Artscapes, Summer 2018

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WYOMING ARTS COUNCIL NEWS • SUMMER 2018

cover story

Wyoming Music Festivals: Summer 2018 PAGE 14

Blanchan/Doubleday

Congratulations to the 2018 Blanchan/Doubleday Writing award Winners

Maria Lisa Eastman of Hyattville is the recipient of the 2018 Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award.

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aria Lisa Eastman of Hyattville and Renée Carrier of Hulett are the recipients of the Wyoming Arts Council’s 2018 Blanchan and Doubleday writing awards.

Eastman won the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for her entry, “Regarding the Others,” and Carrier received the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award for her entry, “The Riven Country of Senga Munro.”

An honorable mention for the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award was given to Earle Layser of Alta, and an honorable mention for the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award was given to Lyndi Bell O’Laughlin from Kaycee.

Renée Carrier of Hulett is the recipient of the 2018 Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award.

The Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award and the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award are made possible through the generosity of a private donor. The Blanchan award is given for the best writing that is informed by a relationship with the natural world; the Doubleday award is given for the best writing by a woman writer. Both awards are designed to bring attention to writers in Wyoming who have not yet received wide recognition for their work, and to support emerging writers at crucial times in their careers.

table of contents Executive Director’s Column...............................2 Framing the Experience: The Buffalo Bill Center of the West.......................................................... 4

our Mission

The Wyoming Arts Council provides leadership and invests resources to sustain, promote and cultivate excellence in the arts.

WAC Staff

Michael Lange : EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rachel Clifton : ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Annie Hatch : FOLKLORIST/HEALTH & WELLNESS

THROUGH THE ARTS SPECIALIST/ADA COORDINATOR

Philip Moline : COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND INDEPENDENT MUSIC SPECIALIST

Karen Merklin : GRANTS MANAGER Brittany Perez : OFFICE MANAGER Colin Stricklin : ARTS COMMUNICATION,

Wyoming Poet in Washington D.C......................6 Celebrating the West: The Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering...............................................8 Creating a Creative Community: Jackson, WY.10 Main Street Aesthetics: The Arts of Downtown Rock Springs......................................................12 Wyoming Music Festivals: Summer 2018.......14 The Responsible Shopper’s Guide to Native American Arts....................................................16 Big Show In a Small Town.................................18 Museums Drive Tourism...................................20

MARKETING AND RESEARCH SPECIALIST

Creating Epic Landscape Photography............22

Tara Pappas : ARTS EDUCATION SPECIALIST

Art is Everywhere..............................................24

WAC Board

Holly Turner (Chair) : CASPER Steve Schrepferman (Vice Chair) : CODY Tara Taylor : MOUNTAIN VIEW Janelle Fletcher : LARAMIE Marianne Vinich : LANDER Stefanie Boster : CHEYENNE Chloe Illoway : CHEYENNE Nina Swamidoss McConigley : LARAMIE Sharon O’Toole : SAVERY Simon Marshall : CASPER

ON THE COVER: Targhee Bluegrass Festival. Image

courtesy of Grand Targhee Resort.

ON THE BACK COVER: The Wyoming Artists

Gallery at the Wyoming State Museum.

magazine

Artscapes is published triannually and supported with funding from the Wyoming Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. wyomingartscouncil.org

wyoming arts council 2301 Central Avenue • Cheyenne, WY 82002 Phone: 307-777-7742 • Fax: 307-777-5499 Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. wyomingartscouncil.org

executive director's column

Cultural Tourism We are excited about this edition of Artscapes as we focus on cultural tourism and more specifically, arts tourism.

Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with the traveler’s engagement with a geographical region’s history, art, architecture, and other cultural elements.

Wyoming’s beautiful landscapes and natural beauty is second to none. From the Tetons and Yellowstone to the breathtaking sunsets found on the high plains and Red Desert, Wyoming is overflowing with natural beauty. As important as these natural wonders are, the beauty that is created by the artists and inventors that call Wyoming home is easily their match. We are excited to highlight a small portion of the institutions, events and programs that showcase the arts across our great state.

series help build the type of communities that people want to call home. These types of amenities are not luxuries, but necessities. In the always changing workforce, individuals have more flexibility, giving them more options of where they want to call home as their work can be accomplished from anywhere with an internet connection. As a state, we must invest in building strong arts and cultural institutions that are the cornerstones for attractive communities.

Additionally, in a two-for-one special, these same arts and cultural institutions, programs, and events serve as an economic driver by being some of the state’s most attractive tourism destinations.

Wyoming’s Michael Lange second largest industry is tourism, accounting for a significant portion of tax revenue across the state. The arts play a leading role in this endeavor. The Arts in Prosperity 5 study released by Americans for the Arts in 2017 shows that arts and cultural travelers stay longer and spend more than other travelers.

On average, they spend twice as much on event-related spending, are more likely to stay in a

By focusing on the arts as one of the strongest tourism destinations, communities can see an increase in dollars being spent in their own backyard.

We know that having strong arts institutions builds a sense of community, adding to the social and cultural wellbeing of Wyoming. Visual arts and music festivals, art museums, folk festivals, and summer concert

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hotel or bed & breakfast, and are more likely to spend $1,000 or more during their stay. By focusing on the arts as one of the strongest tourism destinations, communities can see an increase in dollars being spent in their own backyard.

Although it is impossible to narrow down to just one favorite summer event, as there are so many great programs, I would like to direct some of your attention to the summer music festivals happening across Wyoming. These festivals, some of them small in scale while others are much larger, represent many of the great musical talents that can be found across the state. This summer, staff members from the Wyoming Arts Council will be attending many of the summer music festivals to talk with artists, community members, and policy leaders about our new Wyoming Independent Music Initiative. This initiative is designed to help strengthen the independent music scene across the state of Wyoming, and we are looking forward to hearing from you about how we can make Wyoming a better place to call home. Please keep an eye out for an Arts Council booth at many of the festivals, and please reach out to us if you have any questions or suggestions. We are always eager to hear your feedback.

As you plan your summer vacation, don’t miss Yellowstone, the Tetons, or Devils Tower. They help define who we are as a state. But just as important, look to the institutions that showcase the creative endeavors of our state. You will find significant meaning inside the stories that they tell, all while adding to the state’s economic bottom line.

Executive Director Wyoming Arts Council

artscapes • Summer 2018

The Pow Wows of Ft. Washakie, the attractive public art of Jackson, and the world-class western art of the Brinton Museum in Big Horn are just a few of Wyoming’s cultural destinations. Photos courtesy of the Wyoming Office of Tourism.

