Vision Magazine March 15, 2018

isio n V MAGAZINE

YOUR FREE ENTERTAINM

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SPOTLIGHT: RAIR JULIE ALPERT

ALSO INSIDE: BOWL FOR KIDS’ SAKE, CALENDAR, ENMU-R FOUNDATION GOLF TOURNAMENT, NATURE, NEW MEXICO’S GOT TALENT, FROM THE VAULT, HISTORY, ‘PETER PAN,’ POPPY, SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO TEXTILE TRAIL, S.E. SMITH’S ‘WRONG TURN TO ROSWELL AND LOOKING UP

Content

Roswell Daily Record’s

Spotlight: RAiR Julie Alpert

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Art Southeast New Mexico Textile Trail

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From the Vault: ‘Untitled (Three Faces with Heart)’

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Calendar

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Culture ENMU-R Foundation golf tournament

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Bowl for Kids’ Sake

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History 15

Music Poppy: A program of Pop

Publisher: Barbara Beck Vision Editor: Christina Stock Copy Editor: Misty Choy Ad Design: Sandra Martinez Columnists: Jeff Beauchamp, Donald Burleson, Nancy Dunn, Trevier Gonzalez, S.E. Smith, Sara Woodbury Photographer: Charity Czechorski, Trevier Gonzalez Get in touch with us online Facebook: PecosVisionMagazine Twitter: twitter.com/PecosVision Pinterest: pinterest.com/VisionMagazine Email: vision@rdrnews.com www: rdrnews.com/vision-magazine For advertising information, call 622-7710

New Mexico’s Got Talent

‘Wicked Women of New Mexico’

Thursday, March 15, 2018 Volume 23, Issue 3

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Nature

Correspondence: Vision Magazine welcomes correspondence, constructive criticism and suggestions for future topics. Mail correspondence to Vision Magazine, P.O. Drawer 1897, Roswell, N.M. 88202-1897 or vision@rdrnews.com Submissions: Call 622-7710, ext. 309, for writers’ guidelines.

Vision Magazine is not responsible for loss or damage to unsolicited materials.

Vision Magazine is published once a month at 2301 N. Main St., Roswell, N.M. The contents of the publication are Copyright 2018 by the Roswell Daily Record and may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

One copy of each edition is provided to 13,000 weekday subscribers to the Roswell Daily Record in the third Thursday newspaper of each month.

An additional 3,000 to 5,000 copies are made available free of charge to county residents and visitors and select site newsstands, and direct mailed to non-subscribers in the retail trade zone.

Subscriptions are available by mail for $2 a month or free through subscription to the Roswell Daily Record. The Roswell Daily Record and Vision Magazine are represented nationally by Paper Companies Inc.

Damselflies 5 Theater ‘Peter Pan’

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Story S.E. Smith’s ‘Wrong Turn to Roswell’

UFOlogy Looking Up

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On The Cover Charity Czechorski Photo From left: Summer Souza and Robin Haynes

Way Way Off-Broadway “Peter Pan”

Submitted Photo Participants of the 2017 Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Foundation golf tournament at the beginning of the tournament. According to Craig Collins, foundation coordinator, 24 teams with 96 golfers participated last year.

Tournament proceeds from the 24 teams and sponsorships totaled approximately $11,772. “We hope to surpass the funds raised from last year,” Collins said.

Culture

training at the Roswell campus.

According to Steve Henderson, foundation board president, ENMU-R operates primarily through state funding, but escalating enrollment and facilities maintenance demands strain the university’s resources and services.

“Additional financial support is needed to keep our community university strong,” Henderson said. “The foundation wants to remind residents of the great work that is taking place right here in our community.”

With its open admissions policy, ENMU-R accepts all students and prepares them for advanced degrees, giving them the skills and training necessary to find employment.

Many ENMU-R students are adults returning to college with families

to support. Even with Pell Grants, student loans and other forms of financial aid, many of them have a difficult time paying for college.

Foundation scholarships often mean these students can continue their education and become productive citizens.

Henderson said donors to the foundation can leave a legacy that will benefit local students for years to come.

To sign up a team, become a sponsor or donate to the foundation, call Craig Collins at 575-624-7304 or email craig.collins@roswell. enmu.edu. Forms are also located on the ENMU-R website roswell.enmu.edu under About/Foundation/Golf Tournament 2018.

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ENMU-R Foundation golf tournament

The Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Foundation to hold its 15th annual golf tournament

By Christina Stock Vision Editor olfers in Roswell — whether they are pros or playing for the joy of it — have a chance to play this spring and at the same time, they support education and students.

The Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Foundation holds its 15th annual golf tournament on April 14 at the New Mexico Military Institute Golf Course, 201 W. 19th St. Tee time will be at 8 a.m.

The registration fee for the four-person team scramble tournament includes breakfast, lunch, green fees, carts

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and range balls. Teams will be entered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The top three teams will receive cash prizes: $100 per player for first place; $75 per player for second place; and $50 per player for third place. Other prizes will be presented to players who make the longest drive and get closest to the pin. Additional prize drawings will also be held with items from local businesses.

Golf is one of the oldest and most enjoyed sports in the world and everybody, small and tall can be excellent at

it. For this tournament, however, teams should have a minimum total handicap of 40.

Proceeds from the golf tournament will benefit ENMU-R Foundation’s General Excellence Fund.

The foundation exists to generate support for ENMU-R’s goal of providing a superior, affordable education to all students. Gifts to the foundation support programs and activities not funded through traditional sources. The foundation provides scholarships also and other financial assistance to support education and

Vision Magazine |

Thursday, March 15, 2018

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First

United Methodist Church 200 N. Pennsylvania

Roswell, NM fumc-roswell.org

(575) 622-1881 Christina Stock Photo Julie Alpert is surrounded by her installation at her studio on the Roswell Artist-in-Residence compound. The fragile installation is to be moved to the Roswell Museum and Art Center for her exhibit.

Come and Join Us on Saturday, March 24th, at 4PM

FOOD! GAMES! STORIES! MUSIC! A different way to have church, especially for kids!

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Spotlight

Finishing Touches

Roswell Artist-in-Residence Julie Alpert’s exhibit shows an illusionistic approach resembling a three-dimensional pop-up book with influences of the artist’s past, enmeshed with the colors of New Mexico.

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

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he public is invited on March 16 at 5:30 p.m. to the Roswell Museum and Art Center, 100 W. 11th St., for a free lecture by Roswell Artist-in-Residence Julie Alpert about her new exhibit Finishing Touches. An opening reception follows her lecture.

There is nothing more intimate and personal than stepping into the studio of an artist.

Exhibits are planned, organized and held to a gallery’s or museum’s standards and — for risky installments — depend on the institution’s insurance. The studio of a Roswell Artist-in-Residence portraits a moment in time,

a year in Roswell, with glimpses of the artist’s character and soul.

These artists are given the gift of time, as Bill Anderson named the year given to the artists that are part of the RAiR program.

When you step into Alpert’s studio your eye catches on to her installations where she experiments with the effects of light and shadow of her craft compositions. It is airy control, a feminine order of material, colors and — as she is working on the last details for her upcoming exhibit — floating and swaying pieces of bows and sheets of carefully cut brown craft paper.

“You can tell from the studio, it is pretty

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organized. You mimic the behavior you grew up with. And it’s all you know, even if you are aware of it, there are certain things you can do or not like about it, you’re stuck with it,” Alpert said and laughed.

