Mike Corso recreates the past

Nice article in Sunday's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about Mike Corso, our colleague in the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. By day, Mike manages all of our web sites and is building the WAC's new Online Artists Image Registry. In his free time, he dons the guises of Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson or Wyoming Territorial Governor John A. Campbell. Mike will play the part of Gov. Campbell today from 1-4 p.m. at the Wyoming History celebration at the Historic Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne. Read the article: Becoming part of the past - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online

NASAA guidebook shows ways to engage adolescents in the arts

From NASAA (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies) Notes:

Meaningful engagement in arts education can have a life-changing impact on teens. An initiative and guidebook from the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Engaging Adolescents: Building Youth Participation in the Arts outlines a holistic approach that integrates arts learning with principles of youth development. It is designed to help staff and faculty develop new programs and services for teens or to rethink and strengthen programs they already offer.

Casper College board of trustees names theatre for Tom Empey

On Wednesday, Casper College trustee Bill Hambrick spoke in favor of renaming the college’s Black Box Theatre for former theater director Tom Empey. Empey is a former board chair of the Wyoming Arts Council.

The Casper College board names buildings after people who have given “distinguished service” or substantial monetary gifts, according to a new policy approved by the board last year. 

Empey created the college’s theater department and taught for 31 years at the college. The board unanimously approved the naming. 

“The theater is not just recognized in this area — it’s recognized regionally, and Tom is responsible for so much of that,” Hambrick said.

Read the Casper Star-Tribune article here: Casper College's black box theatre named in honor of Tom Empey

Buffalo Bill Boycott rides into Cheyenne July 10

Join us at the Historic Governor's Mansion on Sunday, July 10, 1:30-3:30 p.m. for a performance by Lander's Buffalo Bill Boycott, a Wyoming and western entertainer (and a member of the Wyoming Arts Council's artist roster). A free family event. Location: 300 E. 21st Street., Cheyenne. 307-777-7878. FMI: http://buffalobillboycott.com

Arts Council and Humanities Council team up at Wyoming Association of Municipalities conference

The Wyoming Arts Council's Mike Shay staffs the booth shared by WAC and the Wyoming Humanities Council at the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) conference in Sheridan on June 10. WCH staffers (not pictured) Jason Burge and Sheila Bricher-Wade stopped in Sheridan for their state tour promoting "Civility Matters." Photo by Jason Burge.

Summer means time for reading

Time to get going on summer reading. The Laramie County Public Library launches its Summer reading celebration for all ages. Sign up at http://lclsonline.org/src/2011/

Also at the library is the "One World, Wyoming Stories" exhibition. Items from various ethnic traditions in Wyoming will be in display cases throughout the building. Presented in partnership with Wyoming Arts Council’s Folk & Traditional Arts Program and University of Wyoming’s American Studies Program. 

Blue Star Museums in Wyoming and across the U.S. offer free summer admission to military families

On the steps of the San Diego Museum of Art, from L-R: Rocco Landesman, Lt. Gen. R.G. Milstead, Kathy Roth-Douquet, and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. Photo by Sandy Huffaker

On May 23, NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman and Blue Star Families Chairman Kathy Roth-Douquet announced the second annual launch of Blue Star Museums, a partnership with more than 1,300 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2011. Leadership support has been provided by MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families. See the complete list of participating museums. Wyoming museums are:

Campbell County Rockpile Museum

Gillette

Fort Caspar Museum
Casper

Grand Encampment Museum
Encampment

Hot Springs County Museum & Cultural Center
Thermopolis

National Bighorn Sheep Center

National Bighorn Sheep Center
Dubois

National Museum of Wildlife Art
Jackson

Wyoming State Museum
Cheyenne

The launch of the program was announced today at a press event on the steps of the San Diego Museum of Art hosted by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. Mr. Landesman and Ms. Roth-Douquet were joined by Lt Gen R.E. Milstead, Jr., Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, United States Marine Corps; Vicki Reed, Chair of the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture; and representatives from San Diego's more than 150,000 active duty military personnel and the 17 San Diego museums participating in Blue Star Museums.

Read full press release at http://arts.endow.gov/news/news11/BSM-Announcement.html

Wyoming Arts Council announces results of 2011 visual arts fellowship competition

"Lamps," Jenny Dowd, muslin, fabricated steel
armature, porcelain, 64x34x14 inches

Jenny Dowd of Alpine, David Klaren of Pinedale and Adrienne Vetter of Lander have been named the winners of the 2011 Wyoming Arts Council visual arts fellowships.

Each artist will receive a $3,000 prize. Their work will be on display Nov. 4-Dec. 30 at the Art Center in Jackson as part of the WAC’s 2010-2011 biennial exhibition.

Two artists received honorable mentions in the 2011 competition. They are Abbie Miller of Jackson and Suzanne Morlock of Wilson. There is no cash prize, but both artists’ work will be featured in the biennial show.

Judges for this year’s fellowships were Nancy Bowen, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Mark Klett, Tempe, Ariz.; and Joshua Wiener, Boulder, Colo.

