Mountainair Arts

iCreate recital, exciting news & a request

2012-01-22T06:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday in #Mountainair: great time was had by all at the iCreate recital, Pack's Cafe at Shaffer, details, video and pics to follow. Congratulations to our talented and diligent young local musicians who earned certificates and awards. Special thanks to Packs for hosting recital and providing refreshments.

Exiting news! Lenora Romero told us about the promising response to the Capital Outlay Request she and Kay Stillion recently submitted in person on behalf of iCreate. The request is to fund iCreate's permanent location, music/arts outreach program and community garden. Monday, there will be another Santa Fe trip Monday to bundle this request with one on behalf of the Town of Mountainair for the community park and safe playground equipment.

Lenora asks for our prayers and also that we take the time to call, email, fax state legislators urging their support. More on this today. Maybe even sample letters, a Causes page on Facebook. Perhaps an Event page since the time frame is so narrow with the request deadline this coming Friday. Until then, settle for names and basic contact information. More electronic nudging, sharing, reminders and requests today to get your friends to do likewise will follow as sure as morning sunlight follows the dark of night.

Get ready to contact:

Speaker of the House, Ben Lujan. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4782; home phone,(505) 455-3354; e-mail, ben.lujan@nmlegis.gov
Senator Pete Campos. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4311, office phone, (505) 454-2501; home phone, (505) 425-0508; e-mail: petecampos@newmexico.com
Representative Rhonda King. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4438; Office Phone, (505) 832-5050; home phone, (505) 832-4603
Senator Phil Griego. Capitol Phone, (505) 986-4861, office phone, (505) 469-9470; home phone, (575) 421-2863; e-mail: senatorgriego@yahoo.com
Representative Larry Larrañaga. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4215; home phone,(505) 821-4948; e-mail, larry@larranaga.com

Ask them to welcome Lenora and Kay and support the Capital Outlay requests they will be delivering on behalf of iCreate and all Mountainair

PS iCreate recently joined Facebook ~ please visit, like and leave a message

Sat Jan21 Los Lunas Museum Opening

2012-01-21T01:43:00.001-07:00

NM & Civil War Exhibit 2- 4 PM, Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts, 251 Main St. (under the water tower): NM Centennial program series exhibit - NM in the Civil War opens Sat. Jan. 21 and runs through March 21. The opening program, Sat. Jan. 21 - 2 - 4 PM features a Civil War presentation by John Taylor and a tribute from the NM Terr. Brass Band.

Another special presentation by Baldwin G. Burr - NM Centennial, Sat. Feb 4, 2 - 4 PM

For more info: Call 505-352-7720 or view (pdf) http://www.loslunasnm.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1536

So what is Mountainair doing for the Centennial? Someone tell me again? Or just tell me for the first time. Town? Chamber? Not even a committee? Aww... Anyone? I'm not ready to stop asking (digital ankle biting, gadfly mission and all that) but considering a virtual Centennial project. I've used up my free Scoop.it pages but could add it to Mountainair 87036 there or create something on Storify or Pinterest.

STOP SOPA: #SOPASTRIKE Jan18

2012-01-18T08:28:00.001-07:00

My favorire "stop sopa" page is Zachary Johnson's shadowbox with the moving light (just move your cursor) on Zachstronaut. Adding this one to my feed reader... tomorrow. Today .....

Sites are striking in all different ways, but they are united by this: do the biggest thing you possibly can and drive contacts to Congress. *Put the source code for this page your site* ~ it's my main page at Mountainair Online (the web page). I have no control over blog policies. I'm not really up to tinker with source code to show a black out page on my blogs. So I am settling for posting information and exhortations (like this one). Except for following #sopastrike on Twitter and @fightfortheftr) and Reddit, I'm staying off public pages today. No Facebook or

Personal blackouts seem to be running either 24 hours (midnight to midnight) or 8AM EST to 8PM EST. Major supporting sites like Wikipedia, WordPress, Google, Internet Archive (+ Wayback Machine), Electronic Frontier Foundation, Tucows and many, many more are striking for 24 hours. Looked like a major slow down on Facebook when I checked (before 8 am).

What can you do to support the strike if you don't have a blog or web page, can't blog and RT #sopastrike stories? Make a call; sign the petition; learn more; the action of the hour is to speak out. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, opposing the bills. Contact local news stations and let them know that this is an issue worth covering. And there is still email, what they could be coming after next...

Today's Google search page:

Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web!

Whistler in Corsica

2012-01-17T12:38:00.001-07:00

An essay about James Abbot McNeil Whistler, illustrated and based on his correspondence, courtesy of ACFA Éditions (Association Culturelle France-Amerique), 23, avenue Guy de Maupassant, 13008 Marseilles - France. Tel. fax : 33(0) 491 77 98 08. Email: acfa1@aliceadsl.fr

whistler_CorseUS2011.pdf Download this file

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Creative Aging: A Local Arts Agency Fills a Community Need

2012-01-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

An idea for the MMAC and appropriate to local demographics: an Arizona arts center initiates a seniors program.

"As the population of the United States matures in the 21st Century, data shows that there are as many people over age 65 as are under age 20. To respond to this demographic shift, the Mesa Arts Center initiated an important pilot program to reach an underserved population of seniors, and early results are very promising!

The center enlisted the services of two marvelous local teaching artists, Tessa Windt (fibers), and Elizabeth Johnson (dance), to work directly with seniors at three Mesa facilities as part of the Creative Aging Program. The goal of the program is simple: uplift individual creative expression in older adults through movement, story, dance, and engagement in art making.

We’re excited that we’ve not only met our goal, but also impacted this special population in meaningful ways and we’re ready to make this program a permanent part of our services to the community."

Read the rest at ARTSblog » Creative Aging: A Local Arts Agency Fills a Community Need

'via Blog this'

#Mountainair briefly noted

2012-01-14T10:39:00.001-07:00

10 am meeting today, Manzano Mountain Scribes at Alpine Alley. That means starting NOW (or will already have started by the time I hit the send button). Waiting for more to post about program, I lost track of time. One sentence (i.e. Ben's, Note: At the meeting Judy will be discussing doing a Kindle book with a little imput from me.) doesn't cut it, especially not from writers, but that's all I have. Does not bode well either for guest post or Scribes furnishing copy for their own page at Poets and Writers Picnic

If you cannot make it to the meeting, check the Scribes writing group page on Facebook for Judy's excellent handout on self-publishing that she prepared for the meeting. There are also a number of other links on other aspects of the same topic as well as writers resources. Scribes meet online asychronously and IRL at Alpine 2nd and 4th Saturdays unless otherwise noted.

Tanya Peterson writes that Latin Dance with Fedelina is back on (and still on Facebook at Wo-Men in Motion):

Wanted to let you know about new information. We have a new info line with recorded info on current class schedules including any changes and cancellations. The number is 505-221-5696. At the end of the recording there is an option to speak with one of us or leave a voice mail. Also, we are back on for the new year at the Dr Saul building. Classes are still free of charge.

Latin Dance classes are from 4:45 - 5:45 on Tuesdays and 5:30 - 6:30 on Thursdays. The earlier time on Tuesdays is due to the city meeting twice monthly starting at 6:00. We don't have an official hula hoop dance class at this time. But I try to come in early to hoop, especially if people call me and say they want to hoop! Interested hoopers can call the info line and talk to me about details and schedules.

How would a mashup read? "Write fit"? "Publish to a Latin beat"? "Writers in motion??

How Do You Stay Creative?

2012-01-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

11 artists ~ photographers, digital artists, sculptors, illustrators, painters, caricaturists ~ tell how they stay creative. My Modern Metropolis writes about it,

While in 2010 we asked our artists and photographer what general advice they'd give to others, in 2011 we decided to focus on in a more specific question. Inspired by a list we came across in June, at the end of several of our interviews we asked one simple question, "How do you stay creative?"

What we ended up getting were answers that had one common thread running through them: it was about opening yourself up to new experiences. Whether it was traveling, placing yourself in a creative atmosphere or reading books and seeing movies, these 11 artists and photographers believe that the best way to keep those creative juices flowing is by seeing and experiencing new things. As we start off 2012, may their words inspire you, in your own artistic endeavor.

Read and then heed the rest of How Do You Stay Creative?

'via Blog this'

Creativity Matters: Chronicles of the Creative Economy

2012-01-09T18:38:00.001-07:00

Articles about the arts and development, pick of the week cultural event, opportunities (including a public art project call for muralists), deadlines and more.

Creativity Matters: Talk of the Town + See Your Project Sprout

Talk of the Town
+ other creative community headlines from albuquerque and beyond

Tricklock's Lullabies for My Father / Image by Tricklock

Take five, friends:

The Weekly Alibi previews Tricklock's Revolutions International Theatre Festival - a.k.a. the talk of the town, also written up in local IQ and abqARTS and Entertainment
Hartford Business Journal explores Connecticut's Office of the Arts, a new centralized organization that considers placemaking and economic development vital
Dwell features the final installment on zHome, America's first zero energy multifamily community, and explains how the project gained (publicity) steam
The New York Times considers the role of parking lots in the urban landscape, and makes a case for considering them more seriously when we plan / design our environments
Multimedia! Wallpaper* shares Christopher Choa's Intelligence Squared If Conference presentation on the evolution of cities and, particularly, the aerotropolis

Something To Do
creative abq members' event of the week pick

What: The 12th Annual Revolutions International Theatre Festival

Who: Presented by Albuquerque's own Tricklock Theatre Company and featuring the likes of Titzina Teatro (Spain), Perpetuo Mobile (Italy), Macadames (France) and many more

Where: UNM, NHCC, The Box Performance Space and The Resource Center

When: Various times, January 10 - 28

Advance tickets or festival passport encouraged.
Reserve yours now!

Recommended by: Dodie Montgomery, Tricklock Theatre Company

Opportunities
for you, dear creatives, for you

Creative Projects for ABQ Sprout micro-grants. Submissions due January 15

Writers & Poets for University of Arizona's Summer Residency Program. Submissions due January 27

Artists & Artisans for New Mexico Arts & Crafts Fair. Applications due January 28

Artists for the City of Albuquerque / Creative Albuquerque Mural Relief Project. Proposals due February 3

Filmmakers for the Los Angeles Film Festival. Deadlines vary based on the type of film, but are coming up in January and February

Playwrights for FUSION Theatre Company's 7th Annual New Works Festival, "The Seven." Submissions due April 16

Actors for many winter production auditions, per Albuquerque Theatre Guild

We Love Hearing From You

Regina Chavez, Executive Director
Julia Mandeville, Creativity Matters Editor / Associate Director, Programs and Communications
Amy Cliser, Development Officer
Ben Tobias, Programs & Development Assistant
Interns: Kevin Martinez (Atrisco HS) | Christian Cruz (Amy Biehl HS)

Creative Albuquerque | www.creativeabq.org | info@creativeabq.org | (505) 268-1920
Mailing: P.O. Box 27657, Albuquerque 87125 | Physical: 115 4th Street NW, Albuquerque 87102

Harwood Art Center: 2012 programs

2012-01-09T01:48:00.001-07:00


	What's inside? (1) Art School Classes are back (2) Opening Receptions this Friday (3) Let the music begin!


	We should be friends! If you work or play on Facebook or Twitter, be sure to follow/friend us. It'll keep your fingers on our pulse and hopefully you'll let us know what you're thinking about. We like it when you share.

Art School Classes are back!

After a long autumn and early winter hiatus, our Art School classes are back in session. We thank you for your abundant patience as we embraced organizational changes over the past several months. Now that 2012 is here, we are ready to rock'n'roll!

Coming up this month and next, we bring you classes in oil painting, ceramics, life drawing, paper making, and a special independent study.

Our entire schedule of new classes (stretching through June of this year) will be online soon. In the meantime, jump start January and February with these classes.

