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Category Archives: Arts & Entertainment
Kids roar for dinosaurs
The young education coordinator introduces herself: “Hi, I’m Kelly.” “Hi, Kelly,” shout first- through fifth-graders from the local Faith Christian Academy. They have come to the E-3 Children’s Museum in Farmington to learn about every kid’s favorite subject. Kelly … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, March 2009
The aesthetic crossroads of Gloria Emerson
Gloria Emerson closed the doors of her Shiprock, N.M., coffee shop and gallery just after Christmas. It was known to regional collectors of art and poetry as a hub of cultural and political consciousness and aesthetics. Painters and writers … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, February 2009
The old ways are best: Mayhew relishes the subtleties of natural chalk
Farmington, N.M., artist Timothy David Mayhew lays a narrow box on a table in my office and opens it. As carefully as a jeweler takes a gem from a case, the smallish, broad-shouldered, gray-haired man removes gleaming red, white, and … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, January 2009
Vanishing symbol of the West: A new book shows the mustang’s plight
Carol Walker started photographing Wyoming’s wild horses five years ago after an encounter with a gray stallion on a cold April morning. But the veteran wildlife photographer had no idea where the adventure would take her. “Little did I know … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, December 2008
The people’s voice: Cortez library events tap into a ‘hunger for poetry’
When artist and poet Ramson Lomatewama writes, he draws upon his Hopi background as well as his experience living in urban California for images. “I feel fortunate to have grown up in two worlds,” he says over the phone … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, November 2008
The Wright Stuff
Durango author advises, ‘Want less, do more’ Some people howl that we must give up our modern comforts to save the earth. Durango freelance journalist and Fort Lewis College instructor Ken Wright believes the rescue starts with another idea: Lead … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, September 2008
Women’s work: After a career in corrections, Durango’s Tekla Miller tries her hand at writing
Though Durango author Tekla Dennison Miller has written three fulllength books (“A Bowl of Cherries,” “The Warden Wore Pink,” and ‘Life Sentences”) and her next, “Inevitable Sentences,” comes out in January, she never planned to be a writer. She thought … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, August 2008
‘Bling-bling’ reality and the Diné
In 1912, Russian painter Vasily Kandinsky published his classic statement, “Concerning the Spiritual in Art.” He spoke about the content and process simultaneously, saying, “the harmony of color and form must be based solely upon the principle of proper contact … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, August 2008
Tribute to resistance: An exhibition showcases Desert Rock opposition
Thirty-six artists moved out of their personal comfort zone to place work in the current art exhibition, “Connections: Earth + Artist = A Tribute Art Show to Resistance to Desert Rock,” on display at the Center for Southwest Studies at … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, July 2008
Then and now: A photo exhibit celebrates the forces of change and stasis among the Diné of Montezuma Creek
In 1978, 24-year-old Bruce Hucko was doing his best to find work outside Salt Lake City, where he taught photography to school kids. He’d fallen in love with the outdoors, so he applied for a job as a National Park … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, June 2008
Siefer hopes landscapes resonate with beholders
Painter Becky Siefer wants viewers to interact with her mixed-media images. The Mancos-Dolores-area artist sees any picture she creates as half an equation. A beholder’s response makes up the other half. So, her excitement whoops down the phone line as … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, June 2008
Blending past and present: A new exhibit spotlights the lush art of the Utes
What do you see as you barrel down Highway 191 between Moab and Monument Valley in southern Utah? Red rocks, turquoise skies, glittering sand, and RVs? Ah! The town of White Mesa, where you stop for a snack or gas. … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, May 2008
The art of compromise: Local author says ‘us vs. them’ mentality won’t save the environment
Environmentalist and author Amy Irvine wanted “to turn tail and bolt” when her father committed suicide on New Year’s Eve, 1999. She left the Salt Lake City area, where she grew up, for tiny Monticello in southeastern Utah to work … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, March 2008
