The Art Box

The Art Box - Episode 165 - Path of Light - Meet Morgan Sjogren

Morgan Sjogren is an author, explorer, and defender of wild places. Her books and writing focus on human-powered adventure, public lands, conservation, history, travel, and food. Sjogren devotes much of her writing and time to advocate, educate, and inspire others to help protect endangered landscapes and the environment.
Sjogren is the author of Path of Light: A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon (Torrey House Press in April 2023). She is the author of Outlandish, The Best Bears Ears National Monument Hikes, and The Best Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Hikes. A nomad by nature, Sjogren lives on the Colorado Plateau and feels most at home in the wild. 

The Art Box - Episode 164 - Science, Art, and Waterfowl We Love Duck Stamps

Our good friends from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Jennifer Heroux and Rob Vinson drove to Mesquite to enlighten our listeners about the history of US wildlife refuges and how the Federal Duck Stamp Program has positively impacted wildlife through land preservation. Jennifer oversees the Nevada Junior Duck Stamp program and she takes time to explain how teachers and young artists can engage. 
The Nevada Jr. Duck Stamp original art is displayed at the Pharanaget National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo, Nevada, it is worth the trip to go see.
Where are the original art pieces? Suzanne Fellows the Program Chief provided us the following:
The federal art itself is owned by the artist and after the stamp is designed the original is returned to them.  They can then sell their original, reproduce it, make prints, put it on shirts/mugs, etc.  The artist owns the copyright to the art and this is basically how they can make a living off being a "duck stamp" winning artist (since we don't pay them).  
The stamp image is copyrighted by the DOI/USFWS - you have to have a license from the USFWS (Duck Stamp Office) to reproduce an image of the stamp and there are specifics that need to be followed (set up to prevent counterfeiting).  Royalties are collected for the image use and goes back to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund for conservation.  
Currently, approximately 70 pieces of the original winning art are now owned by the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT.  Artists/owners sold their piece to a collector who then donated it to the museum.  There are about 3 other originals in museums elsewhere, several still held by the artist or their family, some that were sold to other collectors prior to the Bruce collection being assembled, and a couple that have been stolen or otherwise disappeared.  The Bruce is putting on an exhibit of the entries in Sept that will run for a few months.  After that it is hoped that the collection will be lent/used to other wildlife/art/conservation organizations across the country
To learn more about the Federal Duck Stamp Program click here.
To learn more about the Jr. Duck Stamp Program click here.
Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Refuges

The Art Box - Episode 161 - 39th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering - Wrap Up

We wrapped up our visit to Elko, enjoying our old friends and making many new ones. Not much sleep, long ride up and back but our time was precious. We hope you can enjoy the myraid of talented guests that graced our mic. Many thanks to the worldwide fans of The Art Box and to our sponsors the Virgin Valley Artists' Association. 

The Art Box - Episode 160 - Tangled Roots - Meet Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey is a writer, editor, and writing coach, offering marketing and business writing, copy editing, publishing guidance, and creative writing workshops in Truckee through her business Tangled Roots Writing for clients of all ages.  She has taught at Lake Tahoe Community College, Sierra Nevada College, and Sierra College and has served as a poetry editor for the literary journals Pitkin Review and Quay. She is a recipient of a Sierra Arts Endowment Grant, the John Woods Scholarship to Prague Summer Program, the Steve Turner Scholarship to Surprise Valley Writer's Conference, and a scholarship to the Vermont Studio Center. Her poems have appeared in Rhino, Edge, Meadow, WordRiot, Puerto Del Sol, Wicked Alice, Canary, and Gray Sparrow Journal, among others. Her poetry chapbook Bite and Blood is now available from Finishing Line Press and local bookstores, including Sundance Books in Reno, NV and Word After Word in Truckee, CA. 

The Art Box - Episode 159 - 39th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering - The Vendor Walk

To quote my Grandmom and Annie MacKennzie "Welp", we tried to record during our annual shopping spree of the vendors setup in the Conference Center, and the background noise mostly washed out the conversations we had with  the many talented vendors. But here you go, the best we could edit. Hope you can semi-enjoy this.

The Art Box - Episode 158 - Big Voice, Big Sound, Big Ponies and Work'n Hard - Visit with Kristyn Harris

WOW, is all you can say after a Kristyn Harris show, she PLAYS the guitar like no one else, and she belts out her tunes that has you tapping your toes and dancing in your seat. We caught up with Kristyn this year along with her Grandpa the evening before they headed north to work on her herds calving in Southern Idaho. Thank you Kristyn for an always fun interview. Have fun in Europe this summer and keep wooing crowds worldwide. 

The Art Box - Episode 157 - "Girl Needs a Dog" Meet Jessie Veeder

Back in 2023 our friend Roberta Townsand before we left for Elko said "make sure you see Jessie Veeder", well we missed her, but not this year. We were WOWed by Jessie (along with her dad on the harmonica) at the "Pretty Ranchy" show along with Yvonne Hollenbeck, Annie MacKenzie and Carin Mari. Linda beelined it to the stage and came back all excited that yes, Jessie would interview with us. We not only got a smiley interview but Jessie gifted us her songs as our lead in music. 
Jessie and her husband also are podcasters with "Back at the Ranch": https://jessieveedermusic.com/podcast
Her website is: https://jessieveedermusic.com/ 
We loved our time with Jessie.
 

The Art Box - Episode 156 - Plein Air in Tuscarora - Meet Ron Arthaud

This episode is a MUST for you brush artists.
Nancy Harris McLelland found Ron for us after she saw us oohing and ahhing over his art hanging in the vendor area. He drove down the next day and we could of had a marathon episode but ran out of daylight. Listen and you will understand. 
More about Ron: https://doublescoop.art/route-to-the-rurals/
 

The Art Box - Episode 155 - Meet the 2023 IWMA Entertainer of the Year Doug Figgs

My name is Doug Figgs and I am a Western music singer/songwriter from Lemitar, NM. My musical influences include Country, Western, and Southern Rock. I can perform solo, as a duo, or as a trio (Doug Figgs, Jim Jones and Mariam) as "The Cowboy Way". I have 5 CDs currently available at the "Store" on this website. They are "All Because of You", a collection of Western/Americana songs mostly written or co-written by me, "Partners", a very well received album with 3 award winning songs, the award winning Western album "A Cowboy Like Me", "...thinkin' of you" an album I recorded with award winning singer/songwriter Mikki Daniel, and 2022 IWMA Western album of the year “Yellow Horse”. My latest album “One More Ride” is now available through this web site and also from CDbaby, Spotify, Itunes, etc.
More about Doug: https://www.dougfiggs.com/
 

The Art Box - Episode 154 - KMVR 89.5's Larry Hillberg

We shared the media room with fellow press member Larry Hillberg from KMVR 89.5. 
Larry, a friend from last years gathering presented a special poem at an open mic session. Enjoy.
More about Larry: https://www.kvmr.org/users/larry-hillberg/
Thank you Larry.