MADE IN WYOMING: Antelope Gap Dream Berries & More

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wyofirst_profile_imageWe are thrilled to team with the Wyoming Business Council to feature a Wyoming First business every week on our blog! Wyoming First is a program that promotes Wyoming member businesses. Visit their website (click here) to learn more about this service — and if you are a Wyoming business who’s not a member, be sure to inquire about membership! There are many benefits!

This week we are featuring Antelope Gap Dream Berries & More of Wheatland

LeRoy Jons, Antelope Gap Dream Berries & More, LLC  Wheatland, WY   307-322-3389   lostcowboys@q.com

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LeRoy Jons grew up in the Old Battle Town area.  He has always liked the “old west” mining towns.  Having spent a good amount of time in the area, exploring old buildings inspired LeRoy to build bird houses and feeders to resemble an old west village with a “bird theme to make them happy.”  He tries to make them similar to the old cabins and other old west ghost towns he has visited.

The feeders are made from rough cut beetle kill pine.  Some of the wood is from the Arapahoe fire from a couple years ago, which is near their Wheatland-area home.  There is a local sawmill that does custom cutting, primarily beetle kill, which is where he gets the lumber. Antelope Gap Dream Berries & More is a family business.  Their bird houses and feeders can be customized and no two are alike.  Names can be added, which makes for a wonderful, personal gift for a special occasion.

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Orders can place by phone or email.  The birdhouses/ feeders are sold at the local farmers market, Triple Crown Commodities Cooperative (an online farmers market in SE WY) and at craft shows.  This year you can find them at the Wyoming Mercantile at the Wyoming State Fair in August.

Antelope Gap Dream Berries & More products range from $45.00 for the “Blue Bird of Happiness” outhouses, $55.00 for the “old west front stores” and $65.00 for the “home tweet home” log house and feeders.

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The birdhouses and feeders are handcrafted and designed to withstand the Wyoming “breezes,” and to show people that beetle kill pine is actually a pretty wood and can be used for numerous projects. Contact LeRoy via phone or email (above) to order!

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ART IN WY: Jackson’s Trailside Galleries Prepares for Summer Show

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Jackson’s Trailside Gallery has a variety of wonderful shows and events to enjoy this summer. For beautiful art, for the discriminating collector, be sure to visit them online and when in Jackson, visit their gallery at 130 East Broadway.

CONTACT TRAILSIDE GALLERIES:

email:  media@trailsidegalleries.com

website

Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest

Trailside Gallery Show Schedule, 2014:

High Country Summer Show, June 16-29, 2014 – Artists’ Reception 6/19/14

Masters in Miniature Invitational, July 21 – August 2, 2014 – Artists’ Reception 7/24/14

Ian Ramsey Showcase, August 4-10, 2014

Western Classics Show, August 11-24, 2014 – Artists’ Reception 8/21/14

Fall Gold Show, September 1-14, 2014 – Artists’ Reception 9/13/14

Logan Maxwell Hagege Showcase, Tim Solliday Showcase, John Seerey-Lester Showcase, Lindsay Scott Showcase Holiday Miniature – Wildlife, December 2-15, 2014

You can find these works of art and more at the High Country Summer Show, June 16-29, 2014

 

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MADE IN WYOMING: Country Creations by Elaine

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We are thrilled to team with the Wyoming Business Council to feature a Wyoming First business every week on our blog! Wyoming First is a program that promotes Wyoming member businesses. Visit their website (click here) to learn more about this service — and if you are a Wyoming business who’s not a member, be sure to inquire about membership! There are many benefits!

This week we are featuring Country Creations by Elaine

Country Creations by Elaine — Elaine Francis, Lusk, WY   307-334-3139   esfrancis@hughes.net

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Elaine thought greeting cards were getting expensive, so she started drawing her own scenes for cards to send to family and friends.  As happens with many of our small companies, friends and family loved the cards so much they encouraged Elaine to have her art printed and start selling them.

Elaine does not take customer orders, however, she is open to ideas for the greeting cards.

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The small blank notecards   (4 1/4″ X 5 1/2″) are  $2.00 each and Elaine can make a set of 12 cards for $20.00.  Elaine can also make a set of whatever designs the customer would like. There are currently 16 designs and the envelopes are included with the cards.  Postage would be added on to the order.  At this time Elaine does not accept credit cards, but purchases can be done through PayPal.  She does accept checks, and can provide the postage amount, which can be added to the payment.

Country Creations by Elaine note cards can be ordered by phone (307-334-3139) — please leave a message. Customers can also email Elaine at esfrancis@hughes.net; be sure to put “cards” in the message box or subject line.  She will respond as quickly as possible.

Country Creations by Elaine can also be found at Artful Hands in Buffalo and AVA Community Art Center in Gillette.