Opening Receptions this Friday

Start the year off with a dose of great new exhibits. We are proud to present the following exhibits this Friday, January 6th, from 6-8 pm.

(1) An Anthology of a Gay Artist, Jonathan Ryan Lee (1950 – 2011): Jonathan's very personal and diverse work drew inspiration from his beautiful, controversial and diverse life. His work consists mainly of objects, drawings, oil paintings, watercolors, and relief prints.

(2) Encaustic and Silk, Evey Jones and Harriette Tsosie: Albuquerque artists Evey Jones and Harriette Tsosie explore the media of encaustic (pigmented wax) and silk. Read more about these artists.

Let the music begin!

Attention music lovers: Grab your hats, your coats and/or your kids and head on down to Burque Bop's first performance of the new year. Our family-friendly live music series is coming back with a bang on January 20th, featuring Chris Dracup - Albuquerque's own hardest working bluesman .

The show is sure to put a bounce in your step. And if you're a parent looking for a way to scratch that live music itch without blowing all your cash on a babysitter, this is your jam. Kids are always FREE. Adults are $8.

Put it on your calendar: January 20th, 6 pm.

Find out more about Burque Bop , our live music series, by visiting us online.

Saturday morning notes

2012-01-07T08:23:00.001-07:00

#Mountainair update, a quick and (I hope) mercifully brief local lookaround plus reminders ~ at least what I remember and also have information on. Some have already been posted on Mountainair Online and elsewhere on Facebook.

Mountainair Online's previous profile picture

10 am, Alpine Alley: informal local writing group, Manzano Mountain Scribes, meets IRL, finally resuming normal 2nd and 4th Saturdays meeting schedule interrupted by holidays, Christmas Fair and Christmas Land. Local writer, Judy Biggar, currently in the process of publishing a novella to Amazon, will talk about e-book publishing and formatting manuscripts for e-publishing for Kindle readers. Visitors and new members are always welcome at meetings and in the open online group. Call Ben Steinlage at 847-1854 or email Happyplate@aol.com for more information.

Somewhat NM Centennial related:

After (imo unnecessary) email discussion, the Mountainair Community Garden's bouncing Centennial Garden grant app finally landed with Kristine Lauritsen and will hopefully soon be sent winging its way Santa Fe by email attachment. A draft post with more information about the grant may or may not get completed and published to the iCreate page. If you are interested in volunteering or participating in local community garden programs, contact Joan Embree or Addie Draper. If interested in iCreate, contact Kay Stillion.

Packs Cafe at the Shaffer Hotel is throwing a party / restaurant promo event to celebrate New Mexico's 100th birthday The party starts at 5:30 pm with catfish dinner special, free cake at 7pm, possibly live music since that is usually already scheduled Saturdays. For details and more information call the Shaffer to ask Alma or Jerry. Feel free to remind them that I'll announcements and event notices they send me.

Editor Rory McClanahan has an interesting piece on Centennial history in current issue of MountainView Telegraph. Apparently too, local press did not take much interest in the statehood topic back in 1912. Expect a plethora of history and Centennial related posts and links this year.

Other Reminders:

January 11, SHAC meeting, 3:30 pm Mustang Health Center, contact Janelle Kayser or Linda Filippi for agenda and more information
January 10, special School Board meeting to discuss solutions to the recent break-ins and vandalism against teachers. The meeting is Tuesday, January 10 at 5 pm at Superintendent Jay Mortensen's Office, 512 North Ross (505-847-2333), which is behind the old white school building on NM Route 55, north of Broadway. Although not an official meeting or, as of this posting, officially announced, Mountainair school board meetings, under the NM Open Meeting Act, are open to the public.
The mandated 60 days before election candidate declaration date for March's Town Council Elections is right around the corner THIS COMING TUESDAY - Filing day is January 10. Write-in candidates can file on January 17, 2012. Election day is March 6. Somehow the town missed sending information for the Telegraph's county election filing day piece. Interested? Call City Hall to ask about procedure and deadlines.

Merry Christmas & the Gift of Changing Lives

2011-12-25T05:10:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas ¡Feliz Navidad! Nadolig Llawen,Joyeux Noël, Glædelig Jul, Prettige kerstdagen! Bones Navidaes! Froue Weihnåcht'n, Jwaye Nowèl, Ya'at'eeh Keshmish, A Blythe Yule / Nollaig chridheil, Crăciun fericit

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Mercy Corps will use your donation to save and improve lives in the world's toughest places. The gifts you purchase are examples of what we do. To help deliver the most effective solutions to the greatest number of people, your donation will be combined with other funds and used as it is most needed. The gift descriptions in this catalog reflect the kinds of support Mercy Corps provides to the people we serve.

88% of our funds go to programs like:

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Small business loans for women

12% of our funds go to administration and fundraising.

Charity Navigator awards us four stars for our responsible stewardship of donor funds.

Mercy Corps — PO Box 2669, Dept W — Portland, OR — 97208-2669

Got old #Mountainair pictures?

2011-12-14T18:46:00.001-07:00

The New Mexico Tourism Department, wants copies for the 2012 New Mexico Centennial. Why? For NM Tourism's "Get the Picture," a web based Centennial Photo Challenge. With no more information about location than an old picture, contestants are challenge to find the exact location and re-capture the modern day image, which will in turn encourage travel to our area. The more photos we send Tourism, which still needs photos from this area, the more effective the promotion

Photo from Dorothy Cole's collection,

scanned & digitally archived by Dennis Fulfer

If you have old photos, 1979 or earlier, please email them to Dan Monaghan, dan.monaghan@state.nm.us or call him at (505) 231-2368.

Look through those old pictures. Reversing the process, look at present sites and then look for pictures of that same location? For example, an early picture of the art center when it was in use by P&M, Abo Trading when it was a mercantile store, and so on. Does anyone have a picture of the original eagle mural on the side of the Eagle Grocery? The movie theater?

So far, no Mountainair projects have been listed on the Centennial site, although both the brick walkway originally planned for the 2003 Mountainair Centennial and the projected Tribute to Mountainair mural seem ideal candidates. Presumably the respective responsible parties will register them. A number of Centennial projects listed are existing annual activities, presumably "themed up" for the occasion. Sunflower, Jubilee and other annual events gently modified to incorporate a Centennial theme would be candidates. There are also grants for centennial related projects that local groups could look into. More on those later.

In the meantime, do subscribe online to the Centennial email newsletter as well as following @NMCentennial or the Centennial Facebook page. Who doesn't love a birthday party?

#Mountainair ChristmasLand, Day 1

2011-12-11T20:13:00.001-07:00

This morning Ben Steinlage emailed the following update on ChristmasLand's opening day. Hopefully there will be pictures and more parade details tomorrow. Ben wrote,

Last night's opening was a success. It got pretty hectic, so we're not sure how many showed up, but it was between seventy and a hundred. Lenora Romero promised to show up and play for us. We expected just her, but she called in 10-12 friends and entertained everyone all night. Most of the entertainers left saying they would return.

The Lights Parade, coordinated by Rhonda Silva, was a huge success, with everyone in it or watching having loads of fun. Following the parade, the Packs family from Packs Cafe at the Shaffer provided hot chocolate, tea, and cookies for everyone. Marvin Fulfer, Vincent Reed and Barbara Armstrong helped get everything set up and running smoothly.

When the originally scheduled Santa didn't show, Jim Goodman filled in so the kids weren't disappointed. Here's hoping our efforts in getting the word out will bring even more ChristmasLand visitors to Mountainair.

Sandi and I - as well as all the happy visitors - want to give special thanks to all the volunteers who helped get ChristmasLand ready for yesterday's big opening: Rebecca Lucero, Judy Reynolds, Brenda Hall, Barbara Armstrong, Marvin Fulfer, Ruthie Ballen, Judy Biggers, Cyndy Fonder, Keith Loepere, Bill Bailey, Chief Lessard, Vincent Reed, Jim Goodman... and surely more in the days to come.

The generosity of the following contributors also helped make ChristmasLand a reality: City of Mountainair, Chamber of Commerce, Lodgers Tax Board, B Street Market, My Bank, Edythe Riley, Biddie and Gorden McMath, Ruthie Ballen, Ruth Turner, JoAnne Dale

New Mexico Dance Institute @ Mountainair Elementary School

2011-12-09T10:10:00.001-07:00

NM Dance Instituite Residency.pdf Download this file

Each year, the Manzano Mountain Art Council sponsors a residency program at the Mountainair Elementary School. For several years it has been the Santa Fe Opera. This year we are pleased to announce that the New Mexico Dance Institute will spend a week (December 12-16) working with MES students.

NDI-NM Mission Statement: We care about the whole student: challenging tasks develop their minds; vigorous activities make their bodies strong; a high standard of excellence raises the bar for what can be achieved; and team-building exercises boosts their confidence and enriches their spirits. NDI-NM is founded with the knowledge that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate children.

The program culminates in a public performance on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 1:30 pm. The performance will take place in the Mountainair Elementary School Gym. Please join us in celebrating the children of Mountainair in putting this performance together for parents, teachers, and the community.

Manzano Mountain Art Council

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Sunday Dec11: Annual Christmas Cantata

2011-12-07T21:13:00.001-07:00

.. The #Mountainair Community Chorus, 29 voices under the direction of Patty Mahoney, presents the annual Christmas Cantata Sunday, Dec. 11, 4:00 pm at the Mountainair Baptist church, 108 W Broadway (Hwy 60)

The cantata, "The Sounding Joy -- Listen to Christmas", is a choral production written by Benjamin Harlin and Bryan Jeffery Leech. Other songs will also be presented. The chorus consists of members from Mountainair and the surrounding communities. Kathleen Ryan Clute on piano and Jerry Melaragno on cello will accompany the chorus.

The Community Chorus thanks the Manzano Mountain Arts Council for its continued support of this event.

Reminder: Tree Decorating Contest

2011-12-01T13:38:00.001-07:00

Start your #Mountainair Christmas Land fun right now by volunteering and December 6-9 by participating in the Christmas Tree Decorating contest at Dr Saul Community Center

Christmas Tree Decorating Contest winner and runner-up announced December 24

Santa will vist December 10, 14, 17 & 24. Again this year, we plan to schedule class visits to Santa at Christmas Land. Depending on his schedule, he will be here a few more days, but we are not sure of the dates. Check out front for the "Santa is In" sign.

Christmas Land can always use more elves. Volunteers welcome and appreciated. No lumps of coal in their stockings. Contact: Ben or Sandi Steinlage at 505-847-1854

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

The rest of Tuesday morning

2011-11-29T09:58:00.001-07:00

Coming down, November 29 in #Mountainair that is. Here we are and overdue for quick reminders, previews and catch up ~ that is to say, blog by posting on items I should have posted already and may yet get to. That was the Monday plan but I had a long day out and barely made my 750 words, the daily self-imposed writing regimen, which takes priority over blogging (although I do use it drafting and notes)

Please note and heed preceding post about volunteering for and supporting ChristmasLand 2011. Watch for "thumbs up" notices to recognize volunteers... maybe gold stars too.

Ristra Habitat by Celeste Simon

lokal artz 'n kultur

Also coming up (this weekend): Celeste Simon's Studio Open House, 10 am-2:30pm, followed by the (final) First Saturday Soirée aka Christmas Program, Kathleen Ryan's presentation, The 12-Bar Blues and the Architecture of Music, in turn followed by an arts council Christmas gathering. This will be the final soirée in the series. Personally, I'm plumping for a round of tertulias (surely a more accurate designation not to mention more culturally appropriate to the region than soirées).

Just in from an anonymized "Art Center Committee" (imnsho not identifying and name real people but hiding behind a bureaucratic designation = willful opacity): "All member artists are invited to place one or two (hangable) art works at the Mountain Arts on Broadway for the winter and holiday seasons. Please come in to the MAOB on Wednesday or Saturday morning this week between 10 am and noon."

