We take a Word Back: What to make of make?

In my 5/21 post, I brought up a term: word back. Used in a sentence: "I want my word back." Words in my English language have been stolen by corrupt people with no clue about the word's origins and what it really means. This is a travesty in my book, and I have a really big book on my side: The Oxford English Dictionary or, as we English majors call it, the O.E.D. Many of our public libraries used to have the book splayed open on a stand. Oddball students such as myself could peruse at their leisure, or make a beeline to it during a heated argument over the origin of a word or phrase. Yes, heated arguments about words. How I miss those. And the main reason I went dateless most of my college career.

Today's word is "make." And yes, it's the first word in the acronym MAGA. Those are the four words I will tackle during the next couple weeks. They are real words, not just initials on a red ballcap. 

What are we to make of make? Let the O.E.D. be our guide.

I hate to begin with a downer but, to save time, I must. Make can be a noun. In fact, it is a variant for maggot. Here's an example from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” circa 1604: “Your worme is your onely Emperour for dyet, we fat all creatures els to fat vs, and wee fat our selues for maggots.”

In more modern terms, we have this line by Mae West in 1930's "Constant Sinner:" "The double-crossin' heel! The garbage-can maggot!"

You don't see "make" in there. But, it is a variant which means it's rarely used except by historical fiction writers and time travelers. But the reference comes alive in 2025 because critics poke fun at MAGA followers by calling them MAGATS or MAGHATS or just MAGGOTS. We don't use the term as it's below our station to do so even though it's hilarious. 

Make is usually used as a verb that means to produce. Let's let Merriam-Webster have a crack at this: Make (transitive verb): to bring into being by forming, shaping, or altering material; to lay out and construct, to compose or write.

Back to the O.E.D.: The earliest known use of the word is in the Old English Period pre-1150. It has Germanic roots. It's use in Old English includes references in literature, music, and religion. 

Does the O.E.D. have anything to say about sexual references in popular culture? I didn’t look. But I have some examples. Let's make out (kiss, etc.). “Making Whoopee” (song about kissing etc.), "I want to Make It With You," a popular 1970s song by Bread which is really about sex as in "Love the One You're With" or so says Stephen Stills. Let's make a baby is a line used by married couples in rom-coms. "Wanna make sex?" is not a common term although it has been used in dingy bars at closing time.

"To make" is a very positive act. A maker is one who makes. A Makerspace is a place dedicated to making things usually artwork. My artist daughter visits a local Makerspace. Many public libraries have makerspaces in their children's/teens sections. Many of these libraries are under attack by Trump & Company and local right-wing kooks. Many makerspaces are funded by government grants which are being eliminated by the GOP-controlled Congress.

Makers, themselves, are under attack for being too woke and not appreciating all the MAGA Goodness spread like fairy dust by Donnie and Elon. Arts workers jobs are being eliminated along with budgets for state and local arts agencies as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. To tell an artist he or she can't make any more is absurd. That's like telling us not to breathe. But it will hurt all of us, this pilfering of money for the arts and humanities. 

Merriam-Webster lists these antonyms (opposites): Dismantle, destroy, eradicate, abolish, take apart, etc., etc.

To Make. Think about it.

Keep up with the arts scene at WyoFile's Studio Wyoming Review

WyoFile periodically runs art reviews in its Studio Wyoming Review section. I, periodically, write one of those reviews. My latest appeared on April 9. The subject was "The Art Of Assemblage" exhibit at Blue Door Arts in the Hynds Building downtown. Read it here.

Running through the review is some commentary on the role of the arts in Cheyenne's downtown redevelopment. I moved my family from Fort Collins to Cheyenne in the summer of 1991. The people we met thought we were crazy moving from a cool university town to a cold and windy Wyoming burg. Those same people escaped to FoCo when the roads were passable. It boasted good food, swinging bars, lots of concerts and other activities. It also had a lively downtown.

Cheyenne had none of those things. "There's nothing to do in this town" was the constant refrain, and not only from my kids. Downtown was a ghost town after 5 when the staties (like me) went home.

A lot can change in 28 years. I mentioned some of them in my last post. New restaurants opening. Condo complex even going up, probably the first new residences built downtown since World War II. I dropped by West Edge Collective's parking lot yesterday to buy a six-pack at the Pufkins food truck. It's Cheyenne Restaurant Week and pufkins (muffin-style pancakes) are $10 for six and I bought a couple of breakfasts' worth. Tomorrow I am getting some $1 tacos at La Paz ("Best Tacos y Burritos") on 18th Street just catty-corner from Danielmark's Brewery. IPA first, then tacos.

But wherefore the arts? I have been writing about them for years, both as writer/editor at the Wyoming Arts Council and as a free-lancer. The future looks good for a concert space at the old Lincoln Theatre. The Civic Center offers a great new line-up of events. The summer outdoor concert season will begin as soon as we get all of the snow out of the way. I'll be writing more about the arts in Cheyenne and around the region as time goes by. See you soon.

Autumn a good time of year for Wyoming literary events

Did you know that Wyoming has a variety of gatherings devoted to writing and the book?

Maybe you did. In case you did not, here is some illuminating info.