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Center of the West

Framing the Experience: The Buffalo Bill Center of the West

By Marguerite House, Media Coordinator for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West

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he Buffalo Bill Center of the West feels a kinship of sorts with Frederic Remington—it loves the West as much as the artist did.

Indeed, Remington (1861 – 1909) knew a thing or two about the West. As a young New Yorker, he headed West at age 19, and even though he came and went a few times afterward, he was enamored of the American West. He returned often to celebrate it in his work, such as his Buffalo Bill in the Limelight, ca. 1899, a painting of his pal William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody in the Wild West arena.

Remington and Cody had a long association. Remington visited Buffalo Bill’s Wild West several times and used those occasions to sketch western subjects. He produced this painting along with several other illustrations for the biography of Cody, Last of the Great Scouts, written by his sister Helen Cody Wetmore in 1899.

The juxtaposition of the life and times of Buffalo Bill and Frederic Remington is the kind of tale the Center of the West is made of. From Cody’s desire to share the history

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and culture of the West (from the land itself to its Native American inhabitants), and Remington recording his notions on canvas or in bronze, the Center has extraordinary underpinnings in celebrating the Spirit of the West with its onsite and online visitors. And, it knows the import of preserving it for future generations.

As he penned a letter to author friend Owen Wister, Remington wrote, “I knew the wild riders and the vacant land were about to vanish forever...and the more I considered the subject, the bigger they forever loomed.

Without knowing how to do it, I began to record some facts around me, and the more I looked the more the panorama unfolded.”

Meeting Remington through his many works at the Center of the West, any visitor is sure to announce, “I know how he felt.”

And the Center does, too. It’s committed itself to preserving the Frederic Remington (1861 - 1909). Buffalo Bill in American West— the Limelight, ca. 1899. Oil on canvas. Buffalo Bill just like all the Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming, USA. Gift of the Remingtons, WisCoe Foundation, H.P. Skoglund, Ernest Goppert, Sr., and John S. Bugas. 23.71. ters, and Codys that have come before and those who continue the notion today. The Center puts it this Wyoming arts council

Gallery view, Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming, USA.

way, “We have a celebration going on: We’re celebrating the Spirit of the American West…and we’ve been celebrating since 1917.”

Upon Buffalo Bill’s death on January 10, 1917, his family and friends joined together in Cody, Wyoming, to form the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association (BBMA) to celebrate the memory of their favorite son. In 1927, the group opened the original Buffalo Bill Museum and since then, it’s added four more museums and research library—all to share the American West of Remington and Cody, and a wealth of other artists, historians, natural scientists, and scholars.

From his days living and working on the frontier to the 30 years of his Wild West show, the name of Buffalo Bill was synonymous with the West. At the turn of the 20th century, he was arguably the most famous celebrity in the world. And just as he brought the West to the world—with action, history, art, culture, and natural science in his Wild West extravaganza—the Center of the West continues that tradition in the present.

Today, the Center is the largest history, art, and nature museum between Minneapolis and the West Coast, encompassing an area the size of five-and-a-quarter football fields (300,000 square feet)!

Because it’s located in Cody, Wyoming, a town of just 10,000, most visitors are stunned when they come through the door. Who knew that this small town had such a treasure? With 175,000 visitors each year, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is the most popular artscapes • Summer 2018

cultural attraction in the Yellowstone Park region.

As they learn of Buffalo Bill’s exploits in 30 years of traveling America and Europe—and view all the interpretations of his Wild West through artistic and vibrant posters of the show, visitors agree, “Buffalo Bill was so big, even the West couldn’t hold him!”

In addition, it’s clear that one can’t tell the story of the West without the firearm, but the embellished and engraved rifles and pistols in the Cody Firearms Museum meld utility with intricate art. In the Plains Indian Museum, Native American culture speaks volumes about family, tradition, and posterity through intricate beadwork and painting, portraying a people with as much vitality today as it did generations ago. Because the story of the West originates from the land, it’s little wonder that the Draper Natural History Museum’s interactive “trails” will bring to mind the landscape and wildlife that drew artists Carl Rungius, Thomas Moran, Alfred Jacob Miller, Albert Bierstadt and others.

With their tools of the trade—sketch pads, canvases and paper, or clay to sculpt—generations of artists have chronicled the people, landscape, and stories of the American West, including the wonders of Yellowstone.

Today, the Whitney Western Art Museum touts some of the most priceless masterworks of the American West.

All five museums of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West weave the story of the West into one tapestry—a celebration of the Spirit of the American West.

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Poetry Ourselves

Wyoming Poet in Washington D.C. Each year, the winners of the Poetry Out Loud state competitions descend on Washington D.C. where they compete for the top spot in the national poetry recitation contest, as well as the Poetry Ourselves original student-written poetry competition. This year, Wyoming’s State Champion Lauren Haiar of Sundance Secondary School won the latter contest.

We caught up with Haiar and her teacher Mason Neiman, looking to find out what the experience of travelling to the nation’s capital meant to them.

Q&A WITH LAUREN HAIAR WAC: HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN POETRY IN GENERAL, AND POETRY OUT LOUD IN PARTICULAR? Haiar: I’ve always loved reading, and I think a lot of that translated into poetry as I grew up. I really enjoyed writing poetry as a kid in elementary school, so when I was introduced to Poetry Out Loud in high school it seemed a natural fit.

WAC: FOR YOU, WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPETING IN POETRY OUT LOUD AND POETRY OURSELVES?

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Haiar: I was mostly shocked. It’s a tremendous honor to have someone look at your work and recognize you for it.

WAC: HAS TRAVELING TO THESE NATIONAL COMPETITIONS HAD AN EFFECT ON YOUR WORK AS A POET?

“Travel broadened the world, thereby broadening [Lauren’s] scope of expression.”

Haiar: In Poetry Out Loud you don’t have an abundance of freedom when reciting another poet’s work. You need to keep in mind what the original poet was trying to convey.

In Poetry Ourselves you are allowed to show your individual thoughts, and speak from your own heart. It cuts out the middleman, in the sense that you communicate from personal experience.

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WAC: HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU WON THE POETRY OURSELVES COMPETITION?

Haiar: Most definitely. Watching others my age write and perform their original poetry on a national level has introduced me to genres and styles that I may not have explored before.