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Free Historic Photography of Laramie Open House @Ludwig Photography May 31 10 A-Noon

We greatly appreciate Ludwig Photography for hosting an open house featuring over a century of their family’s photography of the Laramie and Southeast Wyoming area. This free event runs from 10 AM – noon on Saturday, May 31 and is a neat opportunity to experience the history of Laramie up close.

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visit our website to purchase tickets

The open house is one of many events during the Food + Photo Festival in Laramie May 30 & 31. Other events include:

Friday, May 30 — Free Open House, Alice Hardie Stevens Center:  View photography submitted in the photo competition 7-10 PM

Saturday, May 31 — Free Open House, Historic Laramie Photography — Ludwig Photography:  10 AM – Noon

Saturday, May 31 — Learn How Altitude Makes a Great Local Beer + Beer Tasting — Altitude Chophouse & Brewery:  2-3 PM  $15/ticket

Saturday, May 31 — Wine Tasting — Laramie Country Club:  7-10 PM $30/ticket

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We were lucky to feature Ludwig’s story in our Sprinter 2014 issue of Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine. Below are some excerpts from the article showcasing the family’s story…

On a September day in 1905, photographer Henning Svenson stepped off the train in Laramie. Inspired by the West and looking for adventure, Svenson arrived in the frontier town with one dollar in his pocket and a quest to open a photography studio. The opportunities Wyoming offers to reinvent one’s self are not available elsewhere; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that was even more the case than it is today. Svenson’s road to Laramie was not direct, however. Born in Kiel, Germany on July 16, 1879, Svenson served as a photographic apprentice to Ferdinand Urbahns from 1895-98. This was followed by work in retouching in Lausanne, Switzerland and Paris. Svenson attended the World’s Fair in Paris, where he met Amy DuPont, who encouraged him to come to work in her New York City studio. In 1902, Svenson immigrated to the United States, and created portraits of DuPont’s New York clientele before joining his brother in Iowa. The two brothers opened a photography studio, with Henning later setting out to open a branch out west. He traveled first to Denver, but found the city didn’t suit him; he boarded a train north, and the rest is history – well-photographed history, to be exact.

Svenson established a solid clientele and a reputation as the premier photography studio in the region. Henning and Marie’s family also grew to include three daughters, Helen, Aneleas and Lottie. The Chauncey Root Building burnt to the ground (with Svenson injured in the blaze) in 1910 due to a boiler explosion. The studio relocated to 314 South Second Street, above a pool hall, until Svenson built his permanent location on the corner of Third Street & Ivinson (where the studio sits today).

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“My great-grandfather was unique in that he empowered his daughters to be a part of the family business,” Brande, who is the current owner of the family business, says. All three of Svenson’s daughters attended the University of Wyoming and worked in the studio. The older sisters became film developers; Lottie’s talent was capturing images alongside her father. Svenson Photography created tens of thousands of regional images annually, many used for postcards, father and daughter equally responsible for the work. Sadly, Henning Svenson died in 1932 at the age of 52 from lung complications, his daughters assuming the role of studio ownership and operations.

Eldest daughter Helen was the first to assume ownership of the studio. Lottie Svenson married Walter “Doc” Ludwig, and in 1943 the couple purchased the studio from Helen, renaming it Ludwig Photo Enterprises. Lottie played an equal and important role in the studio alongside her husband. “My grandmother was a progressive woman,” Brande says with a smile. “She raced motorcycles, wore pants, and even broke horses when she was a kid.”

Walter and Lottie Ludwig had one daughter, Carol, who had a sense of adventure like her mother and grandfather before her. In the 1940s, the family acquired a ranch on the Wyoming/Colorado border, and Carol embraced a love of ranching life and the West. She served as Miss Laramie Jubilee Days 1961 and first runner-up to Miss Rodeo Wyoming. She was one of the first women to climb Devils Tower, competed in slalom and was a ski instructor at Winter Park, using folk singing to finance her skiing obsession.

Carol married Bill Loyer, Ludwig Photo Enterprises’s Kodak Eastman representative at the time. The two honeymooned through Europe for a month before settling in New Jersey. However, the love of Wyoming called them home, and the two opened a studio branch in Cheyenne, working alongside Carol’s parents in the Laramie branch. The couple grew the business into a regional hub for both portrait photography and film developing. In 2005, 100 years after Svenson opened his studio, the Loyers’ daughter, Anne Brande, purchased the Laramie branch. Today, Brande focuses her business, Ludwig Photography, on capturing emotional portraiture of the individuals she not only counts as clients, but as friends.

The legacy of Henning Svenson lives on in the tens of thousands of priceless photos created by him and his descendants. For over 100 years, Anne Brande’s family has documented the growth and transformation of a frontier town in a romantic era. As she flipped through a series of prints during my interview, the flux between the Old West and the modern era was glaringly obvious. For example, one 1920s era photo of Second Street in Downtown Laramie showed a street full of Ford Model T’s and similar vehicles, both parked and driving – with a gentleman riding a horse right alongside them on the street.

