Save the Date -- Wyoming Art for the Cure 4/29/11

Attention artists! Save the Date: April 29, 2011.

Mark your calendars now! Wyoming Art for the Cure will be held on Friday, April 29, 2011 from 6-9 p.m . at Little America Hotel & Resort.

Get more info -- and view last year's entries -- at http://www.komenwyoming.org/wyomingartforthecure

Indian Country Today: Eyeglass frames feature Native art

Liz Bent of the Penticton Indian Band of British Columbia is seen recently at the Wellpinit powwow wearing the "Coyote Moon" eyeglass frame design by Smoker Marchand. Photo by Jackie McNeel. 

From a story in the Oct. 13 edition of Indian Country Today by Jack McNeel:

SPOKANE, Wash. – Wearable art is nothing new. We wear all forms of jewelry and clothing inspired by Native artists, but something new is available and designed particularly with Native Americans in mind. Eyeglass frames with designs created by Smoker Marchand, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, Arrow Lakes Band, are the latest in wearable art.

The company producing these frames is Encore Vision, Inc. located in Spokane, Wash. It’s not a Native-owned company but General Manager Teri Harris said their focus will be the Native American niche and she plans to expand their offerings to include designs from Indian artists throughout the country, thus providing a wide variety of styles and designs. Marchand is the first artist to be signed and was told at the time that others would follow.

"They told me from the get-go that they’re looking for different Indian artists from different areas. They’d like to incorporate that and I said that’s no problem.”

Read the rest of the story here.

"Wind & Wisdom: A Wyoming Story" at the Ark Creative Arts Program in Laramie

Wyoming Governor's Arts Awards winner Ark Creative Arts Program in Laramie will be presenting "Wind & Wisdom: A Wyoming Story" on Friday and Saturday, June 25-26 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 27, at 2 p.m.

If you have attended previous Ark productions, you know how wonderful they are. If you've never attended one, you really should attend at some point - both to see the production, and to see the wonderful Creative Arts Center facilities. They always have a visual arts exhibition in their lobby for each production, too.

Tickets are free, but reservations are essential, as they always run out of seats. Call 307-742-6641 and ask for Bob Sell if you are interested in reserving seats.

Be sure to arrive early, as a reservation does not mean you have a specific seat saved for you. Seating is first come, first served for those with reservations. People who don't show up at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the show lose their seats to others who are on a waiting list, and standing by for seats.

UW sculpture project to air on Wyoming PBS

A documentary by UWTV, "Imagine Learning from the Masters: Public Art and Community Partnership" will air on Wyoming PBS on Sunday, Spetember 13 at 5:30 p.m. The film, narrated and filmed by UWTV's Mary Jung, features interviews with several of the artists who contributed work to the exhibition, "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational." In addition to hearing from artists such as James Surls, Patrick Dougherty and John Henry, the documentary includes comments from UW and city administrators.

"Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" was organized by the UW Art Museum in the summer of 2008, during a time when the Museum's galleries were closed for renovation. The exhibition has sparked an over-year-long discussion on public art and continues to receive enthusiastic responses. A public art symposium was held in April, during which time the documentary was first shown. The Wyoming Arts Council was a co-sponsor of the art symposium.

Photo: Artwork from "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational." John Kearney (American, b. 1921), "Alligator," chrome plated steel, welded 26.5"x115"x24", UW Art Museum collection, gift of Harris P. Klein 1973.4.