Figure drawing model needed for tonight's Art Design and Dine

From Georgia Rowswell: Cheyenne friends and art lovers... here is an opportunity. The figure drawing class the the Hynds building is looking for a clothed model for this evenings drawing class during Art Design and Dine. It is a 3 hour stint that pays $30 dollars. It is easy and fun. There will be lots of people coming and going and live music so get in on the fun a make some money while you are at it! Facebook me if you or someone you know is interested. www.artdesigndine.com

Don't you just love it when a historian is named UW homecoming parade grand marshal?

Phil Roberts, associate professor of history at the University of Wyoming, has been chosen to be the Grand Marshal of the annual UW Homecoming parade.

He will lead the procession of floats, bands and other units through downtown Laramie beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. The parade starts at Ninth and Ivinson streets, goes west to Second Street, south on Second Street to Grand Avenue, then east on Grand to 12th Street.

A native of Lusk, Roberts spent his early years on a ranch homesteaded by his grandfather. He holds a B.S. in political science and a J.D. from UW and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Washington.

A UW faculty member since 1990, Roberts has served as editor of "Annals of Wyoming." He is co-author (with his two brothers) of the "Wyoming Almanac," now in its fifth edition, and his edited textbook, "Readings in Wyoming History," is in its fourth edition.

The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) presented its Outstanding Educator of the Year award to Roberts earlier this year. He was honored for "excellence in making the history of the emigrant trails come alive for University of Wyoming students"  and for his work in using the trails across Wyoming to illustrate an approach to looking at Wyoming from the perspective as a "trail to somewhere else."

"While my office is at the university, my classroom is the state of Wyoming," Roberts says.

The Homecoming tradition, started in 1922, continues with this year's theme: "WANTED: Cowboys of the West," highlighting the rich history of Wyoming and cowboys and cowgirls who helped tame the west.

Special guests include the UW Alumni Association distinguished alumni Charles "Chuck" Brown, Michael Jording and Carol (Buchenroth) Tome, along with Medallion Service Award recipient Peter K. Simpson.

For more information about the parade or Homecoming events call the UW Alumni Association at (307) 766-4166 or visit www.wyoalumni.com .

Photo: Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming associate professor of history, will lead the annual UW Homecoming parade that starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Ninth and Ivinson streets. (Dave Roberts Photo)

Dedication celebration for new I-90 welcome center sculptures set for Oct. 14

A celebration recognizing the installation of three new sculptures at the Northeast Wyoming Welcome Center, located just off I-90 Exit 199 near the South Dakota border, is scheduled for October 14 at 10 a.m.

A life-sized bronze mountain lion greets visitors as they drive up to the center, and two bronze fawns are nestled near the building’s front entrance. Residents from the area are invited to join in the celebration followed by refreshments in the center.

The three bronze pieces by part-time Lander artist, David R. Nelson, were made possible through the State’s Art in Public Buildings “1 percent for Arts” program that allows 1 percent of the construction costs of any new, state-funded construction projects, up to a maximum of $100,000, to be spent on art work for those facilities.

Nelson’s work was selected from a pool of Wyoming artist submissions by an Art in Public Buildings (APB) Selection Committee which included N.E. Wyoming residents, Ila Miller of Aladdin, Jaymi Gilmore of Gillette, Rocky Courchaine of Sundance and Robert Vore of Beulah in addition to the architect for the facility and representatives from the Wyoming Office of Tourism and State Construction Management Office. 

The Wyoming Arts Council oversees APB projects for the State of Wyoming, and all art work becomes part of the State’s art collection, which is administered by the Wyoming State Museum.

Nelson is a nationally and internationally recognized sculptor that specializes in wildlife and human form as well as contemporary life sized and monumental sculptures.  He has been a professional artist for over 26 years, and has been commissioned by corporations, public art programs and private homeowners for a number of site-specific sculptures.  His work can be found at www.davidnelsonsculptures.com . 

For more information on this celebration, please contact the Wyoming Arts Council office at 307-777-7742 or e-mail rita.basom@wyo.gov .

Pinedale Fine Arts Council dedicates completed mural

Back in the summer, Wyomingarts featured in-process photos of Pinedale's mural. The mural was completed in mid-August. In this photo, Pinedale Fine Arts Council visuals arts committee members (and mural painters) Isabel Rucker and Cristy Anspach, prepare for the artwork's dedication. FMI: http://www.pinedalefinearts.com 

Carriage House Theatre presents "Fuddy Meers"

"Fuddy Meers" opens on Friday, Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m., at the Carriage House Theatre, 419 Delphi Ave., Sheridan.