First, you still have some time to see the book that gave us Shakespeare -- the First Folio at the State Museum in Cheyenne. Wyoming is on the tour of the book from the Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. It's exhibited under glass on the museum's second floor where you can read passages written in Early Middle Englifh [sic]. "To be or not to be..." Etc. On exhibit through Friday, Sept. 30. Get more info: 307-777-7021. For more on Shakespeare in Cheyenne, see my earlier blog at http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-broncos-vs-bard.html

On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Literary Connection returns to Laramie County Community College. A local book club launched the conference more than 10 years ago after attending the excellent Literary Sojourn put on by the public library in Steamboat Springs. I have attended some amazing presentations at LitConn. Talks and readings by Tim O'Brien ("The Things They Carried"); Annie Proulx, whose stunning short fiction collection "Close Range" gave us "Brokeback Mountain;" mystery writer and WYO native C.J. Box; Poe Ballantine, whose true-crime book "Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere" explores a mysterious death in Chadron, Neb.; and Pam ("Cowboys are My Weakness") Houston. This weekend, you can hear from Alexandra Fuller and Craig Childs. Not sure if Alexandra still lives in Jackson Hole but she is a fine writer, author of a chilling nonfiction account about her time in the bush during the civil war in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Craig lives in western Colorado off the grid and writes about human interaction with the landscape. His latest book is "Apocalyptic Planet." A $30 admission buys you presentations from the authors, lunch and a book-signing. FMI: Lisa Trimble, LCCC, 307-778-1285, or go to https://www.lccc.wy.edu/about/foundation/LiteraryConnection.aspx

I just returned from the 30th annual Casper College Literary Conference. I am especially fond of this conference because I've been attending on-and-off for 25 years as the literary arts coordinator for the Wyoming Arts Council. That time, Terry Tempest Williams stunned the crowd with a reading from her masterpiece "Refuge." Terry's reading addressed the incidences of cancer in her Utah family that was caused by fallout from nuclear tests. This year, another westerner, Doug Peacock, talked about his experiences with grizzly bears in Montana and Wyoming. Doug sought healing from tours in Vietnam as a Green Beret medic by venturing alone into the wilderness. "I needed something more dangerous that fishing and camping," he said during a Friday talk at Casper College. He found it. Read about it in "Grizzly Years."

I picked up two of his books at the conference: "Walking it Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War and Wilderness" and "In the Shadow of the Sabertooth." Doug has intriguing things to say about "war sickness" (a.k.a. PTSD) and left us by noting that "a recovering vet in the wilderness" isn't looking for data but for stories. It's great to know the causes and possible cures for PTSD. It's the stories that heal.

Thanks to Casper College for featuring so many stories by Peacock and Linda Hogan and Mark Spragg. It takes a village to put on one of these events. In this village are Terry Rasmussen, Joseph Campbell, Julia Whyde and others at CC and Carolyn Deuel of ARTCORE, Casper's very active arts council. As a retired government arts worker, I know how much work this takes. As a an elder of the clan, I urge all of you to support your local arts council through time or money or through messages of support to your local legislator. It all helps.

One complaint ("you kids get off my lawn!"). I miss the Equality State Book Festival, which used to be held in tandem with the literary conference during even years. The bookfest began in 2004, planned by the same committee that put together the conference (plus me down in Cheyenne). It was our only statewide bookfest where we once had two, the other one in Cheyenne during odd years through 2007. It's possible that the events have outlived their usefulness in the age of e-books and self-publishing and mega-bestsellers by celebs. But I was in the Black Hills earlier in the week and saw ads for the South Dakota Book Festival, held at three sites -- Sioux Falls, Brookings and Rapid City. And Montana has at least two bookfests. I admit that I did no volunteering for the cause during my first year as a retiree. Perhaps that will change once I get a handle on this novel. My focus now is on my own community. Perhaps the bookfest can return to Cheyenne, site of the first statewide version in October 2001. Attendance could have been better. It followed on the heels of 9/11 and the anthrax attacks and Cheyenne's first casualty in Afghanistan. But a replay is not out of the question.

The Jackson Hole Writers' Conference is held each June in Jackson. It's one of the best of its kind in the U.S. The JHWC features prize-winning authors from all over the world and an impressive roster of agents and editors. Local faculty includes comic novelist Tim Sandlin, who also runs the conference with assistant Connie Weineke, who just won a poetry fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council and read her work in Casper. Tim is a dogged organizer. He shows the same inventiveness finding event funding as he did surviving as an aspiring writer in one of the West's most expensive resorts. He washed a lot of dishes while conjuring cool characters and fantastical plots. Get more info about JHWC by going to http://jacksonholewritersconference.com/

Wyoming Writers, Inc., has been putting on annual conferences since Hector was a pup. I've attended many, most of them for the Arts Council. Last year's conference at the Wind River Casino in Riverton was my first as a civilian writer. The only gambling I did was during pitch sessions to an editor and an agent ("we don't do short stories!"). I'm a member in good standing and will be at the gathering in Gillette in June 2017. More info at http://www.wyowriters.org/

Other writing events take place all over the state. Writing critique groups aren't for everyone, but most larger communities have one or several. Look to your local library and community college! UW, too.

Summer arts events flourish in Wyoming communities

Looking for something to do this summer?

You don't have to look very far.

The Wyoming Arts Council and the Wyoming Humanities Council have teamed up to chronicle "125 Days of Arts and Humanities." Why 125? Because this summer marks the 125th anniversary celebration of Wyoming statehood. The official big day is July 10. On that day, the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site holds a Statehood Celebration Day. That same weekend, you  can view Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei's sculptures in Jackson or groove to sounds of Marty Stuart and His Superlatives at the Big Horn Mountain Festival in Buffalo or ogle the art at Jackson Hole's art fair or talk mountains at the international climbers' festival in Lander or travel to the powwow in Ethete. Everyone should attend at least one powwow, Interesting and instructional, especially for us white folks who think we have all of the answers.

And that's just one WYO weekend.