Both Alpine Alley and the Shaffer often feature live music on Saturdays; however, neither establishments nor performers have sent notices. My continuing willingness to promote local business by offering free advertising no longer extends to hunting them down like dogs. Call to check.

In the queue

Red Kingston updates MGR: awards and new board
Rebecca Lueras and others on last Saturday's Christmas Fair
figures on the benefits of Shop Local and promoting it locally
an in depth piece on Dollar Stores (already too long)
GED in Mountainair, Mondays and Fridays at municipal court ~ very important but not much in the way of specifics from the "Torrance County Learning Center" via ABE at UNM-VC, don't care much for the flier, even less for some promotional aspects, so working up a more informative post.
the return of the Mountainair town square project and other options for local public space
other local development information, ideas and topics because being informed will help you participate in the public discussion. Don't leave decisions up to developers, politicians, the Chamber or faceless committees.

Here's an idea for local businesses to promote and CoC's to consider getting behind, re-posted from current iCreate post and the Peak Moment November Newsletter:

Legalize Local Investing.

Sign a petition supporting HR 2930, which will legalize investment in small local businesses. It's advocated by Michael Shuman author of Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity, and Peak Moment episode 44:The Slow-Mart Revolution.

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

ChristmasLand in #Mountainair

2011-11-29T07:12:00.001-07:00

Remember Christmas Land last year? It's coming. Bigger too. You've seen notices for the Christmas Tree Decorating Contest. 75% of entry fees jackpot for 1st and 2nd place winners, so get your decorating mojo on. Why not make it a group challenge? Can your organization or business take down the competition? Decorating Smack Down! Bring it on! Can the ladies of the Coronado Club take down the Chamber of Commerce, make them cry?

Christmas Land ~ display, event, happening, performance, local charity drive ~ opens to the public December 10 following the Tree Decorating Contest Dec 6-9. For Ben and Sandi Steinlage, it already started. They been making fliers and posters (although not always checking them twice), posting notices, getting the word out and running prep errands. Today, with the help of Chief Lessard and other volunteers (yoohoo out there ~ that means you), they start hauling hauling trees, lights, ornaments, fixtures, displays and more to the Dr Saul Community Center.

But, hey, it doesn't look like this yet because...guess what...

Christmas Land 2010, from Mountainair Online (the blog)

elves aren't doing it. Whether busy making toys or occupying the North Pole... Elves won't be setting up Christmas Land 2011 for Torrance County tots of all ages to enjoy. It's a community project calling for community cooperation - that means you.

Over the next few days, Ben, Sandi and volunteers will be loading up, hauling, unloading, setting up and can use more hands for that part. Can't make it? There's more to do and a place for you, your friends, family and organizations you are active in. Santas, elves, doorkeepers, table sitters, helpers, performers, musicians, buskers, gofers, runners and more will be needed all the way through and then come closing and taking down. Be a part of Christmas Land 2011. Just ask.

Volunteer NOW: call Ben or Sandi at 847-1854 or email happyplate@aol.com. Then show up or it's a stocking full of coal for you. Remember that list that gets checked twice? You'll be on it.

Thumbs up to Town of Mountainair, Chief Lessard, Patty Mahoney and the Community Chorus, iCreate, Manzano Mountain Scribes, Whispering Range, St Vincent de Paul and the Mountainair Chamber of Commerce

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Christmas Fair reminder & call for vendor information

2011-11-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

Yes, the annual #Mountainair Christmas Art/Craft Fair is almost here, tomorrow, 10 am - 3 pm at the Dr Saul Community Center, well timed for Shop Small Saturday. Call Rebecca for additional information, 505-847-0973.

Mixed Media Muse, Celeste Simon

Vendors include (not a complete list but all I have so far)

JoAnne Dale (pottery, jewelry)
Pleasant Greene (pottery, fiber art)
Celeste Simon, Mixed Media (clay crosses, necklaces, handbags, mixed media paintings)
Local Information Table (no details available)
Mountainair Senior Center (no details available)
Ben and Sandi Steinlage

Book table, Manzano Mountain Scribes writing group information and volunteer sign up for Christmas Land 2011 (Tree Decorating Contest, Dec 6-9; ChristmasLand, Dec 10-24, 10am to 8pm, closed Mondays). Visit 2010 Christmas Land photo album on Facebook.

Addie Draper (soaps, herbals, cards, art miniatures)
Rebecca's Christmas decorations & other beaded creations
Mountainair Community Garden (information table)
Not confirmed but the Wayward Elf seems likely. Ruth Ballen can be counted on to support community projects and at least has the excuse of not doing email.

from the Wayward Elf

Vending? Help us help you make sales by encouraging everyone to shop local this season. Post information about your wares as comments here or at the Mountainair Online and Mountainair Chamber of Commerce pages on Facebook.

2011 Gran Quivira Star Party, Nov25

2011-11-25T13:57:00.001-07:00

Tonight's 2011 Star Party begins at 4:45 pm. Come early to view the ruins and museum before the Star Party. With easy to follow signs, Gran Quivira is located 25 miles South of Mountainair on NM Highway 55 at mile-marker 37. It will be a cold night, so a warm coat, gloves and hat will be minimum attire, with multiple layers recommended. Hand-warmers and thermoses with warm drinks are also recommended. Bring binoculars if you have them. Depending on participant interest, the Star Party should be concluded by 10:00 pm.

This presentation is free in partnership with the Very Large Array, New Mexico Tech and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory. For more information, contact

Salinas

Pueblo

Missions

National Monument

at (505) 847-2585, or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/sapu.

Christmas Fairs: here there everywhere

2011-11-19T08:39:00.001-07:00

Recently I went (not a-caroling but) a-googling for Christmas Fair image to add to to the Announcements post reminding readers about Mountainair's own annual Christmas Art and Crafts Fair

Lo what a richness of images. San Francisco has a Victorian Christmas Fair.
Many of the Merriest Christmas Markets in England are modeled on traditional German Christmas markets. The tradition started with Christmas markets originating centuries ago in Germany and Austria as sources of practical goods for winter survival.

Birmingham Christmas Market,

In the UK, the tradition of Christmas markets dates back to 1982 when a group of city officials from Lincoln, England were inspired by a visit that same year to the town’s German twin city of Neustadt. Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market & Craft Fair (image above) is the largest Christmas market in the UK, having attracted more than 2.8 million visitors in 2009 over a period of four weeks. It’s also the largest authentic German market outside of Germany and Austria. The market and craft fair includes over 180 stalls for visitors to browse and enjoy. Picturesque wooden chalets showcase handcrafted gifts such as wooden toys, Christmas decorations and dolls.... Expect to find traditional German beer, mulled wine, sausages, and sweets. In 2010, the event takes place from 18 November through 23 December..

So much for your image of a Dickens Christmas in Merrye Olde Englande... want one of those? Head for San Francisco and the 33rd Great Dickens Christmas Fair recreating Victorian London in the Cow Palace.

So, with all this seasonal material and such glorious images, why not introduce our own Fair and ChristmasLand with posts about Christmas Fairs, their history and virtual tour of past local Fairs and other Christmas Fairs and Markets?

An advance "virtual fair" could encourage shopping local for the season, boost Fair attendance and encourage vendors to promote their wares... all while having a good time looking at Christmas Fairs around the world. Let the holiday also be a window on the world.

Vendors, join us by emailing your information to vanessa.vaile@yahoo.com

Call for Entries: New Mexico Showcase

2011-11-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

516 ARTS Anniversary Juried Exhibition Call for EntriesNM Showcase Feb 4 - Apr 28, 2012
DEADLINE: December 1, 2011

516 ARTS announces a call for entries to showcase New Mexico artists, in celebration of our fifth anniversary. The 2012 exhibitions schedule kicks off with this juried exhibition of emerging and established artists from across the state.

DEADLINE: December 1, 2011
ENTRY FEE: $30

JUROR: Peter Frank, curator and art critic based in Los Angeles. He is currently Associate Editor of Fabrik magazine and art critic for the Huffington Post. He has served as Senior Curator at the Riverside Art Museum in California, as Editor of THEmagazine Los Angeles and Visions Art Quarterly, and as critic for Angeleno magazine and the L.A. Weekly.
Originally from New York, Frank wrote art criticism for The Village Voice and The SoHo Weekly News. He contributes articles to numerous publications and has organized many exhibitions, including for the Riverside Art Museum, Independent Curators Inc., New York's Alternative Museum; Otis/Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum, among others. Frank has taught at Pratt Institute, Columbia University's School of the Arts, Tyler School of Art, University of California Los Angeles, Laguna College of Art and Design and other institutions.

ELIGIBILITY:
516 ARTS welcomes artists working in all visual media, including painting, drawing, scupture, photography, printmaking, fine craft, installation and video. Interdisciplinary work and collaborations based in visual media are also welcome. Both emerging and established contemporary artists are encouraged to apply with new or recent work. Artists must reside in New Mexico and be out-of-school, practicing artists. The focus of the exhibition is on “contemporary art”, a broad term loosely used to denote art of the present day, of an innovative or avant-garde nature. Contemporary art, collectively, is much more socially conscious than any previous era has been, often focusing on a wide range of current-day issues.

TO APPLY:
• Return completed application materials no later than midnight, December 1, 2011
• Submit non-refundable entry fee of $30 at the time of application (either by check or via PayPal)
• To submit online:

- Email application materials to: submissions@516arts.org- IMPORTANT: Subject line should read: Your last name + First Name + 2012NM Showcase (ex: Smith.Robert 2012 NM Showcase)
- Pay online via Paypal (link below) on 516 ARTS website: Payment will be matched to your submission

• Submit up to 4 artworks:

- Image format preferred: jpeg files- Image size format: at least 4” x 6” at 300 dpi (no slides!)- 3D or installation pieces are allowed a maximum of 3 representative images per piece- Video or other electronic media are accepted on DVD or as web-based hyperlinks for review

• List of works: Include title, year, media, dimensions for each piece
• Short artist biography in paragraph format
• Short artist’s statement

Submissions are preferred to be received via email to, but can also be received by on CD or DVD. Mailing address:
516 ARTS, Attn: Rhiannon Mercer
516 Central Ave. SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102

Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you require the return of materials.

INSURANCE, HANDLING, SHIPPING & SALES:
Work is fully insured while at 516 ARTS and is handled by professional staff with the utmost care. Please note that artists are responsible for covering cost of delivery, pick-up and shipping. Artwork is encouraged to be for sale, but can also be on loan from collections. If work is for sale 516 ARTS retains the industry standard gallery commission of 50%, but special arrangements can be made with artists’ galleries if needed. If work is on loan, collectors can be credited on the wall labels and in the catalog. Some equipment is available at the gallery, but artists may need to provide their own equipment such as flat screens, projectors and computers. Artists are responsible for delivering or shipping their work to and from the gallery. In rare cases pertaining to scale and access, special arrangements may be made for assistance.

EXHIBITION PROGRAMS & PUBLICATIONS:
516 ARTS will host and/or collaborate on a series of events during the exhibition, including artist talks, poetry readings and screenings. The exhibition will be accompanied by a printed catalog, and will be well publicized through print, web and radio media.

ABOUT 516 ARTS:
516 ARTS is an independent, nonprofit arts and education organization, with a museum-style gallery in the center of Downtown Albuquerque. Our mission is to forge connections between art and audiences, and our vision is to be an active partner in developing the cultural landscape of Albuquerque and New Mexico. Our values are inquiry, diversity, collaboration and accessibility. 516 ARTS offers programs that inspire curiosity, dialogue, risk-taking and creative experimentation, showcasing a mix of established, emerging, local, national and international artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds. For more information, visit www.516arts.org.