Born and raised in the Washington D.C. suburbs, Alpert is an installation artist and painter.

She uses traditional art supplies in combination with everyday materials to explore decoration, disappointment, femininity, nostalgia and visual confusion.

Alpert has a Bachelor of the Arts degree in painting from the University of Maryland and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Washington.

She is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Award, two MacDowell Colony Fellowships, a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship, two Artist Trust GAP grants, an Artist Trust Fellowship, The New Foundation Residency Program Grant and was a finalist for the 2013 Neddy Awards. In 2015, she was commissioned by the inaugural Seattle Art Fair to create a 54-foot installation at MadArt Studio.

She is a 2017-2018 Roswell Artist-in-Residence and took part in the residency’s 50th anniversary last year.

Alpert came to the RAiR program from Seattle. “I am not ready to go back,” she said. “I actually just got a Skype call with some friends in Seattle last night, and they just looked tired and depressed because it’s that time of year where it’s rained for six months. I love the city but it’s really been nice to be in a sunny, warmer dry climate.”

Asked how Alpert found out about the RAiR program, she said, “I had a friend of a friend attend the program about four years ago, so I was emailing her and she gave me a little bit of information.

“I really didn’t know anything other than what was provided on the website, and I was poking around on Instagram, seeing what people posted about it.

My husband, he is also an artist — not on the grant — he is here as a spouse artist. We were both just itching to get out of Seattle. Not forever, but to just have a little adventure for a year or two, so we were applying to a bunch of different programs,” Alpert said.

As a child, Alpert had the chance to visit the museums in Washington D.C., which influenced her to become an artist subconsciously. “There was access to all those free museums with amazing collections. I grew up as an elementary school child going on field trips to all those different museums.

“I think just getting the exposure and I was not exactly knowing what I was looking at, but just to be immersed in it all throughout my childhood and teenage years and college even, because I went to college in that area. I think it is deepdown in there somewhere,” Alpert said and pointed at herself.

Alpert’s creativity was nourished at home a s w e l l. H e r m o th e r had studied art education and taught until she had children. “On sick days or on weekends we were always making things,” Alpert said.

“Sewing stuffed animals and making clothing.

My sister and I, we had a video camera, so we would write plays and act them out, write soap operas — we had just a very creative upbringing. It was fun. Also art camp and theater camp, ballet — I was always more drawn to the arts than my sister Jennifer was.”

Like most beginning artists have to, Alpert had to work different jobs after getting her Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the University in Maryland. Her father encouraged her to continue her education and she achieved her graduate degree in painting, which brought her to Seattle where she see

Alpert

on page

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Alpert

Continued from Page 4 met her husband Andy Arkley.

From there, her career as an artist took off, often collaborating with her husband on installations that combines their individual art style.

“He works with wood mostly and paint. He is a musician, animator, web designer. He uses all those skills and puts them all together.

They are also installation-based, but he uses projection and music, they got buttons and you can interact with them. We both do largescale colorful installations. Very theatrical,” Alpert said.

One part of Alpert’s installation Finishing Touches at the RMAC

is called “Neatly Packaged.” It includes repetitive free-swinging and painted bows that are repeated 14 times additionally to well-planned lighting shadowing the bows. “There is a whole section of bows. It is just interesting to me what kind of range I can get out of a single element,” Alpert said.

Alpert’s installation is controlled and planned meticulously down to the last element. Alpert recalls the home of her mother’s mother and their home, which she bases her need for control of her art on. “They were very simple and pragmatic, everything was protected, the couches had plastic couch covers over them,” she said. “I just thought it is so funny that you

would buy a thing like a couch, which is made for comfort and then you protect it so that’s very uncomfortable and then what do you do with it at the end of your life or when it’s run its course.

What do you do with it?”

Other inspiration comes from her father’s side of the family. “I think about my dad’s parents household and my dad’s parents were collectors,” Alpert said.

“They collected all kinds of art, from lowbrow like carousel horses and roulette wheels all the way up to a Picasso drawing and a Dali drawing.

“This thing that I realize I am doing in my work is, I am rehashing or recreating aspects of these spaces that I spent time in as a child. Obviously, I wasn’t growing

up in a space that was decorated like this (her installation Finishing Touches), but there are certain surreal spaces, like pulling elements that stuck with me in my cells. On a cellular level it’s not even stuff — it is very subconscious. I don’t approach any of my projects with a concept. I am very action-driven so I just start to make something. It is textures and surfaces and color and staying entertained while making this. It’s like I am discovering and it’s really fun and sounds nice. It’s really sensory. At the end I am having this weird snapshot of whatever sorts of things are laying under my subconscious,” Alpert said and laughed.

“When I make my work, I do consider an

audience. If it is not entertaining me while I am making it, then I know it’s not going to entertain people who come to see it,” Alpert said.

“I really want people to have a positive experience. I want them to feel that they can access the work and that they don’t have to know anything about art or the history of art to be able to enjoy it. Because that is how I enjoy it when I look at art. I usually don’t read the descriptions, I stay in front of it and I feel what I feel. I just want people to have a feeling experience,” Alpert said.

Alpert will miss being in Roswell. “I have loved living on this property (RAiR grounds) and watching the sunsets. We have

Nature

Damselflies: Don’t be fooled by the name

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ince spring is rapidly approaching and all manner of insects will be on the move, I thought it would be a good time to share some insights into the lesser-known cousin of the dragonfly. Quite often when we see an insect that looks like a dragonfly, the instinct is just to call it one, but there is another group of closely related insects: damselflies.

Much of the biology and habitat requirements overlap between dragonflies and damselflies, but there are some differences. Damselflies are typically smaller than dragonflies with slender bodies. The eyes of damselflies fit their body and tend to be smaller and can have

a slight space between each set of eyes.

The easiest way to tell the difference between damselflies and dragonflies is their wings: both sets of damselfly wings are the same size and when they land damselflies fold their wings above their bodies; dragonflies typically have a larger set of wings — usually the bottom set — and when they land, they hold their wings perpendicular to their bodies.

But don’t be fooled by the smaller size and name; damselflies, much like dragonflies, are voracious predators of the sky and water. To understand the predatory nature of damselflies, it’s best to explain their lifecycle. After mating with a male dam-

Submitted Photo A mature Damselfly with the wings folded. selfly, female damselflies deposit their eggs in either slow moving water or in aquatic vegetation. The eggs hatch into damselfly nymphs, which are fully aquatic.

The nymphs are small eating machines with three sets of gills near

their tail so they can live in water. Another amazing fact about damselfly nymphs is how they eat: They have a hinged lower jaw (labium) that rockets out and impales any prey the nymph finds.

Nymphs can stay in

By Jeff Beauchamp Wildlife Biologist

their aquatic stage for up to a year and go through a dozen molts — each time getting a little larger. After the last molt, nymphs have pre-wings or wing pads, and they are ready to transform into the damselflies we typically see flying around our garden. The nymphs crawl out of the water onto nearby vegetation and in a few hours transform into adult damselflies.

Adult damselflies, much like their younger selves, predate on anything they can catch.

One tasty prey item of damselflies is everyone’s favorite insect — the mosquito. Both damselfly nymphs and adult damselflies find mosquitoes and their larvae particularly tasty.

So the next time you are

Vision Magazine |

this great corner patio, the sun sets right there.

We have just been following it since we got here,” she said.

“It is such a different landscape than what I am used to. It is beautiful, it really has grown on me and we are sad to be leaving. I’d love to extend it. Usually they have space at the old property, but they don’t have anything available,” Alpert said.