On any weekend, you are almost certain to find a beerfest. A beer festival addresses the basic necessities of a summer weekend: craft beer, BBQ and music. Craft beer continues to make waves in WYO. We have some award-winners at Melvin Brewing/Thai Me Up in Jackson and Alpine. Snake River Brewery in Jackson has been brewing up Pako's IPA and a whole host of specialty brews for decades. They were among the first in the region to can their output. A new brewpub, Cheyenne Brewing Company, opens in early June in Cheyenne. You can get a more comprehensive list of craft brewers in Wyoming at

The Wyoming Brewers Festival is set for Cheyenne June 19-20. One of the interesting things about this festival is that its proceeds go toward rehabbing our city's historic train depot. The brewfesr culminates with a Saturday night concert by the Taylor Scott Band. Scott grew up in Cheyenne. There was a time when you could see the teen-age Scott and his band perform for free downtown. He's gone on to bigger and better things, his voice and musical skills honed from constant touring with his new band. Don't miss it.

Some final words. I've been working in the arts in Wyoming for 24 years. I continue to be amazed by the scope and variety of summer events. Many of the festivals on the list have arisen in the past 10 years. This is especially true of the brewfests, most of which feature music and some have art exhibits. Local food is a major element. At the Wyoming Arts Council, we joke about the fact that our small staff couldn't possibly attend all of the summer arts offerings. We could try, but who would be left to shuffle the state paperwork? But all of you can get out and support these events. That's what keeps these events going -- the sweat equity of local organizers. And your attendance.  

Loveland getting national attention for its creative placemaking projects

Chris poses with my new car as train rumbles by the Loveland Feed & Grain Building, which is being transformed into the Art @ The Feed and Grain facility. You can't see it in this pic but the new ArtsSpace live/work spaces for artists are being built on the other side of the Feed and Grain.  

SF Gate in San Francisco carried a neat article Saturday about the ArtSpace project in Loveland, located an hour south of Cheyenne on I-25. Loveland is a one-time farming community and jumping-off point to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. The city is known for two things: it amazing array of outdoor sculpture and its dueling summer sculpture shows; Valentine's Day postal cancellations (LOVE-land -- get it?). Loveland once was home to my aunt and grandfather. Back in the eighties, my grandfather used to grabbed his cane and tottered over to the old downtown coffee shop where he used to entertain the waitresses with old war stories. My aunt was a bit concerned that Grandpa would get run over on his morning walks. But Loveland was pretty sleepy back then. As long as he didn't wander over to Eisenhower Blvd./U.S. Hwy. 34, where a steady stream of behemoth motor homes made a beeline for the national park. Grandpa lived to a ripe old age, still spinning his tales to anyone who would listen at the Denver V.A. Hospital.

Thirty years later, Loveland is a different place. The old feed and grain building along the railroad tracks is being renovated into an arts center. Next door, live-work spaces for 30 artists are under construction. The projects are being sponsored by ArtSpace of Minneapolis, the country's lone non-profit property developer. Read more about it here and here. Cheyenne is also trying to get an ArtSpace project off the ground. Read about it here -- and, if you live within 50 miles of Cheyenne, take the survey.

Chris and I visited downtown Loveland two Saturdays ago. We were on our way back from a car-buying trip to Denver. Viewed the nifty ArtSpace project on the edge of a revitalizing downtown. We dropped in on the Loveland Creatorspace on the other side of the tracks from the feed and grain. Place was humming with young people working Cad-Cam computers and 3-D printers. A machinist was making parts for some gizmo. A guy my age tutored students. Such a neat place. Creativity comes in so many forms.

What makes Cheyenne Cheyenne?

One of the best things to happen to Wyoming communities in 2014 is a resurgence of downtown redevelopment. Wyoming Main Street gets some credit for that. But the energy to get the job done comes from within the community. That's the way it should be, don't you think?

Rock Springs, Gillette, Rawlins -- all communities that refurbished downtowns in the past year. They rebuilt streets and sidewalks, added new lighting and purchased public art. Rock Springs and Rawlins provided funds for businesses to redo their storefronts. All of these places added business to their central core, the traditional heart of their cities.

What do I-80 travelers think about when they buzz through Rawlins? Who would want to live there -- it's so desolate? Sure, on a bitter January day, Rawlins can look at bit intimidating. Sure, the state's hulking gray prison lurks just behind the bluffs to the south. The rock escarpments that ring the town may look a bit foreboding to coasters. And that 60 mph west wind that strips the enamel from your teeth? Not much to say but keep your mouth shut. I suppose that's good advice anytime.

But there's so much to see and do. The intriguing historic prison is downtown and the site for some entertaining candlelight tours during Halloween season. The old prison even appeared on an episode of "Ghost Adventures" in which Zak & Co. discovered that the exploration of a quirky local home was almost as exciting as the haunted prison. We acknowledge that the show is filled with P.T. Barnum hoopla -- but it also showcases some great historic tidbits. And how many nationally-televised shows get to Rawlins?

Rawlins recently revamped their downtown streetscape and added two beautiful hawk sculptures by Boulder's Joshua Wiener. Next time, get off the interstate and do some exploring -- and maybe some dining and shopping.

It's the people who make the place -- and those creative ventures that people undertake. Art, music, writing, sculpting, cooking, ghost adventuring, etc. You just have to ask yourself: what makes my community tick?

What makes Cheyenne Cheyenne? That's the question we're asking locally. Everyone knows about our Old West heritage. Every July, we stage a big party with that theme at its center. But Cheyenne also is about transportation -- railroads, highways and air travel. That last one may be a bit of a surprise, as our tiny airport is outshone by so many others in the region. But our town has a storied history when it comes to flying. The Carl Spaatz Flying Circus, Eddie Rickenbacker's crack-up, Lindbergh and the Army Airmail Service, the advent of United Airlines, etc. -- you can look it up.

Dinosaurs walked here -- and I'm not just talking about Republican legislators. Native Americans were the first human inhabitants and Cheyenne, as its name suggests, is rich in pre-white-settlement history. Buffalo soldiers? We had them at Fort D.A. Russell.