“What I really love about Henning’s photography is that it was not staged,” Brande says. “He had a love of the West, but also an appreciation for industrialization and modern elements. He’d often image these two elements side-by-side, just as they appeared in real life.” Brande and I mused about the horse and rider in the image – this was no parade, this was an average day in Laramie in the 1920s. Did the rider refuse to give up his horse for an automobile? Could he not afford one? Or was he terrified at the thought of operating a piece of machinery versus relying upon his horse? When your rapidly changing world allows for both animal and machine to coexist, how does one process that transformation? Henning Svenson captured this and thousands of other moments like these – individuals who had witnessed the West, and were now standing by while it changed before their very eyes.  His images helped me understand the gravity of living in a rapidly changing world. Often times I think that our world today is rapidly changing, however when I consider the flux my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents witnessed, I can appreciate the emotion of their experience.

With the historic significance of her family’s collection in mind, Brande has donated portions of the images to the American Heritage Center, a part of the University of Wyoming. The first half was valued at over $2 million, with another large portion recently appraised for almost $500,000 by Penelope Dixon & Associates. “I’ve been told that our collection is the only of its kind in the world both on a fine art basis and a social context,” Brande says. “It’s so vast and covers over 104 years and spans four generations, while also being well catalogued. It’s a very rare find.” The American Heritage Center’s collection of over 4,000 images can be viewed under ‘Ludwig-Svenson Studio Collection’ in the digital collections section on the AHC website. (uwyo.edu/ahc)

Brande and her family’s century of images have been a part of numerous projects throughout the years: from historical research to exhibits, from books and magazines to film. Ludwig Photography of Laramie and Portrait Artist Anne Brande continue to create emotional heirlooms for their clients, continuing the family tradition into the 21st century. Visit ludwigphoto.com or visit the studio at 224 Ivinson Avenue in Downtown Laramie to meet Anne.

Winemaker’s Dinner Teams Table Mtn Vineyards + Altitude Chophouse in Laramie

click here for tickets & information on our Food + Photo Festival, May 30 & 31 in Laramie!

click here to vote for the People’s Choice in our photography competition! Voting closes May 28! 

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Table Mountain Vineyards creates amazing Wyoming wine, from the grapes to finished product — and you can sample their wine + a special menu at Altitude Chophouse & Brewery selected to perfectly accompany it. Join us for our Winemaker’s Dinner, part of our Food + Photo Festival, on May 30 at 6:30 PM. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time, and purchases close Thursday, May 29. Tickets are available on our website — click here!

The menu:

Appetizer

  • Mini crab cakes with roasted bell pepper aioli
  • Table Mountain Vineyards selection — Frontenac Gris

Salad

  • Mixed greens with fresh mozzarella, dried figs, tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette
  • Table Mountain Vineyards selection — Cowgirl Blush

Pasta

  • Penne pasta with vodka tomato cream sauce
  • Table Mountain Vineyards selection — Cowboy Reserve

Entree

  • Chicken marsala with fresh asparagus
  • Table Mountain Vineyards selection — Rooster Red

Dessert

  • Chocolate thimbles filled with chocolate mousse
  • Table Mountain Vineyards selection — Cherry Rush

WY MAIN STREETS: Rawlins Wins National Award, Laramie Mural Project Competition

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Wyo Lifestyle magazine Fall 2013.inddRawlins Receives National Main Street Award at Conference in Detroit

The Rawlins Downtown Development Authority/Main Street program received a One to Watch Award at this year’s National Main Streets Conference on May 18 in Detroit, Michigan.

The award recognizes exceptional communities working on very innovative projects, and that are poised on the cusp of major transformation. They exemplify the idea that any great Main Street is an ever-evolving work in progress and offer inspiration for other Main Street programs.  It is the first time the award has been given.  Middlesborough, Kentucky also received the One to Watch Award.

“Rawlins DDA/Main Street is thrilled to win the One to Watch Award. It recognizes all the hard work we have done through the organization,” said Pam Thayer, executive director of the Rawlins DDA/Main Street program.  “We could not have received the award without the amazing downtown merchants, the innovative property owners, the committed volunteers and the public and private support in the community.  It truly is an award for all.”

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Representatives from Rawlins, Wyo., stand to be recognized at the National Main Streets conference May 18 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo courtesy WY Main Street program)

In March, Rawlins was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA), a coveted award that recognizes exceptional Main Street communities with successes that serve as a model for comprehensive, preservation-based commercial district revitalization.  Rawlins’ nomination as a semifinalist for the GAMSA marked the first time a Wyoming Main Street community has been selected.  No community from the Rocky Mountain Region has previously won the GAMSA.