To follow the career of Alpert, visit juliealpert.com and instagram. com/julie_alpert/. For more information about RMAC events and the RAiR program, visit roswell-nm.gov/308/Roswell-Museum-Art-Center or rair.org.

outside and see a damselfly zipping past you, be grateful, because it might be hunting a mosquito.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

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Theater

A timeless story of adventure

Way Way Off-Broadway brings the classic musical “Peter Pan” to stage

By Christina Stock Vision Editor oaring to iconic songs, such as “I’m Flying,” “I’ve Gotta Crow” and of course, “I Won’t Grow Up,” the eternally young boy Peter Pan and his band of fearless lost boys inspire the hearts and minds of children and adults who dream of adventures, pirates, mermaids and brave Indians since 1954.

Way Way Off-Broadway brings the Tony Award-winning original musical “Peter Pan” to stage at Eastern New Mexico Performing Arts Center.

The story of Peter Pan was later picked up by Disney and turned to an animated movie. However, the original Broadway production WWOB is producing is not only full of music, but has much more details, excitement and a completely different ending than the movie.

“Peter Pan” is the perfect family-friendly show for children and those who still kept their inner child alive.

It all begins when Peter Pan and his mischievous fairy, Tinkerbell, visit the nursery of the Darling children late one night. Peter crashes through the nursery trying to catch his shadow that got away from him and the children wake up. Some pixie dust sprinkles from a grouchy Tinkerbell and Peter takes the children on a magical journey across the stars that none of them

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will ever forget.

In the adventure of a lifetime, the travelers come face-to-face with a ticking crocodile, a fierce Indian tribe, a band of bungling pirates and, of course, the villainous Captain Hook, arch-enemy of Peter Pan. This musical brings the challenge of five flying children. ZFX from Kentucky, who had helped WWOB with “Mary Poppins,” were hired to help with the flying effects, installation and training.

Tony Souza, who is in charge of the stage and buildings had help early on.

“With my schedule it’s kind of hit and miss (being able to attend the rehearsals) because of the firefighting schedule and teaching (emergency medical technician),” he said. “That being said, I like to conserve my time off for later in the production process, closer to the actual performances,” Souza said.

Gail Dixon-Willden stepped in helping Summer Souza during the rehearsals.

“She’s run theater companies before,” Tony Souza said. “I trust her to go and take care of the ‘baby’ while I am busy. Multi-tasking is a bad idea.

We sat down and chatted during the casting process and even before that, about the direction we want it to go.

The show is so iconic and there is a lot of expectation in certain performanc-

6 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, March 15, 2018

Charity Czechorski Photo Peter Pan (Summer Souza) is inviting the Darling children, Wendy (Sadie Slusher), John (Jason Graff) and Michael (Eric Souza), to the island where the Lost Boys live. es that we got on the same page and then I turned it over to her the days that I wasn’t here. She’d report back to me” “When I was in Farmington, I established two theater companies in high schools,” Dixon-Willden said. “I taught high school for 14 years. Then I worked for the city of Farmington and Sandstone Productions and helped turn that around into a musical theater where we hired professional actors to come in during the summer and cast along with local talent. I did summer stock with them for five years and then we moved to Raton, New Mexico. I took over the Kaleidoscope Players, a professional theater. I was the artistic director for the Santa Fe Trail Performing Arts. That was mostly children’s theater and community theater. We did a plethora of productions. I have directed over 120 shows.”

Dixon-Willden said she had only positive experiences when she started working with WWOB. “It has been fabulous working in a company where the talent is not only deep, but the production staff great.

They got it all. I am used to working in companies where I tended to be a one-woman show with a costumer, a stage manager, and that was it. Coming here (WWOB) and having a full staff has just been fabulous. I haven’t done that in a long, long time,” Dix-

on-Willden said.

Asked about what brought her to Roswell, Dixon-Willden said, “We (her family) moved here in 2013. I took a hiatus because my son (Spencer Willden) got really interested in theater and had thought about it. He was in junior high at that time and I thought it was important for him to have his independence and he didn’t need Mama.

As a director’s son and — I know your (Souza’s) kids have probably some of this — there is that stigma, ‘Well, he is cast because he is the son.’ That is not true, in fact, children of directors, they have a harder time; our kids have to be so much better.

“Now he’s a junior in high school.

This last summer he asked me if I would get involved again. It had to come from him because I needed him to want me to be there. It has made us even closer. It has been a fabulous time for us.

It has been just a dream working with him as a young man now as opposed to a child,” Dixon-Willden said.

Spencer Willden is 16 years old today. He has performed with WWOB since his first role in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” several years ago.

In “Peter Pan,” Willden plays one of the twins who belongs to the Lost Boys.

Asked about his role, Willden said, “I see

Peter Pan

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Calendar

Roswell March 15 Rise with Roswell The Roswell Chamber of Commerce is hosting the annual Rise With Roswell 2018 Agriculture breakfast at the Farm Bureau building at the Eastern New Mexico Fairgrounds (south entrance on Southeast Main Street), from 6 to 8 a.m. Guest speaker is inspirational cowgirl Amberley Snyder. RSVP at 575-623-5695.

Roswell March 16 Pikasso The Kid: Release Party Celebrate the release of Pikasso The Kid’s latest project “My Name Is Journey” at The Unity Center, 108 E. Balnd St., at 6 p.m.

Donate any amount to enter and get a free “My Name Is Journey” wristband. With performances by: Pikasso The Kid, Psycadellic, Cray-Dose, Torch, BeastBoii & Dope Dylan and EL-SD.

Roswell March 16 Celebration party for Charlie’s Angels Join The Roswell Chamber of Commerce and The Roswell Chamber of Commerce Redcoats along with Domino’s Pizza, 131 W. Second St., from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., for the public celebration to congratulate the Charlie’s Angels Dance Team and their National Championship title.

There will be free pizza provided by Domino’s Pizza. For more information, call 575-623-5695.

Art ~ Classifieds Literature: Author SCIENCE FICTION Romance doesn’t come in just one flavor. S.E. Smith, New York Times/USA TODAY Bestselling Author has it all.

Action/Adventure/ Suspense/Romance http://sesmithfl.com

Hobbs March 16 to 18 Auditions: “9 to 5 A Musical” The Community Players of Hobbs are holding auditions for the comedy musical “9 to 5 A Musical.” at the Western heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame, 5317 N. Lovington Hwy. For more information, visit communityplayersofhobbs.com or call 575-393-0676.

Hobbs March 17 An Irish Festival The Maciolek School of Dance presents “An Irish

Music: Miscellaneous KEEPING MUSIC in the air, www.waitforwhat.com Available for your private parties and events.

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Festival” at the Tydings Auditorium, 800 N. Jefferson St., at 7 p.m., with more than 70 Irish tap dancers from 4th grade to 12th.

Their quick steps keep the audience entertained while dancing to the music of “Lord of the Dance,” “Spirit of the Dance,” “Celtic Rhythms.” Tickets are available at Center of the Arts, Shoe Choo Train and the Maciolek School of Dance, 1849 N. Jefferson st.. For more information, call 575-393-5880.