We are enriched by the arts. An article in Sunday's WTE celebrated a banner year in music for Cheyenne. Arts Cheyenne will engage in an "arts blitz" in 2015 to build interest for a downtown Artspace project that will rehab an old building and turn it into live-work spaces for artists and -- possibly -- offices for arts groups and visual arts and performing spaces. The Children's Museum project is really taking off.

This is what Cheyenne needs -- thinking and acting locally. For too long we have thrown up our hands and ceded arts and culture and music and beer to Fort Collins. For good reason -- FoCo almost invented the craft beer scene in the Rocky Mountain West. It also has a thriving arts scene. But it wasn't always that way. When I was a grad student there in the late 1980s, nobody called it FoCo but they did call it an aggie town or cowtown -- a sleepy place which young people deserted on weekends to go to Denver and Boulder and the mountains. Meanwhile, bored kids from Cheyenne were traveling to Fort Collins because that's where things were happening. Weird.

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Collin Ingram, a musician himself, says he's been in Fort Collins for the past three years and, in that time, has seen the music scene grow and expects that to continue.  

The next big step, however, is the community determining the value it wants to place on the music scene in Fort Collins, Ingram said.  

"We need to decide if the scene is going to be a cool thing that happens here — with bands and a couple festivals every year — or if we're going to kind of move toward the scene being a quintessential part of what makes Fort Collins Fort Collins … the same way beer makes Fort Collins Fort Collins, or the way CSU makes Fort Collins Fort Collins."

What makes Cheyenne Cheyenne? You decide.

And what makes Wyoming Wyoming? Volunteerism and generosity. Neighbors helping neighbors.

News comes about a devastating Dec. 30-31 fire in Dubois that destroyed several historic downtown buildings. Needs of Dubois is handling contributions for relief efforts. Send checks to NOD, PO Box 865, Dubois, WY 82513, and please note "Dubois Fire" in the memo of the check. You can also contribute online at http://www.gofundme.com/duboisfire. Almost $10,000 had been raised by noon on Jan. 2.

Sunday round-up: Heating up -- Political races & Cheyenne's downtown

Newspapers and online sources seem to agree that the Wyoming political races are heating up. This week, Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Pete Gosar went on the offensive against Matt Mead at the debate. And Democrat Mike Ceballos and Republican Jillian Barlow went at it regarding some critical social media comments. At this point, three weeks and two days away from election day, races should be heating up. Facebook may be the best way to follow Pete and Mike's campaigns. As for the debates, Wyoming PBS will simulcast those this week and stream them online. Get more info here.

The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle punctuated its week-long series about Cheyenne's downtown with its lead editorial this morning, "DDA must focus on the essentials." I knew it was important due to the very large headline. Downtown way be the most important issue Cheyenne faces. As downtown goes, so goes the city. I agree that all of the entities involved need to do this: "Time, energy and money must be targeted, not shotgunned out in hope that something good will happen."

Speaking of downtown... My work colleague, artist Camellia El-Antably, and artist and educator Mark Vinich, staged a "soft" opening of their new gallery space on Thursday during Art Design & Dine. Called Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio, these artrepreneurs have created a striking, well-lighted space geared to featuring regional artists. Go by and see the new space at 1513 Carey Avenue. See for yourself how downtown can become a more vital and artful place.

A reminder that Democrats are holding a FUNdraiser today from 2-4 p.m. at Joe's house, 3626 Dover Rd. If you truly want to see the campaigns heat up, come on by, meet the candidates, contribute to the cause and eat some scrumptious desserts, such as Mike and Jeran's homemade pumpkin cheeesecake.

St. Michael may just be the angel that downtown Cheyenne needs

On Saturday morning, I toured the new Creeque Alley Gallery in the Majestic Building right across from the Depot Plaza. It's on the second floor of the 107-year-old Majestic, a place you can reach by stairs or by one of the few manually-operated elevators remaining west of the Mississippi. A decade ago, when the Majestic was filled with offices of insurance agents, accountants and dentists, the elevator featured its own operator, a guy who may have been as old as the building. Now you're on your own figuring out the controls.

Cliff Brown is the proprietor of Creeque Alley. He's a well-traveled artist who now makes his home in Cheyenne. He wears a kilt on this Celtic Musical Arts Festival weekend. He points out his south-facing office window.

"Look at this view," he says.

It's impressive, I have to admit. Even with the window closed, you can hear the skirl of pipes and the pounding of drums and Harley engines and the train racket out beyond the depot. This is action central when it comes to downtown Cheyenne. The Corner Co-op Gallery soon plans to move next door to Creeque Alley. Brown says that the Majestic is filling up with funky new tenants -- just down the hallway is Cassidy's Message Therapy and a psychic's office. The Majestic connects with the building next door which is getting a makeover. New windows have already been installed and a construction crew is tearing up decades-old carpets and hauling away old desks and filing cabinets and phone books from the 1970s.

The Cheyenne DDA/Main Street organizations has moved into the building's ground floor corner office. The space used to be home to a hookah bar with a dicey reputation. On warm days, you probably can still smell the hookah fumes.

Michael the Archangel looks over Cliff Brown's shoulder in the Creeque Alley offices in the Majestic Building.

Cliff grew up in New Jersey and has lived all over the U.S., and in Canada and Northern Ireland. He lived in Northern Ireland long enough to develop an accent strong enough to befuddle American tourists. During "The Troubles," he conducted art classes that put Protestant and Catholic youth in the same room.

