member to attend. Refreshments served, and it's free.
Can't beat that.
FMI: Chris Shay at 307-634-9622.
Drop by the Cheyenne Family YMCA from 5-6 p.m. for a reception for artist Marilyn Miller. Her work is on display (and for sale) through the end of September. You don't have to be a YMCA member to attend. Refreshments served, and it's free.
Can't beat that.
FMI: Chris Shay at 307-634-9622.
Buffalo Bill Art Show &Sale
September 22, 23, 24, 25
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Exhibition (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center John Bunker Sands Photography Gallery. Free to the public.
September 24, 25
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Artist Demonstrations
Participating artists are placed in one of the following locations: Big Horn Galleries, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody Country Art League, Simpson Gallagher Gallery, or other Cody art-related venues depending on the number of participants. Free to the public.
September 25
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Artist Studio Tour (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
Trolley departs from the Party Tent at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Take a trolley tour of the studios of participating Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale artists Steve Schrepferman, Linda S. Raynolds, M.C. Poulsen, Vic Payne, J. Burnham Rudolph, and Caleco Foundry. Reservations required.
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Honored Artist Lecture (2 p.m. – 3 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Coe Auditorium. 2009 Honored Artist T.D. Kelsey discusses his life’s influences and work. Free to the public.
A Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Collectible Poster Signing (3 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Honored Artist T.D. Kelsey signs copies of the collectible 2009 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale poster.
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Final Preview (4 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center. View the exhibition a final time and visit with artists in the John Bunker Sands Photography Gallery, then stroll to the Party Tent adjacent to the historical center for fine food, drinks, and live music.
28th Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Auction (6:30 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center—Party Tent. Join in the fun with spirited bidding of fine western art orchestrated by the rapid-fire delivery of auctioneers Troy Black and Associates. Reservations required.
September 26
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Quick Draw (9 a.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center—Party Tent. Join us for a champagne brunch and silent auction. Stroll through the Robbie Powwow Garden to observe over thirty painters, potters, and sculptors at work—often using live models—to complete a piece in one hour. Quick Draw pieces are then sold at live auction. Reservations required.
http://www.buffalobillartshow.com/
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Exhibition (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center John Bunker Sands Photography Gallery. Free to the public.
September 24, 25
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Artist Demonstrations
Participating artists are placed in one of the following locations: Big Horn Galleries, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody Country Art League, Simpson Gallagher Gallery, or other Cody art-related venues depending on the number of participants. Free to the public.
September 25
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Artist Studio Tour (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
Trolley departs from the Party Tent at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Take a trolley tour of the studios of participating Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale artists Steve Schrepferman, Linda S. Raynolds, M.C. Poulsen, Vic Payne, J. Burnham Rudolph, and Caleco Foundry. Reservations required.
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Honored Artist Lecture (2 p.m. – 3 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Coe Auditorium. 2009 Honored Artist T.D. Kelsey discusses his life’s influences and work. Free to the public.
A Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Collectible Poster Signing (3 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Honored Artist T.D. Kelsey signs copies of the collectible 2009 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale poster.
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Final Preview (4 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center. View the exhibition a final time and visit with artists in the John Bunker Sands Photography Gallery, then stroll to the Party Tent adjacent to the historical center for fine food, drinks, and live music.
28th Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Auction (6:30 p.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center—Party Tent. Join in the fun with spirited bidding of fine western art orchestrated by the rapid-fire delivery of auctioneers Troy Black and Associates. Reservations required.
September 26
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Quick Draw (9 a.m.)
Buffalo Bill Historical Center—Party Tent. Join us for a champagne brunch and silent auction. Stroll through the Robbie Powwow Garden to observe over thirty painters, potters, and sculptors at work—often using live models—to complete a piece in one hour. Quick Draw pieces are then sold at live auction. Reservations required.
http://www.buffalobillartshow.com/
Anne and Pete Sibley perform this weekend at Pickamania in Silver City, N.M.
Anne and Pete Sibley of Jackson will be one of thirteen musical groups performing this weekend at the second annual Pickamania in Gough Park in Silver City, N.M. Performances begin at 6 p.m. today (Friday) and are free and open to the public.
Here's more from an article in the Silver City Sun-News:
Wyoming's Anne and Pete Sibley were recently awarded top honors in the NPR's Prairie Home Companion Great American Sing-off.Anne was awarded a 2009 performing arts fellowship in music performance from the Wyoming Arts Council.
"We are very excited to come to Pickamania," Anne Sibley said. "Neither of us have ever stepped foot in New Mexico before and are excited to have the chance to finally do so. The landscapes are breathtaking around here, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah and now, New Mexico. It seems that lots of people are grateful for life and for the love of music."
The Sibleys will offer the first of three musical workshops throughout the weekend. Workshops will be held in the Wells Fargo Bank. Cost for each workshop is $10.
FMI: http://www.scsun-news.com/ci_13304550
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Postmark deadline for Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards is Oct. 30
The postmark deadline for applications to the Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Awards is Friday, Oct. 30, 2009.
The $1,000 Blanchan Award is given to a writer whose work, in any literary genre, is inspired by nature. The $1,000 Doubleday Award is given to the best manuscript submitted by a woman author.
To apply, you must be at least 18 years old and a Wyoming resident.
The competition is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council and funded by artist and arts patron Neltje from Banner.
Judge for the competition is Aaron A. Abeyta, a poet, novelist and and professor of English at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. His first poetry collection, Colcha, received both an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His second poetry collection was As Orion Falls, published by Ghost Road Press in Denver. Abeyta’s first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, was published in 2007 by Ghost Road Press. He is the recipient of a Colorado Council on the Arts fellowship for poetry. He earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Colorado State University.
Get a printable application and guidelines at the WAC web site, http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/. For more information, contact Michael Shay, 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.
The $1,000 Blanchan Award is given to a writer whose work, in any literary genre, is inspired by nature. The $1,000 Doubleday Award is given to the best manuscript submitted by a woman author.
To apply, you must be at least 18 years old and a Wyoming resident.
The competition is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council and funded by artist and arts patron Neltje from Banner.
Judge for the competition is Aaron A. Abeyta, a poet, novelist and and professor of English at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. His first poetry collection, Colcha, received both an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His second poetry collection was As Orion Falls, published by Ghost Road Press in Denver. Abeyta’s first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, was published in 2007 by Ghost Road Press. He is the recipient of a Colorado Council on the Arts fellowship for poetry. He earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Colorado State University.
Get a printable application and guidelines at the WAC web site, http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/. For more information, contact Michael Shay, 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.
"Jukeboxes & Jackalopes" -- the photographic companion
Writer Julianne Couch and photographer Ronald Hansen dropped by the Arts Council this afternoon to show off their new book.
"Jukeboxes & Jackalopes: A Photographic Companion to Wyoming Bars & Backways" was hot off the presses when Julianne and Ron sidled into the WAC. The large format book features Ron's color photos of the state's distinctive bars, accompanied by Julianne's captions. It's published by the Wyoming State Historical Society, and features an intro by noted historian Phil Roberts.
This is a follow-up to Julianne's "Jukeboxes & Jackalopes: A Wyoming Bar Journey," published by Pronghorn Press in Greybull. It features a lone photo of each out-of-the way bar with essays by Julianne. I've heard Julianne read several of these essays. The bars serve as catalyst for the essays, as her writing begins at the watering holes but ranges further afield into history and geology and her own life. She received an Individual Artist Professional Development grant to help defray costs of research and site visits. Now don't laugh. Research can take many forms, especially when you're dealing with small-town Western traditions such as saloons and bars -- and their patrons. As Julianne notes in the intro to the new book:
In some of the locales chronicled by Julianne and Ron, a bar is all that remains. Just take a look at Steelman's Brite Spot in Hiland. It includes a bar and convenience store, the only shops in this town of 10 residents.
Just take a look at the Longbranch Saloon in Hawk Springs. You can't, not in person anyway, because it burned down after Julianne's visit for her first book. Rebuilding plans are supposed to be underway.
I urge you to take a look at the book. You can buy it in Cheyenne at City News and the Wyoming State Museum Store. You can order copies from Julianne and Ron's Horse Creek Studio. Get more info at http://www.myspace.com/wyojulianne
And here's a terrific idea. Bring Julianne and her books and her expertise to your community for a presentation. You can do this through a WAC Arts Across Wyoming grant. Julianne is one of our fine roster artists. An AAW grant can help pay her fee and travel costs. Why not do that now, while it's fresh on your mind. Go to http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Grants/EApps.asp
--Michael Shay
"Jukeboxes & Jackalopes: A Photographic Companion to Wyoming Bars & Backways" was hot off the presses when Julianne and Ron sidled into the WAC. The large format book features Ron's color photos of the state's distinctive bars, accompanied by Julianne's captions. It's published by the Wyoming State Historical Society, and features an intro by noted historian Phil Roberts.
This is a follow-up to Julianne's "Jukeboxes & Jackalopes: A Wyoming Bar Journey," published by Pronghorn Press in Greybull. It features a lone photo of each out-of-the way bar with essays by Julianne. I've heard Julianne read several of these essays. The bars serve as catalyst for the essays, as her writing begins at the watering holes but ranges further afield into history and geology and her own life. She received an Individual Artist Professional Development grant to help defray costs of research and site visits. Now don't laugh. Research can take many forms, especially when you're dealing with small-town Western traditions such as saloons and bars -- and their patrons. As Julianne notes in the intro to the new book:
As another traveler once said, "A town in Wyoming consists of a post office, a gas station, and a bar."
In some of the locales chronicled by Julianne and Ron, a bar is all that remains. Just take a look at Steelman's Brite Spot in Hiland. It includes a bar and convenience store, the only shops in this town of 10 residents.
Just take a look at the Longbranch Saloon in Hawk Springs. You can't, not in person anyway, because it burned down after Julianne's visit for her first book. Rebuilding plans are supposed to be underway.