QUESTIONS:
Contact Rhiannon Mercer, Assistant Director, 516 ARTS
505-242-1445
rhiannon@516arts.org
New Mexico Showcase

Around the local blogosphere

2011-11-16T11:01:00.001-07:00

Technorati recently came out with their annual "State of the Blogosphere" report. Here's a local one, with a brief side glance at social media, to be covered in more depth at another time. Opening Disclaimer: much of the local blogosphere is mine, which could qualify this piece as shameless self-promotion. Whatever. However, not all is mine. Fair coverage all the way around.

According to Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2011:

Hobbyist bloggers are backbone of the blogosphere, representing 60% of the respondents. Hobbyists say that they “blog for fun” and do not report any income. Half of hobbyists prefer to express their “personal musings” when blogging. 60% indicate they spend less than three hours a week blogging, yet half of hobbyists respond individually to comments from readers. Because 72% blog to speak their minds, their main success metric is personal satisfaction (61%).

My own network of Mountainair blogs, Facebook pages, curated and generated aggregator pages, Twitter stream, YouTube channel, bookmark and feed bundles, etc all started with this blog. Despite cross linking and feeds among community blogs, I should take the extra time to post notices of / links to features formerly carried here but now appearing elsewhere (in case anyone noticed and wondered where they went). Mountainair Announcements and Poets and Writers Picnic are more or less direct offshoots, with Announcements somewhat more so and Picnic rather less.

Announcements carries notices. PSA and other, straight up as sent. Plans to launch a shop local initiative as a community service are afoot. The existing "promote local businesses" policy will expand to include descriptive posts about local businesses introducing them to readers and regular notices of specials, sales and new items ~ if and as sent by local businesses.

Poetry posts used to appear on Arts from time to time and now rarely do but perhaps still should. Regularly fed with content, both have taken on their own sustainable identities. Other blogs include less traveled ones (some under development, others waning), iCreate and my personal favorite, the contrary flâneuse.

from The Contemporary Art of Flânerie at Neuberger Museum of Art

Flâneuse is a "virtual, visual, verbal flânerie through scenic, human, and cultural byways ~ small town space, open space, wild space, cityspace, cyberspace, unspace. Baudelaire's Paris it's not, 'la chambre à deux" perhaps - but still its own kind of microcosm" ... Anyone considering Arts too cheeky best avoid flâneuse altogether. Every time someone foolishly presumes to tell me what I cannot or must post, I contemplate replacing arts with flâneuse (an equal opportunity snarker).

I maintain iCreate's website in blog format that now hosts features formerly on Mountainair Arts: food, community garden, gardening tips, sustainability, locavore and other topics formerly posted to Arts under Everybody Eats.

Beyond the local, I maintain a completely unrelated national blog for an adjunct faculty advocacy organization and manage social media content (blog, Facebook page, Twitter stream). These occasionally overlap with Poets and Writers but almost never with local blogs.

Among other local blogs: George Hewett's Central Mountain News & Information is the most active. Twitter and Facebook supported, you can follow it on your choice of media. Best feature: regular clips from her video channel. This is definitely the best way to keep up with Torrance County Commission meetings and other county events. George's popular Torrance County - For Sale or For Free or Things Wanted group is another local social media innovation (not a blog but mentioning it here anyway). Our coverage overlaps somewhat but not enough to be tiresome or over redundant.

Recently, New Mexico Central seems less active but still well worth following. Wonderful photos too. I am also partial to John Weckerle's "Grow Your Own" series. Incisive restaurant reviews are good reads too even if none from Mountainair. There are other not to be missed local blogs. Kathleen Clute's insightful. reflective Kathleen Ryan music blog (we really should add it to the iCreate blogroll) is a delight to follow and probably not getting the attention it deserves. Hays Travelogue is about Mountainair only part of the year What's that? Visit the blog to find out for yourself. Last updated September 28th, local writer Joan Woodruff's personal reflections blog, Like minds blog together, is introspective but invites readers to join the conversation.

Alas, Jude's most excellent and appealing Notes from Straw Mountain Studio is no longer a Mountainair blog, having moved to Pennsylvania with Jude and Roy. All are much missed. Laughing Orca, after a few notable if slow loading posts, seems to have sunk below the blogging horizon along with other short lived local blogs. A while back, I compiled a list of Mountainair blogs. Most have gone inactive, which is characteristic of 95% of blogs. I still keep my out for new ones. Know any? Please send them my way. Several (more former than not) bloggers, notably David Doler (High Boondocks), have taken up residence on Facebook. Most but not all Facebook ersatz blogs are public.

All for another installment. The blog // Facebook nexus is a post in itself!

Robert Julyan & Sweeney: small town New Mexico

2011-11-13T14:19:00.001-07:00

from Alamosa Books "fictional high plains" community, population under 1,000 and falling, trying to survive. Is any of this sounding familiar yet? With a few changes, this could be Mountainair. Aliens and naked bull riders sound vastly more entertaining than Chamber, town beautification, arts, planning, town and other meetings. I've got aliens and shamans, social media and metafiction, in my current NaNoWriMo effort, but no bull riders .... yet. What about naked committee members?

Sorry I missed posting this before Yesterday's meet-the-author reading and book signing. Don't let that stop you from reading the book. I'm not letting that stop me from posting in lieu of the scheduled civic/development lecture (shop local, develop public space, demand transparency but in way more words). Give Evelyn a heads up about getting if for the community library too.

About Sweeney

The fictional High Plains village of Sweeney, New Mexico, population 856 and falling, is like so many small towns in rural America once vibrant and alive but now a dry husk of obsolescence, decay, and despair. Only its few remaining citizens care that it not die like so many other towns, but when a handful of them concoct a plot to draw attention to their hometown, the result is a hilarious romp through the oddities and opportunities of small town life. Aliens, nudists, naked bull riders, Druids, phony Indians, and real Indians ~ all play a role in Sweeney's quixotic journey of survival and self-discovery. (Preview by taking a look inside)

About Robert

In his first novel, Robert Julyan, author of numerous New Mexico-related books, takes a comic approach to the serious issue of what is lost when small towns die. While researching his Place Names of New Mexico, he experienced firsthand many of these communities and developed a strong empathy for their citizens and their plight. He resides in Carnuel, New Mexico, a small community just outside Albuquerque

art, community and a sense of place

2011-11-12T02:34:00.001-07:00

A panorama of Haas&Hahn's work in Colombia. Image by Haas&Hahn via Favela Painting

This post, written by Knight Foundation Arts Program Associate, Tatiana Hernandez, was originally published on the American for the Arts' Blog.

People have looked to the arts to help define their communities and create a sense of place for generations. So, why are we so excited about creative placemaking today? Perhaps it has something to do with context. In this digital world, many are reexamining the fundamental nature of "community" and our relationship to place. We now know, based on findings from the Knight Soul of the Community report, that social offerings, followed by openness and aesthetics explain why we love where we live. What does that tell us about the essential importance of our connection to place? "Vibrancy" is popping up as a way of describing the intangible nature of a neighborhood's character. Here are three projects working to help define a sense of place in each of their communities.

Read the rest of How arts can help define communities and create a sense of place

#Mountainair Beautiful meeting, Friday Nov11

2011-11-10T18:27:00.001-07:00

The committee, organized by local merchant and Chamber of Commerce president, Scott Remmich, is an ad hoc group as yet neither affiliated with an incorporated non-profit nor yet registered with the PRC. Mountainair Beautiful, representing various local groups and interests byorganizer invitation, meets Thursday mornings at 10 am in the Shaffer Hotel Meeting Room. The group's purpose is to plan and implement town beautification projects. This week's meeting was rescheduled to Friday (tomorrow).

(tentative or best guess) Agenda:

Town Square Project (definite as this is MB's current main focus)

Preliminary designs by Dennis Fulfer, drawn from work done for the Chamber of Commerce Town Square Project 2006 proposal (Dorothy Cole, Dennis Fulfer, Mary Schultz, Vanessa Vaile, Jess Davidson, et al.)

This and others among my blogs have run Town Square / Zócalo related posts, pieces on public space and pictures of the designated Town Square / Zócalo spaces in use for the annual Sunflower Festival. Talking to older residents, you'll learn that Mountainair has been dreaming of a Town Square for generations. We'll be revisiting the topic regularly and ~ and invite your ideas and opinions. That's what the comment feature is for. Use it.

Report (guessing but likely, relevant to MB mission) on Salt Mission Trail Scenic Byway and Corridor plan open meeting and presentation by MRCOG project manager, Loretta Tollefson, and consultants, Maia Mullen and Tim Karpoff. Present: Dennis Fulfer, Elaine Zabor, Bob Berglund from Corona, (president of Torrance County Archaeological Association) and Marcos from Punto de Agua. There will be two more open meetings: try to make at least one:

6 -7:30 pm, Tuesday November 15, Edgewood Community Center, 27 E. Frontage Road, Edgewood, NM
6 -7:30 pm, Thursday November 17, Estancia Community Center, 513 Williams, Estancia, NM

Window on the World: Richter retrospective at Tate Modern

2011-11-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

In the wake of a weekend opening at Mountain Arts on Broadway, growing local interest in the arts ~ but, alas, no recap waiting for me in this morning's mail, today will be a global art day: Window on the World visits the Tate Modern and so can you. Don't miss the Tate's Learn Online section either.

Gerhard Richter: Tate Modern Celebrates One of the Greatest Artists Alive

An ambitious retrospective on one of the most influential and prolific artists alive today. Review by Maria Popova.

Born in East Germany in 1932, Gerhard Richter is one of the most colossal and influential artists alive today, celebrated for liberating painting from the legacy of Socialist Realism in Eastern Germany and Abstract Expressionism throughout Western Europe. To celebrate the artist’s 80th birthday, the Tate Modern is hosting Panorama — an ambitious major retrospective of the artist’s work, including his most iconic pieces — “Ema (Nude descending a staircase)” (1966), “Candle” (1982), “Reader” (1994), “Stoke (on Red)” (1980) — and his hotly debated response to 9/11, “September” (2005).

The exhibition’s excellent companion volume Panorama: A Retrospective collects more than a half-century of Richter’s genius, including photo-paintings, abstracts, landscapes and seascapes, portraits, glass and mirror works, sculptures, drawings and photographs.

Read and view the rest at Brain Pickings, a free weekly newsletter. Readers say it's cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week's best articles.

#Mountainair Community Art Show, Nov 10-19

2011-11-02T22:03:00.000-06:00

@Mountain Arts on Broadway

122 East Broadway (Next to P&M Signs)

Mountainair, New Mexico

Community Art Show entries are open to Mountainair area residents, who are cordially invited to display their original art, such as paintings, jewelry, crafts, photography, mosaics, quilts, clay works, sculpture, pottery, etc. No entry fees. No commissions charged on sales.

Artists

Bring 1 to 3 pieces of your work to Mountain Arts on Broadway, 122 E. Broadway (next to P&M Signs).
Label each piece with your name and contact information.
Indicate price if for sale

by Tomas Wolff

Bring in your artwork Friday, November 4 between 9 am – noon

Exhibit Schedule

Thursday, November 10 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Saturday, November 12 from 10am to noon
Thursday, November 17 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Saturday, November 19 from 10am to noon

Questions?

Contact Tomas Wolff at 1+505.847.2444 or wolff.clayworks@gmail.com

Entertainment and refreshments provided

Thanks and see you at the Community Art Show

(sponsored by the Manzano Mountain Art Council)

NM posts national education assessment gains

2011-11-02T17:38:00.000-06:00

An important story: don't miss reading it whether or not you have children in or about to enter the local public school system. Consider becoming more involved in local education ~ and more informed about education at both local and national levels. Whatever you do, don't stop reading after the opening line's good news. It is encouraging but there is more to the story.