Wyoming arts council

Q&A WITH MASON NEIMAN

For example, in rural Wyoming, we often feel disconnected from larger global realities. Last year, my student met the competitor from Puerto Rico, and exchanged WAC: WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR STUDENTS GET OUT OF THE EXPERIENCE OF POETRY OUT LOUD? info. When the hurricane hit Puerto Rico last year, most kiddos in our corner Neiman: I hope for of Wyoming were demeaningful connectached from the sitution. I hope they make ation. My student’s a connection not only friendship (and its with the poet and his/ accompanying social her language, but media) made the with the world beyond “news” palpable for themselves. The proher, fostering empacess of memorizing thy, which then found and embodying someits way into her artisone else’s words is a tic expression. powerful tool to help Thus, the travLauren Haiar of Sundance Secondary School competing at the 2018 Poetry Out Loud state competition in the students see the el broadened Washington, D.C. Photo credit James Kegley. world through anoththe world, er set of lenses. I often see this, thereby broadthen influence their own use of language to express ening her scope of expression. themselves.

WAC: WHAT WAS THE TRIP TO THE POETRY OUT LOUD NATIONAL FINALS LIKE FOR YOU AS A TEACHER? Neiman: It is a success on so many levels. First off, just being around the best students in the nation is enough to give you hope for the future! Having a student among them is wonderful, and having part in facilitating such an educational experience--the travel, the museums, the contestants, the literature, the conversations, the relationships, the artistic connections--is a blessing. I couldn’t ask for better.

WAC: WHAT KINDS OF DOORS CAN TRAVEL OPEN FOR STUDENT ARTISTS?

WAC: HOW DO THE ARTS CREATE OPPORTUNITIES, BOTH PROFESSIONALLY AND IN LIFE?

Neiman: It’s programs like Poetry Out Loud that make it crystal clear how the arts create opportunities. Where the arts are supported and fostered, you find a hotbed of brilliance and creativity that creates opportunities both professionally and personally. Think of the national level where the top student receives a $20,000 scholarship, which is a game-changer in regards to educational possibility for a student. At the local level, community arts groups (like the Bearlodge Writers in my neck of the woods) create community, critique, and support in publishing/presenting creative work.

Neiman: The obvious answer here would be networking. A national event in any discipline would help one rub shoulders with those passionate about the same things. And that is so helpful. You should see the Snapchat groups that have emerged from these competitions for my contestants--an instant artistic community! But what I find more compelling is the human connection.

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Cowboy Gathering

Celebrating the West: The Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering

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here is something in the American West that calls to people. It is a spirit of adventure, of wide open spaces, galloping horses, and nights out beneath the stars. Imagine the sound of it. A harmonica lets out its one long chord. A guitar joins in. The voices of old cowboys rise up in chorus.

that celebrate their way of life through music and spoken word. Wyoming can boast the first ever event of this kind—Cody’s Cowboy Songs and Range Ballads in 1984—but Encampment’s is now Wyoming’s biggest.

“Once without an audience, cowboy poets and musicians, who draw from their personal experience, now That place isn’t hard to find. It’s still out there, tucked perform throughout the American West year round,” away at the foot of the Sierra Madre Range just north says Anne Hatch, Folklorist for the Wyoming Arts Counof the Wyoming/Colorado line. The roads are unpaved, cil. “Encampment is a treasured gig. First of all it is ‘old the venue is small, and the experience is unforgetta- school,’ and for authentic cowboy poetry, that’s rare.

Local and regional poets and singers hearken back to the rhythm and rhyme of the classics, Bruce Kiskaddon and Badger Clark, as well as keep things fresh by adding a realistic (and often humorous) take on modern daily life. Audiences are typically members The annual campfire jam session features a of the community and round robin of poetry and song. surrounding areas who ble. The Grand Encampment Cowboy arrive to reconnect with Gathering may be a little off the beaten path, but it is neighbors and others who share their values.” well worth the trip.

There is a spirit of openness and hospitality that perHeld annually in Encampment, WY on the third full meates the event, reflected nowhere more than the weekend in July, the Cowboy Gathering falls into a long event’s commitment to free shows. Only the evening tradition of rural ranching communities hosting events performance at the Encampment K-12 School Gym is ticketed. (This year, that ticket gets you a seat for PAGE

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Wyoming arts council

The presentation of the annual Pioneer Award is a further reminder of how seriously the festival takes its mission. This award recognizes a Carbon County resident who has made an impact on ranching and who embodies the Western pioneer spirit. The ceremony is a moment of honest community pride, and is as close as you’re likely to come to the heart of a wild West town in the 21st century.

Of course, the Cowboy Gathering isn’t exclusively for locals.

Visitors find plenty to enjoy as well. “The best feature of the Encampment Gathering is found around the campfire,” says Anne Hatch. “Around dusk folks begin to find a spot around the fire pit in the city park because seats fill up fast once the show lets out at 9 pm. A round robin of poetry and song magically begins and grows as more folks arrive. Coffee and hot chocolate appear at a neighboring picnic table as people mingle in the light of a roaring fire. Stories about finding cows mix with an unrehearsed new cowboy poem and then a harmonized duet, a favorite Grateful Dead tune or a sing-a-long round out the repertoire. I have been to many cowboy poetry events, but this Gathering stands out as my all-time favorite!”

The gathering is intergenerational in nature, and has a way of nurturing young artists.

cowboy music stars Annie & Amy, Jared Rogerson, & Cowboy Poet Yvonne Hollenbeck.) The bulk of the weekend’s offerings, from the open mic jam sessions to the kids-only Stick Horse Rodeo, and from the quilt show to the Western Entertainment Roundup, are free of charge. In a rural community like Encampment, being able to offer high-quality free shows is a point of pride for festival organizers.

The ceremony is a moment of honest community pride, and is as close as you’re likely to come to the heart of a wild West town in the 21st century.

“This may be the only time some local residents get to experience the performing arts and hear and see award winning performers,” says Katie Stremel, a member of the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering Outfit committee. “Our mission is to preserve, share and promote the unique culture of the rancher and cowboy in the American West. Performers must display first-hand knowledge of that culture, and present themselves as positive ambassadors of the Western way of life. We particularly seek out performers who we feel can connect with our audience because they understand the cowboy way of life.”

artscapes • Summer 2018

For more information on the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering, visit grandencampmentgathering.org.

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Jackson Hole

Creating a Creative Community: Jackson, WY Resort that calls people to this corner of the American West, the great outdoors are only one facet of Wyoming’s premiere tourism experience. Once they’re in town, visitors seek out other forms of recreation to round out their itineraries. The local arts community has shaped itself around this fact.