I urge you to take a look at the book. You can buy it in Cheyenne at City News and the Wyoming State Museum Store. You can order copies from Julianne and Ron's Horse Creek Studio. Get more info at http://www.myspace.com/wyojulianne
And here's a terrific idea. Bring Julianne and her books and her expertise to your community for a presentation. You can do this through a WAC Arts Across Wyoming grant. Julianne is one of our fine roster artists. An AAW grant can help pay her fee and travel costs. Why not do that now, while it's fresh on your mind. Go to http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Grants/EApps.asp
--Michael Shay
Nina McConigley to celebrate new story in American Short Fiction with Texas reading
Wyoming fiction writer Nina McConigley (upper right) is one of the writers featured in the new issue of American Short Fiction. Casper's Nina Swamidoss McConigley (now teaching at UW in Laramie) has a new story out this fall in American Short Fiction magazine. The story is "Curating Your Life." A reading featuring contributors to this issue of ASF will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, at the Austin, Texas, home of Kelty Christman. This is free and open to the public.
The event features readings by writers Nina McConigley and Josh Weil. Actor Gabriel Luna, fresh from his title role in Cambiare Productions’ Orestes, will also read. Buzz Moran and LB Deyo of Dionysium will emcee. Music from the fall issue's diskette will also be played.
FMI: http://www.americanshortfiction.org/blog/?p=1236
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
UW ReVisioning Conference features performances, workshops and panel discussions
From a UW press release:
The University of Wyoming will host the third annual "ReVisioning the (W)hole" conference from Sept. 29-Oct. 1.
The conference will include presentations, workshops, performances and panel discussions led by students, faculty and staff. The conference is free and open to the public.
"This conference has two primary objectives," says organizer Meg VB-Wood, UW Department of English faculty member. "To recognize and celebrate the on-going interdisciplinary/integrated projects on campus and beyond, and stimulate future work that looks at blurring, enlarging and/or redefining disciplinary boundaries."
The conference's keynote speakers are David Carson, UW eminent artist-in-residence and graphic designer, and Larry Livingston of the University of Southern California School of Music.
"We're excited about the conference's trajectory from simply recognizing interdisciplinary collaboration in the first year to actually embodying it," says organizer Margaret Wilson, associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. "This year, we are grouping presenters together and asking them to develop their presentations collaboratively."
"ReVisioning the (W)hole III" is supported by the UW Foundation; the College of Arts and Sciences; the Outreach School; the Learning Resource Network; the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning; ASUW Student Activities Council; the American Studies Program; the departments of Art, English, Geology and Geophysics, Music, and Physics and Astronomy; and the Laura Jane Musser Fund.
FMI: Wilson at mawilson@uwyo.edu or VB-Wood at megw@uwyo.edu.
The University of Wyoming will host the third annual "ReVisioning the (W)hole" conference from Sept. 29-Oct. 1.
The conference will include presentations, workshops, performances and panel discussions led by students, faculty and staff. The conference is free and open to the public.
"This conference has two primary objectives," says organizer Meg VB-Wood, UW Department of English faculty member. "To recognize and celebrate the on-going interdisciplinary/integrated projects on campus and beyond, and stimulate future work that looks at blurring, enlarging and/or redefining disciplinary boundaries."
The conference's keynote speakers are David Carson, UW eminent artist-in-residence and graphic designer, and Larry Livingston of the University of Southern California School of Music.
"We're excited about the conference's trajectory from simply recognizing interdisciplinary collaboration in the first year to actually embodying it," says organizer Margaret Wilson, associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. "This year, we are grouping presenters together and asking them to develop their presentations collaboratively."
"ReVisioning the (W)hole III" is supported by the UW Foundation; the College of Arts and Sciences; the Outreach School; the Learning Resource Network; the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning; ASUW Student Activities Council; the American Studies Program; the departments of Art, English, Geology and Geophysics, Music, and Physics and Astronomy; and the Laura Jane Musser Fund.
FMI: Wilson at mawilson@uwyo.edu or VB-Wood at megw@uwyo.edu.
Here's all you need to know for the 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday writing competition
By Friday, Sept. 11, applications for the 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards will be in the mail to the 250-some resident writers on the Wyoming Arts Council mailing list. You will also find a printable version at the WAC web site at http://www.wyoarts.org/. Meanwhile, take a look at this abbreviated version of the application. If you can't wait for the mailman, feel free to cut and paste this material to an MS Word doc and take it away.
Here's the info from the 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday application:
Through the generosity of private donor Neltje, the Individual Artists Program of the Wyoming Arts Council gives the Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Awards for excellence in creative writing.
These awards are designed to bring attention to writers who have not yet received wide recognition for their work, and to support emerging writers at crucial times in their careers. Poets, fiction writers, essayists, and script writers who have published no more than one book in each genre and who are not students or faculty members are invited to apply by submitting manuscripts and an entry form by the October 30, 2009 postmark deadline.
Since 1989, 37 talented writers have received Blanchan/Doubleday awards: Geoffrey O’Gara, Betsy Orient Bernfeld, Hannah Hinchman, David Mouat, Sheila Roberts, Scott Hagel, Holly Skinner, C.L. Rawlins, Marcia Saum, Dainis Hazners, Barbara Gilbert, William Hoagland, Diane LeBlanc, Tina Willis, Maija Rhee Devine, Mary Beth Baptiste, Julene Bair, Chavawn Kelley, Geneen Marie Haugen, Janell Hanson, Mark Spragg, Karol Griffin, Stefani Farris, Laura Bell, Darcy Acord, Jack Clinton, Tina Welling, Susan Marsh, Myra L. Peak, Marcia Hensley, Jeffe Kennedy, Melodie Edwards, Bo Moore, Barbara Smith, Alisan Peters, Lou O. Madison and Christine B. Nelson.
The Neltje Blanchan Award, $1,000, is given for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script which is informed by a relationship with the natural world.
The Frank Nelson Doubleday Award, $1,000, is given for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script written by a woman author.
Blanchan/Doubleday Judge is Aaron A. Abeyta
Aaron A. Abeyta is a Colorado native and professor of English at Adams State College. His first poetry collection, Colcha, received both an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His second poetry collection was As Orion Falls, published by Ghost Road Press. It received a number of favorable reviews, including one from Juan Felipe Herrera, author of Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box:
“There is no other voice that conjures the sky and keeps count of stars as human migrations, moving, fading, and bursting anew as Aaron Abeyta’s. Here he is standing naked and alone on the abandoned snow drifts and tierras, holding them as fallen angels and stellar evidence of our birthright -- the luminous lands we claimed we would honor thirty-five years ago. Abeyta speaks with the voices of Nazim Hikmet, Jim Sagel, Allison Hedge-Coke and Albert Hunter, all lovers of the small earth and its colossal heart."
In 2007, Aaron published his first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, also published by Ghost Road Press in Denver. Annie Dawid wrote a review in High Country News:
“Entering Colorado poet Aaron Abeyta’s first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, is like visiting a world that no longer exists -- if it ever did. Santa Rita, the mythical Western town that forms the subject of this short, dense novel, is a place reminiscent of Eden, both before and after the Fall. One is reminded of Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez’s fictional Colombian town, Macondo, as Abeyta creates a culture in a specific place and witnesses its dissolution -- from greed, abandonment, the withering of love. Like GarcÃa Márquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude, Abeyta begins with an annotated cast of characters, for it’s easy to confuse the people in this novel. Abeyta moves through time and generations as if through memory: ‘That was 1926,’ when the fences were built, we are told in the same paragraph in which we have traveled even further back to the arrival of the treacherous Matthews family in 1878. “ ‘Santa Rita sat in a long and deep canyon cut by an ancient river of ice, now melted to a river that flowed east toward the Rio Grande. There was no TV reception in Santa Rita. Most news traveled like it always had, by word of mouth.’ ”
Aaron is the recipient of a Colorado Council on the Arts fellowship for poetry. He earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Colorado State University. He lives in southern Colorado where, as he says in his bio, he can remain close to his family and culture, both of which greatly influence his work. Abeyta was born in 1971.
Guidelines: 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards
Eligibility:
You may enter if you meet the following requirements:
*You must not be a full-time college student or full-time college faculty.
* You must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of Wyoming, living in the state for at least ten months of the year, since July 1, 2008.
* To receive an award, you must remain a Wyoming resident until June 30, 2010, living in the state for at least ten months of the year.
*You must not have received a Blanchan or Doubleday award in the last four years. You may apply for these awards if you received a 2009 creative writing fellowship.
* You may not receive a 2010 Arts Council creative writing fellowship.
* You may enter if you have never published a book, if you’ve published only one full-length book of fiction, poetry or nonfiction, or if you have published no more than one book of poetry, one of fiction, and one of nonfiction (self-publication excluded).
* To enter the Frank Nelson Doubleday competition, you must be a woman.
Manuscript guidelines:
* Submit two copies of work, for each competition, typed on 16 or 20 pound 8 1/2" x 11" white paper. Photocopies are acceptable. You may enter the same work to both competitions, but must submit two separate copies of it for each award.
* Do not staple manuscripts or use any manuscript cover or binder; paper clip each copy after collating.
* Submit work in one genre only (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction or script).
* Writing may have been previously published, but don’t submit reprints; published work must be retyped to conform to the rest of the manuscript.
* Manuscript must be consecutively page-numbered. Include title of work and page numbers on each page.
* Your name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.
* If you submit more than the allowed page limits (see below), extra pages will be removed; you will not be notified.
* Do not send supplementary materials (letters, resumes, etc.).
* If novel or play/film synopses are part of the manuscript (this is often helpful to juror), include them in the total page number count.
Length requirements:
* Poetry, maximum length: 10 printed pages. Type single-spaced, with no more than one poem per printed page.
* Fiction and creative nonfiction, maximum length: 25 printed pages. Type double-spaced, using either one side or both sides of page.
* Drama and screenplays, maximum length: 25 printed pages. Must be typed and presented in the standard, industry-accepted format for the type of script submitted.
Submission procedures:
* You may enter each competition once only, by October 30, 2009.
* Send two copies of the manuscript for each competition.
* Fill out and enclose a signed entry form (you may use a photocopy) with manuscripts. The same form may be used to enter both competitions.
* If you want the Council to acknowledge receipt of your manuscripts, enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard.