Roswell March 17 Get Lucky Chaves County United Way of Chaves County is hosting Get Lucky Chaves County at the new Sale Arena build-

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, March 17, 2018

| 7

Music

Poppy: A program of Pop

There are many things that Poppy is, and “normal” is definetely far from it

By Trevier Gonzalez Roswell Daily Record

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ultivated by all that is the internet, a “Poppy” can be best described as a mysterious YouTuber who has also crafted a career as a peculiar pop singer with songs fixated on aspects of the internet, technology and a touch of self-awareness.

Poppy herself is certainly an interesting facet of the internet, and her music is no exception.

Although she does not have a particular genre, her music has been associated with ambient, synth-pop and J-pop — which might be obvious from one of her singles, “Moshi Moshi.”

Her debut studio album, Poppy.Computer, which also acts as a website, was released Oct. 6, 2017 and includ-

ed songs ranging from “I’m Poppy” to “Computer Boy,” “Software Upgrade,” and “Pop Music.”

According to one of Poppy’s staff members, her upcoming album is supposed to include influences from another particular, and almost retro genre, vaporwave.

According to Know Your Meme, vaporwave is known for its use of Japanese characters in song titles, ‘80s smooth jazz and Muzak samples that have had its pitch and length manipulated.

The website also said vaporwave has often been described as a satire of corporate and consumerist culture and modern capitalism, specifically as a critique of mainstream Electronic

Dance Music.

Poppy’s first video on YouTube, “Poppy Eats Cotton Candy,” was released Nov. 4, 2014, and has garnered 2.5 million views as of March 2018. Unsurprisingly enough, the video depicts a young Poppy eating cotton candy, and literally nothing else.

Her YouTube channel continues to feature more random topics or questions with videos like, “Gravity,” “What Are Shoes,” “Umbrella,” “Wear a Carrot,” “My Phone is My Connection.” Many of her videos also include a recurring character named “Charlotte,” who is a talking mannequin.

Full disclosure, there is also an instance where Poppy interviews a basil plant, which surprisingly feels pretty natural.

Poppy’s videos continued steadily, gradually obtaining more of an audience and the criticism from other YouTubers and raising plenty of headlines.

Stepping away from her former alias, “That Poppy,” “Poppy” herself takes a more obscure stance, much like her YouTube personality.

In October 2017, Poppy began the Poppy.

Computer tour from Van-

700 A W. Hobbs Street Roswell, NM 88203

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Trevier Gonzalez Photo Poppy lifts her hand to her ear to listen to the many responses from her fans during her tour for her debut studio album, Poppy.Computer, at Meow Wolf Feb. 13. couver, Canada and has since made appearances at major American cities like Seattle, Portland, Denver, Atlanta, and even New Mexico’s Santa Fe. Poppy was accompanied with fellow musician Titanic Sinclair while on tour.

Almost naturally, the immersive art installation Meow Wolf hosted Poppy Feb. 13 this past year. Poppy’s New Mexican fanbase arrived in full-force, some even dressing in her image.

Her appeal is not limited to children or adults, however, this didn’t stop the constant instances of confusion and amusement written on parents’ faces who chose to accompany their child.

John Feins, Meow Wolf’s director of marketing, explained that even though the art installation had been temporarily closed for new additions before the performance, Poppy’s Santa Fe appearance — and

first time to New Mexico — was not to be understated.

“The Poppy show was our grand reopening of sorts, even though the exhibition itself reopened in full the next day,” Feins said. “This was a sold-out event — that meant a lot to many people and was a really fun and vibrant night.

“We’re happiest when we’re interacting with people in our space, so being closed for two weeks was tough, even though we were being highly creative — it’s always about having people over.”

Feins said Meow Wolf would welcome Poppy any time if she continues to tour in the future and that the art installation will continue to book a range of unique and talented musicians.

“Many of whom could easily play larger venues,” he said. “Look out for an awesome summer to come, but plenty in the

meantime too.”

Feins added that the response to the new and improved areas of the exhibition, the new lineup of shows, the new cafe and bar Float, and the new programming has been phenomenal.

“We are especially stoked when fellow New Mexicans from all around the state come to see us and we welcome everyone from Roswell to discover House of Eternal Return and our music scene for themselves,” he said. “We’ll have some news on some new discounted times for New Mexico residents only very soon.”

It can be difficult to define who or what Poppy might be, but in comparison to other artists, perhaps the aspects of her mysterious and inquisitive spirit is what makes her “pop.”

‘Wrong Turn to Roswell’

Episode 5: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

By S.E. Smith Continued from the February edition of the Vision Magazine. r. Herbert “Herb” Lancer shook his head and mumbled under his breath as he walked to his car in the nearly deserted parking lot of the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell campus. The university was in between sessions so the campus, located on the former Walker Air Force Base, was devoid of the usual influx of staff and students.

Herb grumbled when he dropped his notebook and it opened, the pages flapping in the hot breeze. Scribbled notes, illustrations and old news articles — taped to the pages — looked like a moving picture as the wind quickly fanned them.

“Crazy ... They think I’m crazy. I’ll show them,” Herb muttered under his breath as he awkwardly bent down to pick up the notebook. “I’ll show every one of them here and at SETI that I’m not crazy.”

He snapped the notebook closed and straightened as a fierce gust of wind nearly sent him sprawling on the pavement. Clutching the notebook to his chest with one hand and grabbing at his hat with the other, he bowed his head and turned when he was peppered with a sharp spray of granules.

A flash of white caught his attention and he looked up.

A perfectly smooth, oval-shaped object was clearly visible for a brief second. Herb released his grip on

D

his hat, uncaring that it went tumbling across the parking lot. His eyes remained fixed on the shiny object that vanished as quickly as it appeared. The only clue that he didn’t hallucinate was the line of the newly put up billboards that had a round “bite” taken out of the center of each one.

He stood in the parking lot for nearly 10 minutes before he felt the uncomfortable dampness of sweat running down his back and the beginning throb of a headache from the sun beating down on his bare scalp. Glancing around, he saw his light gray Fedora leaning against the front passenger tire of his old Ford.

He hurried as fast as his 68-year-old legs could go to catch his hat before the wind took it again. He groaned when his knees protested bending down twice in such a short span of time. Placing the hat on his head, he pulled his car keys out and unlocked the door.

He pulled the door open and slid in, wincing at the hot seat.

He muttered a curse when he dropped his keys on the floorboard.

Throwing the notebook onto the passenger seat, he fumbled for the keys.

With a sigh, he found them and inserted them into the ignition. A burst of super-heated air from the vents hit him. He groped for the window buttons, breathing a sigh of relief when they lowered. He wasted another precious second fastening his seatbelt.

He raised the windows

when the air in the vents began to cool. Herb stared up at the line of billboards before he grabbed the gearshift with a trembling hand and placed it into drive.

It was real, what he had seen was real. Now all he had to do was find it and prove that he wasn’t crazy.

“I’m not crazy,” he muttered as he pulled out of the parking space.

“I’ll prove to everyone that I’m not.”

*.*.* “I’m not telling them,” Iron stated, folding his arms and shaking his head.

“Well, I’m not telling them!” Carbon retorted, staring down at the creatures sitting on the ground outside of their spaceship. “You’re already grounded for life. What is a few more years?” she added, wondering how she was going to get Rover One back inside.

“I get grounded all the time. I’m on at least my sixth life term,” Matt said, pulling the helmet off of his head. “Are you two aliens? Are you going to, like, probe us? Can I see inside your spaceship?”

“Matt, shut up!” Alan hissed, turning his head when Rover One’s cold metal tongue reached out to his open mouth.

Matt looked at Alan with a confused frown.