Jenny Dowd is a mixed-media artist who works with paper, ink, porcelain, acrylic and muslin fabric, among other materials. She is education director and painting and drawing studio manager at the Arts Center in Jackson. Her work was featured in the 2010 Wyoming Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition, the 2011 Feats of Clay XXIV exhibit in Lincoln, Calif., and the 2007 Texas National exhibit in Nacogdoches, Texas.

"Black Gulf," David Klaren, ink on vellum,
 18x24 inches

David Klaren draws with ink and graphite on paper and vellum. He’s exhibited his work throughout Wyoming and at galleries and museums in Florida, Colorado, Nebraska, Idaho and Montana. He’s a member of the Pipeline Art Project, a group of contemporary artists who “promote their work in the wider world while maintaining Wyoming residency.”

Adrienne Vetter grew up in Wyoming and studied art at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, the University of Wyoming and the University of Michigan. She is program manager for Wyoming Kids First of the Wind River Reservation. She works in sculpture and multimedia installation and is interested in “social class, cross-cultural organizing, autobiography and rural culture.”

"White Trash Beautiful" (interior), Adrienne Vetter,
installation, life-size

Abbie Miller is a sculptor who works with a variety of materials, including cloth, vinyl, zippers, wood and metal. Suzanne Morlock is a sculptor who incorporates local materials into her work, using local newspapers in Lodz, Poland, and cast-off nets at a fishing village in Iceland.

The Wyoming Arts Council has offered fellowships to individual artists since 1987. Applications for the 2012 visual arts competitions will be available in March 2012 with a deadline in May.

For more information, contact Michael Shay at mike.shay@wyo.gov or 307-777-5234.

Fractured Atlas visits the Wyoming Arts Council

Adam J. Natale from Fractured Atlas in NYC dropped by the Wyoming Arts Council this week. After a weekend on the road working with arts groups in Denver and Fort Collins, he decided to make the short drive up I-25 to Cheyenne.

As is the case with many artists, Adam found himself working in arts administration. After a five-year stint at the National Endowment for the Arts, he joined Fractured Atlas. It's a non-profit organization that helps artists and arts organizations with fund-raising, insurance, advocacy, technology and education, among other services.

It keeps overhead low with a heavy Internet presence. But Adam said that it's expanding its presence outside of the East Coast arts corridor, working with South Arts in Atlanta, the Utah Arts Council in Salt Lake City and Colorado Creative Industries in Denver. Organization staffers also work with individual artists all over the U.S.

Fractured Atlas provides helpful "pocket guides," such as "Insurance for Film Makers" and "Insurance for Dancers and Dance Companies." The user-friendly 12-page guides address insurance issues relating to liability, health care, disability, etc.

Wyomingarts thanked Adam for dropping by, and invited him to return to Wyoming for a presentation about his organization.

Meanwhile, check out the org's web site at www.fracturedatlas.org

Dutch Hop Polka in Pine Bluffs June 11

Public invited to Wyoming Arts Council board meeting May 18-20 at Gillette Tech Center

The Wyoming Arts Council will hold its quarterly board meeting May 18-20 in Gillette.

The meeting will be held at the Gillette Tech Center Conference Room. Agenda items include the decisions on FY12 Grants to Organizations and Operating Support grants, review of WAC budgets, long-range planning, discussion of Art in Public Buildings projects, and event planning for 4Cs conference and the next Governor’s Arts Awards.

The board invites individuals and organizational representatives to attend any part of the meeting to observe the board process, and to address the board during the public comment session beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. Comments about the agency's policies, funding priorities, on-line granting system, and other arts-related topics are welcomed. For a detailed agenda, please contact the Wyoming Arts Council office at 307-777-7742. 

At the conclusion of Thursday’s session, a public reception for members of the community will be held from 5-7 p.m. at the AVA Center, 509 W. Second St., Gillette.

The Wyoming Arts Council provides leadership and invests resources to sustain, promote and cultivate excellence in the arts.

FMI: Camellia El-Antably, WAC, 307-777-7742 or celant@state.wy.us.

Pam Houston to serve as judge for 2012 WAC creative writing fellowships

The judge for this year’s creative writing fellowships in fiction is Pam Houston.

Pam Houston is the author of two collections of linked short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Waltzing the Cat, the novel Sight Hound, and a collection of essays called A Little More About Me, all published by W.W. Norton. Her stories have been selected for volumes of Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Awards, The Pushcart Prize, and Best American Short Stories of the Century. She is the winner of the Western States Book Award, the WILLA award for contemporary fiction, and The Evil Companions Literary Award and multiple teaching awards.

She is the Director of Creative Writing at University of California at Davis and teaches in The Pacific University low residency MFA program, and at writer’s conferences around the country and the world. She lives on a ranch at 9,000 feet in Colorado near the headwaters of the Rio Grande. Her new book, Contents May Have Shifted, will be published by W.W. Norton in early 2012. Read more about Pam and her work at www.pamhouston.net.

At the Casper College Literary Conference Sept. 22-24, 2011, Pam will read from her work together with the fellowship winners. She also will conduct a writing workshop.