Kick-starting Cheyenne's downtown may represent a similar challenge. Downtown has tons of potential and artists are seizing the day. Camellia El-Antably and Mark Vinich will open their new Clay Paper Scissors Gallery and Studio on the 1500 block of Carey Avenue in August. A new studio/gallery will go into their old space in the renovated warehouse at 15th and Thomes. Another new art center recently opened east on Lincolnway. It's called FlyDragon Design Art Studio and offers classes such as "Hot Topics" on June 20, a date night class where couples come in to paint a masterpiece together. Sounds like a good way to see if you and your potential spouse are simpatico when it comes to the arts.

The ArtSpace Cheyenne project is gaining momentum. Downtown's infamous "The Hole" will soon be filled by the Cheyenne Children's Museum. The city council will vote on the project at Monday evening's meeting. Those of you anxious to fill The Hole with an arts-oriented business might want to drop a line to their city council rep.This summer, the Hynds Building will be the site of an exhibit of larger-than-life portraits taken by Wyoming Tribune-Eagle photographer Michael Smith in his bid to capture the images of 1 percent of the county's population. The exhibit will be open daily in July and Smith will be taking portraits in the building's main floor throughout the month.

Creeque Alley's offices feature a gallery where you can sit in overstuffed sofas and contemplate the paintings on the wall. Some are by Cliff and his fellow artists; others are by unknown artists, the paintings left behind in the building's storage area, retrieved and repaired by Cliff. It's a good place to hang out, maybe bring your coffee up from the Paramount Cafe for for a few moments and introspection and art appreciation.

Next to Cliff's desk hangs a big black-and-white print of a traditional painting showing Michael the Archangel driving Lucifer from heaven. Cliff calls this his good luck charm, noting that since it was hung on the wall, he's been to assemble all the furniture, computer equipment and some of the paintings for free. All he needs now is $700 in monthly rent to keep the place open. Cliff is counting on art sales, fees for art classes and income from his graphic design business to make the payments. He's meeting with the DDA on Monday to see what it has to offer.

The St. Michael print strikes a chord. I had a similar painting over my crib. My name's Michael, you see, and my parents thought that a portrait of a lanky, long-haired angel poking a trident at a prostrate, grimacing Lucifer is just what a young Catholic lad should see as his synapses formed lasting memories. Maybe they were right.

St. Michael may be a fitting patron saint for downtown Cheyenne. Devils galore stand in the way of progress: outmoded rules and regs, absentee landlords, niggling naysayers and that old demon, status quo. In Christian tradition, St. Michael led a band of angels against the forces of darkness. This time, he may be leading the charge of a band of local artrepreneurs.

Artspace comes to Cheyenne Jan. 29

Cheyenne's downtown needs help.

I'm not the first one to say that. The lead editorial in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle said it. So has our mayor, city council people and just plain folks such as you and that person standing next to you.

Artspace, by itself, doesn't have the only answer to a vital downtown. But it can help. And it's good to see action replace complaining.

This Minneapolis-based organization's mission "is to create, foster and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations." It has helped cities from Minot, ND, to Fort Lauderdale rehab old spaces into thriving live/work spaces for artists. On Valentine's Day in Loveland, CO, Artspace will be part of a ground-breaking for artist residences at the old Loveland Feed & Grain Building, part of new arts campus. Loveland once was known as Fort Collins' sleepy southern cousin. Then it carved out a niche as a hotbed for sculpture, and now it boasts a downtown focused on the arts.

The Cheyenne Downtown Development Authority and Arts Cheyenne propose to partner with Artspace to create downtown spaces for artists to live, work and collaborate. Plan to attend one of the meetings on Wednesday, Jan. 29, to share your ideas with Artspace, and to hear what the organization can do for our downtown.

Here are the public meetings:

11:45 a.m.: City Council and community leadership work session at the Historic Plains Hotel, 1600 Central Ave.

2 p.m.: Artists and arts organization focus group, Old West Museum, 4601 Carey Ave.

5:30 p.m.: Public meeting, Plains Hotel Ballroom.

The 2 and 5:30 p.m. meetings will include a summary of Artspace artist survey results, possible sites for Artspace in downtown Cheyenne, and PowerPoint loop presentation on arts organizations.

Not every Artspace visit leads to a project. As an Arts Council staffer, I attended an Artspace session in Casper that did not lead to a project. However, it started the ball rolling on the revitalization of the city's downtown and its adjacent Old Yellowstone Historic District. The Casper Artists' Guild has designs on an old downtown warehouse and is halfway to its fund-raising goal of a million dollars to purchase and rehab the structure which it will share with a business, possibly a brewpub. The Nicolaysen and the city and a private developer teamed up to replace a crime-ridden apartment complex with LEED-certified low-income housing units, a public plaza and a unique sculpture, with funding help from the National Endowment for the Arts.

I also attended the "Living Upstairs in Wyoming" conference in Sheridan which explored the city's thriving downtown and the trend toward transforming the upstairs units of those buildings into living spaces. Sheridan's downtown is also home to dozens of outdoor sculptures. Cheyenne could learn a lot from its northern neighbors.

Southern neighbors, too: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley. Yes, I know that Wyomingites are intensely proud of the state and profess a dislike for its neighbors, "The Greenies." But it's self-defeating to not use all the ideas we can find to reinvent our downtown.

This struggling stick figure artist is impressed with local talent

I am continually amazed by the artistic talents of my fellow human beings. Writers can string words and phrases together to create something intelligible that might be fun and/or informative to read. But when it comes to creating a physical object, I am inept. That probably describes a lot of us, although it shouldn't prevent us from trying. It didn't seem to phase my son and daughter that their father's stick figures were terrible. They just liked it that I spent hours drawing with them on snowy days.

Art Design & Dine is on the schedule this Thursday, June 13, 5-8 p.m. A few years ago, local artist Georgia Rowswell got the ball rolling for "Cheyenne's in-town art tour." It's still going strong and always boasts something new and interesting. This time, Georgia's Artful Hand Gallery is featuring the work of her husband Dave, an artist and arts educator. His rawhide jewelry will be on display (and for sale) at Artful Hand for one night only (see image).