“What? Don’t you want to see inside? I bet it is way cooler than old man Yeller’s junk store,” he said in excitement, pushing up off the ground.

“Don’t look at them, Carbon. Maybe they won’t think we are here if we don’t talk to them or look at them,” Iron suggested, looking to the side, up at the sky and down at the platform.

Carbon looked at her brother and shook her head. “I can’t believe

we were on the same shelf together, much less manufactured at the same time and place.

The inspectors must have bypassed you,” she declared, placing her hands on her hips.

Turning, she looked down at the two boys staring up at them. Both were strange looking and obviously not created by the same manufacturer. One was standing on two legs and was wearing clothing similar to her and Iron’s — if she took into account that he had material covering his outer shell. The other was still lying on the ground. That might have been in part because Rover One was still in his lap. This one appeared to have an optic malfunction because he wore corrective lenses over his ocular receptors. see

Robots

on page

13

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Thursday, March 15, 2018

| 9

>>7

Calendar

ing at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair, 2500 SE Main St., at 6 p.m. This event is for guests 21 and over. The ticket cost covers All Things Irish dinner, cocktail hour from 6 to 8 p.m. (full host), casino style gambling, whiskey and wine pull, dancing and photo booth. Guests are asked to wear green for St. Patrick’s Day. All proceeds benefit the United Way of Chaves County.

For more information, visit miltonsbrewing.com or call 575-689-1026.unitedwayccnm.org or call 6224150.

Roswell March 20 ‘The Mystery Apaches’ Historian and author Sherry Robinson presents “The Mystery Apache” at the Roswell Public Library, 301 N Pennsylvania Ave., at 6 p.m. Walk in the moccasins of the Apaches.

Talks include an overview of Apache history, culture and values, followed by a choice of true stories, told in their own words.

For more information, visit roswell-nm.gov/405/ Roswell-Public-Library or nmhum.org.

Albuquerque March 22 The Avett Brothers The Avett Brothers will

perform at the Kiva Auditorium, 401 Second St. NW., at 7:30 p.m. The band is known from TV shows such as “The Tonight Show” and on “Megyn Kelly TODAY.” Their story airs Jan. 29 on HBO. The band is originally from Concord, North Carolina and specializes in folk, bluegrass and Americana.

For more information, visit theavettbrothers.com.

Hobbs March 22 Comedy Night Necro Productions and Diamond Lil’s, 2600 N. Dal Paso St., present a night of comedy starting at 8 p.m.

For more information, call 575-964-0938.

Alamogordo March 23 Ventriloquist Kevin Johnson Recognized as one of the world’s top ten ventriloquists, Johnson is mostly known from his appearance on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” He was twice honored as the Best Male Performer at any amusement park in the world.

Johnson is known for his clean comedy and is appropriate for audiences of all ages. The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, 1110 New York Ave. For more information, visit flickingercenter.com.

Hobbs Eighty’s Bunco March 23 The Lea County Real Estate Professionals invites the public for a night of bunco at the Hobbs Country Club, 5001 W. Carlsbad Hwy. Tickets can be purchased at United Realty, 3208 N. Grimes St., until March 15. All proceeds will be donated to Expecting Hearts. The mission of Expecting Hearts Inc is to bring awareness to peripartum cardiomyopathy; a condition in which heart failure is caused in the last month of pregnancy or up to five months postpartum. For more information, call 575-392-3000.

Lubbock March 24-25 The Great Outdoors The Great Outdoors Expo takes place at the Lubbock Civic Center, 1501 Mac Davis Lane, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guest of honor is pro bass fisherman Jason Reynolds., who will be conducting the fishing seminar, “Bass Fishing Technique” and “High Flying Retriever Dog Show.” The expo will also feature boats, outfitters, gear and gadgets. There will be entertainment and activities for children and adults. For more information, visit goetx.com.

Peter Pan

Continued from Page 6 really like the individual groups with the Lost Boys, the pirates, the animals and the Indians. It’s fun to have a group you do everything with because then you grow close to that entire group of people. You can get more done comedically on stage. It was the same thing with Joseph and the brothers. You begin to trust each other.”

Willden has big plans for his future and it involves acting. “I think I want to study film or theater in Chicago when I graduate,” he said.

Willden brought a friend into the theater family of WWOB, Kendrick Davis, also 16 years old and a student at Goddard High School. He moved to Roswell with his family when he was 8.

Davis is playing the other twin.

“I don’t really have that much experience with theater or any at all,” Davis said and laughed. “I always loved to watch theater, watching people put on shows, because it gives you that awesome feeling — you want to watch it forever. I decided I wanted to be part of that because I love going to this place. It’s a great place to meet new friends, hang out with friends you already have, have a bond, have a family and put on a great show for people.”

Davis is hoping to go to a church mission after graduating. “After that, to college,” he said.

Director Summer Souza is not only directing “Peter Pan,” but — as it was tradition for the Broadway show — she is playing the role of Peter Pan. The audience will see many new faces in the show, “We have a cast of about

42 and out of the 42, 20 are new to us,” Summer Souza said. “They have never performed with us before. There are a couple who have just done Broadway Bound Kids (WWOB theater classes for children) and haven’t done a main stage show. They are doing an awesome job.”

According to Summer Souza, the casting was open for everybody.

“Around 60 or 70 came out and auditioned. It was hard,” she said.

“We actually had to make some cuts and went with a larger ensemble cast to accommodate so many people. I think we figured half of this cast is new.

That is incredible. You wouldn’t know.

We love getting new people on stage and mixing it up a little bit,” Tony Souza said.

The double role of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook is cast with Robin Haynes who recently performed in WWOB’s “Guys and Dolls.”

“Come out and see it,” Summer Souza said. “It’s a classic and we’re really excited to bring it to stage. It was one that we didn’t know if we would be able to do, because of all the flying effects. After Mary Poppins we said, ‘We can do anything,’” Summer Souza said and laughed.

The public has two weekends to see WWOB’s “Peter Pan” at ENMU-R PAC. Performances are March 16 to 18 and March 23 to 25 with showings on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit waywayoffbroadway. com or call box office 575-317-0157.

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Culture

New Mexico’s Got Talent

Neverland Theatre Company is looking for talents beyond performing arts

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

N

everland Theatre Company is hosting for the first time, New Mexico’s Got Talent, a talent show that embraces all talents.

Maryl McNally sat down with the Vision editor to talk about the details of the event.

In the past years, Roswell had talent shows for children, for seniors and for musicians, but never an event as Neverland Theatre Company is planning.

Asked how the idea came to life, McNally said, “We have a new board member, Kate Graham, who manages the symphony (Roswell Symphony Orchestra).

It was her brainchild and it was born out of a desire to be more inclusive and to find a way to get more people involved with the performing arts in the community.

“We are aware of so much talent out there that don’t necessarily come out and audition for shows. They don’t have time to, or it’s not their thing,” she said.

McNally said that there might be performing artists in the community who have no time to be part of a musical or a play. This talent show is for them as well.

“I am also amazed in the last two years with Neverland to see the creativity of the kids

who are involved and the creativity they come up with if you give them some room. They are just so unabashed. They go and they choreograph their own piece and are so excited to show it to you. There is no self-consciousness whatsoever. They are just excited to share it.”

To participate, children and grownups have to submit a video, email a youtube link or email the video directly to Neverland Theatre Company, which will upload it on its youtube channel for the community to vote for their favorite video.