For more information, contact Michael Shay, 307-777-5234 or mike.shay@wyo.gov, or visit the WAC web site at www.wyomingartscouncil.org. Print applications will be mailed out next week. Printable applications will be available at the WAC web site. Guidelines available on the right sidebar of this blog.

Postmark deadline is June 20, 2011.

WAC roster artist Jenny Dowd conducts workshop at Lander Art Center May 14-15

Works of Wyoming flyer lists May 21 workshops

Click image for larger version

Save the date: 4Cs conference in Cody Oct. 6-9

More info coming soon from the Wyoming Arts Council

Postmark deadline draws near for WAC visual arts fellowships

The postmark deadline for the Wyoming Arts Council’s 2011 Visual Arts Fellowships is Friday, May 13. The applications will be judged by mixed-media artist Nancy Bowen, photographer Mark Klett and sculptor Joshua Wiener.

The WAC will award up to three fellowships of $3,000 each to honor the work of visual artists that reflects serious and exceptional aesthetic investigation. Painters, sculptors, printmakers, potters, media artists, craftspeople, video, film and others are invited to apply by submitting digital images of their work.

This competition is open to Wyoming residents only.

Printable applications are on the WAC web site at www.wyomingartscouncil.org. For more information, contact Mike Shay at the WAC at 307-777-5234 or mike.shay@wyo.gov.

Schedule announced for May 21 WAC workshops for artists

The Wyoming Arts Council is sponsoring a series of professional development workshops for visual artists on Saturday, May 21, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Works of Wyoming, 710 Garfield St., Laramie. There is no fee for the workshops (lunch included) but you do have to register in advance. Contact Michael Shay at the WAC at 307-777-5234 or mike.shay@wyo.gov

Here is the workshop schedule:

9-10:30 a.m.: Joshua Wiener, sculptor, Louisville, Colo.: “Everything you wanted to know about successful public art proposals.”

10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Mark Klett, photographer, Tempe, Ariz.: "Rethinking landscape photography (and all photographic practice) in the digital age." 

12:30-1:30 p.m.: Lunch and announcement of WAC visual arts fellowship winners.

1:45-3:15 p.m.: Nancy Bowen, mixed-media artist, Brooklyn, N.Y.: “How to prepare and organize your work for visual arts competitions.” 

3:30-4:30 p.m.: WAC debuts its online Artist Image Registry; Annie Wood speaks about the Business Council’s Wyoming Made program; and a Q&A with workshop instructors.

In Memoriam: Harry Jackson

Always supportive of the arts community, Harry Jackson attended an artists’ reception at Stone Soup Studios in 2007 with (from left) Janet Bedford, Melodie Ferri, Stephanie Hedrick, Sybil Hedrick, the Rev. Daphne Grimes and Lura Brewes. Cody Enterprise photo.

From the Cody Enterprise:

Cody lost a living legend and the art world an icon when Harry Jackson died Monday, April 25.

The internationally-renowned artist, who turned 87 on April 18, passed away at the V.A. Hospital in Sheridan. He finally succumbed to the life-long effects of head wounds he suffered as a front-line combat marine and combat artist in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Read entire obituary here

WY SPCR Commission meets May 12-13 in Rock Springs

Members of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources Commission will meet in Room 1309, Western Wyoming College in Rock Springs, May 12-13.

The Commission will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 12; and tour the Piedmont Kilns and Lincoln Highway Bridge on May 13.

During the meeting, the Commission will receive divisional updates and discuss a variety of State Parks and Cultural Resources issues, including a Glendo State Park flood update.

The Commission has advisory responsibility for both divisions of the department – State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails and Cultural Resources -- which involves the planning, acquisition, development and management of all state parks, state trails program, state recreation areas, state historic sites and archaeology sites. The Commission also advises the Wyoming State Museum, Wyoming Arts Council, the official State Records Center and Archives, the Office of the State Archeologist, historical research activities, the State Historic Preservation Office and the management of the Cultural Trust Fund.

Members of the Commission are: President Ernie Over, Pavillion; Dan Barks, Gillette; William Vines, Wheatland; Mary Hawkins, Devils Tower; Dudley Gardner, Ph.D, Rock Springs; Chuck Engebretson, Lost Springs; Carolyn Buff, Casper; Karen Haderlie, Thayne; and Barb Vietti, Thermopolis.

Lander Art Center sponsors Jenny Dowd workshop

"Shelf 1 and 2," Jenny Dowd, Porcelain, mixed media, 23 x 20 x 4, 2008

The Lander Art Center is sponsoring the following workshop:

Non-Traditional Surface Design on Clay
Two-Day Workshop with Jenny Dowd

Explore non-glaze related surfaces and finishing techniques for bisqueware with a goal of exploring surface options for non-utilitarian sculpture. Using a variety of non-traditional materials such as tea, graphite, gesso, and wax, a surface will be built up then layered and rubbed through to create atmospheric painterly surfaces. Painting and drawing techniques will be used as well as wax transfer and other transfer methods. These unique and varied surfaces will be able to find their way into a variety of work.

Instructor: Jenny Dowd (WAC roster artist)
Fee: $60 (supplies included)
Date: May 14-15, 2011
Time: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.