You can also view Georgia's mixed-media landscape art. Her work is also part of the Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition on the ground floor of the Barrett Building which also houses the Wyoming State Museum. Reception for the GCAE will be on June 21 starting at 5 p.m. Come on our for art and music and refreshments. I've seen the exhibit twice now, and I could go back for more -- and will.

All of this work is offered for sale. Support your local artists! They are crucial to a healthy cultureshed.

FoCo, NoCo vs. Chy-town, SeWy -- which one is the winner?

Old Town in Fort Collins boasts a new arts space. Here's the lowdown on The Artery from CSU's Rocky Mountain Collegian:

This past Friday the missing piece to the art scene here in NoCo moved into Old Town. A set of 17 art studios that were designed to stimulate the creativity of artists across a wide range will celebrate and showcase art in Fort Collins in a whole new way.

The Artery, which you will find in a historic building on the corner of Linden and College, has been beautifully renovated into a unique art gallery, art studios and events venue. It will rent studios to visual artists and creative businesses, host concerts and gallery walks, teach classes and workshops on all sorts of mediums and much more.

There's an added bonus for this new space.

Fort Collins Brewing Company has also joined the fun by renting a studio for their very own ‘art brewer.’ FCB will be holding a contest that selects two artists of their choosing to share a rented studio at The Artery to create pieces for both themselves and the brewery.

This aging writer is jealous of these young artists populating one of the best downtowns in one of the best communities in the country. I'm a CSU grad so I do bring a bias to the discussion. Fort Collins has been building its creative infrastructure for decades. CSU renovated the old high school (Go FC Lambkins!) into a state-of-the-art arts center. Old Town is thriving with shops and bistros and one of the finest brewpubs in Coopersmiths. The Beet Street arts org has moved in to the old FoCo Carnegie Library and is rehabbing it for its Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR). And speaking of craft breweries -- FoCo is the hotspot of Colorado and possibly the nation. I don't quaff the craft brews like I used to, but right now have an Odell 90 Shilling in my hand. I love summer.

As you may recall, I'm a resident of Cheyenne which is 45 short minutes from Fort Collins. We are in different states and different worlds. Our downtown has been struggling for years. We have a fantastic Historic Depot and its plaza that features bands and beer all summer long. We have the Historic Atlas Theatre and Freedom's Edge Brewery and the new Dinneen Building and the Hynds Building Project and the Paramount Cafe and Ruby Juice and several galleries and a great music store in Ernie November. But what I count on two hands, Fort Collins counts on many hands.

It's possible that Cheyenne and Southeast Wyoming just lack interesting acronyms. Cheyenne may be too short of a title for abbreviation. Chey? Cheyne? Do an acrostic with these letters and you get Cheney (God forbid). I have heard people label my place Chy-town, which isn't bad. Our region could easily be SeWy. Chy-town in SeWy! I'll have to test it out on a focus group of hipsters, if I can find any.

Cheyenne has come a long way in the 22 years that my family has called it home. This morning I was talking to Bill Lindstrom, director of Arts Cheyenne, the local arts council. It wasn't too long ago that the capital city had no arts council. That's real progress. And there's more to do all of the time.

Still, we're a long way from establishing a place like The Artery. The grand opening will be on Friday, June 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. I'll be at the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference in Laramie, but please feel free to tool on down the road to FoCo. The opening will include an exhibition of art along with the artists behind it, food, beer by Fort Collins Brewery and music. It's free!

Welcome to the coal state -- and our cool, energy-efficient welcome center

Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center

Join the Wyoming Office of Tourism, the Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources and the Wyoming Arts Council at a ceremony to dedicate WIND CODE, a sculpture by Laramie artist Stan Dolega, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center, north entrance, exit 4 off I-25.

Stan’s sculpture was funded through the Wyoming Art in Public Buildings. It's a great addition to the very cool Welcome Center building, which uses alternative energy sources to supply most of its power. According to its architectural firm:

The design team harnessed sunlight and wind to deliver nearly 40 kW of zero-emissions power—enough to offset more than half of the building's electrical demand. Photovoltaic (solar) panels on the roof and walls of the building generate approximately 27 kW of electricity, while five on-site wind turbines provide the balance of renewable power.

The welcome center's HVAC system was built around a ground source heat pump (geo-exchange) system that utilizes the relatively constant temperature of the earth to provide efficient building heating and cooling and features more than 11 miles of heat-transferring geo-exchange coils buried beneath the 26.6-acre project site. Thermal displacement ventilation—a low-energy-use air distribution system in which incoming air originates low in the space and rises in thermal plumes to exhaust outlets at the ceiling—was implemented for the public and office portions of the facility. In addition to saving energy, thermal displacement ventilation enhances indoor air quality and thermal comfort for building occupants.

Daylight harvesting, which optimizes the amount of healthy natural light brought into building spaces while limiting the use of electric lighting, was enhanced by the welcome center's long axis and relatively narrow width. High-efficiency electric lighting supplements natural daylight when necessary.

Stan Dolega's "Wind Code" sculpture

This ceremony will be part of a 9 a.m.-3 p.m. open house at the Welcome Center celebrating the beginning of National Travel and Tourism Week in Wyoming. Visit the many interactive displays inside which highlights Wyoming's culture, history and energy sources. Interesting to note that this week Gov. Matt Mead announced that Wyoming will mine its ten billionth ton of coal in May. More and more of our coal is destined for China although Washington and Oregon are in a snit about letting thousands of coal trains travel through their bobo urban neighborhoods. Hey, what's not to like about a spritz of coal dust on your mocha latte?