“The One to Watch Award is still an amazing recognition by the National Main Street organization and we could not be more proud of Rawlins for receiving this honor,” said Mary Randolph, executive director of the Wyoming Main Street program.  “The Rawlins community has worked so hard and is very deserving of this prestigious award.”

According to Thayer, over the past several years Rawlins  has seen many successes including: A drop in the downtown’s building vacancy rate from 45 percent to 10 percent; nearly 25,000 volunteer hours in the program since its inception in 2006, which equals an in-kind contribution to the program of $523,807; and 55 private and public rehabilitation projects completed.  The total dollars reinvested in the downtown district since 2008 is about $7.2 million; and for every dollar the Rawlins DDA/Main Street incurred in costs there was a return of $9.56 returned to the downtown district.

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Rawlins DDA/Main Street members received the One to Watch award on May 18 at the National Main Streets Conference in Detroit, Mich.  (L-R)Stephanie Meeks, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Pat Robbins, south central regional director for the Business Council; Eddie Archuleta, City Council, City of Rawlins; Mary Randolph, executive director of the Wyoming Main Street program;  Charel Coleman, Rawlins DDA/Main Street; Kacey Caldwell, Rawlins DDA/Main Street; Adam Mendenhall, Rawlins DDA/Main Street; Pam Thayer, executive director of the Rawlins DDA/Main Street program; Karen Fate, Senior BRC/CFP Grant & Loan Specialist at the Business Council; Patrice Frey, president and CEO of the National Main Street Center; Barbara Sidway, chair, National Main Street Center Board of Directors. (Photo courtesy WY Main Street program)

For more information about the Wyoming Main Street program, contact Mary Randolph at 307.777.6430 or mary.randolph@wyo.gov.  For information about the Rawlins DDA/Main Street program contact Pam Thayer at 307.328.2099 or rawlinsmainstreeted@rawlins-wyoming.com.

The Wyoming Main Street program was established by the Wyoming Legislature in 2004. The National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, emphasizes a four-point approach to revitalization:  economic restructuring, design, organization and promotion.

The mission of the Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. The Business Council, a state government agency, concentrates its efforts on providing assistance for existing Wyoming companies and start-ups, helping communities meet their development and diversification needs, and recruiting new firms and industries targeted to complement the state’s assets. For more information, please visit www.wyomingbusiness.org.

Laramie Main Street Announces Laramie Mural Project Naming Competition!

Mural Contest May June 2014

ART IN WYOMING: Plein Air Elk Refuge, The Culture Trip Visits Cheyenne, GTNP Art, Laramie Mural Project

Click the image at left for tickets, info, schedule & more for our Food & Photo Festival, May 30 & 31 in Laramie!

 

Plein Air Painters at Natl Elk Refuge Visitor Center May 13

A group of painters will use the backdrop of the National Elk Refuge as artistic inspiration on Tuesday, May 13, giving visitors an opportunity to watch and ask questions as the artists create their works.

The artists are part of the Teton Plein Air Painters, a group of artists who meet once a week from May – October in the Teton environs. Starting with two people during the summer of 2012, the group now has a communication list of over seventy. Typically, three to ten people are onsite to paint, referencing the landscape for motifs. Art mediums include oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pen and ink.

The group will spread out in the area of the visitor center, located at 532 N. Cache Street in Jackson. Weather permitting, likely locations will include the visitor center lawn, the covered upper deck of the facility, and the remote viewing deck across the lawn next to the wetlands area. Current visitor center hours are from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, but visitors are welcome to stroll through the grounds after hours to enjoy the art session.

En plein air is a French expression which means “in the open air” and is used to describe painting done in an outdoor setting. The artists paint natural light, using color to define form. Depending on the light and weather, plein air paintings are generally done in one session. Artists may add final touches to their work once back in the studio. For additional information on the Teton Plein Air Painters and Tuesday’s session, contact Bobbi Miller, Facilitator, at 307 / 543 2910.

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Cheyenne’s 10 Contemporary Art Galleries: Wyoming Art Guide on The Culture Trip

Click the title above to connect with The Culture Trip and their review of contemporary art galleries in Cheyenne. They write, “Though Wyoming is known for its rural landscapes and cowboy character, its capital, Cheyenne, named for the Native American people of the Great Plains, is culturally diverse and heavily populated. We examine the budding cultural scene of this Western state with a look at the top ten galleries in its largest city.”

Grand Teton National Park: American Indian Guest Artists 2014 Program in Grand Teton National Park

Provided by Grand Teton National Park

MOOSE, WY —For the past 39 years, artisans from diverse American Indian tribes have demonstrated their traditional and contemporary art forms in Grand Teton National Park. This annual program provides visitors a chance to gain greater appreciation and understanding of Indian cultures that are still alive and active today.

