Ljw 111713 02

Page 1

HOLIDAY ARTS PREVIEW INSIDE Your guide to the area’s seasonal events from Thanksgiving through Christmas

Page 1C

KU ENDS BIG 12 LOSING STREAK Page 1B

L A W R E NC E

JOURNAL-WORLD ®

$1.50

35.$!9 s ./6%-"%2 s

LJWorld.com

Lawrence, KU officials mull convention center ideas

When art imitates life

By Chad Lawhorn

clawhorn@ljworld.com

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos

ARTIST AND DIORAMA CREATOR RANDALL BENNETT studies a clay bust while sculpting it in his studio recently. Around his studio are a wall of his paintings and leftover elements from dioramas past, such as the corn stalks and purple prairie coneflowers.

Diorama artist details nature in work

I

t is a special type of person who spends as much time looking at the fungus as the foliage. Everybody looks at the beautiful fall foliage. You can close your eyes and get a mental picture of the colorful maple leaves or the stately oaks. But what type of person remembers the details of the fungus that grows on the tree’s trunk? Well, the type of person who can win an award for a big chunk of mud, that’s who. Randall Bennett has done that. Well, technically I guess we should call his award-winning creation “a soil section of a marine estuary,” but that doesn’t sound as fun. “It was a chunk of mud full of critters,” Bennett says. Bennett spent months recreating the microscopic

Lawhorn’s Lawrence

RANDALL BENNETT’S “WEB OF LIFE” DIORAMA, which won first place in the mixed media division of the Kansas State Fair, is composed of molds and sculptures. Bennett uses everything from clay to textiles to re-create the natural scenes in his dioramas.

Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com

clams that live in the river mud. The clams are so tiny that the naked eye doesn’t ever see them, so Bennett created replicas of them that were 900 times larger than their actual size. Months spent making microscopic clams. Weeks spent making fake fungus. Who is this again?

Randall Bennett, owner of Lawrence-based Tall Grass Museum Services, is a dioramist. There is a 50-50 chance that is a real

word. If not, let me clarify: He’s an artist who makes dioramas — 3-D models

Lawrence architect Mike Treanor doesn’t hesitate these days when asked what he thinks downtown Lawrence is missing: a convention center. “A convention center that could handle up to 1,500 people would be a magnet for a lot of groups,” Treanor, chairman of Lawrence-based Treanor Architects, recently told a group gathered to discuss the future of downtown Lawrence. “It would keep the hotels full. It would be good for the restaurants and shops. It would be tremendous.” It’s definitely an idea that is floating around town, and the concept isn’t limited to downtown. Please see CENTER, page 2A

Suspect charged in 2009 death from stray gunfire By Stephen Montemayor smontemayor@ljworld.com

In September, more than four years after the death of his wife by errant gunfire, Joe Lieber received a call from Kansas City, Mo., detectives informing him that the long search for the suspect was over. Deanna Lieber, 45, a Lawrence resident well known in the education community, was killed while driving her then13-year-old daughter and her Lieber mother-in-law from a Starlight Theatre production. Since her death that late

Please see ARTIST, page 7A Please see LIEBER, page 2A

INSIDE

Cloudy, windy A&E Books Classified Deaths

High: 61

1C-10C 9C 1D-6D, 9D 2A

Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion

2B, 1C, 7D Puzzles 9D Sports 2C Television 11A

Message in sand 8A, 9D 1B-11B 2B, 7D, 9D

Low: 30

Today’s forecast, page 12B

A group of Tibetan monks are creating a world peace sand mandala, a 2,500-year-old tradition. Page 3A

Join us at Facebook.com/LJWorld and Twitter.com/LJWorld

X 7KHUH·V 1R 3ODFH /LNH $ 3DWLHQW &HQWHUHG 0HGLFDO +RPH $QG 2WKHU &XUUHQW 7RSLFV LQ +HDOWK &DUH :ŽŝŶ ĞdžƉĞƌƚ ƉĂŶĞůŝƐƚƐ 'ĞŶĞ DĞLJĞƌ ĂŶĚ ƌ͘ ^ŚĞƌƌŝ sĂƵŐŚŶ ŽĨ >ĂǁƌĞŶĐĞ DĞŵŽƌŝĂů ,ŽƐƉŝƚĂů ĂŶĚ :ŽŶ ^ƚĞǁĂƌƚ ŽĨ ,ĞĂƌƚůĂŶĚ ŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ ,ĞĂůƚŚ ĞŶƚĞƌ ƚŽ ůĞĂƌŶ ŵŽƌĞ ĂďŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ WĂƚŝĞŶƚͲ ĞŶƚĞƌĞĚ DĞĚŝĐĂů ,ŽŵĞ ĐŽŶĐĞƉƚ ĂŶĚ ŽƚŚĞƌ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ ŚĞĂůƚŚ ĐĂƌĞ ƚŽƉŝĐƐ ƚŚĂƚ LJŽƵ ŵĂLJ ŚĂǀĞ ƋƵĞƐƚŝŽŶƐ ĂďŽƵƚ͘ &ƌĞĞ ĞĚƵĐĂƚŝŽŶĂů ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͖ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞ ĞŶƌŽůůŵĞŶƚ ŶŽƚ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ͘ X

&ƌŝĚĂLJ͕ EŽǀĞŵďĞƌ ϮϮ

X Ϯ ƚŽ ϯ͗ϯϬ Ɖ͘ŵ͘ X >D, ƵĚŝƚŽƌŝƵŵ

WƌĞƐĞŶƚĞĚ ďLJ ŽƵŐůĂƐ ŽƵŶƚLJ ŽĂůŝƚŝŽŶ ŽŶ ŐŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ >ĂǁƌĞŶĐĞͲ ŽƵŐůĂƐ ŽƵŶƚLJ ĚǀŽĐĂĐLJ ŽƵŶĐŝů ŽŶ ŐŝŶŐ

ϯϮϱ DĂŝŶĞ͕ >ĂǁƌĞŶĐĞ͕ <^ y ǁǁǁ͘ůŵŚ͘ŽƌŐ

Vol.155/No.321 44 pages


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.