For those who are not technological savvy or without a camera Neverland will have a live audition where they take the video for the participants. The audition will take place at The Studio+, 2000 S. Main St. on March 17 at 9 a.m.

“It’s similar to the Vision Awards, which was fantastic, it was a nice practice run. It prepped the community for it (New Mexico’s Got Talent),” McNally said.

Neverland Theatre Company is the host and organizer without participation.

“We are putting a panel of judges together from local arts organizations and leaders in the arts community,” McNally said. “Neverland will not be sitting

on the judges panel.

We’ll be there to enjoy the show.”

According to McNally, there will be no limit who can participate.

Only limitation is that only amateurs can participate. “My guess is that includes the majority of people in our community,” she said.

All categories that show a talent are acceptable. “That was another reason to do this, to expand the scope. In some ways, theater is quite limiting, there are people out there with great talents that we want to showcase,” McNally said.

“Say you are a soccer player, but you are not a singer, actor or dancer, and you can do some mean tricks with the soccer ball; that is a talent. That is something you can submit. We are just excited to open it up for everybody. Just show us your talent on a video and we toss you in there.”

There is no age limit either. “We haven’t put an age limit on it, even little ones can compete.

We do have on our website rules and registration forms. It outlines the rules and limitation of the competition. For parents, if your child is under 18, they have to sign a waiver and a release form,” McNally said.

“After the voting period, we’ll announce the

top 10 and they’ll perform April 28 at the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art for the finals,” she said.

“The event is meant to be a celebration of the performing arts in Roswell and anything goes.

It is going to be a fun, relaxed event,” McNally said. “I am excited. I know there are hidden talents out there and I am just hoping that people are excited about it, submitting videos or coming to live auditions and showing us what they got and sharing it with the community.

“I encourage people to submit anything and everything. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s not elitist, it is just fun and the community gets to see what everyone’s got and enjoy themselves. It is meant to be a joyous event.”

There is a registration fee, depending if it is a solo act, a duet or trio performing.

“We will be offering cash prizes,” McNally said. “We are not sure what the structure will be quite yet, we are just in the process of registering people, but there will be cash prizes for first place at the very least and there will be prizes for second and third, as well.

“I am looking forward to being surprised and I know there will be surprises,” McNally said.

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Culture

Bowl for Kids’ Sake

‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss, “The Lorax”

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

B

ig Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern New Mexico / Chaves County is holding its 18th annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake.

Since opening in 2000, BBBSSENM has been matching at-risk children (Littles), ages 5-17, with adult volunteers (Bigs) in meaningful, mentoring relationships. Their mentoring program is offered free of charge to the families they serve in Chaves County.

The annual event covers half of the agency’s funding and takes place April 28 at Center City Lanes, 3905 SE Main St., starting at 11 a.m. Deadline to sign up for teams or to sponsor the event is April 13.

The event date is carefully selected to not interfere with prom, homecoming or any other event.

The small team of

BBBSSENM has six employees who are working hard to find volunteers, do background checks and bring Bigs and Littles together. Four are in Roswell, one in Artesia an d o n e pe rso n , Tina Lynn, who does phone and email support for the matches out of Raton. The Roswell office is in charge of organizing the bowling fundraising. Team members organizing this year’s event are Celia Fisher, Gin Hatfield, Natalie Perez and Bill Wolf.

Asked about last year’s support, Wolf said, “We did better last year than the year before, but last year was a tough year for us because we got cut. Our total corporate giving was down. Our funding from the state was down.”

The earlier sponsors sign up, the bet-

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ter, Celia Fisher said.

There are different levels of sponsorships.

BBBSSENM is accepting donations for prizes as well.

Everything is appreciated. “Jewelry, kids’ toys, anything you can imagine,” Hatfield said.

“People who are raising the money are going to get really good stuff,” Hatfield said.

“We have a really nice Ruidoso package.

It’s hotel, golf, massage, dinner and Spencer Theatre tickets.” Hatfield said.

The Bowl For Kids’ Sake this year will be in honor of all heroes who wear a badge or uniform.

The event itself is unique in not being a golf tournament, which many other charities do.

“It’s a really fun time,” Wolf said. “People who have done it once usually come back and do it again, just because it is so fun.”

Companies and individuals participating form teams of five people. They can decide on their fundraising goals, invite friends to bowl or support them. Each team member is supposed to raise $100 minimum as donation. The team that has the highest amount can win a prize.

“Naturally we hope they will raise more than $100,” Wolf said.

“It’s going to be fun,” Hatfield said. She has already contaced mili-

12 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, March 15, 2018

Submitted Photo Last year’s turnout at Bowls for Kids’ Sake was great. The organizers of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast New Mexico / Chaves County hope that this year will have just as many participants.

tary and first respond- itoring New Mexico, gram steps in. ers to attend. children under the age After a thorough back“It fits with this year’s of 17 living in poverty ground search, the Big theme, ‘Heroes don’t stands in 2017 at 27.2 spends quality time with always wear capes … p e r c e n t . 3 0 p e r c e n t the Little. they also wear badges higher than the U.S. “Kids are born into and uniforms.’” rate of 20.7 percent. In situations they have no T h e r e w i l l b e a l s o the northwest of Ros- control over and if no cheerleaders attending well, it is 27.5 percent, one in their family ever and according to Hat- in Roswell’s southeast, graduated from high field, art students from it is 42.1 percent and in school, they may not Roswell High are going the surrounding areas even know the importo paint bowling pins. of Chaves County, it is tance of that,” Wolf said.

D e p e n d i n g o n t h e 36.6 percent. In num- “But if you get them w e a t h e r , h o t d o g s , bers, that is 6,061 chil- together with someburgers or pizza will be dren. body who is outside of served.

What does it mean to their environment and Last year, they had match a Big with a Little? expose them to different a record participaThe children matched things, then that’s where tion number with more often come from sin- their eyes get opened than 300 persons, 65 gle-parent households up,” Wolf said. teams and four sessions and some come from People who want to with an extra session families who never went s u p p o r t B B B S S E N M for the Bigs and Littles. to high school. The most Bowl for Kids’ Sake or BBBSSENM is hoping hopeless children need- would like to volunteer for at least the same in ing support have par- can get more informanumbers or more. ents who are in jail and t i o n b y c a l l i n g 6 2 7 In 2017, 220 children the children were put in 2227 or emailing info@ were matched to Bigs, foster homes. bbbssenm.org. but there is a much largImagine a child that er need in the area for has nobody to guide mentors. them, nobody who will A c c o r d i n g t o N e w listen. Nobody who will M e x i c o ’ s I n d i c a - take them for ice cream tor-Based Information or go to the library. This System website mon- is where the BBBS pro-

Art

Follow the trail of textile art

Artesia’s stop on the Southeast New Mexico Textile Trail is up and running, featuring local fabric artists and their work

By Nancy Dunn Museum Manager, Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center he trail showcases fiber and museum, the Artesia Public Library, textile artists throughout 205 W. Quay Ave., and the Artesia Southeast New Mexico, with Chamber of Commerce, 107 N. First several venues in each participatSt. Displays will be switched out twice ing community. The project was put annually, and the current displays will together by Andrew Akufo of the Lea be up until June 2018.

County Center for the Arts in Hobbs, The museum’s installations feature with venues in Jal, Eunice, Hobbs, crewel embroidery by Maye Sharp, Lovington, Carlsbad and Artesia. The tatting and card embroidery-weaving SENMTT will be showcased in shops,

by Natividad Luevano. museums, hospitals, banks, hotels, city The library’s installations are in the hall buildings and libraries. southwest room and feature knitting, A grant from the New Mexico Arts crocheting and handwoven pieces by Division provided start-up funds and Ann Podany.