Built for Cultural Tourism Cultural tourism is a huge market, comprised of some 118 million cultural travelers—people Jackson Hole Land Trust partners with local artists to who specifically include arts and heritage in present View22 and FoundSpace, two projects that their trips each year. According to research from invite the community to interact with local artists and public art. the Travel Industry Association of America, cultural tourists stay longer and spend 36% more at their destinations than other kinds of traveleton County is a remarkable place. Natural beauty ers. Jackson Hole is virtually designed to convert tourlies in every direction, from the National Elk Refuge ists into cultural travelers. just north of Jackson, to the guest ranches that dot the valley, to the same overlook that gave the world An- ­­At the heart of Jackson’s cultural ecosystem is the Jacksel Adams’s famous 1942, The Tetons and the Snake son Hole Center for the Arts. The product of commuRiver photograph. This abundance of natural splendor nity action and collaboration, the 78,000 square foot provides the region with a corresponding abundance of campus got its start as a good idea in 1991. Arts orgatourist activity. According to Wyoming Office of Tourism, nizations, artists, and community activists collectively Teton County welcomed 1,664,000 overnight visitors realized that soaring rents and inadequate facilities in 2016. Domestic and international travelers spent threatened the health of the local arts scene. What fol$1.05 billion in Teton County that year, generating lowed was five years of analysis. A needs assessment, $54.8 million in state and local taxes. All this economic an existing facilities assessment, a site selection study, activity supported 8,250 jobs, and that’s in a county a feasibility study, and an economic impact study all with only about 23,000 residents. pointed towards the need for and viability of a community arts center. Construction was finally completed in Yet even if it is the towering eruption of Old Faithful or 2007, but that sense of community collaboration never the promise of fresh powder at Jackson Hole Mountain went away.

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Students from Jackson Hole High School worked with Jackson Hole Public Art to evaluate data, build prototypes, present, and then build new public art installations.

sculpture casting, and final artworks are set to be displayed in professional exhibition spaces at both the Art Association and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. These programs and others like them show a community dedicated to growing and sustaining its creative culture. It’s why both the Association and the Center enjoy dozens of local business partners each year; the community recognizes and nurtures its arts programs.

A Culture of Collaboration

Lessons for Wyoming

The Art Association of Jackson Hole is another key player in the creative arts community. The organization is actually older than the state Arts Council, and has made visual art a vital part of creative life in Jackson Hole for over 53 years. They provide gallery space, community events, and beginner to master level instruction in a number of mediums. In terms of building arts-focused community, there are two programs that deserve special mention.

More than 25 art galleries are located within Jackson Hole. According to WESTAF (Western States Art Federation) data, Teton County boasts a Creative Vitality Index at six times the national average, making the community one of the most arts-focused places in the country.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

The Association’s Creating Hand-In-Hand program is designed to make art accessible to the local community. An outreach and education program, Creating Handin-Hand brings art to populations that may not have access otherwise. The program is built upon collaborations with other organizations in the community, and lists among its current partners: Veteran’s Art, Teton Behavioral Therapy, Senior Center of Jackson Hole, and Teton County Library Afterschool Programming.

The Studio Project is more specific in its focus. Offering a 12-week program designed to prepare high school students for fine art careers, Studio Project is a collaboration between the Art Association of Jackson Hole and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. With local artists serving as teachers, students learn to build their professional artist portfolios. This year’s medium is bronze

artscapes • Summer 2018

Inside the valley and outside, you’ll often hear claims that Teton County is somehow not “the real Wyoming,” that a different set of rules apply when you cross the county line. It’s true that you can’t change geography.

You can’t magically move your community to border a world-class natural wonder. But what is possible, and what is instructive, is the degree of cooperation between the many stakeholders in the Teton County arts community.

Major arts events and organizations include the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Dancers’ Workshop, the Music on Main concert program, and many others too numerous to list. There is synergy between these diverse offerings, each one bolstering the next and energizing audiences. All communities are different, and each has challenges and limitations. But a spirit of cooperation is valuable anywhere, and it is always worthwhile to seek out new partners.

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Rock Springs

Main Street Aesthetics: The Arts of Downtown Rock Springs

Murals, sculpture, and street art dot Rock Springs’s downtown area, with more projects in the works all the time.

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nce upon a time, Rock Springs was a rough kind of town. It’s still full of the oil workers and the cattle ranchers that give the community its character, but downtown Rock Springs was the kind of place you wouldn’t want to walk at night. Long-abandoned storefronts and broken beer bottles were the order of the day. Happily, it is no longer 1970-something. Rock Springs just won a 2018 Great American Main Street Award, and its downtown is exactly the kind of place you’d want to walk at night.

This is one Wyoming community’s success story. The arts lead the way.

An Attractive Community Imagine a stereotypical American town. Walk down its main street. There’s a public park. There are statues of town founders. There are diners and bars and an ice cream shop on the corner. But at the center of it all there’s always a marquee. There’s always a theater, and it’s no different in Rock Springs.

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“The Broadway Theater is the anchor, really, for our community,” says Chad Banks, Manager of Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency. “It attracts roughly 10,000 people to downtown throughout the year, which for a community of 25,000 is a lot.” It is the sort of cultural attraction that brings a sense of livelihood to a community. Those arts patrons who attend help to support the downtown restaurants, the nightlife, and add an unmistakable vitality to the downtown area.

As for visitors from out of town, it’s no secret that Wyoming’s national parks are the big draw. According to the Sweetwater County Joint Travel and Tourism Board, 66% of Sweetwater County visitors also had Grand Teton National Park on the itinerary, and 74% visited Yellowstone. Notably however, 41% visited museums, historical sites, or state parks. It is precisely this brand of cultural attraction that can create an added value for a community, generating additional overnight stays and driving local visitation.

If you drop by the Rock Springs Main Street/URA web-

Wyoming arts council

site, fully 40% of the listed attractions are arts-related. installations all fell within the non-profit’s purview.

The Broadway Theater features prominently. So does “Aesthetically pleasing public spaces the Actors’ Mission. This non-profit are greatly important to our commucommunity theater features pronity and revitalization efforts,” says ductions that are Banks. “No one (business owners, free to the pubThe refurbished Broadway Theater residents, workers, visitors) wants lic, and provides attracts an estimated 10,000 people to spend time in a space that’s not to downtown throughout the year. a free meal with aesthetically appealing. Making sure every show. Their downtown is colorful, vibrant, exciting policy of open auditions has a way and clean is important to attracting of encouraging fresh talent from the folks downtown. More people means community, and it is not the only more traffic which means more busiarts initiative with that mindset. ness.”

