Wyoming Archaeology Month poster wins national award

The 2010 Wyoming Archaeology Awareness Month (WAAM) poster, featuring the Tolar Petroglyph site, has been awarded first place in the Society for American Archaeology’s (SAA) annual nationwide poster contest.

The poster features a well preserved image of a Comanche warrior on horseback, elaborately carved into sandstone bedrock and strikingly contrasted with the dark natural varnish of the cliff face. The panel design is likely over two centuries old. The site is valued by several Indian nations as a sacred and honored place. The glyph used on this poster was chosen with the concurrence of the Comanche, Eastern Shoshone, Ute, and Northern Arapaho tribes, a cross-cultural collaboration that benefits all of Wyoming.

This is the thirteenth year the Wyoming poster has been recognized with an award from the SAA. The announcement was made at the SAA’s annual meeting held in Sacramento, Calif. Production of the poster was coordinated by Judy Wolf of the State Historic Preservation Office.

The Wyoming Archaeology Awareness Month posters are available free of charge and may be picked up at the State Historic Preservation Office in Cheyenne, 3rd floor Barrett Building, 2301 Central Ave. or in Laramie in the new Anthropology Department building, 2th and Lewis,Room 312.

If you would like a poster mailed to you, a $10 charge is necessary to cover mailing costs. Limit one poster per person. Send your request along with a check or money order payable to "Wyoming Archaeology Month" and your name and mailing address to: Judy Wolf, State Historic Preservation Office, Wyoming Archaeology Month, Dept. 3431, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie WY 82071.

"TreeMiere" set for Jackson Center for the Arts

In conjunction with an exhibit by Brazilian artist Thais Beltrane, filmmaker David Gonzales presents the premiere of “Seeing Red: TreeFight’s First Year,” a documentary about the campaign to save the whitebark pine trees in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. A tree-inspired drawing by Beltrane will be raffled. Entitled "Lake Solitude," its dimensions are 28 by 39 inches. Free admission to this event on Friday, Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m. FMI: TreeFight.org

Combining the artistry of food and music at Casper College

From a Casper College press release:

Mardi Gras-inspired dishes will be served at the next Casper College Ethnic Dinner on Thursday, Jan. 27, in the Roberts Commons Cafeteria from 5-6:30 p.m.

The Mardi Gras celebration will feature chicken and andouille jambalaya, crawfish court bouillon, okra etouffee, gazebo garden gumbo, confetti chopped salad, red beans and rice, ratatouille, and bananas foster for dessert.

The dinner will feature live music to promote the upcoming Kinser Jazz Festival Feb. 8 and 9 at Casper College.

Advance tickets for the Mardi Gras ethnic dinner will be sold through Friday, Jan. 21 at a cost of $8.50 each. Tickets will also be available at the door for $11 for adults, $7 for ages 6 through 12, and free for children five and under. Tax will be added to all ticket purchases. Because dinners often sell out, advanced ticket purchases are highly recommended.

Tickets may be purchased at the Accounting and Financial Management Office, located in the Leisinger Administration Building, Room 103; the Roberts Commons Cafeteria; and the coffee bars in the Leisinger Administration Building and the Wold Physical Science Center. Cash is accepted at all locations and credit cards are accepted at the cafeteria and coffee bars.

The final two dinners in this year's series will be traditional Jewish dishes featured in conjunction with the Casper College Humanities Festival on February 24, and Hungarian with a special presentation by the Casper College Forensics team on April 14.

The ethnic dinner series is sponsored by the Casper College Diversity Committee, and is presented by Sodexo Campus Dining under Justin Dreslinski with the menu composed by Chef Josh Kronberg.

Rocky Mountain Land Library praises a classic book -- "Sheepwagon: Home on the Range"

The Rocky Mountain Land Library blog waxed eloquently about two Wyomingites in an 11/28 post: 

In 2001, a wonderful Wyoming publisher, High Plains Press, published one of the Land Library’s favorite books, Sheepwagon: Home on the Range. Author Nancy Weidel offered one crisp, concise reason for our admiration: “The sheepwagon is a marvel of practicality and efficiency.”

But there’s more reasons to love this book, with its stories, photographs, and sensitive appreciation for hard lives lived in a starkly beautiful land. This book makes clear that the sheepwagon provided both a bit of warmth, and a touch of home. Weidel: “Designed to provide shelter and heat, mobility, and storage, the sheepwagon was the ideal home for the herder….It could easily be moved by two horses, a most important feature.”

Yes, as you can see, every inch counted, but space also needed to be found for the unexpected. Some sheepwagons had side boxes that “came in handy during lambing, when a weak newborn might be placed there overnight to be revived by the heat of the wagon stove.”