Artesia’s installations were funded by Southeast New Mexico is filled with the Artesia lodger’s tax. numerous fiber artists as well as quiltArtesia’s stops on the SENMTT were ing organizations. The Southeast New installed by the Artesia Historical Mexico Textile Trail brings exposure, Museum and Art Center, 505 W. Richpromotes and spotlights the artwork ardson Ave., and can be seen at the of local fiber artists as well as their

T

Robots

Continued from Page 9 “Rover One, come,” Carbon demanded, pointing to the platform by her side.

Instead of coming, Rover One bent his head and scratched at his neck. Carbon sighed when she saw him loosen several nuts and bolts. He paused and sniffed the pieces.

Opening his mouth, he stuck his tongue out.

Several of the nuts and bolts flew off of the boy’s lap and into his mouth.

“Hey!” The boy suddenly yelled, pushing Rover One off of his lap with a look of disgust.

Carbon started forward when she saw the dark stain spreading on the boy’s pant leg. Rover One looked up and whined before taking off across the dirt covered ground. The boy scrambled to his feet. They all turned to watch Rover One disappear through a small door set into a

larger one.

“Iron!” Carbon growled.

Iron raised his hands.

“I’m not looking, so I didn’t see anything, which means I didn’t do anything,” he replied.

“Wow!! I haven’t used that excuse before. Does it work?” Matt asked with wide eyes.

They all winced when they heard a loud crash.

“Oh, no! My mom is going to kill me if that thing ruins her new sculpture,” Alan groaned before he took off at a run.

“Come on,” Carbon ordered, grabbing her brother’s arm and pulling him after her.

“HEY! Wait for me,” Matt said, clumsily running after them. *.*.* Alan slid to a stop outside the door and dropped down to his hands and knees. With a skill born from experience, he pushed the doggie door open, crawled through it, and

stood up. He had to jump to the side when the medium-sized door opened again and a head full of red coils emerged. A moment later, the girl was standing next to him followed by alien boy.

“Do you see him?”

Alan asked in an anxious voice.

“Hold on,” the girl said.

Alan knew his mouth had dropped open when twin beams of light lit up the dim interior. He snapped it shut when he heard the metallic sound of metal on metal. He frantically tried to narrow his gaze in on the location.

“There!” the boy exclaimed, pointing to the top of his mom’s new piece of art – a metal dragon made out of used engine parts.

“Don’t…!” Alan started to shout when he heard the sound of loud banging on the outer door.

“Hey! Let me in!

Hello! Did you guys for-

“Conestoga Wagon,” crewel embroidery by Maye Sharp. studios. Currently, six different nonprofit textile artist organizations are represented and will benefit from the creation of this trail. These groups include Nimbles Thimbles from Hobbs, Piecemakers Quilting Association from Hobbs, the Artful Hands Homemaking Club from Lovington, the Zia Quilting and Stitchery Guild from get about me? I can’t fit through the doggie door,” Matt shouted.

Torn between finding that … that thing that had leaked on him and keeping Matt from letting everyone in the neighborhood — including his mom — know what was going on, he reached over and unlocked the door. Matt fell through the moment he pulled the door open.

He had no sooner closed it when a door on the second floor opened and his mom peeked out. She was wearing a welder’s helm et an d holding an unlit torch.

Grabbing Matt, Alan pulled the other boy in front of the alien girl and boy.

“Hi, honey. Oh, did you invite some friends for dinner tonight? We are having spaghetti,” his mom said. “I have to finish one more weld before I can make dinner.

Can you do the salads?”

“Yeah. Sure! No problem,” Alan said in a des-

Submitted art

Carlsbad, Carlsbad Fiber Arts Guild and Artesia Quilters Guild.

For more information, visit artesianm.gov or call 575-748-2390. For other venues in Southeast New Mexico, visit lccanm.org.

perate voice, wondering where Rover One had gone to now.

“Wow! Aliens and dinner. This is the best day ever!” Matt exclaimed with a happy sigh.

The story continues with episode 6: A Warehouse Full of Aliens.

S.E. Smith is a New York T ime s , U SA T O DA Y , international and award-winning bestselling author of sci-

ence-fiction, fantasy, paranormal and contemporary works for adults, young adults and children. She enjoys writing a wide variety of genres that pull her readers into worlds that take them away. Readers can check out her website at sesmithfl.com and chat with her on Facebook at facebook.com/ se.smith.5.

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, March 15, 2018

| 13

Art

From the Vault: ‘Untitled (Three Faces with Heart)’ by Patrocino Barela

By Sara Woodbury Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Roswell Museum and Art Center

N

ew Mexico is a state rich with diverse cultural traditions. Many of our artists take inspiration from these customs while infusing them with their own contemporary aesthetics, from the modern santos of Luis Tapia to the intricate papel picado works of Catalina Delgado Trunk.

Today, we’ll take a look at a work by one of New Mexico’s definitive 20th century carvers, ‘Untitled (Three Faces with Heart)’ by Patrocino Barela (c. 1900-1964).

While the exact birthdate and location for Barela is unknown, he moved with his family to Taos at a young age and spent his life there.

His father died when he was a child and he had to start working soon afterwards. As a result, he received a limited formal education and remained illiterate throughout his life. He held a variety of jobs, including miner, steelworker, farmhand and railroad worker. Even after achieving to be artistically renowned, he lived in poverty-level conditions.

Barela began carving around the age of 31, after being asked to repair a broken santo of St. Antonio. Noticing that santos assembled in multiple parts were more prone to breaking, Barela began creating his own works, carving his pieces from a single block of wood.

As an artist he was self-taught, learning through experience rather than formal

instruction. In contrast to the representational tradition of New Mexico santos, Barela created abstract, fluid interpretations of his subjects, evoking the spiritual essence rather than a literal representation of a saint or holy figure.

His topics usually took inspiration from the Bible or from his imagination, and his works exhibit a strong spiritual character. In contrast to the santero tradition, he left his works unpainted, allowing the grain of the wood to be the focal point. He also preferred working in cedar or juniper rather than pine, preferring the wood’s red color.

Barela’s carvings received national attention during the 1930s.

Initially employed by the Works Progress Administration, his artistic creations soon caught the attention of Russell Vernon Hunter, the state director for the Federal Art Project in New Mexico. With their lyrical character and simplified forms, Barela’s sculptures conveyed an abstract quality that appealed to modernist sensibilities. His autodidactic status also resonated with audiences interested in folk art and other vernacular traditions.

These viewers argued that folk art conveyed a more authentic, genuine American aesthetic than the work of artists who had received a formal art education, an interest reflected in such projects as The Index of American Design, an

Submitted Photos Patrocino Barela, “Untitled (Three Faces with Heart),” not dated. Gift of Elizabeth and Jim McGorty. illustrated compendium of historical American material culture. Soon he was transferred to the Federal Art Project, and under the tutelage of Hunter, his work was circulated among a national public.

By the end of the decade, such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art in New York exhibited his carvings and Time, Life, The New York Times and other prominent periodicals featured his work.

The Roswell Museum and Art Center also hosted his work during the 1930s, when it was

14 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, March 15, 2018

a federal community art center. Despite the critical success he had achieved, Barela never saw these exhibitions firsthand, as he relates in subsequent interviews.