In terms of visual arts, Rock Springs Several incentive programs have has a truly unique gallery. Art Unbeen implemented to attract new derground Gallery is located within businesses to downtown. Rental Asa pedestrian underpass, just under the famous “Home of Rock Springs Coal” sign. A com- sistance and Façade Improvement Grants are popular munity space, the gallery features individual murals among the local business community. Sculptures and murals dot the streets. The Freight Station, a landmark created by Rock Springs residents of all ages. Or, if a more traditional gallery space is more your speed, the structure in the downtown district, had been abanCommunity Fine Arts Center has a startling catalog in doned for more than 30 years. It is now a vibrant comits permanent collection. Represented artists include munity center that bustles with weekly events.

Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, Loren McGiver, Elliott Orr, Edward Chavez, Paul Horiuchi, Ilya Bolotowsky, All told, 150 total jobs have been added to the downtown corridor since 2006. There have been 56 new Raphael Soyer, and Rufino Tamayo. Paintings by wellknown Wyoming, Western, and local artists are also on businesses that set up shop in the last decade. To date, 234 buildings have been spruced up. display.

This is not the kind of renaissance that happens in a vacuum though. It took a lot of hard work.

Getting Organized Since its founding in 1888, Rock Springs has suffered from booms and busts. From the early days of coal mining to the present-day interests of an oil and gas economy, over a century of up and down economic cycles had been hard on the community, and especially the downtown. That’s why in 2006 the Rock Springs Main Street/ Urban Renewal Agency was founded. Their charge was renovation, and their projects were many. A downtown garden, recreational opportunities, housing improvement, reclaiming vacant lots, and commissioning art

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National Recognition “Rock Springs demonstrates the great potential of Main Street,” says Patrice Frey, President and CEO of the National Main Street Center. “The Main Street Approach, in the hands of a high capacity organization like Rock Springs Main Street/URA, has the power to usher in a new era of economic opportunity and promise in a community.”

It may have been decades in the making, but the transformation of downtown Rock Springs was worth it by any measure. According to Rock Springs Mayor Carl Demshar, “The award is a result of the hard work we’ve done to revitalize downtown, but the economic benefits ripple throughout the entire community.”

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Music Festivals

Wyoming Music Festivals: summer 2018 Every year, our friends at Wyoming Public Media put out the definitive list of summer music festivals in the Cowboy State. To see the most up-to-date version of this list, visit wyomingpublicmedia.org/wyomingmusic-festivals-summer-2018.

Brace yourselves, Wyoming. Summer is coming. Plan your music schedule now!

This festival season, take a photo of you (and your friends) at a Wyoming music festival, use the hashtag #wyofest and post it to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Event listings courtesy of Wyoming Public Media.

June 5-August 28: Sweetwater Brown Bag Concert Series featuring Whiskey Slaps, J Shogren Shanghai’d, Chris Welch, Amber Sweeney and more.

Rock Springs | downtownrs.com/sweetwaternow-brown-bag-concert-ser

July 13-15: Targhee Fest featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Funky Meters, James McMurtry, The Wood Brothers, JJ Grey and Mofro, The Dirty Knobs, Hard Working Americans, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, and more.

Alta | grandtarghee.com

JacksonHoleLive! TBA and TBD | jacksonholelive.org

July 14: Laramie Brewfest featuring Basmati.

Laramie | laramiebrewfest.com

June 21-August 16: Music in the Park featuring Marc Burger and The Ride, Kelly Richie, The Symbols, Marshal Star Band, Two Tracks, and more.

Rawlins | rawlins-wyoming.com June 23-August 19: Soundcheck Summer Series Lineup TBA | pinedalefinearts.com July 3-August 18: Grand Teton Music Festival featuring Audra McDonald, Leila Josefowicz, Julian Rachlin, Olga Kern, Edgar Meyer, Dover Quartet, Canadian Brass, Nikki Renée Daniels, and more.

Teton Village | gtmf.org

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July 19-August 23: Lander LIVE featuring Susto, Main Squeeze, Shovels and Rope, Futurebirds, Canyon Kids, Sneaky Pete and the Secret Weapons, Whippoorwill, Bob Lefervre and the Already Gone.

Lander | landerlivemusic.com July 20-22: Big Horn Mountain Festival featuring Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Bryan Bowers, The Two Tracks, Prairie Wildfire, Jeff Troxel & Brian Wicklund, and more.

Buffalo | bighornmountainfestival.com

Wyoming arts council

Center stage at Nowoodstock 2017 in Ten Sleep, Wyoming, photographer Brian Harrington (BHP Imaging).

August 4-5: Big Horn Basin Folk Festival featuring Heaven Bound, Connie Dover, Darrel & Tyson Lonebear, Miss V the Gypsy Cowbelle, Mt. Sinai Synagogue Dancers, Dave Munsick & the Little Big Band, Rattlesnake Ridge, Jared Rogerson, Round the Bend, and Whiskey Slaps.

Thermopolis | wyomingfolkfestival.com

July 20-29: Frontier Days featuring Florida Georgia Line, Charlie Daniels Band, Eric Church, Toby Keith, Cole Swindell, Nickelback, and Dierks Bentley.

Cheyenne | cfdrodeo.com

August 10-12: Targhee Bluegrass Festival featuring Greensky Bluegrass, The Infamous Stringdusters, I’m With Her, Billy Strings, Red Molly, Marty Stuart, and more.

Alta | grandtarghee.com

July 27-28: WHAT Fest featuring Young Dubliners, Sneaky Pete and the Secret Weapons, Jalan Crossland, Elk Tongue, The Woodpile, Two Tracks, John Poland, Seth McGee, Wolves in Cheap Clothing and more.

Centennial | whatfest.com

August 10-12: Nowoodstock - Ten Sleep Music Festival featuring Jalan Crossland, Jeff Troxel & Trevor Krieger, Shark Twain, Sageland Stomp, The Sweet Spot Trio, Susan Gibson, The Tremors, and more.

Ten Sleep | nowoodstock.com

July 27-29: Oyster Ridge Music Festival featuring The Two Tracks, The Brevet, The Powell Brothers, Hackensaw Boys, The SteelDrivers, Moors & McCumber, Grant Farm, and more.