Participating artists demonstrate and share the cultural traditions of their tribes through art forms such as painting, weaving, pottery, beadwork, and musical instruments. Guest artists exhibit daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Colter Bay Visitor Center. Artists also offer their finished items for purchase.

May 11 – 26 Debbie & Willy LaMere Shoshone Beadwork & Flint Knapping
May 27 – June 2 Amanda Coby Shoshone Beadwork & Weaving
June 3 – 9 Kelly Looking Horse Lakota Sioux Drums, Antler & Hide Items
June 10 – 16 Guillermo Martinez Tarascan-Apache Handmade Flutes & Drums
June 17 – 23 Kelly Looking Horse Lakota Sioux Drums, Antler & Hide items
June 24 – 30 Ted Moran S’Klallam Northwest Coastal Carving
July 1 – 7 DG House Cherokee Painting & Printmaking
July 8 – 14 Andrea Two Bulls Oglala Sioux Beadwork & Painting
July 15 – 21 Monte Yellowbird Arikara/ Hidatsa Ledger Art
July 22 – 28 Gale Self Choctaw Silver & Turquoise Jewelry
July 29 – August 4 Lovey Two Bulls Oglala Sioux Beadwork, Jewelry & Art Work
August 5 – 11 Debbie & Willy LaMere Shoshone Beadwork & Flint Knapping
August 12 – 18 Paul Hacker Choctaw Ledger Art, Knives & Flutes
August 19 – 25 Jola LaBeau Eastern Shoshone Beadwork & Other Crafts
August 26 – Sept.  1 Josie Broncho Shoshone/Paiute Beadwork
September 2 – 8 Nancy Nacki & Clyde Hall Shoshone Beadwork, Silver & Pottery
September 9 – 15 Maynard White Owl Nez Perce/ Cayuse Beadwork
September 16 – 22 DG House Cherokee Painting & Printmaking
September 23 – 29 Guillermo Martinez  Tarascan-Apache  Handmade Flutes & Drums
Sept. 30 – Oct. 13 Debbie and Willy LaMere Shoshone Beadwork & Flint Knapping

Laramie Main Street Alliances Downtown Mural Project Naming Contest

Join the Laramie Main Street Alliance in celebrating the fourth year of the Laramie Mural Project!

Now through the end of June, take a selfie with your favorite mural and post it to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using hashtag #laramiemural for a chance to win mural themed merchandise!

Then, visit the artists painting behind Altitude (starting next week) and suggest a name for our new mural! You can post your suggestions to our Facebook page, “Downtown Laramie” or email them to downtownlaramie@gmail.com.

Suggestions will be compiled by the artists and the top three will be posted the first week of June with voting opened up to the public. The name will be announced at our dedication party for the mural on Friday, June 13th from 5 to 7 p.m. behind Altitude Chophouse, 320 S. 2nd Street.

For more information about the Laramie Mural Project, visit: www.laramiemuralproject.org or call 307-760-3355.

MADE IN WYOMING – Rawhide Studio

We are thrilled to team with the Wyoming Business Council to feature a Wyoming First business every week on our blog! Wyoming First is a program that promotes Wyoming member businesses. Visit their website (click here) to learn more about this service — and if you are a Wyoming business who’s not a member, be sure to inquire about membership! There are many benefits!

This week we are featuring Rawhide Studio of Cheyenne

David & Georgia Rowswell, Rawhide Studio @ Artful Hand Gallery, 301 E 1st Ave, Cheyenne, WY  82001

(307) 229-5183 rhsjewelry@gmail.com  www.rawhidestudio.com

David and Georgia Rowswell are the owners and designers behind Rawhide Studio, which began as a way to use small scraps of rawhide left from some of Dave Rowswell’s sculpture and chair webbing projects. Dave experimented with a few designs, made a piece for his wife Georgia and began showing his jewelry to several friends who encouraged him to keep at it. That was just last year! The designs and business has really taken off since then!

Dave and Georgia are both artists and have collaborated on many projects. Rawhide Studio is no different. Dave makes the jewelry and does most of the designing. Georgia wears many hats as the studio manager, photographer, online store developer and bookkeeper!

They welcome custom orders and will work with each customer to make their ideas a reality.

Rawhide Studio jewelry can be purchased locally at Wyoming Home, online at www.rawhidestudio.com, and by appointment at the studio, Artful Hand Gallery. On the website is also a listing of stores and galleries around the state and region. Their jewelry is handmade one at a time but still priced right at $19 to $48 dollars.

Rawhide Studio focuses on contemporary Western design, using a traditional material in a new way. Rawhide is very lightweight, durable, and translucent. Because it is a natural material, no two pieces are exactly alike! Own a piece and you’ll be ”Ahead of the Herd in Jewelry Style.”