Encore performances: November 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. Showtimes: Fridays and Saturdays - 7:30 p.m. (house opens at 7 p.m.). Sunday Matinees - 2 p.m. (house opens at 1:30 p.m.).

Directed by Gene Davis and featuring Dimitra Dugal, Ryan Legler, Joe Surwald, Carri Carey, Micah Wyatt, Deborah Saurage, and Stephanie Poppe.

“Fuddy Meers” is an R-rated Farce with a zany plot line featuring the lead female Claire who has a rare form of psychogenic amnesia that erases her memory whenever she goes to sleep. This morning, like all mornings, she wakes up a blank slate. Her chipper husband comes in with a cup of coffee, explains her condition, hands her a book filled with all sorts of information and then goes to shower.

A limping, lisping half-blind, half-deaf man in a ski mask pops out from under her bed and claims to be her half brother, there to save her. Claire’s info book is quickly discarded and she’s hustled off to her mother Gertie’s country house, a recent stroke victim whose speech has been reduced to utter gibberish. Claire’s journey gets more complicated when Millet, a dimwitted thug with a foul-mouthed hand puppet shows up with a claustrophobic lady cop, Heidi that Richard has kidnapped with the help of Claire’s pot smoking back talking daughter, Kandi

Every twist and turn in this fun-house plot brings Claire closer to revealing her past life and everything she thought she’d forgotten. It’s one hilarious turn after another on this roller coaster ride through the day of an amnesiac trying to decipher her fractured life. This poignant and brutal comedy traces one woman’s attempt to regain her memory while surrounded by a curio cabinet of alarmingly bizarre characters.

"Red Scared!" author speaks Oct. 17 at UW's American Heritage Center

Michael Barson is UW's 2011 American Heritage Center George A. Rentschler Distinguished Lecturer. On October 17, 3-4 p.m., in the AHC Wyoming Stock Growers' Room in Laramie, he will discuss his book, Red Scared! The Commie Menace in Propaganda and Popular Culture. This event is free and open to the public

Convergence Wyoming photo album

Carrie Geraci, left, of the Jackson Hole Public Art Initiative, interacts with Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources Department Director Milward Simpson (second from right) and Randy Oestman from the Wyoming Arts Council during a regional breakout session Saturday morning at Convergence Wyoming. Photo by Ernie Over.

Convergence Wyoming

Convergence Wyoming

Milward Simpson, director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, addresses those gathered in Cody for Convergence Wyoming Oct. 6-8. Waiting in the wings to speak are University of Wyoming President Tom Buchanan and historian and UW political science professor Pete Simpson. The first four photos show groups gathered for Convergence sessions. Photos by Alan O'Hashi.

Call for applications: Penland School of Crafts

October 28 deadline: Penland School of Crafts, founded in 1929 in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, offers a Resident Artist Program which invites artists working in traditional and nontraditional studio crafts to live and work at the school for three years. There are three openings in the program for 2012, to be filled by artists working in books/paper, clay, glass, metals, photography, printmaking, iron, textiles, wood, sculpture, or mixed-media. Studios are available beginning February 2012. Eligible applicants must have a clear objective for their residency and be willing to live and work as part of a close-knit community. Penland Resident Artists pay $187.50 per month for unfurnished housing and studio space, plus $150 to $200 per month for utilities, depending on the season. Apply with a portfolio of 15-20 images, the primary basis for selection, as well as a personal statement, résumé, and two letters of recommendation. A $25 processing fee is required to apply. Applicants with no prior connection to the school are strongly encouraged to visit or take a class before applying for the program. For more information and submission guidelines click here.

UW Indian Students' Organization/Milaap presents Diwali Night Oct. 22

From the University of Wyoming Office of Multicultural Affairs newsletter:

Indian Students' Organization/Milaap presents Diwali Night on Saturday, October 22.

Evening begins with a cultural program at 5 p.m. in the Arts and Sciences Auditorium at UW in Laramie.

Watch Mudra Dance Studio's dance troupe entertain you non-stop with Indian dance extravaganza along with UW's bands -- Exit this Way, Chutney and Cosmologists!