Nancy Weidel is wyomingarts' colleague within the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. She is senior historic preservation specialist at SHPO. Nancy Curtis runs High Plains Press out of her ranch near Glendo. Nancy is a long-time supporter of the state's writers and the statewide writers organization, Wyoming Writers, Inc.

Andrea Two Bulls will demonstrate beadwork and painting at Colter Bay Center

Colter Bay Visitor Center & Indian Art Museum on Jackson Lake

From Monday, September 27, through Sunday, October 4, Ogalala Sioux member Andrea Two Bulls will demonstrate beadwork and painting as part of the visiting American Indian artists program. Begins at 9 a.m.,  Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum, Moose. Info: 739-3393, http://gtnpnews.blogspot.com/2010/05/american-indian-guest-artists-program.html. Free, but national park admission required. This will wrap up the 2010 series of programs.

Call for entries: Riverfest Art Fair in Lander

From the Lander Art Center web site:

This summer's Riverfest Art Fair is brought to you by the Lander Art Center and Art in the Afternoon.

Come buy local arts and crafts, listen to cool music and enjoy great food and spirits at the first annual Riverfest.

Riverfest is the summer equivalent of our rockin' Art in the Afternoon Art Sale that we have in December, taking place in July in the loveliest park in Wyoming!

When: Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: Lander City Park, 405 Fremont Street, Lander

What: Unique and Creative Arts/Wares by local and regional artists (handmade, artisan marketed), live music and food from local eateries

How: If you would like to participate in this event, booth spaces are $45, a maximum of two artists/entrants provide their own tables and displays.

If you would like to be considered for this show, please send pictures and a cover letter summarizing your art to landerartcenter@bresnan.net or mail to Lander Art Center, 224 Main Street, Lander, WY 82520

All work submitted must be made and sold by the artist.

Record an interview for StoryCorps' National Day of Listening on Nov. 27

This comes from Wyoming Public Radio:

Wyoming Public Radio encourages listeners to record an interview with a loved one for StoryCorps’ second annual National Day of Listening on November 27, 2009.

On the day after Thanksgiving, November 27, 2009, Wyoming Public Radio and StoryCorps are asking all Americans to start a new holiday tradition: Set aside one hour to interview a friend, a loved one, or someone in their community about his or her life.

The process is simple: select an interview partner, create a question list, and sit down to record a meaningful conversation. StoryCorps has created a free Do-It-Yourself (DIY) interview guide with step-by-step interview instructions, equipment recommendations, and sample questions available online at nationaldayoflistening.org.

Sponsored by Corporation for National & Community Service, American Library Association, National Public Radio and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Join Sept. 17 camera safari to the Tetons

From a press release:

Wildlife artists Lindsay Scott and Leo E. Osborne will accompany a unique ‘Mini Safari’ into Grand Teton National Park on Thursday, September 17. The early morning camera safari – led by Wildlife Expeditions, a division of non-profit Teton Science Schools – is part of the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions fundraiser, for which Scott and Osborne are 2009 Featured Artists. Guests will enjoy firsthand advice and commentary from the artists as they travel by customized safari-style vehicles through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, experiencing a variety of native birds and animals during prime early morning viewing hours.

The Mini Safari takes place from 6:30-11 a.m. on September 17, departing from the museum, 2.5 miles north of Jackson. Tickets for the event are $125 for museum members, $150 for non-members; call 307.732.5412 to register. A discounted lunch will be available in the Rising Sage Café at the museum following the trip. Western Visions is the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s largest annual fundraiser. Signature Western Visions events including the 22nd Annual Wild West Artist Party, also on September 17, and the 22nd Annual Miniatures and More Show & Sale, September 18, coincide with the popular Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival.

In addition to their Mini Safari participation, New Zealand-based painter and conservationist Lindsay Scott and U.S. sculptor Leo E. Osborne will present live demonstrations, participate in a Featured Artists Panel Discussion, and have specially created pieces sold at live auction during the Miniatures and More Show & Sale, September 18. For a full schedule of Western Visions events, visit http://www.westernvisions.org/WesternVisions/CalendarEvents/.

A member of Museums West and accredited by the American Association of Museums, the National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States provides an exciting calendar of exhibitions from its permanent collection and changing exhibitions from around the globe and has been featured in media including the L.A. Times and New York Times. A complete schedule of exhibitions and events are available online at http://www.wildlifeart.org/.

Media Contacts: Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, 307.734.5335, darla@wordenpr.com; Zeenie Scholz, National Museum of Wildlife Art, 307.732.5437, zscholz@wildlifeart.org