Kemmerer | oysterridgemusicfestival.com

August 11: Sweetwater Blues n’ Brews Lineup TBA. Rock Springs | downtownrs.com/sweetwater-blues-nbrews

July 29-August 5: Wyoming’s Big Show, the Sweetwater County Fair featuring Chase Rick, Warrant, Midland, Seether, and Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, and Colin Raye.

Rock Springs | sweetwaterevents.com August 4-5: Beartrap Summer Festival featuring The Two Tracks, The Black Lillies, Head for the Hills, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Grant Farm, Town Mountain, Roots and Boots Tour featuring Colin Raye, Aaron Tippin, and Sammy Kershaw, and more.

Casper Mountain | beartrapsummerfestival.com

artscapes • Summer 2018

August 16-18: Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival featuring Lochwood, Wood Belly, The Barefoot Movement, and more.

Worland | wyobbqandbluegrass.com August 25: Edge Fest Lineup TBA. Cheyenne | facebook.com/EdgeFestWY August 25: Centennial Uptown Breakdown TBA. Centennial | facebook.com/pages/Centennial-UptownBreakdown

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Native Arts

The Responsible Shopper’s Guide to

NATIVE AMERICAN ARTS

By Jackie Dorothy, member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe

When buying Native artwork, it is a good idea to buy local. You’re more likely to get the story behind the art, and you are helping these artisans preserve their traditions.

N

ative Americans cherish their culture, heritage and traditions. One of the ways they share that culture and the story of their ancestors to the rest of the world is through their arts and crafts. Native Americans’ reverence of Mother Nature and the earth and all it can provide is shown in how they transform the materials and minerals of the earth into beautiful works of arts and crafts.

direction a tipi may be facing or its height.

Joy Harjo, a Poet and Musician of the Mvskoke tribe has said, “I was taught that our arts carry the spirit of the people. It is through art that we know ourselves. It’s through art that we will go forward into the world and it is through art that our cultures will be remembered.”

•Buy from a reputable dealer or directly from the Native American artist.

Eugene Ridgely Jr., a Northern Arapaho visual artist, agrees. He says that an Indian’s background and culture are attached to the artwork. As an artist, he pays attention to the authentic details that are often missed in the native-inspired art of non-Indians, such as the PAGE

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So, how does the tourist or traveler know how to determine whether the Native American arts and crafts they are interested in are authentic? Here are some steps to help you provided by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board in their brochure, “How to Buy Genuine Indian Arts and Crafts.”

•Native Americans have Certificates of Indian Birth, aka “CIB” cards. They should be willing to show you that card if you are concerned.

•Ask questions! For example: If you are looking at pottery, there are two types available. One is known as traditional and uses clay from Wyoming arts council

the earth, and in most cases vegetable dye and natural plants. This pottery would be hand coiled and the price depends on the detail of the painting on the clay. There is also contemporary pottery. While the artist may have used a mold, in most cases they would have painted the piece by hand. These pieces sell for far less, but nonetheless can be a treasured piece of Native American art.

If you want a basket, if it’s a true Native American basket that has been hand woven with natural materials and paints, they are going to be expensive. There are many fakes out there for under twenty dollars.

For more ideas of what to look for, the Indian Arts and Crafts Board provides educational brochures on Native American arts and crafts that are available on their website at www.doi.gov/iacb.

When visiting the Wind River Indian Reservation and surrounding areas, there are several places to visit on your search for artwork, including the gift shops in the Wind River Hotel & Casino and Shoshoni Rose Casino, the Bead Shoppe at the Frank Wise Building in Ft. Washakie, the Wind River Gallery in Riverton, Lander’s Indian Territory, the Crow Heart Gas Station, the Blue Heron in Hudson, Certain designs are specific to a tribe and even on the Internet and/or family, so ask, when possible, if there is a story attached to beaded with such websites as artwork. Photo credit Britney Rose, windrivernativegifts.com.

If it’s beadwork you are looking at, understand Wind River Hotel & Casino. that there are different types of beads and materials used that can affect the When buying Native price. Certain designs are specific to a artwork, another thing to tribe and/or family, so ask, when possible, if there is a keep in mind is that it is a good idea to buy the local story attached to the beaded artwork. artwork of the area you are in. By buying from tribal members, Ridgely contends, you are helping to sustain Also be aware of the materials used. If you are looking our Native culture. Not only are you able to get the story at a silver bracelet with turquoise inlay, ask if the silver behind the art, but you are helping these artisans preis sterling silver. There should be a stamp saying “Ster- serve their traditions and encourage a new generation ling Silver” or “Sterling.” Ask if the turquoise is natural to learn their ancestors’ art. or treated. If it’s natural, the artist will know the mine it came from and its gem quality. Never ask if something Darrah J. Perez, a poet of the Northern Arapaho/Eastis real because, strictly speaking, plastic is REAL! ern Shoshone/Blackfeet tribes sums up the importance of our Native arts by saying, “We live humbly and know You can also ask for a detailed receipt including the art- our art is what we leave behind to lead our legacies ist’s name, the materials used and how the arts and for our children, our grandchildren, and for those yet to crafts were made. Some artists attach certificates of come. We mark a way to always remember… who it is authenticity to their artwork that explains their back- we are… what we have been through… and to where it ground and tribal affiliation, and a few tribes even have is we are going.” authenticity programs. Artists are also encouraged to sign their artwork using their native name. Eugene Native arts are more than just collector’s items. They Ridgely, as a case in point, signs his artwork “Ridge- are a piece of our culture and a connection to our past. bear.”

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Oyster Ridge

Big Show in a small Town

T

oward the western edge of Wyoming sits the town of Kemmerer, located over 80 miles away from any larger city. Fossil Butte National Monument is located just 15 miles distant, making Kemmerer the fossil fish capital of the world. With a population of approximately 2,600 however, Kemmerer is by no means a world capital.

In this remote high desert community, it’s easy to feel cut off from the arts. The Kemmerer and Diamondville area is a rural community, and in most weeks of the year the area is underserved in terms of cultural resources. That all changes during the last weekend in July.

hances the quality of life in Wyoming. It was also recognized for bringing an estimated $100,000 annually into the area economy. In the years since, the festival has continued to grow and prosper, yet it has never charged an entry fee. Instead, the festival is supported entirely by sponsorships and donations from individuals, downtown businesses, utility companies, local government, schools, clubs, and fraternal organizations.

The ORMF was founded on the belief that it should be a free festival open to all members of the public, and that philosophy has sustained it for twentyfour years.

You’ve got people going out throughout the country wearing shirts that say ‘Oyster Ridge,’ and believe it or not among people who play and enjoy music Oyster Ridge means something to them.