Giving voice to the Apaches
‘Stories’ gains acceptance by Mescaleros Albuquerque journalist and nonfiction writer Sherry Robinson describes her book, “Apache Voices: Their Stories of Survival as Told to Eve Ball,” as not a narrative but a collection of stories. Robinson found these stories amid … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, February 2008
A new publishing company wants regional writers
Dear Author: We have read your manuscript with great interest at Manhattan Press. Unfortunately, it does not suit our needs. If editors at big publishing houses don’t recognize a writer’s name, a story or an article almost automatically lands in … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, January 2008
A life on canvas: Celebrating the art of Stanton Englehart
Montezuma-Cortez High School art teacher Sharon Englehart recalls her father, Stanton Englehart, studying art in the 1960s. “I can remember living in a Quonset hut. There was always an easel there.” Once he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees … Continue reading
Published in -December 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Imagining a life on the river
Having just moved to Colorado, I have been on the Colorado River only once. After reading “The Very Hard Way,” I will have Bert Loper on my mind the next river trip I take. I will be imagining the route … Continue reading
Published in -December 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Pieces of silver: Book tells history of Native American earrings
One day, New Salem, Mass., silversmith Bobby Bauver was chatting with a friend from New Mexico, Robert Gallegos, a connoisseur of Native American and Hispanic art. Gallegos was about to sell a collection of Navajo and Pueblo earrings. Bauver made … Continue reading
Published in -November 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Something in the air: Exhibit celebrates Four Corners Plein Aire Painters
The artist heads toward the mesa, carrying easel and paint box. In summer, he dons a straw hat, and slathers on suntan lotion. In winter, she wears layers, and tight-fitting gloves, open at the finger tips, so she can manipulate … Continue reading
Published in -October 2007, Arts & Entertainment
So many ways to die: Despite grim topic, ‘Death’ proves compulsively readable By Gail Binkly
Somewhere back in high school, Chris Becker missed the lecture in English class about not picking too broad a topic for your term paper. How else to explain the immensity of the subject he tackles in his new book, “Death … Continue reading
Published in -September 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Gift of the Spider Woman: Exhibit celebrates Diné weaving of the 1800s
According to oral tradition, Spider Woman taught weaving to the Diné (Navajos). She also instructed Spider Man to build the first loom of wooden vertical and horizontal beams that represented the earth and sky; and reflected the sun, rain, and … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, September 2008
Fatally flawed: ‘Sicko’ shows the holes in our health-care system
Back in the 1990s, I heard one of Rush Limbaugh’s radio shows in which he took a call from a woman concerned about health care. She said her friend had full health coverage because she was married to a man … Continue reading
Published in -August 2007, Arts & Entertainment
The legacy of uranium: Cummins’ first novel explores the mining era
When Houghton Mifflin accepted author Ann Cummins’ short story collection, “Red Ant House,” for publication, her editor offered her a two-book contract. For the second book, she would write a novel. “I had no idea how to do it,” she … Continue reading
Published in -July 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Paying attention to details
In the early 1990s, Cortez artist Jerry Cohoe didn’t consider the pencil a serious drawing medium. His pencil was a tool to sketch plans for paintings and prints. Then he spotted pencil drawings at an art show. “It amazed … Continue reading
Published in -May 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Podunovich finds her voice in performance poetry
Some poets publish poetry. Some perform it. Some create poetry for family and friends. Some write it in private journals. Renee Podunovich has done all of that. At this moment, she’s into performance poetry. “I really like the idea … Continue reading
Published in April 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Goodtimes’ work shows why poetry matters
Editor’s note: Art Goodtimes of Norwood, Colo., is a county commissioner in San Miguel County, serving his third term. He is the highest-ranking elected Green Party official in the state. In addition, he’s a columnist for several papers, including the … Continue reading
Published in -March 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Following in his footsteps: Author documents locations in L’Amour’s novels