 

 

 

C.J. Box, SHOTS FIRED: Stories from Joe Pickett Country

We’re always excited to see a new book from C.J. Box arrive in our mail! We announced the debut of Box’s newest Joe Pickett novel, STONE COLD, in March, and now there is a new book of short stories from Box heading to stores in July 2014! Read on for more info from Putnam, Box’s publisher…

 

From New York Times-bestselling author C.J.Box comes SHOTS FIRED:  Stories from Joe Pickett Country, a memorable collection of crime and suspense stories about the Wyoming Box knows so well – and the dark deeds and impulses that can be found there.

Over fourteen Joe Pickett novels and four stand-alone books, C.J. Box has been consistently hailed for his brilliant storytelling and his extraordinary skills at creating character, suspense, and a deep sense of place. All of those strengths can be found in the ten riveting stories – three of them written especially for this book and never before published – that make up SHOTS FIRED, which Putnam will publish on July 15 ($26.95).

In “One-Car Bridge,” one of four Joe Pickett stories, Joe goes up against a “just plain mean” landowner, with disastrous consequences. In “Shots Fired,” his investigation into the radio call of the title nearly ends up being the last thing he ever does. In “Pirates of Yellowstone,” two Eastern Europeans, strangers in a strange land, hear that American tough guys can be ruthless — but it’s not till they try strong-arming one that they discover the real truth of the statement. And in “Le Sauvage Noble,” the stranger is Jimmy Two Bulls, a Lakota who takes a job in the Wild West Show at Disneyland Paris and finds its perks to be pleasant – good wages, decent food and French women who find his “noble savage” act to be pretty exotic. That is, until he meets Sophie. Then Jimmy finds out what “savage” really means.

Together these ten stories prove again what BookPage recently remarked about the Joe Pickett novels:  “I would say that he is at the top of his form, but the top just keeps moving ever upward.”

C.J. Box is the author of fourteen Joe PIckett novels, including the March 2014 entry STONE COLD, along with four stand-alone thrillers (for St. Martin’s). He has won the Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe and Barry awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, and has been an Edgar Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, all for the Pickett novels. Box has also won the Edgar Award for best novel for his first stand-alone, Blue Heaven. His books have been translated into 25 languages.

A Wyoming native, C.J. Box has worked on a ranch and as a small-town newspaper reporter and editor. He lives outside Cheyenne with his wife Laurie and their four horses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MADE IN WYOMING: Maura Jacobsen Pottery

visit our website & read the winter issue – spring issue is coming soon!

We are thrilled to team with the Wyoming Business Council to feature a Wyoming First business every week on our blog! Wyoming First is a program that promotes Wyoming member businesses. Visit their website (click here) to learn more about this service — and if you are a Wyoming business who’s not a member, be sure to inquire about membership! There are many benefits!

This week we are featuring Maura Jacobsen Pottery of Cheyenne

Maura Jacobsen Cheyenne, WY 970-629-9478 maurajacobsen@yahoo.com www.maurajacobsen.com

Maura Jacobsen started her business in a two room cabin in Riverside, Wyoming after she graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1993. It has grown over the years to include her husband and three children, who run the shipping department. Maura’s pottery studio is located in Cheyenne where she produces pottery platters made out of vintage license plates.

Maura has lived in many small towns in Wyoming where she has promoted her love of art.  The business has grown over the years and she does demonstrations and classes for adults and children.  Maura is also on the Wyoming Arts Council Artist Roster.

There are two potter styles.  The style being produced the longest is all hand thrown and glazed stoneware for everyday use.  Fun patterns and sayings are a reflection of where Maura lives and the silly things her children say.  The second style was just started this last year; the vintage licenses plates. These become one-of-a-kind patchwork platters.  Maura receives license plates from around the county to be made into platters.  The love for the license plate platter had taken off.  Maura has found that a license plate holds fond memories and stories, and this product allows customers the opportunity to take the plate off the garage wall and share it with family members by having a functional piece of art made.

Custom orders are a large part of Maura’s business. Her products can be purchased through her website at www.maurajacobsen.com.  Maura’s pieces can be found at Wyoming Home in Cheyenne, Made Jackson Hole and at Wadoo in Old Town Fort Collins.  Check her web site for more locations as they are added. The prices range from $18 to $75.  

She is always looking to create a product people will love and something that brings a smile to their face when they see what has been created just for them.

 

ART IN WY: Sheridan, Cheyenne, Casper, Lander, Laramie

SHERIDAN:  SAGE COMMUNITY ART CENTER FEATURES STATES & WUERKER

DEAN STATES “SEVEN YEARS PLUS”:

The SAGE Exhibit Gallery features lifelong Sheridan area resident Dean States, whose exquisite colored pencil drawings will be exhibited during his “Seven Years Plus” show, which runs March 1st-31st.  An artist’s reception and gallery talk will be held March 13 at the Main Street SAGE Exhibit Gallery (at Sheridan College’s Main Street location), 171 N. Main, in Sheridan, WY.  As always, the public is invited and refreshments will be served.