My father's Irish sweater

It’s April 16 in Wyoming, the snow is falling and I’m wearing my father’s cream-colored cableknit cardigan. Sometimes it’s called an Aran sweater or, in Ireland, an Aran jumper. It wasn’t made on the islands but in the village of Glen Columb Kille in Donegal. 

My father didn’t get the sweater in Ireland because he never traveled there. That’s what the Internet is for, to order Irish sweaters online and have them delivered a few days later by the UPS man. A few members of Dad's family have been back to Ireland since Thomas O’Shea and family departed the potato famine in 1848. My father was overseas just once and that was during WWII. He was stationed in England but didn’t make the jump over the Irish Sea.  He did make the jump over the English Channel, as did his father in WWI. They both got to France to fight Germans but didn't make it to The Old Sod.

Aran jumpers have a history. I didn’t know that until I looked them up on the Internet. Aran Island women used to make the sweaters from unscoured wool so that the lanolin remained in the fiber to deflect the moisture faced by their fisherman husbands. They didn’t keep them afloat, alas, as many went down to the sea in ships (and boats). In fact, once the fishermen went into the drink the sweaters probably got waterlogged and dragged the lads to their deaths.

My sweater was knitted with a rope design, meant for either a Boy Scout, a hangman or a fisherman. I looked it up on the Aran Sweater Market web site. I couldn't find my design there, although I was pleased to see that I could buy an O'Shea clan sweater for $199. More than 500 Irish clans have their own sweater design, according to the site. 

O’Shea is the Anglicisation of the original Gaelic Ó Séaghada, which comes from the personal name meaning ‘hawk-like’ or ‘fortunate’. The sept was located in the Barony of Iveragh in County Kerry, where they were lords until the 12th century. Some of the family migrated to counties Tipperary and Kilkenny as early as the 14th century. In Kilkenny the name is often spelled O’Shee. One of the most famous O’Sheas was Katharine, or Kitty, who was the mistress of Charles Stuart Parnell.

The hand knit O’Shea sweater (shown at right) incorporates the blackberry, rope, honeycomb, link, and zig-zag stitches. The blackberry stitch represents the Holy Trinity, rope represents good luck, honeycomb is symbolic of work, link stands for the unbroken chain between the Irish that emigrate and those who remain at home, and the zig zag stitch symbolises the ups and downs of marriage. This beautiful Aran sweater has been hand knitted in the traditional báinín (pronounced ‘baw neen’) colour, the natural white of the wool. It comes to you complete with a clan history and crest. It is made of 100% pure new wool, is water repellent and breathable. It has been hand crafted in the traditional Irish style, and, with care, will last a lifetime.

That's a lot of thought going into one sweater. And is there an "unbroken chain between the Irish that emigrate and those who remain at home?" I feel very Irish-American but not very Irish. Quite a few generations separate me from Thomas O'Shea. My maternal grandfather, Martin Hett, emigrated from Ireland to England when he was 12. He labored in coal mines for five years until he could afford the trip to America. Grandpa Martin lived to be 90. During his 72 years as an expatriate, he never returned to Ireland. His memories were of privation, a drunken father, an evil stepmother and sadistic priests. Not the kind of memories that breeds nostalgia.

Despite all that, I celebrate my Irish roots. I may even get an O'Shea sweater. It may never stop snowing here in The New Sod.

Second-to-last Cheyenne Winter Farmers Market set for this Saturday

There are only two more Winter Farmers Markets "inside the sunny and cozy lobby of the Historic Train Depot Museum in downtown Cheyenne," which is how the monthly press release puts it. During Cheyenne winters, I am always pleased to shop in a sunny and cozy place. Even when it's not officially winter any more, as it is now, I prefer sunny and cozy to cloudy and blustery.

The next market will be held this Saturday, April 6, May 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Here are some of this Saturday's offerings:

• Gourmet local mushrooms
• Fresh yogurt
• Farm-fresh eggs, goat and sheep cheese
• Gourmet pastas, flavored oils and vinegars
• Locally roasted fair-trade coffee and herbal teas
• Fresh breads and home-baked treats
• Locally made chocolates and candies
• Grass-fed beef, lamb, and bison, free-range chickens, pork, goat's meat
• Locally produced jams, honey, and Amish-style peanut butter
• Take-home BBQ, bratwurst, cabbage burgers, chowders and bisque, smoked wild-caught salmon
• Soup mixes, rubs, and dip mixes
• Natural, locally-produced body care products
• Hand-crafted jewelry, cutting boards, cards, and other hand-made crafts

Some of this stuff I can no longer eat, due to a heart condition. The chocolate-covered bacon is out, as is the BBQ and the handmade tamales. Mushrooms are in, as are all of the grass-fed meats and craft pastas and vinegars. And I can buy arts and crafts until the grass-fed cows come home.

Acoustic Celtic and folk music to shop by will be performed by Dave Kramer and Steve Scott.      

For more information about the market, please contact Kim Porter, kim.porter@wyo.gov, or Cindy Ridenour, cindyr@meadowmaidfoods.com.   

P.S.: Can't wait until summer!

Flowers and glass art grow together at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

US Bank Glass Art Celebration will be held at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens February 8-​​17. It’s free and open to the public thanks to main sponsor US Bank. Hours are Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m. – 5p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Visit the tropical greenhouse while viewing the region’s largest Glass Art Show on display at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Greenhouse. Glass art includes stained glass, glass beadwork, etched, melted and other glass art creations. Many pieces can be purchased.