“Louis L’Amour has been a major activity. . . since I retired from the oil business in 1992,” Bert Murphy drawls into the telephone from his home near Roswell, N.M. Since then, he has spent his time finding locations L’Amour … Continue reading
Published in -March 2007, Arts & Entertainment
An easy-to-read book with a hard message
There’s no reason you should’ve ever heard of Mukhtar Mai, one face of many in Punjab Province, Pakistan. But, once you’ve read one page of her story, “In the Name of Honor,” you’ll find she’s impossible to forget. In simple … Continue reading
Published in -February 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Defying tradition: An exhibit showcases the art of a Pueblo woman who chose her own path
In 1918 a baby was born at New Mexico’s Santa Clara Pueblo. Her grandmother named her Tse Tsan (Golden Dawn), and began explaining that women filled traditional roles of mother and wife at Santa Clara. Then, at age 6, Tse … Continue reading
Published in -February 2007, Arts & Entertainment
Revisiting an American insurgency: ‘Dances with Wolves’ author delves into reality of white/Indian battles
“Dances with Wolves” author Michael Blake has done many things since he left home at age 17, rented a garage apartment, and started his own life. He’s been a grocery clerk, poured concrete, served in the United States Air Force … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, November 2006
Dealing in concrete subjects
Jamie Olson speaks slowly, with a trace of a Midwestern accent, on the phone from Bluff, Utah, where he makes a living fashioning what he calls wearable art — necklaces, pins, and earrings. He creates playful designs, human and animal, … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, October 2006
Triumph over adversity: Exhibit explores early years of Navajo weaving, silversmithing
The hollow beads glisten softly as the silver necklace hangs in its case, a cross dangling from its bottom. The smith who made the necklace shaped coins into half-spheres, and soldered them together for the chain. The exquisite jewelry … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, September 2006
An exhibit celebrates the legend of Everett Ruess
More than 70 years ago, an artist disappeared in the wilds of southeast Utah. He left little behind but two burros, a dog, and a legend that lives on today. “He was a storyteller and an adventurer,” says Montezuma-Cortez High … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, August 2006
Magic of Santa Fe Opera resumes
The sun sets behind the peaks of 13,000-foot mountains. The sky turns pink. After the hot July day, cool air refreshes the drivers on U.S. 84/285. Headlights glowing, they hit the exit ramp, duck under the highway, and make a … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, July 2006
A unique park celebrates its centennial
The first light touches the mesa. The Puebloan Ancestor slips from his adobe house. Heavy poles support the mud walls. Glancing around, he studies the row of identical dwellings curving softly away from his. No sound drifts from them. He’s … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, June 2006
Capturing Mesa Verde’s magic in music
Sterling Procter doesn’t remember when he started spending summers in Durango playing with the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. He does know that every year “the magic and mystery of the native culture and land” around Durango inspire him. … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, June 2006
Mystery explores Arapaho-Shoshone conflict
Boulder, Colo., author Margaret Coel loves wolves, because they “can see very far, and are alert to changes in their environment.” Using the wolf as metaphor in her mystery, “Eye of the Wolf,” she creates a villain that resembles a … Continue reading
Published in April 2006, Arts & Entertainment
Famed “El Camino Real” celebrated
Dawn breaks over San Gabriel in the Española Valley, north of where Santa Fe will grow. Several men walk a path. They carry beads, pottery, and turkeyfeather blankets, items they’ve brought from their homes at San Juan Pueblo. Others come … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, March 2006
“Visions” shows Diné in their native lands
“Visions of the People in Their Native Land,” the 40-piece photography exhibit currently at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Ariz., is the show that almost wasn’t. “(It) came about in an odd fashion,” says David H. Davis, who … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, February 2006
Learning about life through bits and pieces
“In the dry early summer of 1992, I am still nominally a physician, but I dig in dirt these days, instead of taking stock of my patients’ bodies, attending only to bones stripped of muscle, blood and brain. . .” … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, January 2006