More of States’ work can be seen at Dean States Studio, located at 637 W. Loucks in Sheridan.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jenny Wuerker

“PAINTING THE EXPANSE” Jenny Wuerker:

The Sagebrush Art Center’s Invitational Gallery hosts Buffalo, WY artist Jenny Wuerker’s exhibition, “Painting the Expanse,” March 10- April 12, 2014.  The reception and artist’s talk will be Friday, March 14th, from 5-7pm at the Art Center’s front gallery, located in the Historic Trail Depot (201 E. 5th Street) in Sheridan, Wyoming.  The public is welcome and refreshments will be available.  Wuerker says of her work, “I paint the expanse of the West, the iconic American landscape. Painting on large canvases, immersed in the elements, and battling the occasional rattlesnake is like the X-Sport of landscape painting. When I’m standing out in the landscape, the subject of my work is as much the act of painting outdoors as it is the landscape depicted.”

Sagebrush Gallery Hours are Monday-Saturday, 10-5pm.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

LARAMIE:  University of Wyoming Art Museum Celebrates Youth Art Month

CHEYENNE:  Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Garden Series

This great series of garden lectures is sponsored by the Laramie County Master Gardeners and  Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. All presentations begin at 1:00 pm and are held in the Cottonwood Room, Laramie County Library.

March 15, 2014, ‘Tuning up the Wyoming Garden’ with Wyoming Plant Company owner, Tom Heald.

April 26, 2014, ‘Seed, Soil, Sun, Water: all you need to grow food in the west’ with high altitude food growing teachers and sustainable greenhouse designers, Penn & Cord Parmenter.

These events often sell out. Advance purchase of tickets is highly recommended. Tickets are $15 per lecture and are available on the web (up to 2 hours prior to the lecture) at Brown Paper Tickets (Keyword: Gardening with Altitude) or at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens weekdays (cash or check); contact Darcee Snider 307−637−6458 for more info.

art by Dalton Schneider

LANDER:  Lander Art Museum Celebrates Youth Art Month in March

In celebration of March’s Youth Art Month, the Lander Art Center hosts the Lander Valley High School and Middle School Select Art Show on display now until Saturday, March 29th. The exhibition consists of select works by local youth artists in a wide range of art mediums from drawing, painting, and printmaking to sculpture, ceramics and digital art.

This artwork showcases the incredible skill and creative expression of young students. Their work is a reminder of the freshness art can embody and be an inspiration to us all. Students are lead by art instructors Jason Dayton, Shawna Pickenpaugh, and Melissa Scherr-Bender.

Lander Art Center openings are free and open to the public. Thank you to this year’s exhibition sponsors Lander Valley Education Foundation and John P. Shade, an Edward Jones financial adviser.

Grace Flint

Reb Lindwurm

Braden Meyer

 

CASPER:  The Nicolaysen Art Museum Features Michael Copeland

 

 

 

Wilson, WY’s Answer to the Winter Doldrums – by Liberty Lausterer

visit our website & read the current issue — Sprinter issue (Spring + Winter) will be coming before long!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberty Lausterer, our guest blogger, is back with another look at life in Wyoming from a new resident’s eyes. We greatly appreciate learning what our state looks & learns like to someone new – always keeps the perspective fresh!

 

Wilson, Wyoming’s Answer to the Winter Doldrums

by Liberty Lausterer

As a newcomer to Wyoming I have paid close attention when someone tells me what they do to make it through these long, cold winter months. The advice has been wide and varied: take up a winter sport, learn a new hobby like knitting, take full advantage of your Netflix membership, read those books that have been on your list for eons, and be sure to take a trip to a warmer climate in April or May (a.k.a. “Get the hell out of Dodge.”). This is great advice but you may have noticed that many of these and other winter activities are solitary ones. In a sparsely populated state that is beset by hostile weather for much of the year, how does one keep from growing lonely and isolated? Where do you go in subzero temperatures to connect with other people?

Wilson, Wyoming’s answer to the winter doldrums is the Stagecoach Bar. Over the past seventy years the Stagecoach Bar has been that rare place where people from all walks of life are brought together by music and dancing. It’s the place people could stay connected to each other through snow and ice, despite frigid temps and unrelenting winds. On any given Sunday evening one can see wranglers, hippies, bikers, cowboys, ski bums, millionaires, dudes, and curmudgeons on the dance floor together. The story of how a bar became the glue that holds together an unlikely mix of people has been told by filmmaker Jennifer Tennican in her documentary “The Stagecoach Bar: An American Crossroads.”

If you are interested to learn how the history of a bar could mirror the history of an entire region (Jackson Hole) and become a powerful unifying force, Tennican’s film is worth watching. But, more importantly, if you long for an experience of authentic community in your neck of the woods, then this film will provide inspiration and a reason to head to your local watering hole.