If you’re lucky enough to be standing at the corner of Pine and JC Penney Drive on July 27-29 of 2018, then you’ve only got to cross the street for one of the best music festivals in the west. The historic Herschler Triangle Park in downtown Kemmerer plays host to The Oyster Ridge Music Festival (ORMF). This three day outdoor music event brings local audiences and out-of-towners face-to-face with full time touring professional musicians from all across the United States. And admission is always free.

THE VALUE OF MUSIC When the ORMF won a Governor’s Arts Award in 2006, it was recognized as the sort of organization that enPAGE

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Keeping the festival free entices people to travel to Southwest Wyoming to see and experience the great things that this area has to offer.

As nationally renowned fiddlers The Kessinger Brothers put it, “What it does in a place like this is it makes it a place on the map for a lot more people than you realize. You’ve got people going out throughout the country wearing shirts that say ‘Oyster Ridge,’ and believe it or not among people who play and enjoy music Oyster Ridge means something to them.”

It means quite a bit to the community as well, and in terms of more than dollars and cents. The town’s elderly population and families with distressed incomes can attend easily.

Wyoming arts council

“What makes this event even more unique is that the bands who are hired to perform over the weekend can participate. So, the average person can have the opportunity to play with Grammy Award Winners or other extremely talented individuals.”

That mindset extends to the State Fingerpick and Flatpick contests. The Wyoming State contests are held during the last day of the festival, and anyone who plays the guitar and has the desire to enter Herschler Triangle Park in downtown Kemmerer plays into the competitions can do so for a host to The Oyster Ridge Music Festival each July. minimum registration fee. If the participant wins, they get entered into The local SeNationals in Winfield, Kansas. These nior Center provides a free Safe Ride shuttle from all campgrounds, hotels, and homes to the festival head- contests are, in a sense, a microcosm of ORMF: Talent quarters. A group of middle school students clean up can be discovered in any town no matter how big or small the population is. the park during the day to raise funds for their Washington D.C. trip every year. Every storefront and business will have a festival poster or table tent set up. All this is because in one small corner of Wyoming, a music festival is more than a good show.

A LOCAL FESTIVAL Based out of Sheridan, The Two Tracks are representing the Wyoming music scene at ORMF in 2018. “Wyoming as a state is essentially one small town,” says Dave Huebner, cellist and electric guitarist for the Americana group. “Everyone knows each other. You meet and cross paths with other musicians from the state, and make connections with other festival promoters as well.”

Oyster Ridge is unusual in that sense of bonhomie, exemplified nowhere more than its annual Band Scramble. In this event, participants are randomly grouped into a band. They have one hour to learn three songs as a group. Once the hour is up, the bands have to perform center stage in front of the live ORMF audience. According to Oyster Ridge Executive Director Heidi Currutt,

artscapes • Summer 2018

The annual Band Scramble is a festival favorite. Participants are randomly sorted into bands, have one hour to rehearse, and then take center stage to perform.

Kemmerer may be a little off the beaten path, but musicians and travelers alike come from far and wide to see this show and to play in it. They know that there are sights and sounds in every corner of Wyoming that warrant a detour. The drive is worth it, and the music is something special.

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MUSEUMs

Museums Drive Tourism

I

n countless towns and small cities across the country, there is a museum standing at the heart of the community. These may be history museums, historic sites, natural history museums, or art museums. All represent important pieces of U.S. cultural history. As President and CEO for the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Laura L. Lott explains, “Museums play an essential role in the cultural and social life of the United States – and beyond. They tell our stories, preserve our heritage, interpret the past, and explore our shared futures. Museums enrich lives each and every day.”

From the JC Penney Museum and Mother Store in Kemmerer to the American Heritage Center and Art Museum at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming’s spirit resides within the glass display cabinets and sepia-tone photographs of dozens of institutions dotted all across the state’s landscape. What may be more surprising is the data contained in a recent AAM report. It seems that the country’s museums lie close to its economic heart as well as its cultural heart.

The National Picture The new study is titled, “Museums as Economic Engines” and it reveals, “indisputable evidence that museums contribute more to the United States economy than previously thought.” Conducted by Oxford Economics, the study makes a powerful case for the economic impact of museums. Museums support 726,000 jobs in the United States, and directly employ 372,100 people. In Wyoming, the numbers are 2,600 jobs and $198

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million in total financial impact, including $54.1m in tax revenues. Other key findings include: $50 billion GDP contribution in 2016. This is made up of direct, indirect, and induced effects as the impact of museums spread through the US economy.

726,200 jobs supported in 2016. This includes the 372,100 jobs that are directly provided in the museum sector in the US. $12 billion fiscal contribution in 2016. This was made up of $8 billion in federal taxes and $4 billion in state and local taxes.

In Wyoming More than most states, Wyoming relies on the economic benefits of its museums. According to the AAM study, Wyoming ranks 4th nationally in terms of the key measurement of Location Quotient (L.Q.). A high L.Q. indicates that a state has a higher concentration of museums relative to the rest of the nation. In Wyoming, that works out to an L.Q. of 1.8 compared to the national average of 1.0. Only Washington D.C., Alaska, and Hawaii rank higher.

According to Rob Stein, the Executive Vice President of AAM, “An L.Q. that’s significantly above 1.0, like the state of Wyoming, has more of an impact from museums than the average state does.”

That shouldn’t be too surprising for the Cowboy State. Tourism is famously important to Wyoming’s Wyoming arts council

Impact Results for Museums in Wyoming

economy, 2nd only to mining and extraction industries. With museums acting as major tourist destinations, their significance to local economies is correspondingly high.

“The West, Wyoming in particular, have a lot of history of our nation and much of that is held in national parks so I think that also relates to Hawaii and Alaska,” said Stein. Although travelers may think of Wyoming as a destination for outdoor adventure rather than museum-based recreation, the two are closely linked. Indeed, the study’s definition of a museum includes national parks, historical sites, and zoos.

Arts, Parks, and Culture

and historic sites under the same umbrella as museums. The Wyoming Arts Council and the State Museum are located within the same department (and the same building) as Wyoming State Parks.

So much of the state’s cultural heritage resides in its relationship to the land: the Rocky Mountain landscapes, pioneer trails, and vast rangelands that lie at the heart of the American West. That heritage is reflected in places like Trail End Mansion in Sheridan, Guernsey State Park Museum, and Fort Bridger State Historic Site. The experience of museums is by no means separate and distinct from Wyoming’s natural beauty. The two make up parts of the same cultural and economic engine, both in Wyoming and on a national scale.