New Mexico has bested all but two other states and the District of Columbia on the math portion of the biennial National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), posting improvements among fourth- and eighth-graders.
Known as the nation’s report card, NAEP far better gauges student subject comprehension than state standardized tests and is often used by researchers to point out the somber state of K-12 education in the US.

The national average among fourth graders was 240; New Mexico students posted average scores of 233. Still, that is the closest the state has come to the national trend since 1996. Eighth-grade scores trailed the national average by nine points, 274 to 283, but the gap is also the closest since 1996. Meanwhile, state scores rose faster than the national average.

Still, New Mexico’s students have much on which to improve. Among fourth graders, 48 percent of the state’s white students are proficient or above, which trails the national trendy four points. Among Hispanics, the result is 23 percent to the country’s 24; Blacks 19 percent to the nation’s 17; and Native American students lag considerably, 15 percent to 24 percent.

Among students who qualify for a federal lunch subsidy, scores trailed the overall average and the national average for students deemed low-income.
Here is a breakdown of reading scores from the state snapshot offered by the Dept. of Ed. In brief, scores remained flat among fourth-graders in the state compared to 2009, and are down from 2007, 208 to 212. Eighth-graders improved from 254 to 256, trailing the national average by eight points. Here’s more information on fourth0grade scores.

Read the rest of New Mexico posts gains in key national education assessment at New Mexico Independent

Arts Education ⇛ creativity ⇔ STEM

2011-10-26T11:27:00.001-06:00

A video from ForaTv on the importance of the arts in education.

Gavin Newsom: Don't Overlook Arts Education

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/partner/California_STEM_Learning_Network

California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom emphasizes the importance of including arts and creativity in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational foundation. Urging educators not to let lack of money be an excuse, Newsom asks, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

The California STEM Learning Network and the Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson are proud to host the second annual California STEM Summit presented by Chevron. Join education, policy and business leaders from throughout California to:

Learn about critical issues related to advancing STEM education
Help move forward key STEM initiatives and programs in California
Foster new collaborations that strengthen in-school and out-of-school STEM teaching and learning in K-14 education

Gavin Newsom was elected as the 49th Lieutenant Governor of the State of California on November 2, 2010... More

Oct 26, Statehood Stories Talk, UNM

2011-10-25T22:15:00.001-06:00

Please share with others: 2011 Richard W. Etulain Lecture, Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m. in George Pearl Hall, UNM Main Campus

David Holtby presents this year’s lecture, “The Surprising Case of New Mexico: Some Statehood Stories and Their Meanings.” David will look at some of the forgotten stories of New Mexico’s history and shows how they have enriched our understanding of New Mexico’s path to statehood over the past century.

The Etulain Lecture was conceived by Calvin P. Horn and Holtby to honor the professional accomplishments of UNM History Professor Richard W. Etulain. The endowed lecture series is presented by UNM faculty members whose scholarship contributes to the regional history of the Southwest. The series is funded by the C. Ruth and Calvin P. Horn Endowment.

The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception follows.

For more information, contact the Center for the Southwest at (505) 277‑7688 or e-mail cntrsw@unm.edu or visit Center for the Southwest.

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

#Mountainair Muse's Latest, Covering the Local, etc

2011-10-24T12:40:00.000-06:00

Series are just popping up all over. I haven't named this one yet but will be adding rss feeds for local and area musicians, poet or other performing artist who upload (or are uploaded) to YouTube and welcome contributions and suggestions. Consider it the cultural version of "shop local." Local musician Christian Raphael's most recent video is a good place to start.

Johnny Gospel Guitar Man

He B lew Out Of Baton Rouge in 1965 Six String In His Hand and a Bible At His Side

Johnny Gospel Guitar Man from Christian Raphael's (aka MountainairMuse) YouTube Channel.
See also Website, Facebook and Reverbnation pages

Gotcha Covered: George Hewett does All Things Torrance County, including County commission meetings and 4-H. I'll catch arts, culture, local announcements (on Announcements of course), items of general interest landing in my mailbox and whatever else strikes my fancy (see link to blogging philosophy below): text, images and video. We have different interests but overlap in a number of areas, which assures you better coverage.

I don't get out so depend on the kindness of strangers, ubiquity of the net, cooperation of readers and the occasionally absent good sense of local organizations and businesses. Taking advantage of community blogs as a public service is good sense. Anyone out there interested in videoing local meetings? Town council, public schools, Chamber of Commerce, arts council ~ information silos all ~ could use sunshine and transparency.

In case you're interested, here's a philosophy of blogging I really like. On reading it, Jude asked if were twins separated at birth,

Exhibitionist: The week's art shows in pictures | Art and design in the UK

2011-10-21T09:29:00.000-06:00

A Window on the World (WotW) ~ good name for a feature, not necessarily limited to art, don't you think? The internet, email, social media and my overflowing feed reader are my window on the world. Time to share. Local you can see and read about driving down Broadway and checking out the B Street Market and other local bulletin boards. If visuals land in my mailbox, I'll share those too. If not, then not. Publishing policy is WYSIWIGS (What You See Is What I Get Sent ~ and can turn around without further ado or time spent). Adding the last makes an acronym that is way too long, but you get the idea. WotW suggestions and contributions invited...

Artwise (but not by owlight, more appropriate for a poetry window on the world), here's a slideshow for the virtual and border crossing gallery goer: The Guardian's Art & Design series, Exhibitionist, offers weekly selections of the week's UK art shows. This week's slideshow inlcudes selections from the Tate and major London galleries.

From the Turner Prize in Gateshead to William Morris in London, Skye Sherwin and Robert Clark find out what's happening in art around the country

Above, William Morris, design for King Arthur and Sir Lancelot stained glass panel, 1862. At Two Temple Place, WC2, from 27 October 2011 to 29 January 2012, William Morris the storyteller is the focus of this show. Norse sagas, Chaucer's Tales, Greek myths and Arthurian legend weave through his exquisite tapestries and pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Exhibitionist: The week's art shows in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian

'via Blog this'

Celebrate Writing: Why I Write

2011-10-20T17:57:00.000-06:00

I spent many of this yesterday's and this morning's 750 words on "Why I Write." Yesterday, however, was less for planning ahead than MMScribes writing group "assignment" (postmodern irony intended). We'd also been discussing writing memoirs as in writers memoirs about writing. Try searching that and you get a lot of how to write a memoir and life writing pages. We're warming up for November's NaNoWriMo too. Writing is in the air.

For me, what with blogs, email, slaving over social media content and 750 words, EVERY day is a day of writing, but an "official" day is neat ~ almost approaching something remotely resembling validation. In appreciation, I putting calendars. announcements, and other planned posts the day off. Today's blogs and wall posts to various pages I tend are and will be writing themed. Easy enough for the poets on Picnic and academics on New Faculty Majority. Other blogs and pages will be more of a challenge. I created a profile picture just for the occasion too. So much for my good intentions to come up with multimooc post for POTcert11, Change11 and CMC11 (at least I am figuring out to mention them briefly and then tag (label).

Come on, people, join me here ..... answer an email, write an overdue note or letter to someone, write a letter to the editor, write a legislator, write a poem, write out your favorite recipe, write an anecdote about your life, write a list of what you write and the reasons (even the mundane ones count ~ today includes but does not privilege creative or publishing writers, not even bloggers), write a note on a page on Scoop.it, write a Facebook status update, write a comment on a friend's link, picture or update, write a blog post, if you don't have a blog, write a comment (here is fine) or use Instablogg for a one time post. Tell me about it too. Use the comment feature.

The day's shortest writing project has to be #whyiwrite on Twitter: Simply tweet a reason why you love to write and add the hashtag #whyiwrite (is there one for #whyidontwrite or #ihatewriting?). MindShift explains what the day is about. You take it from there.

The U.S. Senate has proclaimed today the third annual National Day on Writing, an event originally created by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to promote the importance of writing — not just to those of us who make our living by writing, but to all of us in our everyday lives.

This year, the National Writing Project has joined in the celebration, along with numerous other educational blogs and news outlets, asking people to share the reasons why they write. You can follow along the #whyiwrite hashtag on Twitter, and you’re encouraged to contribute your own essays, tweets, and blog posts.

Read the rest and MindShift's contribution at Celebrate Writing: Why I Write | MindShift

'via Blog this'

A Diet of Masterpieces Makes You Fat: The Virtues of Bad Art [video]

2011-10-18T22:06:00.001-06:00

A ForaTv video: putting the ART in Mountainair Arts (since we can't count on art visuals from local sources).

A Diet of Masterpieces Makes You Fat: The Virtues of Bad Art

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/conference/new_yorker_festival_2011

New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl sits down with Steve Martin to discuss the merits of bad art. "You learn from good art that you can't do it," Schjeldahl says, "and from bad art you see where it breaks."

The New Yorker Festival presents: All About Art: Peter Schjeldahl talks with Steve Martin. This program was recorded on September 30, 2011.

Peter Schjeldahl is The New Yorker's art critic and the author of several books of criticism, including The Hydrogen Jukebox: Selected Writings and Let's See: Writings on Art from The New Yorker. He has received the Frank Jewett Mather Award from the College Art Association, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing.

Steve Martin has been contributing to The New Yorker since 1996. His books include Pure Drivel, which collects many of his humor pieces from the magazine; the memoir Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life; and... More

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Fall Happenings at #Mountainair's Art Center

2011-10-14T18:35:00.001-06:00

Is it Manzano Mountain Art Center or Mountain Arts on Broadway? MAOB? Doesn't matter really, not as though we need to be able to different art centers apart: there's just the one by whatever name. Yet another "Manzano Mountain" when we already have Manzano Mountain Gun Club, Manzano Mountain Art Council, Manzano Mountain Scribes and even more. So just shoot someone artistically and then write about it. We could just call it the Mountainair Art Center or even THE art center. I miss the whatever center having a Facebook page.

Art Center, before embellishment and signage

A rose by any other name, the center has an ample fall calendar that Christine Franks thoughtfully shares with us, writing....

Fall is here and the wind is blowing - a bit of rain too. Days are getting cooler and shorter. Why not get out of the weather and enjoy a workshop/class at the Manzano Mountain Art Council's very own Art Center (Mountain Arts on Broadway)? Make new friends, socialize with existing friends, and perhaps learn a new skill or just have fun.

Mondays

Adult Clay Class from 10 am -1 pm. $20 (scholarships available) - contact Tomas Wolff (wolff.clayworks@gmail.com)

Wednesdays

Community Mosaics Project and class from 10 am -1 pm. $20 scholarships and community mural work available in addition to class activities - contact Tomas Wolff (wolff.clayworks@gmail.com)

Thursdays

Movement from the Bones from 9:30 - 11 am, no class 11/24 (Thanksgiving). $5 per class with no preregistration required. - contact Anne Ravenstone (aravenstone@earthlink.net)

Saturdays

Family Clay Class from 9-10:30 am. FREE (financed by MMAC at the current time) - contact Tomas Wolff (wolff.clayworks@gmail.com)

Saturday, October 15

Mixed Media Workshop from 10 am – 4 pm. The class is best suited for adults. Cost is $50 for the 6 hour class and $10 additional for materials - contact Celeste Simon (mixedmediamail@yahoo.com) and visit her website to learn more about her work and ideas

Saturday, October 29

Halloween Costume Party hosted by Cibola Arts , 6-9 PM , details to be posted separately

Saturday, November 5

Community Art Show Opening from 4 - 6 pm. - contact Kent Potter (kentfp720@yahoo.com)

Art Center Work Days

Fridays, 10/21, 11/4, 11/18. 9 am - 12 noon - contact Kent Potter (kentfp720@yahoo.com)

And, of course -

Monthly Soirées on the first Saturday of each month. Visit the MMAC events page for more details on the subject for the evening and time.