Tennican’s documentary will be screened at the Center for the Arts in Jackson on March 14th and the WYO Theater in Sheridan on May 24th.  It will also air on Wyoming PBS in May, and on dozens of other PBS stations across the country.

Valentine’s Day Fun in WY – Singing Flowers in Laramie, Wintry Fun in Green River…

Laramie’s Fresh Flower Fantasy Brings Harmony to V-Day

In Laramie and looking for something fun & unique for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day? Fresh Flower Fantasy offers singing valentines! Have your beautiful roses or other flowers delivered by some very talented musicians – and you can even name your tune! Delivery charges are tiered, from the non-musical variety to a selection from the list below…or add your own for just a little extra! Details — call 307-742-7616!
A list of the selections you can choose…or name your tune for just a little extra: 
“1, 2, 3, 4” by the Plain White T’s — “It Only Takes a Moment” from the musical Hello, Dolly — “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz — “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars — “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri — “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain — “Mine” by Taylor Swift — “Lucky” by Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz (duet only) — “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” duet originally by Elvis — Duets or solos available, unless marked otherwise!
 

Green River — 2014 Crystal Classic Winter Festival Offers Wintry Fun, Food & Heat for the Whole Family! Say wha?! Read on for more…

Be sure to check our the Crystal Classic Winter Festival in Green River, where you can enjoy fun of the chilly — and hot — variety… Confused? Here’s a list of what you can enjoy:  ice carving competitions — Snow Boot Softball Tourney – 5K Walk/Run — fireworks at Expedition Island — ice bar — Ice Cube Hunt — soup cook off & s’mores stations — live music to heat you up… just to name a few activities! Check out the Sweetwater County Tourism website for a full schedule of events – and head to Green River to get your winter adventure on!

C.J. Box Releases “Stone Cold”

visit our website & read the current issue

 

I was thrilled to receive my copy of C.J. Box’s newest book, Stone Cold, published by Putnam. The 14th novel in Box’s acclaimed series about Wyoming game Joe Pickett, will publish on March 11. C.J. Box is a long-time resident of Wyoming – I was beyond thrilled to interview him for our Sprinter 2012 issue of WLM! A graduate of Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, and a reporter for the Saratoga Sun, C.J. Box discusses topics that are sympathetic to the west and Wyoming. “My goal is that with every book, readers are exposed to different points of view on controversial issues that they may not have known before,” Box said during our 2012 interview.

Critics call Box’s 2013 national bestseller Breaking Point “explosive” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel), “superlative” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer), “thrilling” (Publishers Weekly) and “exceptionally well-told” (USA Today).  Stone Cold puts Joe Pickett in the middle of an investigation of a mysterious new resident…

“In a distant part of Wyoming, a very rich stranger has settled in and built a virtual fortress for himself and his rather menacing staff. Located in the remote Black Hills of Wyoming, this grand estate poses a number of mysteries… Joe Picket, still officially a game warden, but now mostly a troubleshooter for Wyoming’s controversial Governor Rulon, is assigned to find out what the about the mystery man is. But as Joe investigates,  he soon realizes there is more to the situation than he’d anticipated…” Putnam Publishers

Loved by readers across Wyoming, the nation and world, C.J. Box continues to capture and hold readers’ attention through his suspenseful stories. Be sure to reserve your copy of Stone Cold at your favorite store!

 

 

 

“Mama, Rock Me Like a Wagon Wheel…”

Thanks to our contributing blogger, Liberty Lausterer, for a look into square dancing! Thought of as country past times, square dancing and line dancing can be found throughout Wyoming. Liberty takes a look into the art of square dancing…

by Liberty Lausterer

Square Dancing Caller to Dancers:

“Bow to your partner. Corner too. Circle left. Heads up to the center and back. Sides, Grand Square. Turn a corner. California Twirl. Dosados and swing your partner!”

Old Crow Medicine Show

If this square dancing speak reads a little like a foreign language, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Up until two months ago I had no idea what most of these calls meant. But when we moved to Wyoming it seemed like the perfect way to embrace the west. Plus the Quadra Dangle in Laramie is just a really neat space, and piece of Union Pacific Railroad history in Wyoming. And when the caller played Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” Mumford and Sons, Stevie Wonder, and Zumba music during the open house I was all in.

Next month my husband and I will complete our three months of Mainstream Lessons. Mainstream means we can literally travel anywhere in the world and dance the same exact calls we dance in Wyoming. But that’s not even the best part. What is truly amazing about square dancing is that you get to embrace a piece of western culture, and you get to embrace your partner (not to mention lots of other people’s partners).

A fast-paced scene at Laramie’s Quadra Dangle, courtesy Liberty Lausterer

I happen to dance in Laramie, but there are clubs all over the state. The Quadra Dangle will offer another session of lessons in January. So rock me mama like a wagon wheel!