After you submit your application:
* If you enclosed a self-addressed stamped postcard, the Council will acknowledge receipt of your manuscript.
* Your name and credentials are not available to juror; all manuscripts are identified by number. Juror will not critique individual manuscripts.
* Winners will be notified after January 1, 2010.
* Manuscripts will not be returned, and will be discarded after the competition. Please be sure to retain copies of your work.
* You’ll receive $1,000 (after January 1, 2010). At the discretion of the juror, no award may be given, or both awards may be given to the same writer.
* You’ll sign a contract which verifies that you’re eligible to receive this award.
* You must remain a resident of the state through June 30, 2010, living within its borders for at least ten months of the year.
* You’ll need to supply a resume and black and white photograph for publicity, and the Council will ask permission to print some of your work in its publications.
* You’ll retain the right of publication to the work you produce during the award period.
* You must fill out a form, due June 30, 2010, which asks questions about how this award helped you and what you accomplished during the year. There are no requirements regarding work you complete during the award period or how you use the funds.
2010 Blanchan and Doubleday Writing Awards Application
(Please print, complete and mail with entry)
Name ____________________________________
Address__________________________________
City ________________State_______ Zip _______
Phone (Day) ___________ (Night) ______________
E-mail: ___________________________________
___Check here if you’re applying for both the Frank Nelson Doubleday and the Neltje Blanchan
Awards.
___Check here if you’ve enclosed a self-addressed stamped postcard (optional) so we can acknowledge manuscript receipt.
FRANK NELSON DOUBLEDAY ENTRY
I have submitted two copies of a manuscript which contains (check only one of the following genres and how many pages in the submission):
Genre: # of pages
____ Poetry __________
____ Fiction __________
____ Creative Nonfiction __________
____ Script __________
List manuscript title and (if applicable) titles of individual poems, essays, short stories, etc.:
________________________________________________
NELTJE BLANCHAN AWARD ENTRY
I have submitted two copies of a manuscript which contains (check only one of the following genres and how many pages in the submission):
Genre: # of pages
____ Poetry __________
____ Fiction __________
____ Creative Nonfiction __________
____ Script __________
Please list manuscript title and (if applicable) titles of individual poems, essays, short stories, etc.:___________________________________
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
In 100 words or less, please provide us with a brief artistic/biographical statement. This information will not be available to the judge, nor will it affect your application in any way. The WAC will use it in an announcement if you’ve won an award, and in its files of Wyoming writers (please attach as a separate sheet.)
Send two copies of your manuscript -- for each competition entered -- one application form (you may use the same form to enter both competitions; a photocopy of this form is acceptable) plus a stamped, self addressed postcard (if acknowledgement of manuscript receipt is desired) by October 30, 2009 to:
Wyoming Arts Council
2320 Capitol Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Attn: Blanchan & Doubleday Awards
Enclosure Checklist
Deadline: October 30, 2009
_____ Two copies of the manuscript for each competition entered.
_____ Signed entry form.
_____ Optional acknowledgement postcard.
_____ Biographical statement.
I verify that I am at least 18 years old, have been a legal resident of Wyoming since July 1, 2008, that I am not a full-time college student or a full-time college faculty member, I have not received a Blanchan or Doubleday Award in the last four years, and that I have published no more than one book in each genre listed on the reverse side of this page. To receive this award, I understand I must remain a Wyoming resident until June 30, 2010, and live within the state’s borders for at least ten months of the year.
Signature: _______________________Date: __________
Here's the info from the 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday application:
Through the generosity of private donor Neltje, the Individual Artists Program of the Wyoming Arts Council gives the Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Awards for excellence in creative writing.
These awards are designed to bring attention to writers who have not yet received wide recognition for their work, and to support emerging writers at crucial times in their careers. Poets, fiction writers, essayists, and script writers who have published no more than one book in each genre and who are not students or faculty members are invited to apply by submitting manuscripts and an entry form by the October 30, 2009 postmark deadline.
Since 1989, 37 talented writers have received Blanchan/Doubleday awards: Geoffrey O’Gara, Betsy Orient Bernfeld, Hannah Hinchman, David Mouat, Sheila Roberts, Scott Hagel, Holly Skinner, C.L. Rawlins, Marcia Saum, Dainis Hazners, Barbara Gilbert, William Hoagland, Diane LeBlanc, Tina Willis, Maija Rhee Devine, Mary Beth Baptiste, Julene Bair, Chavawn Kelley, Geneen Marie Haugen, Janell Hanson, Mark Spragg, Karol Griffin, Stefani Farris, Laura Bell, Darcy Acord, Jack Clinton, Tina Welling, Susan Marsh, Myra L. Peak, Marcia Hensley, Jeffe Kennedy, Melodie Edwards, Bo Moore, Barbara Smith, Alisan Peters, Lou O. Madison and Christine B. Nelson.
The Neltje Blanchan Award, $1,000, is given for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script which is informed by a relationship with the natural world.
The Frank Nelson Doubleday Award, $1,000, is given for the best poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or script written by a woman author.
Blanchan/Doubleday Judge is Aaron A. Abeyta
Aaron A. Abeyta is a Colorado native and professor of English at Adams State College. His first poetry collection, Colcha, received both an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His second poetry collection was As Orion Falls, published by Ghost Road Press. It received a number of favorable reviews, including one from Juan Felipe Herrera, author of Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box:
“There is no other voice that conjures the sky and keeps count of stars as human migrations, moving, fading, and bursting anew as Aaron Abeyta’s. Here he is standing naked and alone on the abandoned snow drifts and tierras, holding them as fallen angels and stellar evidence of our birthright -- the luminous lands we claimed we would honor thirty-five years ago. Abeyta speaks with the voices of Nazim Hikmet, Jim Sagel, Allison Hedge-Coke and Albert Hunter, all lovers of the small earth and its colossal heart."
In 2007, Aaron published his first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, also published by Ghost Road Press in Denver. Annie Dawid wrote a review in High Country News:
“Entering Colorado poet Aaron Abeyta’s first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, is like visiting a world that no longer exists -- if it ever did. Santa Rita, the mythical Western town that forms the subject of this short, dense novel, is a place reminiscent of Eden, both before and after the Fall. One is reminded of Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez’s fictional Colombian town, Macondo, as Abeyta creates a culture in a specific place and witnesses its dissolution -- from greed, abandonment, the withering of love. Like GarcÃa Márquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude, Abeyta begins with an annotated cast of characters, for it’s easy to confuse the people in this novel. Abeyta moves through time and generations as if through memory: ‘That was 1926,’ when the fences were built, we are told in the same paragraph in which we have traveled even further back to the arrival of the treacherous Matthews family in 1878. “ ‘Santa Rita sat in a long and deep canyon cut by an ancient river of ice, now melted to a river that flowed east toward the Rio Grande. There was no TV reception in Santa Rita. Most news traveled like it always had, by word of mouth.’ ”
Aaron is the recipient of a Colorado Council on the Arts fellowship for poetry. He earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Colorado State University. He lives in southern Colorado where, as he says in his bio, he can remain close to his family and culture, both of which greatly influence his work. Abeyta was born in 1971.
Guidelines: 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards
Eligibility:
You may enter if you meet the following requirements:
*You must not be a full-time college student or full-time college faculty.
* You must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of Wyoming, living in the state for at least ten months of the year, since July 1, 2008.
* To receive an award, you must remain a Wyoming resident until June 30, 2010, living in the state for at least ten months of the year.
*You must not have received a Blanchan or Doubleday award in the last four years. You may apply for these awards if you received a 2009 creative writing fellowship.
* You may not receive a 2010 Arts Council creative writing fellowship.
* You may enter if you have never published a book, if you’ve published only one full-length book of fiction, poetry or nonfiction, or if you have published no more than one book of poetry, one of fiction, and one of nonfiction (self-publication excluded).
* To enter the Frank Nelson Doubleday competition, you must be a woman.
Manuscript guidelines:
* Submit two copies of work, for each competition, typed on 16 or 20 pound 8 1/2" x 11" white paper. Photocopies are acceptable. You may enter the same work to both competitions, but must submit two separate copies of it for each award.
* Do not staple manuscripts or use any manuscript cover or binder; paper clip each copy after collating.
* Submit work in one genre only (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction or script).
* Writing may have been previously published, but don’t submit reprints; published work must be retyped to conform to the rest of the manuscript.
* Manuscript must be consecutively page-numbered. Include title of work and page numbers on each page.
* Your name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.
* If you submit more than the allowed page limits (see below), extra pages will be removed; you will not be notified.
* Do not send supplementary materials (letters, resumes, etc.).
* If novel or play/film synopses are part of the manuscript (this is often helpful to juror), include them in the total page number count.
Length requirements:
* Poetry, maximum length: 10 printed pages. Type single-spaced, with no more than one poem per printed page.
* Fiction and creative nonfiction, maximum length: 25 printed pages. Type double-spaced, using either one side or both sides of page.
* Drama and screenplays, maximum length: 25 printed pages. Must be typed and presented in the standard, industry-accepted format for the type of script submitted.
Submission procedures:
* You may enter each competition once only, by October 30, 2009.
* Send two copies of the manuscript for each competition.
* Fill out and enclose a signed entry form (you may use a photocopy) with manuscripts. The same form may be used to enter both competitions.
* If you want the Council to acknowledge receipt of your manuscripts, enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard.
After you submit your application:
* If you enclosed a self-addressed stamped postcard, the Council will acknowledge receipt of your manuscript.
* Your name and credentials are not available to juror; all manuscripts are identified by number. Juror will not critique individual manuscripts.
* Winners will be notified after January 1, 2010.
* Manuscripts will not be returned, and will be discarded after the competition. Please be sure to retain copies of your work.
* You’ll receive $1,000 (after January 1, 2010). At the discretion of the juror, no award may be given, or both awards may be given to the same writer.
* You’ll sign a contract which verifies that you’re eligible to receive this award.
* You must remain a resident of the state through June 30, 2010, living within its borders for at least ten months of the year.
* You’ll need to supply a resume and black and white photograph for publicity, and the Council will ask permission to print some of your work in its publications.