Cultural night is open to all; no tickets required. Tickets are required for dinner (Union Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.) and will be distributed at the information desk at 11 a.m. on Oct. 11, 12 and 13. Two tickets per UW ID. Come to the cultural show to have a chance at winning 10 raffle tickets for dinner!

Andy Hackbarth Trio plays tonight at Laramie Plains Civic Center

The Andy Hackbarth Trio will be in concert on Friday, October 7 (tonight!), 7 p.m., at the Laramie Plains Civic Center, Laramie. This morning, the group appeared on WPR playing (among other things) a bluegrass version of AC/DC’s “All Night Long.”

Colorado-based folk singer/songwriter and flamenco guitarist Andy Hackbarth was raised on the idea that music can paint colors more vivid than any paintbrush.  He does just that, weaving the world of flamenco and classical guitar into an arsenal of upbeat, contemporary-folk songs that are 100 percent, unmistakably Andy Hackbarth.

FMI: http://www.andyhackbarth.com

Tickets at http://laramieplainsciviccenter.org/Tickets.aspx

Art talk set at UW Art Museum for "Talismans of Protection from Choson Korea" exhibit

University of Wyoming Department of History Chair and Associate Professor Michael Brose will give an art talk in conjunction with the UW Art Museum exhibition "Talismans of Protection from Choson Korea: Antique Locks, Latches, and Key Charms" Monday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibition features rare antique metalwork loan from the Lock Museum in Seoul, Korea and organized for travel by the Korea Society, New York. The objects, which are in the forms of dragons, turtles, butterflies and more, are richly symbolic and exquisitely decorative examples of traditional Korean aesthetic and craft traditions.

Brose's talk will provide context for these objects, as well as historical information on the Choson Dynasty, Korea's last and longest ruling dynasty. For additional information about the UW Art Museum call (307) 766-6622 or visit the museum's web page at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or blog at hwww.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com .

Photo: This peony-patterned lock is among the Korean artifacts in the exhibition, courtesy of The Korea Society and The Lock Museum.

"Cow Town Victoriana" presentation Oct. 13 at Wyoming State Museum

Wyoming’s Victorian architecture is the topic of the newest Wyoming State Museum Lecture Series presentation, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m., in the Multi-Purpose Room. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council, Melanie O’Hara’s presentation, "Cow Town Victoriana" discusses how Wyoming tent towns such as Cheyenne, Laramie, Rawlins and Rock Springs burgeoned into impressive statements of American Victorian architecture.

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

The presentation will include vintage photos of early Victorian architecture in Wyoming’s premier railroad towns.

WY performer and poet laureate emeritus David Romtvedt featured at High Plains BookFest

The High Plains BookFest begins Oct. 13 at the Babcock Theatre in Billings, MT.

The Big Read kicks off Thursday, October 13, with the High Plains BookFest. This year’s theme: “The Nature of Poetry, the Poetry of Nature.” The Billings YMCA Writer’s Voice and Parmly Billings Library hosts The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read in Billings will focus on the selected poetry of Robinson Jeffers.

Join us for two gala evenings at the Babcock Theatre! On Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m., David Caserio hosts “Poetry and Performance” featuring Bozeman poet, humorist and musician Greg Keeler; and Wyoming poet and accordion player, David Romtvedt performing Cajun, Brazilian and world music with his wife and daughter. Caserio will also perform some of his work accompanied by local musicians. Tickets are $10 and valid for Thursday and Friday evening. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

On Friday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. the High Plains BookFest features a gala reading by four poet laureates from three states: Sheryl Noethe and Henry Real Bird of Montana, Larry Woiwode, North Dakota, and David Romtvedt, poet laureate emeritus of Wyoming.


RSVP on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=260083724029846&notif_t=event_invite

Michael Czarnecki teaches "Palm of the Hand" workshop Oct. 8 in Sheridan

The Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library in Sheridan will host "Palm of the Hand: a Memoir Writing Workshop" on Saturday, October, 8, from 10 a.m. until noon in the library's Inner Circle. Michael Czarnecki (shown in photo), a poet, publisher and oral memoirist, has taught workshops in libraries and in academic settings across the country.