Wyoming has a long history of placing its parks

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Travel Photography

Creating epic landscape photography

By Brian Harrington, Owner of BHP Imaging

W

e’ve all had that experience of looking out on a beautiful landscape and wishing we could freeze it in time, take it with us, share it with friends and family. I’ve lived in Wyoming most of my life, so I’ll admit some bias here, but I believe this experience Wyoming photographer happens in the state Brian Harrington. far more often than in most other places.

Imagine for a second that you are having one of those experiences, and you’ve got your camera in hand. How do you best capture the scene before you? In this article I’ll review my go-to tricks and tips for doing just that. If you want to know more I encourage you to hop onto your favorite social media and track me down. I’m not a photographer with secrets.

Find light that makes your photographs memorable.

Watching light is a daily practice for me. When I’m out hiking, pausing every so often to stare at light is part of the experience (luckily I’ve got a patient wife and friends). Here are a couple practices to make sure you’re not underselling epic landscapes by using less than ideal light: • Carve out time to photograph early in the morning or later in the evening. The hour at each edge of a PAGE

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day is called “the golden hour,” and for good reason.

Your best images are almost always going to happen during these times. Wandering an area throughout the day is a perfect opportunity to scout locations so you can optimize your shooting time in the evening/ early morning.

• It is a good rule of thumb to always avoid harsh midday light when the sun is out. However, overcast skies just might be your best friend. A cloudy day can really open up your options, even during the middle of the day. Diffused light from a sky full of clouds allows for incredible detail and rich color. For this reason, cloudy days are especially well suited for photographing wildlife. Remember that the same quality of light is available in the shade.

Compose your photograph to be balanced and compelling.

Looking through the viewfinder is the moment your creativity comes most into play. You get to decide exactly how a viewer will experience the epicness of the Wyoming scenery before you. Use these compositional practices to help you out in this regard: • Remember the rule of thirds. It is the backbone of any creative composition. Start by dividing your photograph into thirds horizontally, then vertically, using lines. Where these lines intersect represent the most impactful locations to put your focal point.

Your horizontal lines are also great guidelines for where your horizon should be placed. Avoid putting

Wyoming arts council

Don’t forget what is right in front of you.

I want to challenge you to really pay attention to your foreground.

Wyoming’s epic landscapes will draw most of your attention to the background, but a captivating phoHarrington’s Medicine Bow Peak from Mirror Lake demonstrates the rule of thirds. Those horizontal lines are great guidelines for where your horizon should be placed. tograph is almost always going your subject or horizon directly in the center as this to have a foremakes for boring photographs. ground, a middle ground, and a background.

• So, you’ve put that big horn sheep on a third, now what do you do with the rest of the space? Use the compositional tool of balance to add visual weight to the opposing side of your image. Think about the story you want to tell and use this extra space to do just that. Remember that anything you chose to include should be diminished somewhat so as not to distract from your subject.

Be Patient.

Making great photographs takes time and effort. You can do everything right and still come away with less-than-epic results. Still, if you have the planning, diligence, and gumption to get yourself into that perfect location before the sun comes up, you will be prepared when a truly special moment presents itself. Always have your camera, and always be shooting.

Use depth of field to your advantage.

This is the primary tool in a photographer’s tool belt. Using a large f-stop (f16-f22) to get nearly everything in focus or a smaller f-stop (f2.8 or f4) to get a narrow plane of focus allows you to control what your viewer will see. Typically I recommend using a larger f-stop to keep your entire image sharp. artscapes • Summer 2018

RAW is always better.

If you have the ability to shoot RAW, you should.

You’ll need Photoshop to open the image, but RAW files allow you much greater control over highlights and shadows, white balance, lens corrections, and so much more. If you have a DSLR camera, chances are you have RAW as an option. You can also probably shoot RAW and JPG files at the same time if you are uncomfortable hopping in all the way. Not having the ability to shoot RAW is not a deal-breaker if your fanciest camera happens to be your phone.

Everyone won’t see epic.

You can’t expect to see something unique from the exact same spot where everyone else is standing.

Explore your surroundings and find a unique point of view. I like to shoot from a low angle to emphasize the foreground or to climb on the roof of my SUV to get a different perspective. Before you get too adventurous though, it’s important to note that many recreational areas in Wyoming (especially National Parks and Monuments) have strict rules about where you can and can’t walk, so be sure to respect those rules for the sake of preserving our great outdoors.

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Art is Everywhere

Art is Everywhere

Pictured clockwise from top left: 2016 Visual Arts Fellowship recipient, Florence McEwin (left) from Green River, participates in a paper marbling workshop in Lucca, Italy while her artwork was on view at the festival, “Cartasia 2016: Biennial of Contemporary Paper Art”; Dancers perform at the premiere of Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre’s (Cody) Buffalo Bill Wild West Dinner Dance Theatre; The Wyoming Symphony Orchestra in Casper brings in nationally and internationally acclaimed guest artists for their concerts, and also takes musicians out into the community through their Music on the Move program; A young art enthusiast works on her one-of-a-kind artwork at one of the Kid’s Art Experience events held by the Platte Valley Arts Council in Saratoga.

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Wyoming arts council

Pictured clockwise from top left: Dancers perform during last summer’s Cheyenne Arts Festival, organized by Arts Cheyenne; The 26th Annual Rocky Mountain Regional Fiddle Championships & Music Festival in Casper features jam sessions, performances, and competitions for fiddlers of all ages and abilities; Attendees at the Lander Art Center’s RiverFest Art and Music in the Park have the opportunity to watch artist demonstrations, hear live music, and purchase local artwork; Jackson Hole Public Art hosted a Winter Bonfire on Center St., where participants were invited to record their wishes for the new year, then send them flying by fire in one of the wood braziers featuring cutout designs by local artists.

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Wyoming Arts Council 2301 Central Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82002

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage

PAID

Cheyenne, WY Permit No. 7

The Wyoming Artists Gallery at the Wyoming State Museum connects artists from across the state with the museum’s 40,000 annual visitors. Pictured above, works from the We Were. We Are. exhibition on display last fall. This summer the gallery will feature the work of Russell Hawley of Casper, who makes scientific drawings of prehistoric plant and animal life based on Wyoming’s fossil record. We’re always on the lookout for artists to feature, so feel free to contact Matthew Wilson, who curates the space, at matthew.wilson1@wyo.gov. Learn more at wyomuseum.state.wy.us.