* You’ll retain the right of publication to the work you produce during the award period.
* You must fill out a form, due June 30, 2010, which asks questions about how this award helped you and what you accomplished during the year. There are no requirements regarding work you complete during the award period or how you use the funds.
2010 Blanchan and Doubleday Writing Awards Application
(Please print, complete and mail with entry)
Name ____________________________________
Address__________________________________
City ________________State_______ Zip _______
Phone (Day) ___________ (Night) ______________
E-mail: ___________________________________
___Check here if you’re applying for both the Frank Nelson Doubleday and the Neltje Blanchan
Awards.
___Check here if you’ve enclosed a self-addressed stamped postcard (optional) so we can acknowledge manuscript receipt.
FRANK NELSON DOUBLEDAY ENTRY
I have submitted two copies of a manuscript which contains (check only one of the following genres and how many pages in the submission):
Genre: # of pages
____ Poetry __________
____ Fiction __________
____ Creative Nonfiction __________
____ Script __________
List manuscript title and (if applicable) titles of individual poems, essays, short stories, etc.:
________________________________________________
NELTJE BLANCHAN AWARD ENTRY
I have submitted two copies of a manuscript which contains (check only one of the following genres and how many pages in the submission):
Genre: # of pages
____ Poetry __________
____ Fiction __________
____ Creative Nonfiction __________
____ Script __________
Please list manuscript title and (if applicable) titles of individual poems, essays, short stories, etc.:___________________________________
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
In 100 words or less, please provide us with a brief artistic/biographical statement. This information will not be available to the judge, nor will it affect your application in any way. The WAC will use it in an announcement if you’ve won an award, and in its files of Wyoming writers (please attach as a separate sheet.)
Send two copies of your manuscript -- for each competition entered -- one application form (you may use the same form to enter both competitions; a photocopy of this form is acceptable) plus a stamped, self addressed postcard (if acknowledgement of manuscript receipt is desired) by October 30, 2009 to:
Wyoming Arts Council
2320 Capitol Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Attn: Blanchan & Doubleday Awards
Enclosure Checklist
Deadline: October 30, 2009
_____ Two copies of the manuscript for each competition entered.
_____ Signed entry form.
_____ Optional acknowledgement postcard.
_____ Biographical statement.
I verify that I am at least 18 years old, have been a legal resident of Wyoming since July 1, 2008, that I am not a full-time college student or a full-time college faculty member, I have not received a Blanchan or Doubleday Award in the last four years, and that I have published no more than one book in each genre listed on the reverse side of this page. To receive this award, I understand I must remain a Wyoming resident until June 30, 2010, and live within the state’s borders for at least ten months of the year.
Signature: _______________________Date: __________
CAM-PLEX Upcoming Events
1635 Reata Dr. Gillette. WY82718
Artists of the Black Hills
Exhibition date : August 25-September25
Artist Reception Sept 11 (6-8pm) Heritage Center South Lobby & Gallery
Alpin Hong, Classic Pianist
September 25, 6:30pm Heritage Center
Ticket Office 307-682-8802
www.cam-plex.com
Artists of the Black Hills
Exhibition date : August 25-September25
Artist Reception Sept 11 (6-8pm) Heritage Center South Lobby & Gallery
Alpin Hong, Classic Pianist
September 25, 6:30pm Heritage Center
Ticket Office 307-682-8802
www.cam-plex.com
Cheyenne Artists Guild - Upcoming Events
1701 Morrie Avenue, Cheyenne, WY82001
307-632-2263
Sept 1-30 : National Juried Art Show
Sept 14 : 1-4pm, National Show reception, talk by National Show Judge & monthly meeting
Sept 17: 11:30am Lunch Bunch, Egg & I
Sept 25 : Turn-in for "PAINT YOUR PALETTE" for October Fund Raiser
www.cheyenneartistsguild.org
307-632-2263
Sept 1-30 : National Juried Art Show
Sept 14 : 1-4pm, National Show reception, talk by National Show Judge & monthly meeting
Sept 17: 11:30am Lunch Bunch, Egg & I
Sept 25 : Turn-in for "PAINT YOUR PALETTE" for October Fund Raiser
www.cheyenneartistsguild.org
AVA Community Art Center, Fall Class & Event September Schedule
509 West Second Street, Gillette, WY
307-682-9133
Grade School Kids Club Fall Session (Sept 4,17,24)
Parent and Child Class (Sept 14,21,28)
Yupo for Kids (Sept 14,21)
Pottery in the Morning with John Werbelow (Sept 15,16,22,23,29,30)
Kids Clay Class with Kate Payne (Sept 17,24 Oct 1)
Little Tikes (Sept 18,25)
Plein Air with Nancy Brown (Sept 19)
Vase Class (Sept 22)
September Luncheon with Stain Glass Artist Linda Lang (Sept 23)
Flower Press Class (Sept 24)
Community Art Show Work Due(Sept 25)
7th Annual Mini Art Auction (Sept 25)
Ikebana Floral Arrangement (Sept 29)
Early Release Day (Sept 30)
www.avacenter.org
307-682-9133
Grade School Kids Club Fall Session (Sept 4,17,24)
Parent and Child Class (Sept 14,21,28)
Yupo for Kids (Sept 14,21)
Pottery in the Morning with John Werbelow (Sept 15,16,22,23,29,30)
Kids Clay Class with Kate Payne (Sept 17,24 Oct 1)
Little Tikes (Sept 18,25)
Plein Air with Nancy Brown (Sept 19)
Vase Class (Sept 22)
September Luncheon with Stain Glass Artist Linda Lang (Sept 23)
Flower Press Class (Sept 24)
Community Art Show Work Due(Sept 25)
7th Annual Mini Art Auction (Sept 25)
Ikebana Floral Arrangement (Sept 29)
Early Release Day (Sept 30)
www.avacenter.org
Book signing and open house for Pat Frolander
This comes from Andi Hummel in Hulett:
You are invited to a book signing and open house honoring award-winning Sundance poet Patricia Frolander on Monday, Sept. 21, at the Community Room of the Crook County Public Library in Sundance. The event, which will run from 4-7 p.m., is hosted by Bearlodge Writers and friends of the poet, and it will debut Frolander's new chapbook, Grassland Genealogy (Finishing Line Press, July 2009).
Frolander, who promises to entertain those attending the event with selections from forty years of poetry written about raising children, weathering ranch life, and life in general, is celebrating more than a new book. She was recently notified that her poem, "Father, when You call," was named the 2009 winner of the 17th Annual National Senior Poets Laureate Competition. Sponsored by Amy Kitchner's Angels Without Wings Foundation, the competition draws entries from all over the United States. Picked as best from more than 700 entries for this year, "Father, when You call" brings its author both prestigious recognition and a nice cash award.
This poet, who admits to digging deep when she pens her lines, is definitely on a roll. Determined to keep the momentum going, she's submitting more — already has a new manuscript making the rounds — and is also on the schedule for readings at the Campbell County Public Library in Gillette, a parlor reading at a more private affair in Glendo, and other upcoming events.
Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies, newspapers, and magazines, and she often speaks to the joys and problems of Wyoming ranch life when she shares her lines at gatherings throughout the region. She and fellow Sundance poet Jeanne Rogers most recently "worked the crowd" together at a Bellman Brown Bag Series presentation at the Matthews Opera House in Spearfish, South Dakota in April 2009, skillfully playing on the memories of all in attendance, evoking laughter and tears with their words.
Grassland Genealogy will be available for purchase at the signing. You may also pick up a copy from the author or from your favorite local bookstore, or order it from Backpocket Books, 364 Farrall Road, Sundance, WY 82729 (1/307/283-2665) for $14 plus shipping and handling.
It is also available from the publisher, Finishing Line Press, at http://www.finishinglinepress.com/NewReleasesandForthcomingTitles.htm.
You are invited to a book signing and open house honoring award-winning Sundance poet Patricia Frolander on Monday, Sept. 21, at the Community Room of the Crook County Public Library in Sundance. The event, which will run from 4-7 p.m., is hosted by Bearlodge Writers and friends of the poet, and it will debut Frolander's new chapbook, Grassland Genealogy (Finishing Line Press, July 2009).
Frolander, who promises to entertain those attending the event with selections from forty years of poetry written about raising children, weathering ranch life, and life in general, is celebrating more than a new book. She was recently notified that her poem, "Father, when You call," was named the 2009 winner of the 17th Annual National Senior Poets Laureate Competition. Sponsored by Amy Kitchner's Angels Without Wings Foundation, the competition draws entries from all over the United States. Picked as best from more than 700 entries for this year, "Father, when You call" brings its author both prestigious recognition and a nice cash award.
This poet, who admits to digging deep when she pens her lines, is definitely on a roll. Determined to keep the momentum going, she's submitting more — already has a new manuscript making the rounds — and is also on the schedule for readings at the Campbell County Public Library in Gillette, a parlor reading at a more private affair in Glendo, and other upcoming events.
Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies, newspapers, and magazines, and she often speaks to the joys and problems of Wyoming ranch life when she shares her lines at gatherings throughout the region. She and fellow Sundance poet Jeanne Rogers most recently "worked the crowd" together at a Bellman Brown Bag Series presentation at the Matthews Opera House in Spearfish, South Dakota in April 2009, skillfully playing on the memories of all in attendance, evoking laughter and tears with their words.
Grassland Genealogy will be available for purchase at the signing. You may also pick up a copy from the author or from your favorite local bookstore, or order it from Backpocket Books, 364 Farrall Road, Sundance, WY 82729 (1/307/283-2665) for $14 plus shipping and handling.
It is also available from the publisher, Finishing Line Press, at http://www.finishinglinepress.com/NewReleasesandForthcomingTitles.htm.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
ARTCORE announces September line-up
ARTCORE, 330 S. Center, #415, in Casper, announces the playbill for this month:
Bill Mize
September 10,7:30 p.m., Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Fingerstyle guitarist and composer Bill Mize appeared with the emerging acoustic guitar movement in the 1980s and has continued to develop a style and sense of taste that influences many of today's guitarists.