He continued carving in his spare time after the closure of the Federal Art Project, though he had to take on other work as well. Barela died in relative poverty in 1964, but his work continues to receive critical acclaim today.

“Untitled (Three Faces with Heart)” is exemplary of Barela’s abstract carving, though its date of creation

remains unknown. One side of the work shows two faces side by side holding a heart-shaped object below.

On the other side, a single face is nestled in front of a heart shape, which is formed by the backs of the other two faces.

The faces are distinctly abstract, with features such as eyes, nose and mouth delineated in a bold manner.

As with Barela’s other carvings, the surface is unpainted, allowing the warm, reddish color of the wood to shine through. The subject

matter of the piece is left to the viewer’s imagination, enhancing the work’s sense of mystery and appeal.

More than five decades after his death, Barela’s carving remains synonymous with the spiritual traditions of northern New Mexico.

RMAC has two of his works in the collection, and while they’re both currently in storage, they’ll undoubtedly make an appearance again in the future.

‘Wicked Women of New Mexico’

History

By Donna Blake Birchell

Crime in early New Mexico was not only a boy’s game.

O

ld West lore has long conjured up romantic images of the dashing, fearless male desperado. Tales of Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Clay Allison and Butch Cassidy have dominated books, magazines, movies and even songs where the West was concerned. They became our folk heroes, larger-than-life criminal legends whose escapades overshadowed the works of those who sought to protect the public from these renegades. Certainly, these concepts made for good reading, but men did not control this spot as much as they would have liked.

Before you chalk the outlaw West up to being a male-only society, consider the lesser-known deeds of a few mavens of mayhem, who, in their quest to survive, have at times surpassed the evil exploits of their male counterparts. The bad boys club reluctantly gained members who conquered their part of the West wearing petticoats and laceup boots.

Generally, life was not kind to women in the West, especially if a woman was to find herself in a delicate situation, translated as being without the protection of a man, her options were few. Becoming a shady lady was a less-than-desirable profession, but if you were a widow, or a victim of abuse, shunned by family, you could work for a pittance as either a laundress or store clerk, or endure a few unpleasant conditions to live in the relative luxury

of the parlor houses.

Not all were innocent victims, some actually sought out the opportunities this trade provided.

Lizzie McGrath of Albuquerque was a prime example of this, as she flourished in her profession to become one of the richest women in the territory who just happened to be a madame. These funds may be thought of by some as tainted resources, but Lizzie did a great deal of good for her community – albeit typically anonymous.

This trait ran true with most of the ladies who, like Sadie Orchard of Hillsboro, took up collections to build churches, provided care during smallpox and influenza outbreaks, as well as granted monetary support for the families left behind after such tragedies.

The New Mexi c o Territory offered a haven for all outlaws due to the shear isolation the land furnished. One such exile was cattle rustler Bronco Sue who haunted the southern parts of New Mexico as she amassed her herd and a growing list of abandoned or deceased husbands. Bronco Sue could outride, drink and rope any man who challenged her.

Clearly, she did not need a man in her life, but she seemed to collect them — and cattle — like some people collect shoes.

Those with less evil intent used their brains to dominate the gambling tables. Carlotta Thompkins, commonly known as Lottie Deno, began her career as a gambler out of necessity to support her family after her father’s death. Her celebrity earned her nicknames such as: Queen of the Pasteboards, Angel of San Antonio and Mystic Maud. In her later years, Lottie settled down with her outlaw husband in Deming to become a church-going pinnacle of the community. Often times, Lottie would host ladies’ quilting bees featuring a game or two of cards, of which the former gambler was always the victor. Her guests were none the wiser to her former career.

The desire to survive afforded these women the amenity of independent lives. Their methods may have been unorthodox, and in some cases, illegal, but these women showed abundant tenacity and pure guts to compete in a male-dominated world and succeed. The odds were against women in the West, but without them forging ahead through

adversity, the country would not be as strong.

Donna Blake Birchell is the author of “Carlsbad and Carlsbad Caverns, Eddy County” and “New Mexico Wine: An Enchanting History.” She developed a passion for history through the inspiration of her history-buff parents, William and Dorothy Blake. While doing research for her other books, Blake Birchell discovered a lack of combined written history about the slightly tarnished and definitely wicked ladies of New Mexico and thought the oversight should be corrected. Her book, “Wicked Women of New Mexico,” was published in 2014 and is available at the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico Museum, 200 N. Lea Ave. For more information, visit roswellnmhistory.org or call 575-622-8333.

Photos courtesy of the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico Above: Lizzie McGrath of Albuquerque.

Below left: Carlotta Thompkins, aka Lottie Deno.

Middle: Sadie Orchard of Hillsboro.

Vision Magazine |

Thursday, March 15, 2018

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UFOlogy

The Aztec UFO crash retrieval: 70 years ago

Looking Up

T

he Roswell UFO incident of July 1947 was monumentally important, but it wasn’t the only event in New Mexico in the late 1940s.

In March 1948, some eight months after Roswell, in the northwest corner of the state, we had the Aztec, New Mexico UFO crash and retrieval. Clearly, it was a remarkable era for encounters with the great outside.

On March 25, 1948, three different radar units tracked an unknown object in the skies over the Four Corners Monument area.

Using triangulation it became evident that the

By Donald Burleson

craft had come down about 12 miles northeast of the town of Aztec.

Keep in mind that by this time the government and the military had already had a dress rehearsal for this sort of thing: Roswell. Accordingly, the wheels were quickly turning.

Secretary of State George Marshall sent out an alert to the Army counterintelligence group, then known as the Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit (imagine, such a group existing and actually being ready to roll), which was based at Camp Hale, Colorado, a remote site later used as a CIA training base.

The Camp Hale people sent a military scout team to the crash site, where they encountered a domed disk about a hundred feet across. A veil of secrecy descended then — not surprisingly — and two additional groups were dispatched to the site: a commando-style military team and a team of several first-rate civilian scientists, including Vannevar Bush (once chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics) and Manhattan Project physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the well-known father of the atomic bomb.

According to numerous witnesses inter-

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viewed by legendary UFO investigator Len Stringfield, the science team examined a strange and mostly intact craft containing over a dozen diminutive, non-human bodies, all badly charred.

They also found instrument panels bearing linguistic symbols which Oppenheimer likened to Sanskrit. The symbols were later turned over to famed cryptanalyst William Friedman to try to decipher. (We don’t know if he ever did.)

Probably under Oppenheimer’s supervision, the craft and bodies were later moved to Los Alamos for further study.

Most importantly, some of Stringfield’s witnesses testified that the fallen spacecraft possessed a propulsion system that, if publicized, would have rendered conventional engines obsolete. This fascinated the physicist Oppenheimer considerably. In fact, I argue in my book “UFO Secrecy and the Fall of J. Robert Oppenheimer” that this whole episode was the reason the prominent scientist and national hero had his security clearance yanked in 1953. He had been privy to awk wardly se n sitive matters and someone wanted him out of the loop. In 1954, when

Oppenheimer testified at hearings with the Atomic Energy Commission to try — unsuccessfully — to regain his lost clearance, his fate was sealed, because the chairman of the presiding committee was Gordon Gray, a member of MJ-12, Truman’s board of UFO insiders. Gray would have known everything about Oppenheimer’s involvement with UFO crash retrievals.

All in all, the Aztec UFO incident 70 years ago was one with far-reaching effects.