Just so much to keep us learning and entertained!... adds Christine (MMAC Board Member)

These events/classes/workshops are made possible with the support of and in conjunction with the Manzano Mountain Art Council

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

International Art News

2011-10-12T17:19:00.000-06:00

Keeping our window on the world open wide.

Art fraud in France, Marrakech Art Fair, Ellsworth Kelly planning 10 international shows, politics and the Niemeyer Center in northern Spain, 2011 Beijing Art Biennial (image below), Monopol on two current German exhibitions ~ with links to stories (not all in English), although far fewer than sister Omnivore on Book Forum ~ from Art Forum International news

'via Blog this'

History, Festivals, Drought & 3 Centuries of San Miguel

2011-10-10T16:44:00.001-06:00

Re-posted from H-Borderlands (Humanities Net), October 5, 2011

Editor's Note:

An old rural town just south of Las Cruces, San Miguel is a small community that could be overlooked by drivers headed elsewhere. Yet a stop in the town reveals a treasured past that tucks in varied cultural influences, distinct waves of migration and epochs of economic growth and contraction. The following story is part of Frontera NorteSur's special Centennial of New Mexico Statehood series and is made possible in part by grants from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the McCune Charitable Foundation.

FNS Special Feature: The Three Centuries of San Miguel

Driving south of Las Cruces on Highway 28, travelers pass through the shady canopy of Stahmann Farms' pecan forest before gliding into the small town of San Miguel. There, along the few blocks of old abode buildings and signs for fresh farm produce, day trippers might very well encounter friendly folk like Mike Otero.

A federal government retiree, Otero stands outside the striking stone façade of the San Miguel Church reminiscing about decades past and his wedding at this very place in the 1950s. Originally a mountain boy from the village of Manzano in north-central New Mexico, Otero says his real first name is Miguel but everybody just calls him Mike.

After completing military service in Korea, Otero came to Dona Ana County to work at White Sands Missile Range, where he soon met a young woman named Dora from San Miguel. The couple exchanged vows at the historic church and raised a family during a time when Dona Ana County was transitioning from a rural, agricultural-oriented county into part of a border metroplex with a growing university and an expanding federal government presence.

In mid-twentieth century New Mexico, the winds of change also swept Otero's hometown of Manzano up north, scattering his family to bigger and upcoming places. And the former federal worker's daughters became professionals in the medical and educational fields. Nowadays, Otero's children and extended family might work in El Paso, live in Albuquerque or reside in Oklahoma City. "That's the way it is," Otero lets out with one of his hearty laughs. "I got relatives all over."

For such a small town, the genealogical pathways in and out of San Miguel are surprisingly long and deep. Old-time Hispano families trace their ancestors back to the time of the US conquest of the 19th century. An important group of locals hails from the generation of Mexican immigrant workers who labored on nearby Stahmann Farms in the 20th century. A newer segment of townspeople has arrived in the 21st century.

Dennis Smith, GIS specialist for Dona Ana County, estimates "somewhere between 1,300 and 1,500" people lived in unincorporated San Miguel at the time of the 2010 Census. Besides a handful of businesses, San Miguel contains a non-profit rural health clinic and an elementary school operated by the Gadsden School District.

Whether old-timer or newcomer, the residents of San Miguel take pride in their annual fiesta in honor of St. Michael. Held to raise funds for the town's Catholic Church, the fiesta is held on the same late September weekend as the Whole Enchilada Festival just up the road in Las Cruces. While the Whole Enchilada bash has grown into a massive affair that receives international attention, the San Miguel Fiesta remains a low-key event, barely advertised and perhaps drawing three or four thousand people over the course of two days, according to longtime resident and fiesta organizer Manuel Leyva.

At the San Miguel fiesta, Spanish and country music intermingle and dance into the early fall evening. New Mexican, Mexican and European-style foods stir many a palate. Gorditas, burritos, menudo, churros, and the beloved sopapillas with red chile and honey are all for devouring at affordable prices. The jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese and bacon drip with the morsels of different cultures.

The fiesta has changed locations, activities and flavors over the years. Carmen Martinez says her grandmother and other relatives helped build San Miguel's Catholic Church, constructed with lava rock and finished in 1937. According to Martinez, her relatives hauled the rock from a nearby mesa with horse-drawn wagons. Once held off church grounds, Martinez says the fiesta used to include a softball tournament and allow alcohol consumption.

An 83-year-old Korean War vet, Victor Beck Martinez has old memories of the fiesta. As a young child, he recalls seeing musicians playing the guitar and violin while festival-goers jammed into an old trailer for bingo games. In the early 1960s, the locals contributed sweat equity and construction materials to build a new church parish hall, he says.

The Mesilla Valley resident has been to practically every fiesta in his time, except during his service in Korea. Yet even in the height of conflict, San Miguel harkened. "I still remembered San Miguel," Beck Martinez adds, a deep intonation of respect vibrating in his voice.

A neighbor of Beck Martinez, Cliff Barber moved full-time to San Miguel from San Diego in 2007. "It's a joy living here, and the neighbors help each other without hesitation," Barber says. "It's a wonderful place to live." Standing alongside his lanky neighbor, Beck Martinez quips, "I'm trying to make him a native."

While eschewing the hot chile varieties many New Mexicans cherish, Barber admits he's grown used to at least the milder peppers and even craves them. "It's kind of an addiction," the transplanted Californian says. "If you don't have a chile in a day, you kind of miss it."

The 21st century version of the San Miguel Fiesta features newer elements like a horse show and the Latin American sea food dish of ceviche - fish cooked up in lime juice. Held on church grounds, today's fiesta does not offer alcohol.

Deacon Emilio Ramos is among the many individuals helping to annually reinvent San Miguel. The Mexico-born Ramos pursued a US military career, retiring after 34 years of federal service before getting ordained three years ago. Ramos was subsequently assigned to administer the San Miguel Church and a second one in nearby Mesquite for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. A visitor to regional celebrations, Ramos says he keeps an eye out for different activities that could be incorporated into the San Miguel fiesta. The ex-serviceman's experience in organizing events for his military squadron is also put to use at fiesta time, he says.

"I'm very pleased to be here serving the people of the two communities. I'm very happy with the fiesta and the things that are going on," Ramos says of his work in San Miguel and Mesquite. "They go all out with the celebrations, the different activities. The fiesta just brings everybody together at one point and one time in the year."

Like celebrations and holidays in other traditional New Mexican communities, the San Miguel Fiesta is occasion for the re-gathering of the diaspora, a time when people return from Arizona, Texas and elsewhere for a weekend of family roots. Historically, farming has been an underpinning of San Miguel's local culture and economy. Crops grown over the years include cotton, chile, onions, tomatoes, alfalfa, pecans and more.

As a young man, Manuel Leyva bought a small piece of property which was planted in alfalfa at the time. Leyva married a woman whose Mexican immigrant father worked as a foreman for Stahmann Farms. On his five acres, Leyva planted 250 pecan trees. But this year has been a rough one for Levya and other farmers who normally draw water flowing from the Rio Grande.

"The only problem is that there is no water," Levya laments. "Hopefully my trees won't die and I'll have a lot of firewood."

In southern New Mexico, the Great Drought has now overlapped with the Great Recession. Inter-state water politics also enters into the picture. "The water that you see going down the river at one time is for Texas, and I don't understand why there's no water for New Mexico," Leyva says.

A 2008 agreement involving the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigation districts in New Mexico and neighboring Texas resulted in the Texans getting more Rio Grande water than prior to the agreement, according to the New Mexico state attorney general's office. Last August, the state attorney general filed suit against the agreement. In a recent op-ed, Gary Esslinger, longtime manager of the Las Cruces-based Elephant Butte Irrigation District, took issue with the lawsuit and defended the 2008 deal as a "well-thought out compromise" that protects the ability of New Mexico farmers to pump groundwater in times of "severe drought."

In order to survive, Leyva and fellow farmers are indeed resorting to groundwater. "I just happen to have a little domestic well and that's what I've been doing to irrigate my trees," he says. "It takes me two or three days to do it, but it'll do the work."

Recently, Leyva and 15 families filed an application for a state permit to drill a new well. In his long life, Leyva has witnessed many other changes in San Miguel and Dona Ana County. In the 1970s, Levya served two-terms on the Dona Ana County Commission. Back then, he says, the elected body consisted of three commissioners instead of the five who are seated today.

From San Miguel, Levya represented a huge stretch of territory running from Sunland Park outside El Paso in the south to Garfield in the Hatch Valley in the north. The one-time politician says landfills, funding for volunteer fire departments and improving the salaries of low-paid county employees were the big issues of the era.

Despite many changes, one institution that's survived the years is the San Miguel Church and its annual September fiesta. Leyva says money from this year's event could go towards the eventual purchasing for a new roof to cover the outside grounds of the parish hall and make it easier and more comfortable to stage community events.

-Kent Paterson
Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
For a free electronic subscription email: fnsnews@nmsu.edu

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

#Mountainair Weekend Edition

2011-10-08T10:01:00.001-06:00

(or truncated facsimile thereof, with possibility of more to come)

Yesterday was an art center workday, winterizing (just in time too), mural mounting and all that. Anybody got an update? I'm still waiting for photos of the garden and mural updates.

Sunday reminder: Kathleen Clute will be in concert with Lee Bartley Sunday 3pm at the Piano Source. It will be a double header day for Kathleen: her music played at Church of Beethoven by Keith Snell, with Albuquerque poet/musician, spoken word dazzler and Picnic alumnus Hakim Bellamy performing poetry inspired by the performed piece from Verbs Book 2, Tangle, Release, Bless from Verbs.

Manzano Mountain Scribes meets today at Alpine Alley minus group facilitator Ben Steinlage, who will be in Moriarty at the Bean Festival. Never mind that Mountainair (neither Moriarty nor Estancia) was Pinto Bean Capital of the World ~ there has to be a story in how the event got hijacked.

Pinto Bean Festival Moriarty, mostly in City Park across from Library and Civic Center: Read Write Literacy book signing at library with Ben Steinlage; flea market across from Library. Festivities start with a pancake breakfast, and generally includes a pinto bean cookoff, music, games, a rodeo and a parade - all to remind everyone of the important role the pinto bean has played in the Estancia Valley.

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Opportunity for New Mexico contemporary artists

2011-10-07T15:25:00.001-06:00

Rhiannon Mercer, 516 Arts, writes,

Hi,

Follow the links for prospectus and more information about both the call for entries and NEW MEXICO SHOWCASE, a juried exhibition of New Mexico artists, in celebration of the fifth anniversary of 516 ARTS, a leading contemporary, nonprofit art space in Albuquerque.

Entry deadline is December 1, 2011.

The guest juror is esteemed art critic and curator Peter Frank from Los Angeles. Thank you for listing this opportunity wherever you can and helping to spread the word!

Just let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks so much, Rhiannon Mercer, Assistant Director, 516 Arts

505-242-1445 l 505-244-4101 l www.516arts.org | 516 Central Ave SW l Albuquerque, NM 87102

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Welcome to the Balloon Fiesta

2011-10-01T10:14:00.000-06:00

How NM knows for sure that fall is really hear, occasionally misleading temperature changes to the contrary, with the New Mexico State Fair marking (and marketing) the transition from summer to fall.

Speed blogging Balloon Fiesta to get up, up and away by for opening day... almost missed it again. Does that mean I've been here too long? Way back in the dawn of blogging locally, I caught and blogged BF ahead of opening, posting pictures and schedule, etc. What next? Missing Shunflower? One can only hope...