Japan Arts Day: Akemi Iwase
September 19, 7:30 p.m., John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School
Scrambled McManus
September 24, 7:30 p.m., John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School
“Scrambled McManus” is a tribute to humor and to the concept of story. The show is structured to appeal equally to diehard fans and to those who are stepping into the wonderful, wacky world of McManus for the first time. Behrens concocts a feast for the audience’s imagination with the simplest of ingredients: a bare stage, 4 props, and 6 stools. The usual McManus “staples” all make an appearance: Rancid Crabtree, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Mrs. Swisher, Melba Peachbottom and Goombaw to name a few. Each contributes his or her (or its!) own idea about the nature of story itself, and how it feels to be a McManus character, much to their creator’s consternation.
The Lowe Family
September 30, 7:30 p.m., John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School . The Lowe Family has been entertaining hundreds of thousands around the world for over 25 years. Versatile on many instruments, the nine Lowes offer an amazing blend of show-stopping classical, Broadway, Irish, jazz, bluegrass, old-time favorites, spectacular dance, 6-part harmony, gospel, a stirring patriotic tribute, and more!
http://www.artcorewy.com/
Bill Mize
September 10,7:30 p.m., Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Fingerstyle guitarist and composer Bill Mize appeared with the emerging acoustic guitar movement in the 1980s and has continued to develop a style and sense of taste that influences many of today's guitarists.
Japan Arts Day: Akemi Iwase
September 19, 7:30 p.m., John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School
Scrambled McManus
September 24, 7:30 p.m., John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School
“Scrambled McManus” is a tribute to humor and to the concept of story. The show is structured to appeal equally to diehard fans and to those who are stepping into the wonderful, wacky world of McManus for the first time. Behrens concocts a feast for the audience’s imagination with the simplest of ingredients: a bare stage, 4 props, and 6 stools. The usual McManus “staples” all make an appearance: Rancid Crabtree, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Mrs. Swisher, Melba Peachbottom and Goombaw to name a few. Each contributes his or her (or its!) own idea about the nature of story itself, and how it feels to be a McManus character, much to their creator’s consternation.
The Lowe Family
September 30, 7:30 p.m., John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School . The Lowe Family has been entertaining hundreds of thousands around the world for over 25 years. Versatile on many instruments, the nine Lowes offer an amazing blend of show-stopping classical, Broadway, Irish, jazz, bluegrass, old-time favorites, spectacular dance, 6-part harmony, gospel, a stirring patriotic tribute, and more!
http://www.artcorewy.com/
The Marquee: What's at the WYO Theater?
Cornerstone Church Presents Bill DallasSunday, September 20, 7 p.m.
Real-estate entrepreneur Bill Dallas's charmed life changed dramatically when he was charged, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison for grand-theft embezzlement. Lessons from San Quentin tells the true story of how one man's life was changed for the better due to the hardships encountered at the legendary maximum-security prison.
Sundowner Lions Benefit : The Emperor's New Clothes By Lamb Caravan Theatre Co.
Friday, September 25, 7 p.m.
The EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES is one of the all-time favorite fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Adapted to the stage by Kathryn Schultz Miller, this fast-paced, funny and clever play has something for everyone: Lots of action, laughs, magic tricks and great audience participation! Come and join the LAMB Caravan Theatre Company as they energetically recreate this fabulous fairy tale in their own sort of hip, jazzy, irreverent style. You will be enthralled! Sundowner Lions will be using their portion of the proceeds to give eye exams, eye glasses and eye surgery for low income children, high school students and adults here in Sheridan. Call the Sundowner Lions at 866-358-9234 for more information
Justin Jensen at Community Fine Arts Center
"Exploring the form of nature" by Justin Jensen is on exhibit through Sept. 30 at the Community Fine Arts Center, 400 C Street, Rock Springs.
Hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon-5 p.m.
FMI: 307-362-6212
Hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon-5 p.m.
FMI: 307-362-6212
Moosebutter bounces into LCCC
Laramie County Community College Foundation and Wyoming Tribune-Eagle present Moosebutter at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6, Atlas Theatre, 211 W. 16th Street. Cheyenne.Combining wacky humor, lush vocal harmoies, classic song parodies, musical tributes, audience participation, improvisation and comedy sketches, moosebutter brings a show that will entertain the entire family. These four classically-trained electric performers have entertained across the United States, providing a unique and hilarious musical experience.
Tickets sold at the door, reservations not required.
Admission: $3 students and seniors, $5 general public
FMI: 307-778-1285
Cheyenne Civic Center events
God of this City
Women of Worship
Sept.11-12, 2009
www.wow4him.org/tickets.html
Cheyenne Symphomy Orchestra Presents
"Tchaikovsky Celebration"
September 19, 7 : 30pm
George Winston
September 30, 7:30 pm
Purchase Tickets : 307-637-6363
Box Office : 10-5pm M-F 510 West 20th
http://www.cheyenneciviccenter.org/
Women of Worship
Sept.11-12, 2009
www.wow4him.org/tickets.html
Cheyenne Symphomy Orchestra Presents
"Tchaikovsky Celebration"
September 19, 7 : 30pm
George Winston
September 30, 7:30 pm
Purchase Tickets : 307-637-6363
Box Office : 10-5pm M-F 510 West 20th
http://www.cheyenneciviccenter.org/
Laramie County Community College - Esther and John Clay Fine Arts Gallery
Ned and Barbara Murray Art SeriesEsther and John Clay Fine Arts Gallery
1400 E College Dr, Cheyenne, WY 82007
Trine Bumiller
September 16-October 21
Artist Lecture
7 p.m. Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Science Center, Room 121
Gallery reception will follow at 8 p.m.
Washakie Museum & Cultural Center Lecture Series
1115 Obie Sue Avenue, Worland, WY 82401
Paul Hedren, Author/ Historian
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, September 10, 2009
7:00 p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Auditions for Enter Laughing
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
7:00 p.m. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Up, Up the Mountain by Joyce Goodrich
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, September 17, 2009
6:30 p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Paul Hedren, Author/ Historian
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, September 10, 2009
7:00 p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Auditions for Enter Laughing
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
7:00 p.m. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Up, Up the Mountain by Joyce Goodrich
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, September 17, 2009
6:30 p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Dr. Danny N. Walker, Wyoming’s Assistant State Archaeologist
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, October 8, 2009
7:00 p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Wyoming Working Girls by Marette Nagel
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, October 22, 2009
7:00p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, October 8, 2009
7:00 p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Wyoming Working Girls by Marette Nagel
Lecture/Book Signing
Thursday, October 22, 2009
7:00p.m. FREE TO THE PUBLIC
2009 Booklovers' Bash -- Laramie County Library Foundation w/correction
SAVE THE DATE! The annual Booklovers’ Bash, our major and very popular fundraising event will be host to the noted and extremely talented illustrator and author of children’s books, Zachary Pullen. The Bash, to be held on Saturday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m., at Little America. Tickets are $50.00 per person and include a very nice dinner at LittleAmerica and the opportunity to not only hear Mr. Pullen speak, but to seehim illustrate a caricature live before the audience. A silent auction isincluded and all book sale profits will go to the Library Foundation and hewill autograph your books.For a preview of Pullen’s work, please visit his web site at zacharypullen.com.
LAG Membership Show & Sale
The Laramie Art Guild unanimously voted to dedicate this show to the memory of Edgar J. Lewis. Thirt-seven works of art will be on display for the entire months of September and October.Artists' reception will be at Artisans' Gallery, 215 S. 2nd Street, Laramie, Saturday, Sept. 12, 4-8 p.m. The public is cordially invited!
FMI: http://laramieartguild.blogspot.com/
New Cultural Resources Intern
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Miracle of Science, oil and ink jet print on canvas, 48"x48", 2008My name is Ji Eun Kim, and I just started working at Wyoming Arts Council and The State Museum as a Cultural Resources intern. I was born in Korea and currently live in Cheyenne. I received a B.F.A and a M.F.A from Seoul National University, and recently received a M.F.A degree in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. I completed a summer residency at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and I've been awarded a full fellowship at Vermont Studio Center for a 4-week residency later this year.
The major interest of my work lies in capturing institutionalized aspects of ordinary life. My previous works focused on the ‘regulated landscape’ of Seoul, Korea. Upon moving to the US, I recognized how the different scale affected the land use pattern in contrast to Korea. While the repetitive cityscape of Seoul was a product of regulation, the homogenized landscape of suburbia is the result of safe investments made by developers, mimicking successes of previous projects.
The experience of living in the Metro Detroit area provides me the opportunity to rethink the meaning of development and to consider cities as whole organic systems in the post-industrial era. Downtown/suburb, shrinking city/growing city and urbanization/de-urbanization—these sound antonymous but are closely connected. This perception allows me to look into one place while thinking about any other place in that socio-economic context.
In my work, I’ve used collage to make a social comment on various levels. I employ collage as a compositional method in painting in general, and I experiment with paper-cut collage as a drawing. I recently started using object collage to show the details of developers’ material choices and the way our world is being constructed. Along with these collages, I juxtapose different painting styles, making reference to painting history. The way I construct paintings to using collage reflects my psychological position between two different cultures. Through these paintings, which are based on my fragmented and mixed cultural experience, I provide to my audience the experience of multi-spaces within the painting as well as multiple viewpoints about society.
Planned Obsolescence, oil, latex paint, shims, cardboard, boxes on canvas, 60"x70", 2009
Dream House, oil and grout on canvas, 60"x80", 2009http://www.insaartspace.or.kr/exhibitionsEN.asp?idx=58
Bio for Aaron A. Abeyta, judge for Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards
The 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday Judge is Aaron A. Abeyta. Here's some bio info:Aaron A. Abeyta is a Colorado native and professor of English at Adams State College. His first poetry collection, Colcha, received both an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His second poetry collection was As Orion Falls, published by Ghost Road Press. It received a number of favorable reviews, including one from Juan Felipe Herrera, author of Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box:
“There is no other voice that conjures the sky and keeps count of stars as human migrations, moving, fading, and bursting anew as Aaron Abeyta’s. Here he is standing naked and alone on the abandoned snow drifts and tierras, holding them as fallen angels and stellar evidence of our birthright -- the luminous lands we claimed we would honor thirty-five years ago. Abeyta speaks with the voices of Nazim Hikmet, Jim Sagel, Allison Hedge-Coke and Albert Hunter, all lovers of the small earth and its colossal heart."