Local concert promoter shows creativity in booking heavy metal, rock and hip-hop acts

Neat article in this morning's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about local concert promoter Jake Byrd. At 19, Jake is already a seasoned impresario, a promoter of rock, heavy metal and hip-hop concerts at downtown's Atlas Theatre and other venues. He's brought bands such as Static-X, Alien Ant Farm and Tech N9ne to a city known more for Toby Keith than Psychostick. Not bad for someone just a few years out of high school. And he faces a lack of proper local performance spaces. The Atlas is a funky space, and the Cheyenne Little Theatre makes money from renting it out. But it's a shame there's not a dedicated concert venue in Cheyenne. Meanwhile, Jake keeps bringing in the talent. You have to buy the Sunday paper to read the article, as the WTE lacks a proper web site.

Wyoming Creative MediaPlex wants co-working creatives

This info comes from Alan O'Hashi of Wyoming Community Media: 

Do you have a New Creative Economy business that you'd like to nurture with like minds? Primary job creation will be happening not in garages but in collaborative work environments such as what's being planned for The Historic Hynds Building Capitol Core Project in downtown Cheyenne! Join the movement! Find out more and discuss possibilities at Wyoming Creative MediaPlex 

City News holds series of writing and publishing workshops in October

City News in downtown Cheyenne is hosting a series of writing and publishing workshops in October.

On Sunday, Oct. 21, noon-1:30 p.m., there will be a special workshop designed for children. According to a press release, it will "encourage young authors to expand their skills, put ideas into words, through fun exercises and sharing. Halloween costumes are encouraged."

A writing workshop for adults will be held on Sunday, Oct. 28, noon-1:30 p.m. Bring your finished writing or come in for ideas. Author and publisher Blaze McRob will be there to discuss the horror genre.

FMI: Alan or Audrey, 307-638-8671.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, City News will hold a free workshop from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Hear tips from author Patricia G. Stevenson ("The Dilapidated Man," "The Jezebel Bride"), artist N. Kay Stevenson and agent Carolyn Campbell. Come join the team as they workshop the steps in writing, designing and promoting a book. More info at patriciagstevenson.com.

Cody's Steve Schrepferman brings his quirky ceramics to Cheyenne's Art Design and Dine

From my arts pal and fellow arts worker, Camellia El-Antably:

This month we are featuring Steve Schrepferman, a Cody ceramicist, at Clay Paper Scissors in honor of National Crafts Month. Steve is a highly versatile potter with work from the gorgeously functional (drinking from one of his cups is lovely experience in balance and texture) to quirky functional to large scale urns and vases and wall hangings. The work is often thrown and then modified and always glazed with rich, deep colors. Some of the pieces in the gallery now have an almost African sense to them. You can get a taste of his work at his website, http://www.steveschrepferman.com/, where he says:

My visual sensibility is rooted in the colors, textures, and rugged forms in the landscape of the American West. I am in awe of the immense vistas and canyons and feel a strong connection to the great physical and spiritual energy of this land. These are the energies I strive to capture in my work.

Art Design & Dine will be tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 11, from 5-8 p.m. Clay Paper Scissors is located at 1506 Thomes, Ste B, at the southeast corner of the building facing the tracks. Steve's work will be up through November.

Also during ADD: Mark Vinich, a studio artist, has artwork in the Teacher Show at the Civic Center; Mark and Camellia El-Antably's show, "Memories & Curious Conversations," continues at the Hynds Building at the corner of 16th and Capitol.

Studio Space is available! Please come talk to us about it.

Suite 1901 is new addition to Art Design & Dine art walk

Cheyenne's Art Design & Dine has added a new location, Suite 1901 at 1901 Central Avenue. Not surprising, as the bar/restaurant is now under new management and has a new mission. Four quilters will be exhibiting their work in the downstairs banquet area. The show opens with an artist’s reception on Thursday, Oct 11, from 5-8 p.m. Artist's statements below.

Joy Torelli

Joy Torelli – My artistic focus with my art quilts is to use bold, saturated colors and make them vibrate against each other.  I also like to use common images, like fish or flowers, and embellish them to transform them into new and exciting fiber art.  I use several techniques, such as printing photos on fabric and then stitching with thread or applying decorative yarns and paints. Another process is to take an image like a fish and use various fabrics, yarns, threads, beads, and other embellishments to produce an other-worldly, flamboyant fish.  I also like to experiment with new techniques, such as fabric “ruching”  to give three dimensions to flowers on the surface of the piece.

Judy Gilmore

Judy Gilmore – I think life is too complicated. Too much input, with no place to send it. And, it isn’t that there is anything I’d want to miss out on…just a fact…life is too complicated. Therefore, I find that my approach to art means I am going to simplify and organize my subject at every turn. It is kind of a game for me to make things less overwhelming. Working in series is appealing to me. Laying down some “restrictions” to follow and creating within those restrictions seems to open doors to my creativity rather than shut them. For example, only using four values of one color to create portraits changes my focus and is very liberating to me. It is probably because of my innate desire to simplify and organize this “too complicated life” that is such a part of me.

Esther Trevino Neasloney

Esther Trevino-Neasloney – I started quilting in the early 70′s mainly in the traditional aspect. It’s only been in the past few years that I have become involved in Contemporary Art quilting. Although I still enjoy the complexity and precision which is involved with traditional quilting, I prefer art quilting because it allows the artist to break the rules and  “think out of the box” when creating a piece. An art quilt can reflect a quilter’s idea or thought in an unusual or whimsical way. Contemporary art quilting can involve the use of many different forms of media which at times can be a challenge. The whole process can be a challenge but the end results are always an art piece that is “One of a Kind”.

Patricia Messer
 

Patricia J. Messer  – As a fiber artist I like to challenge myself to recreate something I admire or find fascinating. Then Ibegin with the basic idea and let the project guide me as it takes on a life of its own. I incorporate traditional quilting methods with different art techniques to capture the spirit of the quilt.