2010 Fiesta image, Facebook

Welcome to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and pretty much all you need to know: event information, schedules, guest guide, web cam, FAQs, etc. There's an Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Facebook page too, not yet updated for 2011 though. Fiesta-Follow from afar on Twitter @balloonfiesta and watching Fiesta videos on YouTube

'via Blog this'

Food Summit, Sept 30 & Oct 1, Las Cruces

2011-09-27T10:07:00.001-06:00

La Semilla Food Center Convenes First Border Food Summit

Normally, this would be an iCreate or Mountainair Farm & Garden Market blog post because it deals with their issue - agriculture, sustainability, agriculture, local food and growers. This summit is here because it addresses Mountainair and community issues not limited to a couple of local groups, one of which is informal, not an organization and decidedly less than transparent, and the other a small, non-membership 501(3c). Besides, the MFGM blog (but not the Facebook page linked above) has been deactivated, another story for another time. Maybe in the scheduled post about our new look and other changes.

In the Rio Grande Valley of southern New Mexico and far west Texas, early fall is a very busy time of the year. Weekdays are devoted to harvesting one crop while preparing for the next. Weekends are filled with fiestas, harvest festivals and community gatherings of all kinds. Colors splash the land, as white cotton balls glisten from the earth and plump, orange pumpkins smile from ripe patches. Even in the water and crop challenged year of 2011, the aroma of roasting green chile stubbornly drifts over the landscape.

In the middle of all this feverish activity, the staff members of Las Cruces' La Semilla Food Center have managed to squeeze in time for the first food summit convened for the tri-state border region.

Scheduled for September 30 and October 1, the summit is planned to take place at the Court Youth Center in Las Cruces. Speakers, hands-on workshops, food-making demos, music, fellowship, and discussion will be part of the bill. According to La Semilla Food Center, a dialogue on food systems, food sovereignty and food justice is envisioned as a central ingredient of the summit.

In keeping with the summit's spirit, two keynote speakers are on the itinerary for Saturday, October 1. Las Cruces City Councilor Olga Pedroza and Ricardo Salvador, program officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will give talks on labor, food access and racial equality in the food system.

"We believe healthy food access is a human right and we are trying to foster a local food movement in the Paso del Norte region," said Cristina Dominguez-Eshelman, La Semilla Food Center co-founder and director of the non-profit organization's youth and family programs. "We're hoping to develop a regional foods systems plan."

In an interview with Frontera NorteSur, Dominguez-Eshelman said a future regional food plan should unite producers, consumers, food banks, public health institutions and others in a common goal of developing a vibrant, locally-oriented food system.

A notable aspect of both the summit and La Semilla Food Center's ongoing work is a re-discovery of regional food traditions and how crops can be selected that are appropriate for the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem, especially in a time of deep drought and growing pressure on water supplies.

Getting the next generation back to farming is another issue that will be highlighted at next weekend's food summit.

"I think it is vitally important youth are involved in agriculture," Dominguez-Eshelman said, adding that people 55 years of age or older make up the biggest segment of farmers in the US. "Farmers are essential for our very existence," the border food activist stressed.

La Semilla Food Summit will be free of charge to anyone under the age of 18. The event is supported by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, New Mexico Community Foundation, McCune Charitable Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

For more details, call 480-277-5312 or e-mail lasemillafoodcenter@gmail.com. The website for the event is: lasemillafoodsummit.com.

-Kent Paterson

Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico

For a free electronic subscription email: fnsnews@nmsu.edu

Posted via email from Mountainair NM

100 Thousand Poets for Change—and You

2011-09-19T20:09:00.000-06:00

I've already been posting about this event elsewhere, mostly at Poets and Writers Picnic and @PWPicnic, but restricting my efforts there smacks of coals to Newcastle. Musician Kathleen Clute is on Zach Kluckman's 100T Poets for Change NM mailing list too. So we know what we're doing for the day. What about the rest of you? You don't have to be a poet to do something. Check below for ideas... and follow along for more ideas and updates. I dare say National Poetry Month projects would recycle well. If the arts council isn't working on something, somebody remind them. Tag them about it on your next 100T Poets4Change Facebook share.

Personally, I fancy the idea of mailing poems to people, and not just in public office. You could add NGOs, service organizations and administrators to that list too. I don't know enough about the MES mentor program to write it up as I'd hoped but certainly hope mentors and mentees will at least spend Friday in the company of poetry getting ready for a Saturday happening. They could email poems about learning to legislators on education and budget committees ~ or their mentors on their behalf but only if the children pick the poems and they read them together. A Saturday chalk day below sounds fun too, So many possibilities, especially with this also being National Hispanic Culture Month.

Guest post on Mission to Learn by Celisa Steele:

¡Globalquerque!

2011-09-16T20:22:00.001-06:00
~ is a celebration of world music and culture... it's everywhere too: live at the National Hispanic Center, broadcast live on KUNM and Native Voice One; online at its webpage, on Facebook; online and features in print and online at Local iQ and the Weekly Alibi. Schedules at webpage and in both mags.

More live Saturday , 1 pm in the Wells Fargo Theater at the National Hispanic Culture Center, Local Poets Guild presents Hand-to-Tongue: A Celebration of Threatened Languageduring the free Global Fiesta. plus more events the day before and after. My personal pick for best of the weekend

Celebrate National Arts in Education Week!

2011-09-15T18:20:00.001-06:00

But isn't every week arts education week? If not, shouldn't it be? And if not in the schools then with arts groups, other NGOs and at home...

Considering the state of education funding, creating, curating and publishing an arts resource for educators, mentors, homeschoolers and emerging young artists is a project worth considering.

Bulletin from the cause: Keep the Arts in Public Schools
Go to Cause
Posted By: MacEwen Patterson
To: Members in Keep the Arts in Public Schools

Celebrate National Arts in Education Week!
Hello!

It's National Arts in Education Week! Last July, Congress passed the resolution designating every second week in September as Arts in Education Week in an effort to promote and showcase the immense role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, and college- and career-ready students.

As you may recall, our partners at Americans for the Arts played a key role in helping push this resolution forward, and this week they pass along some great tips for how KAIPS members can celebrate Arts in Education Week in school and at home.

Check out this terrific set of resources for teachers put together by the National Education Association.

Dial in to the week-long online conversation hosted by Americans for the Arts

Check out the kids' pages on the web site of your local museum, symphony, or ballet --- here are just a few examples of some great sites:
http://www.nga.gov/kids/
http://www.moma.org/interactives/artsafari/index.html
http://www.sfskids.org/templates/home.asp?pageid=1
In honor of Arts in Education Week, Americans for the Arts is also offering a free Americans for the Americans Tote Bag to the first 30 KAIPS cause members who donate $25 or more to our cause. Make a gift today and we'll follow up with you so that you can receive your tote bag.

Best, MacEwen -Admin

Call to Action

Spread the word. Every invitation counts:

Invite Friends

Causes Address: 88 Kearny St, Suite 2100, San Francisco, CA 94108 United States

Blue Man Group Morning Madness!

2011-09-14T19:19:00.001-06:00

Through this special offer, you can get tickets to the show
BEFORE they go on sale to the general public!
Blue Man Group
Popejoy Hall
October 28-30, 2011
5 performances
Click here to get your tickets on Friday
or simply log on to www.unmtickets.com


Act quickly! Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday, September 16th!

Need more info? www.blueman.com &
www.popejoypresents.com
Popejoy Hall | Center for the Arts | MSC 04 2580 | 1 University of New Mexico | Albuquerque | NM | 87131

basic blogging

2011-09-10T17:19:00.001-06:00

Blogging is not that different from writing email. The compose screens are very similar. Instead of emailing to designated addressees, you publish - send it into cyberspace. You can also compose and save in drafts. Likewise, you can compose in a word processing program and then copy paste into the message screen.

In other words, if you have no passion for writing or the topics you would write about plus writing skill and information gaps, blogging may not be for you. Nuts and bolts explanatory stuff below. Looking over a few blogs will also help you get a feel for the possibilities.

I couldn't find Blogger's basic how-to tutorial until I opened another browser that did not know I have an account. A pox on smart ass computers and platforms. Here's the "getting started tour" http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g. Basically, clicking Bogger's "get started" button walks you through the process. Both Blogger and Posterous have a post by email feature ~ automatic for Posterous but has to be set for Blogger.

Posterous, FAQ ~ https://posterous.com/faq
"If you can email, you can use Posterous. Just email post@posterous.com with your photos, video, music, and thoughts and we’ll make sure they look great on the web. Prefer to post from the web? No problem. Our web editor makes it super simple."

I started with Blogger, still use it the most and have also used Posterous enough to get used to its features. These include autopost settings for Blogger and other social media. I can code pages breaks and tags into email. I've used WordPress some, which gets good press, has more themes and plug-ins (add on webtools). Being told I ought to use WordPress is probably the main reason I don't

Instablogg is the ultimate in minimalist simplicity ~ no registration, just write and publish single-use blog posts. Create a post instantly. No need to start, setup and maintain a blog. If you write more than one post in a series then you have to keep track of them. No file managers.

And closing with few basic blogging articles / tutorials that I did not find too tiresome ~ skipping marketing oriented articles and those pushing specific platforms
Personal blogging emphasis, good, clear explanations. I like the the comment, "A blog is a work in progress" http://www.antonellapavese.com/2006/04/19/how-to-blog-1-blog-basics/
From a teaching perspective, http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/blog-basics
And then there's always Wikipedia
Posted via email from Mountainair NM

We Art the People

2011-09-09T23:49:00.000-06:00
Huge puppets, acrobats and crafts galore! Giant puppet samba parade? Say no more. iCreate's Albuquerque music outreach partner, OFFCenter Community Arts Project is throwing its ninth annual folk art festival, We Art the People (Schedule & Events), on Sunday September 11 in Robinson Park (Eighth Street and Central NW). In addition to the parade, a family of jugglers, acrobats and magicians known as Clan Tynker will be running around spreading merriment.

The daylong event—including a Rogue Bindis belly dance performance, the Cajun rhythm and blues of Joe Daddy & Hoodoo Jeff’s Swamp Fried Duo, bluegrass by Holy Water & Whiskey, and a crafting tent with supplies for kids and adults—is free. The only thing you might spend dough on is the work of more than 90 self-taught folk and community artists.

The sale of OFFCenter products, baked goods and yard sale items at this event will benefit the nonprofit and its low-income and/or homeless artists throughout the year. Also a portion of the food sales from the day is being donated to OFFCenter by the mobile vendors.

We Art the People

Salinas gets de Profundis word out

2011-09-08T18:19:00.000-06:00

A message from the Salinas Pueblo Missions reminding you about the de Profundis Choir's annual event. Early is better than last minute or missing altogether.... and we've been promised a reminder to share. Take this opportunity to visit Salinas' Facebook page, look at the pictures, comment or leaves a message and be sure to "like" them.

We wanted to get the word out early for this upcoming event: de Profundis the a cappella men's ensemble of Albuquerque will be having their annual concert at Quarai on Sunday, September 18th at 3 PM. This is a free concert inside the Quarai Mission. If you haven't made it to the concert before, this is something not to be missed. Don’t worry, we will remind you again the week of the concert.

photo from 2009 concert, GarryP's Odyssey

Garry P comments,
"The wonderful program lasted about an hour. This was a real treat as the Profundis performs at the mission each year as the first appearance of their yearly tour. They sang chants, international songs and American historical favorites."
From the de Profundis Schedule:
"Our annual concert at Quarai opens the eighteenth season of de Profundis concerts. Quarai is a unique space - a 17th century Spanish mission church, abandoned in the 1670s - part of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. The top part of the church is open, and yet the acoustics in the stone walls are wonderful."
Arrive early with your picnic lunch - and make sure to make time before or after the concert to tour the grounds of Quarai. And don't forget your water, head cover, and sunscreen!
3:00 pm, September 18, 2011. Admission Free

Quarai Mission Ruins of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Mountainair, NM
Background information about Quarai and map: click here
Virtual tour of Quarai: click here

Habitat! Do it!