In 2007, Aaron published his first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, also published by Ghost Road Press in Denver. Annie Dawid wrote a review in of High Country News:
“Entering Colorado poet Aaron Abeyta’s first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, is like visiting a world that no longer exists -- if it ever did. Santa Rita, the mythical Western town that forms the subject of this short, dense novel, is a place reminiscent of Eden, both before and after the Fall. One is reminded of Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez’s fictional Colombian town, Macondo, as Abeyta creates a culture in a specific place and witnesses its dissolution -- from greed, abandonment, the withering of love. Like GarcÃa Márquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude, Abeyta begins with an annotated cast of characters, for it’s easy to confuse the people in this novel. Abeyta moves through time and generations as if through memory: ‘That was 1926,’ when the fences were built, we are told in the same paragraph in which we have traveled even further back to the arrival of the treacherous Matthews family in 1878. ‘Santa Rita sat in a long and deep canyon cut by an ancient river of ice, now melted to a river that flowed east toward the Rio Grande. There was no TV reception in Santa Rita. Most news traveled like it always had, by word of mouth.’ ”
Aaron is the recipient of a Colorado Council on the Arts fellowship for poetry. He earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Colorado State University. He lives in southern Colorado where, as he says in his bio, he can remain close to his family and culture, both of which greatly influence his work. Abeyta was born in 1971.
Trip to Steamboat
Went to Steamboat over the long weekend and saw nature through the car window and the view is alarming. There's a fire burning in the pine forests, but it's not the kind that throws smoke in the air. The trees are dying from the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Up close, there seem to be many more red trees than green in the Medicine Bow Forest, and a view of the slopes confirms this. Yes, we've heard about his problem for a few years now, but it's gotten much worse in the three years since I last traveled to Steamboat. A forest fire draws firefighters and planes dropping fire-retardant, but it seems like this problem has been let to take its course and, as in controlled burns that get out of hand, is having devasting effects. Maybe there are no practical means to help stem the problem, but as impractical as spraying the forests seems, it seems much more impractical, even dangerous, to let the trees succumb to the pine beetle without some kind of intervention. Surveying the huge stands of evergreens, it may be too late. Here's a link to a Colorado State University website that gives an overview of the pine beetle problem: www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05528.html.
While in Steamboat, I visited the Steamboat Art Museum (SAM). Formed in 2005, SAM held its first exhibit in December, 2006. They are housed in the historic First National Bank building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by local rancher and amateur artist Helen Rehder, who gifted the building to the city in her will, with the stipulation that the building be preserved and used as a museum to promote the culture and heritage of northwestern Colorado. The museum's gift shop is back dropped by three teller windows. Their current exhibit, Rare: Imperiled Plants of Colorado, developed by the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists, will travel the state throughout 2009 and 2010. The show features 40 contemporary illustraions (one is above) of endangered Colorado plants and was designed to promote awareness and conservation of these special and endangered species. The pieces selected are from the Denver Botanic Gardens Botanical Art and Illustraion program, where artists learn from professional instructors teaching a comprehensive education in the scientific illustraion of plants and fungi. Nearly 100 courses in the traditional media -- graphite; pen and ink; colored pencil; and watercolor are offered each year. Comprehensive workshops in the rare classical techniques such as silverpoint, egg tempera, and carbon dust, as well as modern methods of computer art, are frequently taught. The curriculum can lead to a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustraion, a recognition that is obtainable at only a few locations worldwide.
Spent an afternoon at the hot springs pool. Luckily, we'd already been there three hours when the lifeguard blew the whistle for "all out due to lightning." There are no rain checks. Also took a couple of long walks along the Yampa looking for minnows and crawdads. It's catch and release fishing only, and we saw one sweet spot with about ten big fish just below the rapids from some big boulders. The next day, a guy was flyfishing there, but didn't catch any while we were watching him. Went up to ride the Gondola, but as we were about to go get tickets, they closed it because of lightning. Maybe next time.
A farmer's market was going on the Friday afternoon we arrived. Booths sported smoked salmon, fresh fruits and veggies, bakery items, homemade furniture, raffia hats from Madagascar (I picked one of those up), live music, handmade paper bead necklaces from Uganda (purchased two), T-shirts with sayings of all kinds, my favorite being "Allergic to Cities" (got a blue one), and many other interesting hand crafted items. The downtown merchants also had a great sidewalk sale going on with end-of-summer bargains to be had. That night, just down the street from where we were staying, Cherry Poppin' Daddies rocked the neighborhood until one at the Ghost Ranch Saloon. Saturday morning, we had breakfast at Winona's where the blueberry pancakes are dinner-plate size and the Crab Benedict was delectable. The mountain air was refreshing and the weather was terrific with a few brief, "look, it's raining and the sun is shining" showers.
On the way back, closer to Laramie, one of those big round hay bales had fallen off the back of a trailer hauling twenty of them. The bale was partly split open, revealing still-fresh sweet-pale green-colored alfalfa. I had always assumed that since the outside of hay bales were brown, the contents inside were also brown. Maybe the hay had just been baled. Just outside of Steamboat, I saw a man standing on his five-high-and-deep, twenty-long round bale rows, draping them with voluminous silver tarps. I noticed many hale bale rows with these "scarves."
--Linda Coatney
From page 26 of the exhibit catalog: Plate 20. Phacelia formolusa by Carol Till, colored pencil, 14 x 10 inches. The map of Colorado shows where the plant is found, and the red leaf indicates this one of the most endangered species, not just because of its small population, but also from human interference, grazing and energy exploration.
While in Steamboat, I visited the Steamboat Art Museum (SAM). Formed in 2005, SAM held its first exhibit in December, 2006. They are housed in the historic First National Bank building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by local rancher and amateur artist Helen Rehder, who gifted the building to the city in her will, with the stipulation that the building be preserved and used as a museum to promote the culture and heritage of northwestern Colorado. The museum's gift shop is back dropped by three teller windows. Their current exhibit, Rare: Imperiled Plants of Colorado, developed by the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists, will travel the state throughout 2009 and 2010. The show features 40 contemporary illustraions (one is above) of endangered Colorado plants and was designed to promote awareness and conservation of these special and endangered species. The pieces selected are from the Denver Botanic Gardens Botanical Art and Illustraion program, where artists learn from professional instructors teaching a comprehensive education in the scientific illustraion of plants and fungi. Nearly 100 courses in the traditional media -- graphite; pen and ink; colored pencil; and watercolor are offered each year. Comprehensive workshops in the rare classical techniques such as silverpoint, egg tempera, and carbon dust, as well as modern methods of computer art, are frequently taught. The curriculum can lead to a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustraion, a recognition that is obtainable at only a few locations worldwide.
Spent an afternoon at the hot springs pool. Luckily, we'd already been there three hours when the lifeguard blew the whistle for "all out due to lightning." There are no rain checks. Also took a couple of long walks along the Yampa looking for minnows and crawdads. It's catch and release fishing only, and we saw one sweet spot with about ten big fish just below the rapids from some big boulders. The next day, a guy was flyfishing there, but didn't catch any while we were watching him. Went up to ride the Gondola, but as we were about to go get tickets, they closed it because of lightning. Maybe next time.
A farmer's market was going on the Friday afternoon we arrived. Booths sported smoked salmon, fresh fruits and veggies, bakery items, homemade furniture, raffia hats from Madagascar (I picked one of those up), live music, handmade paper bead necklaces from Uganda (purchased two), T-shirts with sayings of all kinds, my favorite being "Allergic to Cities" (got a blue one), and many other interesting hand crafted items. The downtown merchants also had a great sidewalk sale going on with end-of-summer bargains to be had. That night, just down the street from where we were staying, Cherry Poppin' Daddies rocked the neighborhood until one at the Ghost Ranch Saloon. Saturday morning, we had breakfast at Winona's where the blueberry pancakes are dinner-plate size and the Crab Benedict was delectable. The mountain air was refreshing and the weather was terrific with a few brief, "look, it's raining and the sun is shining" showers.
On the way back, closer to Laramie, one of those big round hay bales had fallen off the back of a trailer hauling twenty of them. The bale was partly split open, revealing still-fresh sweet-pale green-colored alfalfa. I had always assumed that since the outside of hay bales were brown, the contents inside were also brown. Maybe the hay had just been baled. Just outside of Steamboat, I saw a man standing on his five-high-and-deep, twenty-long round bale rows, draping them with voluminous silver tarps. I noticed many hale bale rows with these "scarves."
--Linda Coatney
Monday, September 7, 2009
City Art Tribute to Craig Arnold in SLC
A City Art Tribute to Craig Arnold will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7-10 p.m., at the Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 East 400 South, SLC. Free and open to the public.A memorial service was held Wednesday in Laramie for poet and UW professor Craig Arnold (see Friday's posts). Craig lived in SLC for a number of years and attended graduate school at UU.
FMI: 801-581-7090 or rlindenberg@mac.com
Also see Find Craig Arnold on Facebook.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Aaron A. Abeyta to judge Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards
Aaron A. Abeyta has agreed to serve as the judge for the 2010 Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday writing awards, sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council.Aaron has written two poetry collections and a novel. He teaches English at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. His family home is in Antonito, Colorado. He earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Colorado State University.
Blanchan/Doubleday applications will be available Sept. 11.
FMI: Mike Shay at 307-777-5234
Friday, September 4, 2009
Slight delay in Blanchan/Doubleday applications
Dear Writers:
This week I've been awaiting a writer's final word on judging the Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday memorial writing awards.
So... I hope that comes in early next week and I'll have the applications on-line and in the mail by Sept. 11.
Please be patient, and I'll have more info next week.
Meanwhile, check out last year's Blanchan/Doubleday application at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/IndArtist/PDF/blandoubappl09.pdf. The dates and the judge's name will change, but the guidelines will be the same. Postmark deadline is Oct. 30, 2009.