Everyone has stories to share and many people have a desire to write about their life. Wanting to write and doing so are two different things. The immensity of such a project can overwhelm us. This workshop will help to make that desire a reality. Participants will be introduced to a method Czarnecki calls "Palm-of-the-Hand" writing, after the "Palm-of-the-Hand" stories of Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata. After deciding on story possibilities, the method helps focus the writer's energy into completing short individual pieces about their life. This workshop is open and free for the public. For more information about this news release, contact Debbie Iverson at 307-674-8585 ext. 29.

Opening reception for fellowship biennial set for Nov. 4 at Center for the Arts in Jackson

"Camperwagon" by Adrienne Vetter, Lander

The opening reception for the Wyoming Arts Council fellowship biennial will be held on Friday, Nov. 4, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Arts Association Gallery in the Center for the Arts, 265 Cache St., Jackson.

The exhibit will feature the work of these visual arts fellowship winners and honorable mentions from 2010-2011:

Diana Baumbach, Laramie
Penelope Caldwell, Wood’s Landing
Jenny Dowd, Alpine
David L. Jones, Laramie
David Klaren, Pinedale
Abbie Miller, Jackson
Suzanne Morlock, Wilson
Shelby Shadwell, Laramie
Sue Sommers, Pinedale
Adrienne Vetter, Lander

Free and open to the public. Food and beverages will be served.

For info on the event, go to http://www.jhcenterforthearts.org/residents/http-www-artassociation-org-index-html

For info on the artists and their work, go to http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/p/on-road-with-2011-fellowship-biennial.html

Photo: Fellowship biennial artist David Klaren talking to fellowship curator Nancy Bowen at David's studio in Pinedale.

Safehouse raises awareness about domestic violence via art and "Walk in Her Shoes" event

Local artist Forrest King has been working for months on his "Battered Bride" painting and will exhibit it Thursday, Oct. 6, 4-7 p.m., at Safehouse's "Walk in Her Shoes" event at the Historic Depot in Cheyenne. See photos of Forrest's "Battered Bride" project on Facebook. 

This Safehouse fund-raiser and consciousness-raiser about domestic violence will take place on Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Historic Dept in Cheyenne. 

AVA Center in Gillette holds third (and last) "Glaze a Cup for Cancer" session tonight

Meet the Laramie County Library's "Interpretations" artists Oct. 13 during Art Design & Dine

Author Ron Franscell on the road again in Wyoming

Ron Franscell's Wyoming schedule (welcome home Ron!):


OCT. 6, WHEATLAND: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES discussion and book-signing. 5 pm at Wheatland Mercantile's Book Nook. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 7, CASPER: Hometown launch for SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES Discussion and book-signing. 7 pm at Natrona County Public Library. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 8, BUFFALO: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES Discussion and book-signing. 7 pm at Johnson County Public Library. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 10, LARAMIE: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES discussion and book-signing. 3 pm at University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center. Event is free and open to the public.

OCT. 11, ROCK SPRINGS: SOURTOE and OUTLAW ROCKIES discussion and book-signing. 7 pm at Rock Springs Library. Event is free and open to the public.

Get more info on Ron's books and touring schedule at http://www.ronfranscell.com

Casper photographer selected as new Artist-in-Residence at Zion National Park

Photographers shooting at Zion's West Temple in winter.

Zion National Park is pleased to announce Chuck Kimmerle as the new Artist-in-Residence. Chuck, a photographer from Casper,will spend a month in the park creating art that is relevant both to his style and the surroundings.

Chuck Kimmerle is best known for his quiet and unassuming photographs of the northern plains, which have been published in numerous magazines and catalogs as well as exhibited nationally. His most recent exhibition, “The Unapologetic Landscape,” has been touring for more than year.

The Artist-in-Residence program offers professional artists the opportunity to live and work in the majestic splendor of Zion National Park. The works completed under this program will contribute to the public understanding and appreciation of Zion National Park.  It is the park’s hope that works produced during this time will characterize Zion for present and future generations and offer park visitors and the general public the opportunity to see America’s heritage through the creative vision of contributing artists.

On Monday, November 7 at 8:00 p.m., Chuck will present a lecture at the Zion Lodge about his experience as Artist-in-Residence in Zion National Park. He will also give a presentation for Art Insights, the Southern Utah University Department of Art and Design’s weekly lecture series, on Thursday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m.

More information can be found at www.nps.gov/zion, and interested artists can contact the Artist in Residence Coordinator at Zion_Artist_in_Residence@nps.gov.