2011-09-06T22:17:00.001-06:00

www.habitat.org

MES after school art program needs teachers

2011-09-06T18:26:00.001-06:00

New Mexico Arts grant funds After School program at Mountainair Elementary

"Red Cloud" ~ a youth installation art, NM Arts page

TEACHERS NEEDED

Hello all! Although the regular ASPIRE program closed this year due to lack of funding, we received a small grant from NM Arts - enough to offer 5 or 6 classes one or two days a week after school - all ART (music, theatre, visual arts, dance) classes. I am looking at running a program for about 10 weeks in the fall and 10 weeks in the spring, but would like people who are interested in teaching to help me plan the exact schedule (how many days/week, how long is each class, etc.).

Please get back to me right away if you have any interest.  Call me - 847-0109 at home or 8472231, ext 2028 at school. The pay will be $20/$25 per class and we have money for supplies. We can also pay for the fingerprinting/background check required for working with kids.

I hope to hear from a lot of people so we can offer the young people of our community wonderful choices.
I'd like to hold a meeting of all interested potential teachers the beginning of next week. Call me - 847-0109 at home or 8472231, ext 2028 at school.

Anne Ravenstone

Ed. Note: although not listed, literary arts (creative writing, publishing, poetry) should also qualify, Are you a writer with something to offer? Call or email Anne and ask. Learn more about Arts in the Schools and why keeping them there matters. Arts education curriculum is crucial to childhood development.

#Mountainair Sunflower Festival Schedule

2011-08-22T22:03:00.001-06:00

Details and descriptions at the MMAC (Manzano Mountain Art Council) Sunflower page

Sunflower Schedule

8:00 am - 3:00 pm

St. Alice Parking Lot Sale, Parish Hall
Roosevelt Street

10:00 am - 3:30 pm

Silent Auction Bidding

10:00 am - 10:30 pm

Mountainair School Band

10:30 am - 10:45 am

Goldie Garcia, Comedian

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Los Amigos Band

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Mountainair Arts on Broadway
Open House - “Hands in Clay”
122 East Broadway

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Rye Creek Band

2:00 pm

Sunflower Hat Contest
Line up at Band Stand

3:30 pm

Silent Auction Ends

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Silent Auction Winners
Pick up Items

Dennis Fulfer - DJ to fill in during breaks

NB: No mention of Children's Sunflower Art project or the annual Library Book Sale, both popular features. For information, contact the Mountainair School District 505-847-2333 and Community Library, 505-847-9676, or Town Hall, 505-847-2321, directly,  Just for giggles, the Spanish "translation" of the Hat Contest flier.

newsletters, sunflowers, Mountainair

2011-08-19T00:45:00.000-06:00
More than just blogging.... or the usual social media suspects. It's about content: auto-aggregated by feed, custom curated and annotated.

Newsletters: Once set in motion and pointed at sources or specific topics, online newsletters created with Paper.li use designated twitter, topic (hastag) or Facebook feeds to do all the heavy lifting. The software handles layout, updates and scheduling tweets (which then show up on Facebook). "Creations" include The #NM Daily, Mountainair Online Digest (weekly) and Chez Vanessa (excessif? bien sûr). Paper.li newsletters not mine but subscriptions, that I occasionally Facebook to profile, groups and pages include The #gardening Daily, The #writing Daily, The #poetry Daily, and Local Food and Farmers Markets

Start your own if you can't find one on a topic that interests you. For example (not an offer), the Manzano Mountain Art Council could put together one for Mountain Arts on Broadway that combined news from selected feeds, keywords and tags about the art world, New Mexico arts, art and museum exhibits, Mountainair, murals, mosaics, pottery, public art, art centers and so on. It might take more time and thought to set up than the Facebook page, but once set up, would be more or less maintain itself. Although unlikely, the Town of Mountainair or the Chamber could create custom pages

Aztec sunflowers, illustrating an article on the history of sunflower domestication

Speaking of sunflowers and newsletters, I invite you to visit sunflowers (“celebrating sunflowers in all forms and any manifestation, real or imagined”) the most recent entry in my long standing hobby/habit of collecting sunflower images is aggregating them along with local Festival links and sunflower stories from around the world that catch my eye. I've neglected the original Sunflower page (since 2000), but a sunflowers slide show (widget) along with the basic update could give it a boost. Unlike Paper.li's auto-generated newsletter, Scoop.it pages are curated and more visual. I select items and images, add copy, comment. Look for the picture of Gorden with his sunflowers in it.

Mountainair 87036 is taking a spin on Scoop.it too, along with to market to market (about farmers and other local informal markets around the world), flanerie (my personal favorite) and A is for Adjunct. I can't help thinking about other pages but better lose the losing days habit and maybe a few pages before adding others. On the other hand, I succumbed to temptation this morning and applied to Pinterist, an exclusively visual virtual pin board still in Beta... and already a selection of sunflowers for the Sunflower Festival

view of Mountainair

lost days, tall sunflowers

2011-08-18T23:57:00.000-06:00

Lost another day posting calendar snippet to Announcements but even more days getting here. Timely is just not in my name these days. Too bad I can't balance the books by crediting them back to my account. Thinking about what to post does not power the keyboard. Now that would be a killer app.

Sunflower Festival is coming. What better picture to herald the August 27 event than this picture Biddie sent of Gorden in the garden dwarfed by this year's sunflowers? Already going to seed, they'll miss festival but would make a great poster for next year's event.

Gorden McMath and his sunflowers

So what else is news or a reasonable facsimile thereof? Anything off the event horizon long enough to forgot about should qualify, even if under another name: Older News; Warmed Over News; Recycled News. Or just Reminders.

Sunflower Festival related: working on confirming the Children's Sunflower Art Project. The Poets and Writers Picnic has been discontinued in the local festival continuum. It lives on virtually in the blogosphere (above), twittering too but most active on Facebook and doing quite nicely thank you ~ come by and visit any time. I would not have mentioned but for a recent email query.

To the best of my knowledge, the annual Community Library Book Sale is on, paperbacks $2 a bag. St Vincent de Paul and St Alice Church are having sales, the latter including a fine selection of wood pews. The 4th Saturday Manzano Scribes meeting scheduled for that date is cancelled. The Shaffer is booked for a wedding, presumably unrelated to Sunflower. Hopefully no lost poets will stumble into looking for the Picnic. More as I think of or get information.

This Week in #Mountainair, Aug 3-5

2011-08-04T12:12:00.002-06:00

Yes, of course I know today is Thursday. So I lost another day: Wednesday this week. Usually I lose Tuesday. My apologies to Wednesday. Eventually I'll get on track. In the meantime, I hope including missed days and publicly owning the oversight will remind me.

More about what you missed Wednesday (all on the community calendar ~ consider the omission as an unintended object lesson in checking the calendar for yourself):
Arts council monthly board meeting;  I'd say contact an arts council board member, but the site no longer lists contact information for individual board members. There is, however, an online contact form. Board meeting minutes are supposed to be archived online but are not current past June. You can write the MMAC about that too. There will be more meetings: the next is an art center committee meeting next Tuesday.
Mountainair Mosaic Project workshop: it's weekly, so there's always next week. Contact Tomás Wolff about the workshops and getting involved in the project.
PHTC (county health and wellness: ask to be added to the mailing list) meeting in Moriarty
Please note that this week's big event (circled in red) is the Estancia Valley Relay for Life
Posted via email from Mountainair NM

Elsewhere this weekend

2011-07-29T01:50:00.000-06:00

Friday & Saturday 29-30 July - Belen ART League Photography Show
Belen Art League, BAL509Becker@aol.comPhone: 505-861-0217. Website: Click to Visit
Friday-Sunday 29-31 July - Music Festival Weekend in Edgewood
Three days of foot-stomping bluegrass/folk/gospel music starts with an old fashion country barn dance Friday night,7-10 p.m. Nationally acclaimed Hot Club of Cowtown and Chuck Pyle along with Finders & Youngberg, Grayson and 6 regional and local bands perform live on 2 stages Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Festival includes jam sessions and workshops with the performers, children's activities, and fiddle and guitar contests on Sunday afternoon see the Wildlife West page for contest rules and more information about the 3-day Music Festival.
This music festival benefits native, non-releasable wildlife. Price includes admission to Wildlife West Nature Park. It's fun for the entire family! All music performances are held in a covered, all-weather amphitheater located just 30 minutes east of Albuquerque. Free parking, and RV and tent dry camping.

Saturday-Sunday 30-31 July, 10am-5pm - Celtic Festival, Tijeras Art Market

Sunflower Schedule
8:00 am - 3:00 pm	St. Alice Parking Lot Sale, Parish Hall Roosevelt Street
10:00 am - 3:30 pm	Silent Auction Bidding
10:00 am - 10:30 pm	Mountainair School Band
10:30 am - 10:45 am	Goldie Garcia, Comedian
11:00 am - 1:00 pm	Los Amigos Band
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm	Mountainair Arts on Broadway Open House - “Hands in Clay” 122 East Broadway
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm	Rye Creek Band
2:00 pm	Sunflower Hat Contest Line up at Band Stand
3:30 pm	Silent Auction Ends
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Silent Auction Winners Pick up Items
Dennis Fulfer - DJ to fill in during breaks

Mountainair Arts

iCreate recital, exciting news & a request

Sat Jan21 Los Lunas Museum Opening

STOP SOPA: #SOPASTRIKE Jan18

Whistler in Corsica

Creative Aging: A Local Arts Agency Fills a Community Need

#Mountainair briefly noted

How Do You Stay Creative?

Creativity Matters: Chronicles of the Creative Economy

Harwood Art Center: 2012 programs

Saturday morning notes

Merry Christmas & the Gift of Changing Lives

There's still time to give a gift that changes lives

An acre of rice: $29

Give Mercy Corps Gifts and they will help:

Got old #Mountainair pictures?

#Mountainair ChristmasLand, Day 1

New Mexico Dance Institute @ Mountainair Elementary School

Sunday Dec11: Annual Christmas Cantata

Reminder: Tree Decorating Contest

The rest of Tuesday morning

ChristmasLand in #Mountainair

Christmas Fair reminder & call for vendor information

2011 Gran Quivira Star Party, Nov25

Christmas Fairs: here there everywhere

Call for Entries: New Mexico Showcase

Around the local blogosphere

Robert Julyan & Sweeney: small town New Mexico

About Sweeney

About Robert

art, community and a sense of place

#Mountainair Beautiful meeting, Friday Nov11

Window on the World: Richter retrospective at Tate Modern

Gerhard Richter: Tate Modern Celebrates One of the Greatest Artists Alive

#Mountainair Community Art Show, Nov 10-19

NM posts national education assessment gains

Arts Education ⇛ creativity ⇔ STEM

Oct 26, Statehood Stories Talk, UNM

#Mountainair Muse's Latest, Covering the Local, etc

Exhibitionist: The week's art shows in pictures | Art and design in the UK

Celebrate Writing: Why I Write

A Diet of Masterpieces Makes You Fat: The Virtues of Bad Art [video]

Fall Happenings at #Mountainair's Art Center

International Art News

History, Festivals, Drought & 3 Centuries of San Miguel

#Mountainair Weekend Edition

Opportunity for New Mexico contemporary artists

Welcome to the Balloon Fiesta

Food Summit, Sept 30 & Oct 1, Las Cruces

100 Thousand Poets for Change—and You

¡Globalquerque!

Celebrate National Arts in Education Week!

Bulletin from the cause: Keep the Arts in Public Schools

Celebrate National Arts in Education Week!

Call to Action

Spread the word. Every invitation counts:

Blue Man Group Morning Madness!

basic blogging

We Art the People

Salinas gets de Profundis word out

Habitat! Do it!

MES after school art program needs teachers

#Mountainair Sunflower Festival Schedule

newsletters, sunflowers, Mountainair

lost days, tall sunflowers

This Week in #Mountainair, Aug 3-5

Elsewhere this weekend

Friday & Saturday 29-30 July - Belen ART League Photography Show