Sincerely,
Mike Shay
WAC individual artists program specialist
307-777-5234
This week I've been awaiting a writer's final word on judging the Neltje Blanchan and Frank Nelson Doubleday memorial writing awards.
So... I hope that comes in early next week and I'll have the applications on-line and in the mail by Sept. 11.
Please be patient, and I'll have more info next week.
Meanwhile, check out last year's Blanchan/Doubleday application at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/IndArtist/PDF/blandoubappl09.pdf. The dates and the judge's name will change, but the guidelines will be the same. Postmark deadline is Oct. 30, 2009.
Sincerely,
Mike Shay
WAC individual artists program specialist
307-777-5234
Now you can be a "Ted Head" too
Little did we know when Ted Kooser was a presenter at June's Wyoming Writers, Inc. conference in Casper...Kooser is a celeb in Nebraska. This native son and one-time U.S. Poet Laureate is now featured on a T-shirt from his publisher, University of Nebraska Press.
The colorful "Ted Head" T-shirt is "back by popular demand," reads a blurb on the press's web site. "Hanes Beefy, 100% pre-shrunk cotton, white, short-sleeved t-shirt with "Ted Head" graphic on front. Quantities are limited."
Get one before they're all gone!
Remembering a worldly Wyoming poet
Wyomingarts, in the forms of WAC staffers Mike Shay, Linda Coatney and Marirose Morris, traveled to Laramie Wednesday evening to attend a memorial service for poet, UW writing professor and WAC roster artist Craig Arnold.
The memorial was held in the UW Art Museum lobby. Banners with some of Craig's poems flanked the podium. A long buffet table featured some dishes that even a gourmet cook such as Craig Arnold would have found intriguing.
The 41-year-old Craig disappeared during an inspirational quest for volcano poems. In April, he was hiking a rugged volcano on a remote Japanese island. Traces of his passage were discovered by search teams, but the body was not recovered.
At UW on Wednesday, we celebrated the life of a man. Poetry was obviously the best way to do this.
Several of the speakers read Craig's poems, and the rest used lines from his work. Russell Swenson from Houston, a former student of Craig's at University of Utah, read several selections, including the title poem from Craig's most recent collection from Ausable Press, "Made Flesh." Fiction writer Alyson Hagy and one of Craig's colleagues in the UW creative writing program, read "Asunder." English Department Chair Peter Parolin wrapped up the presentations with the poem "A Ubiquity of Sparrows," which was published in the summer 2009 issue of The Paris Review (read "Sparrows" and one other poem by Craig at http://www.theparisreview.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5922).
For a change of pace, Janice Harris read a "food remembrance" of Craig, celebrating another of the poet's passions. Janice's reading including a recipe for eggplant caponata -- she thoughtfully provided copies included with Craig's remarks and directions.
It was a somber yet celebratory occasion. Craig's father spoke of the incredible outpouring of support the family received from all over the world, but particularly from the University of Wyoming (Pres. Buchanan was in the audience) and from the state's Congressional delegation. Although Sen. Enzi, Sen. Barrasso and Rep. Lummis could not attend, all three sent staff members -- and Sen. Enzi sent a personal letter that was read aloud by Peter Parolin at the beginning of the evening.
Mr. Arnold spoke of all the letters and e-mails that came in from people they didn't know, people who had been influenced by Craig's work and teaching. He admitted that he and his wife had been a bit startled as they learned of their quiet son's influential life. He was a bit startled that the shy boy they knew, the one who wrote his first book at eight years old, would be the same one who urged other quiet boys and girls to come up and perform their work at poetry slams. As Peter said earlier, many of them would never have found their voice with Craig. "He gave those young people a gift," he said.
The ceremony ended with a wine toast to Craig.
Farewell, poet.
The memorial was held in the UW Art Museum lobby. Banners with some of Craig's poems flanked the podium. A long buffet table featured some dishes that even a gourmet cook such as Craig Arnold would have found intriguing.
The 41-year-old Craig disappeared during an inspirational quest for volcano poems. In April, he was hiking a rugged volcano on a remote Japanese island. Traces of his passage were discovered by search teams, but the body was not recovered.
At UW on Wednesday, we celebrated the life of a man. Poetry was obviously the best way to do this.
Several of the speakers read Craig's poems, and the rest used lines from his work. Russell Swenson from Houston, a former student of Craig's at University of Utah, read several selections, including the title poem from Craig's most recent collection from Ausable Press, "Made Flesh." Fiction writer Alyson Hagy and one of Craig's colleagues in the UW creative writing program, read "Asunder." English Department Chair Peter Parolin wrapped up the presentations with the poem "A Ubiquity of Sparrows," which was published in the summer 2009 issue of The Paris Review (read "Sparrows" and one other poem by Craig at http://www.theparisreview.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5922).
For a change of pace, Janice Harris read a "food remembrance" of Craig, celebrating another of the poet's passions. Janice's reading including a recipe for eggplant caponata -- she thoughtfully provided copies included with Craig's remarks and directions.
It was a somber yet celebratory occasion. Craig's father spoke of the incredible outpouring of support the family received from all over the world, but particularly from the University of Wyoming (Pres. Buchanan was in the audience) and from the state's Congressional delegation. Although Sen. Enzi, Sen. Barrasso and Rep. Lummis could not attend, all three sent staff members -- and Sen. Enzi sent a personal letter that was read aloud by Peter Parolin at the beginning of the evening.
Mr. Arnold spoke of all the letters and e-mails that came in from people they didn't know, people who had been influenced by Craig's work and teaching. He admitted that he and his wife had been a bit startled as they learned of their quiet son's influential life. He was a bit startled that the shy boy they knew, the one who wrote his first book at eight years old, would be the same one who urged other quiet boys and girls to come up and perform their work at poetry slams. As Peter said earlier, many of them would never have found their voice with Craig. "He gave those young people a gift," he said.
The ceremony ended with a wine toast to Craig.
Farewell, poet.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Van Pelt, Renken and Zoby win creative writing fellowships in poetry
The Wyoming Arts Council is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s creative writing fellowships in poetry.
They are Sam Renken of Laramie, David Zoby of Casper and Lori Van Pelt of Saratoga. They each will receive a $3,000 award plus a $500 stipend to travel to Casper to read their work at the annual fellowship reading Oct. 10 at the Casper College Literary Conference. They will be joined at the reading by fellowship judge Greg Pape, poet and professor at the University of Montana in Missoula.
Honorable mentions in this category go to Michael McIrvin of Cheyenne and William Hoagland of Powell.
This is the 24th year for the creative writing fellowships sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council. Next year’s category will be creative nonfiction/essay. Applications will be available in April 2010.
For more information, contact Michael Shay, WAC individual artist program specialist, at 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.
They are Sam Renken of Laramie, David Zoby of Casper and Lori Van Pelt of Saratoga. They each will receive a $3,000 award plus a $500 stipend to travel to Casper to read their work at the annual fellowship reading Oct. 10 at the Casper College Literary Conference. They will be joined at the reading by fellowship judge Greg Pape, poet and professor at the University of Montana in Missoula.
Honorable mentions in this category go to Michael McIrvin of Cheyenne and William Hoagland of Powell.
This is the 24th year for the creative writing fellowships sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council. Next year’s category will be creative nonfiction/essay. Applications will be available in April 2010.
For more information, contact Michael Shay, WAC individual artist program specialist, at 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.
C'mon down to Cheyenne -- WAC offers travel stipends to Sept. 24-25 Arts Summit
In recognition of challenging economic times, the Wyoming Arts Council is offering travel stipends to Wyoming artists, arts organization representatives and community leaders interested in attending the Arts Summit Sept. 24-25 at Little America in Cheyenne.
The Summit features sessions by renowned experts exploring linkages among the arts, government, community development, economic prosperity and business.
The WAC travel stipends, available on a first-come, first-served basis, will help defray costs associated with the conference. Cheyenne residents can receive reimbursement for their Arts summit Registration; residents outside Cheyenne but within a 50-mile radius can receive $150; and those living in Wyoming outside the 50-mile radius can receive $300. Please – only one request/representative per arts organization may receive a travel stipend.
In return, the Arts Council asks stipend recipients to attend all sessions and fill out an in-depth evaluation that will help the agency with its strategic planning for the future of the arts in Wyoming.
Postmark deadline for requests is Sept. 15. Please call the WAC at 307-777-7742 and ask for Linda Coatney if you’re representing an arts organization, government (local, state, federal), schools, college/university or business. Ask for Michael Shay or Linda Coatney if you’re an individual artist.
For more information about the Summit, go to the WAC web page at http://www.wyoarts.org/
The Summit features sessions by renowned experts exploring linkages among the arts, government, community development, economic prosperity and business.
The WAC travel stipends, available on a first-come, first-served basis, will help defray costs associated with the conference. Cheyenne residents can receive reimbursement for their Arts summit Registration; residents outside Cheyenne but within a 50-mile radius can receive $150; and those living in Wyoming outside the 50-mile radius can receive $300. Please – only one request/representative per arts organization may receive a travel stipend.
In return, the Arts Council asks stipend recipients to attend all sessions and fill out an in-depth evaluation that will help the agency with its strategic planning for the future of the arts in Wyoming.
Postmark deadline for requests is Sept. 15. Please call the WAC at 307-777-7742 and ask for Linda Coatney if you’re representing an arts organization, government (local, state, federal), schools, college/university or business. Ask for Michael Shay or Linda Coatney if you’re an individual artist.
For more information about the Summit, go to the WAC web page at http://www.wyoarts.org/
UW sculpture grad featured at Telluride's First Thursday Art Walk
One-time Wyomingite and UW grad Julie McNair (shown above installing sculpture "Kudzu Man") will be featured as part of this evening's First Thursday Art Walk in Telluride, Colo. Here are details, with some background on Julie:Daniel Tucker Gallery at the Ah Haa School for the Arts, 300 South Townsend, featuring 30 pieces in “Being Human” by Julie McNair. The show reveals much about where Telluride sculptor Julie McNair is in her life and career as an artist. By technical mastery and astounding creativity, she infuses each ceramic figure with her sense of humor and joy of life. It’s an interesting crowd, this collection of recent work in her five-year-old series. Their quirky playfulness is an easy invitation to contemplate deeper issues.
“I start a piece with a specific idea, whether it’s a personal concern or more of a big picture dilemma. From that starting point,” says McNair, “I jump into the creative flow. The finished piece ends up embodying that energy.”The human form is a perfect format for turning the intangible into tangible, and is part of what makes this body of work so successful. McNair has received critical acclaim both statewide and nationally for the originality and technical innovations of this series. With agility and confidence she is able to take the skills honed over 35 years working in a variety of media and apply them, often in unorthodox ways, to her clay. Her intriguing surface textures, frequently created with the use of press molds, are enhanced by detailed painting and sealed with a post-fired patina reminiscent of cast metal sculpture.
“Being able to exhibit so many of my works in one location is such an honor,” says McNair with gratitude. “So many pieces have left my studio for competitions and galleries, never to be seen as part of the larger whole.”McNair studied sculpture at North Texas State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree; she went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. After graduating, McNair worked as an artist-in-residence for Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyo., until being hired as an assistant professor at Mississippi State University.
In Telluride, she owned and operated McNair Gallery for more than 17 years, representing herself and other emerging artists, and began teaching at the Ah Haa School in 1992, as curriculum and exhibitions coordinator. From attaining self-acceptance to decoding man's proper relationship with the Earth, these figures at once express core emotions and, if indeed art enjoys such power, help us bipeds ponder a nobler course.Read more about Julie McNair and her show at http://tinyurl.com/lqcv7q
Photo: Brett Schreckengost in The Telluride Watch
Poem by Pat Frolander wins national contest
Pat Frolander is the 2009 winner of the 17th annual National Senior Poets Laureate Competition sponsored by Amy Kitchener's Angels Without Wings Foundation headquartered in Monterey, California. Her award-winning poem, "Father, When You call" -- selected from over 700 entries -- also garnered a cash award.
Pat's chapbook, Grassland Genealogy, was released in July by Finishing Line Press. Get it at your favorite Wyoming bookstore, or order a copy at http://www.finishinglinepress.com/NewReleasesandForthcomingTitles.htm
Pat lives in Sundance and is a long-time member of Bearlodge Writers and Wyoming Writers, Inc.
Pat's chapbook, Grassland Genealogy, was released in July by Finishing Line Press. Get it at your favorite Wyoming bookstore, or order a copy at http://www.finishinglinepress.com/NewReleasesandForthcomingTitles.htm
Pat lives in Sundance and is a long-time member of Bearlodge Writers and Wyoming Writers, Inc.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
"Scrambled McManus" in Casper Sept. 24
"Scrambled McManus" will be performed Thursday, Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m., in the John F. Welsh Auditorium at Natrona County High School in Casper.
From the ARTCORE web site:
In response to requests from theatre producers and audiences across the country, humor author Patrick F. McManus and Tim Behrens (the actor who portrays Pat on stage) created “Scrambled McManus,” a bumper crop of tales harvested from all four Pat McManus Comedies: “A Fine and Pleasant Misery,” “McManus in Love,” “Pat McManus, Endlessly Grousing, and “Potts’ Luck.”
The usual McManus “staples” all make an appearance: Rancid Crabtree, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Mrs. Swisher, Melba Peachbottom and Goombaw to name a few. Each contributes his or her (or its!) own idea about the nature of story itself, and how it feels to be a McManus character, much to their creator’s consternation. The evening’s menu includes: The Mummy (a light-hearted look at fear of the dark); My First Deer (or the boy who rode up the mountain and the deer who rode down it); The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw (a fur-fetched tale); and The Bike (or how [not] to prepare for your first date)…and more.
From the ARTCORE web site:
In response to requests from theatre producers and audiences across the country, humor author Patrick F. McManus and Tim Behrens (the actor who portrays Pat on stage) created “Scrambled McManus,” a bumper crop of tales harvested from all four Pat McManus Comedies: “A Fine and Pleasant Misery,” “McManus in Love,” “Pat McManus, Endlessly Grousing, and “Potts’ Luck.”
The usual McManus “staples” all make an appearance: Rancid Crabtree, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Mrs. Swisher, Melba Peachbottom and Goombaw to name a few. Each contributes his or her (or its!) own idea about the nature of story itself, and how it feels to be a McManus character, much to their creator’s consternation. The evening’s menu includes: The Mummy (a light-hearted look at fear of the dark); My First Deer (or the boy who rode up the mountain and the deer who rode down it); The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw (a fur-fetched tale); and The Bike (or how [not] to prepare for your first date)…and more.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"It's a character-driven mystery, literary in nature," explains Craig Johnson
News from Craig Johnson's Post-It e-letter:
All right, there are a few awards I figured I’d never get, and I got both of them this year for Another Man’s Moccasins—the Western Writer’s of America Spur Award and the other is the Mountains & Plains Independent Bookseller’s Association Novel of the Year.
The MPIBA fall meet back in 2004 was the first event I ever attended, I mean the first, and I learned a lot—namely, how to behave like an author or at least pretend.
Viking/Penguin had been kind enough to send a couple of cases of The Cold Dish, the first in my Sheriff Walt Longmire series, to the event. Basically, I was supposed to hand out advance reader copies of a book that wasn’t going to be available till January and wondered what that was all about… Like I said, I had a lot to learn.
Booksellers were kind, taking a novel from some cowboy who looked more like he should have his hind end on a horse rather than espousing on literature. They asked me questions for which I was sorely unprepared, outrageous questions like, "What’s the book about?" I’d stand there for a few long seconds thinking about a novel I’d been formulating for the last decade and with that sum of collective knowledge, say, "It’s about a sheriff who…"
Suddenly a hand would rest on my shoulder and the patient voice of Eric Boss, ace sales-rep for Penguin USA would intone, "It’s a character-driven mystery, literary in nature…" He would go on from there. By the time the day was over, booksellers would ask what the novel was about, and I would dutifully and proudly proclaim, "It’s a character-driven mystery, literary in nature…"
I learned a lot at my first MPIBA conference, but the most important thing I learned was that I liked talking to readers and book store owners about books, especially my books. It was a revelation, and one I’ve continued to enjoy. Bookstore owners would take the novels, and I’d sign them and ask them where their store was. They’d demure and assure me that I wouldn’t know the location of places like Wheatland, Wyoming. Whereupon I would assure them that not only did I, but that the Brown Derby Café (now closed) is a great place for a burger.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have had numerous successes with my books and am fortunate enough to be in a geographic area that made it all possible, all those book sellers that said to their customers about an unknown author’s series, "It’s a character-driven mystery, literary in nature…"
Craig will be signing copies of his new book in Cheyenne this month. Here are the details:
Barnes & Noble reception in Cheyenne on Friday, September 18, 6 p.m.
The Wyoming Festival of the Book, Cheyenne, Saturday, September 19 -- in conversation with my good friend Margaret Coel from 10:30 a.m.-noon. Location: Lion's Park. This event is free and open to the public.
Web marketing help available for artists
Attention artists, writers and performers! Wyoming Entrepreneur at the University of Wyoming offers free web counseling for the state's small businesses. For details, go to http://bit.ly/11x3H4.
The Wyoming Arts Council offers Individual Artists Professional Development (IAPD) grants. Since its advent five years ago, IAPD grants have provided funds to Wyoming artist-entrepreneurs to hire web designers, pay for web site hosting and other assorted web marketing projects. You can apply for up to $500 in this category and it requires a 1-to-1 match.
For more info, e-mail your friendly blogger and IAPD adviser at mshay@state.wy.us.
The Wyoming Arts Council offers Individual Artists Professional Development (IAPD) grants. Since its advent five years ago, IAPD grants have provided funds to Wyoming artist-entrepreneurs to hire web designers, pay for web site hosting and other assorted web marketing projects. You can apply for up to $500 in this category and it requires a 1-to-1 match.
For more info, e-mail your friendly blogger and IAPD adviser at mshay@state.wy.us.
Dome artist's work at home on the range
Brian Burkhardt's glowing dome sets the stage for his fabricated hybrid plants and organisms to be presented at the UW Art Museum. Photo courtesy of Gallery Diet.This info was posted on the UW Art Museum blog:
Florida artist Brian Burkhardt will be in Laramie this week to assist with the installation of his solo exhibition, "moss doesn't grow on rolling stones . . . a vision of nature" by Brian Burkhardt.
Dome is the studio in which this rather "mad-scientist/artist" has playfully re-figured nature. His "Office Plant" series offer hybrids of plants and office machinery -- cell phones and fax machines.
For his Wyoming exhibition, he has created a new work, "Take Heed," an installation of caterpillers that include in braille "take" and "heed."
Three public programs are scheduled at the UW Art Museum in Laramie during Burkhardt's residency, all on Thurs., Sept. 3:
10:30 a.m., Gallery Talk-Through
6:30 p.m., Art Talk
7:30 p.m., Panel: "Scientists View Nature Through the Lens of Art: The Seen and Unseen." UW faculty scheduled to respond to Burkhardt's work include Naomi Ward (microbial genomics, Molecular Biology), Carlos Martines del Rio (ecophysiology, Zoology), Pete Stahl (microbial and fungal ecology, Renewable Resources), Stephen Jackson (director, Program in Ecology) and Jeffrey Lockwood (natural sciences and humanities, Philosophy).
Get more info on the Art Museum webpage and its press release.
Before he began to focus on art, Burkhardt was a field hand and then an organic farmer. Here's a section of an article from Miami New Times about Burkhardt's Gallery Diet show last winter:
Burkhardt says that conveying a sense of the symbiotic relationship between man and nature in a world we are threatening to destroy is what keeps him motivated to create during these economically grim times.
"As a farmer or as an artist, you are always worried about the market," he rues. "To me, farming is like the art world in many ways. Right now I'm looking at my dome as a song with the sample of everything I've ever done inside it as the notes."
Read the rest of the article at http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-11-13/culture/artist-brian-burkhardt-s-biodome-wows-in-wynwood/
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