The Art Box

The Art Box - Episode 169 - Never too late to start exercising - Meet Donna and Ann

If you hang out at the Mesquite Rec Center chances are you will catch a glimpse of our two whirlwind friends Donna and Ann buzzing about, teaching classes and being happy. Linda has been working for some time to schedule a podcast and poof a week ago our Art Box studio in the STEAM Center came alive with these two dynamos. Here is a little bit about them below, then listen to an energy packed podcast.
Donna Schorr
I started in teaching in 1984 after my favorite instructor told me I should be leading class, and took me under her wing. I started teaching what we called "aerobics" back then, which was really dance exercise, similar to Jazzercise or Zumba. I quickly progressed to teaching sports conditioning, boot camps and circuit training, as well as spinning and yoga. It just makes me so happy! I get a truly euphoric experience when the music is pumping and all the bodies are moving in unison. My whole paradigm changed after I took Pilates training, there is no other exercise system that starts with your skeleton first, then works outward to the muscles. The latest training I completed was on coaching senior fitness/cognitive training, and am already implementing the concepts in all my classes. I love what I do! 
Ann Murphy
Then: Raised on a Wisconsin farm, off to college and married a local Marine. Have lived in seven states and travel is in my blood. Serious fitness and health advocate since the my early 20's. Worked in the airline industry before turning to teaching fitness full time. Married a couple more times, ran a B&B and a horse boarding stable.
Now: Settled in Mesquite and still have the fitness passion, particularly in motivating others. Enjoying dancing with the Lifelong Dancers, biking, hiking and weekends in Vegas. Lastest travel was cruise on the Amazon. My partner Jim Russell and I are planning an expedition cruise to Antartica. I am about to finish my five year reign as Ms. Senior Mesquite which has been a very rewarding experience. I just adopted yet another rescue dog. Life is good.
 
 

The Art Box - Episode 174 - Best of Show March 2024 - Linda Harris

We are going to start a new short podcast idea by interviewing artists whose works have received Best of Show awards. Not just at our local gallery but from anywhere. We will start with the Mesquite Fine Arts Gallery March exhibition "Through Our Eyes" and the Best of Show "Leaping Lizards Southwest Style" by Linda Harris. Linda is interviewed by Floyd Johnson. Enjoy.

The Art Box - Episode 171 - Enjoying Mother Nature Through Vintage Lens - Meet Lori Rowland

Steve looks forward to Spring every year when Lori and Dan Rowland visit Gold Butte National Monument giving him friends to go out and play. 
This year JT and Anastasiya came along with Dan, Lori, Ruby and myself on a good hike in Garden Canyon. The next day Lori and Dan visited our STEAM Center studio for a much anticipated podcast. Lori was her always brilliant self giving us a behind the scenes look at her amazingly creative life. 
Find out more about Lori at Oregon Exposures. 
Oregon Exposures is all about sharing the love of the great outdoors and the joy of nature photography, pure & simple! My name is Lori Rowland and I’m a landscape photographer lucky enough to be living in Eastern Oregon. Through my galleries, tutorials, and blogs, I will share with you stories and photographs taken on my travels from around the state.
I believe Mother Nature and landscape photography go hand in hand, each experience greatly enhancing the other. Therefore, I always keep my camera close at hand when I am out hiking. What I love about photography is that it makes it easy for me to bring home a little piece of my outdoor experience and share it with people like you.
I enjoy traveling in our RV with my husband, Dan, and black lab, Ruby. I guess you can say that they are my support team. 🙂 One of our favorite things to do is travel in our RV.  You could call our traveling style, roaming aimlessly. We make no reservations and pick our routes to take all the scenic highways we can find, even though it often adds miles to our trip. Traveling at this slow pace is how I discover some of my most beautiful and unique images.
In addition to traveling in the RV, I enjoy backpacking, hiking & skiing. I am fortunate to have two mountain ranges not far from where I live, each packed with hiking trails just waiting to be explored. Neither my camera or I am never disappointed by the views we find at the end of those dusty trails.
In conclusion, I want to invite you to join me on my photographic journeys as I explore the beautiful landscapes in the remote corners of Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
 

The Art Box - Episode 170 - Sounds of the Blue Spaces - Meet Fred Bell

The Art Box was privileged to host director Fred Bell at our STEAM Center studio. Fred recently captured the Best Nevada Filmmaker award at the Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City, Nevada for “Sounds of Blue Spaces.”
Fred Bell is very comfortable sitting in the desert, miles from anywhere, listening to (and recording) the spirit of the land.  A 2005 article in the Seattle Times about “One Square Inch of Silence” was his epiphany, causing him to realize that while on numerous hikes he heard the sounds of nature, yet he never stopped to intentionally listen.  Thus began his pursuit of finding and recording natural soundscapes around Nevada and the southwest.  He is a member of IATSE Local 720 (the stagehand union) and currently works as a video technician for the Las Vegas convention industry.  He has a website, www.SoundsAndSpaces.net, and encourages everyone to… Hike With Your Ears.

The Art Box - Episode 172 - Almost Maine, Director Bob Craig

Our friend Bob Craig zoomed into our STEAM Center studio to chat about the Virgin Valley Theatre Groups coming production of Almost Maine. As Director, Bob provides us a unique look at this popular play, its stories, it's almost-ish, and it's magic. Gwen and I have our tickets for opening night, this is going to be our spring MUST SEE in the Virgin Valley and beyond. 
Almost, Maine, a town that’s so far north, it’s almost in Canada. And it almost doesn’t exist. Because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it’s just…Almost. One cold, clear Friday night in the middle of winter, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. And life for the people of Almost, Maine will never be the same. ALMOST, MAINE: It’s love. But not quite.
Purchase tickets here --->  https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/vvtgnv/6616
 

The Art Box - Episode 167 - Too Much Talent is Trapped in Poverty - Meet Denzy Dark

Linda and Tyler sat down with Pennsylvania based artist Denzy Dark recently for a wide ranging discussion of poetry, creativity, visual arts and life in general. This will go down as one of our best podcasts.  
Denzy Dark, artistic alias for Dustin Nispel, is an international award-winning poet and visual artist. His works dive into dark surrealism with cumbersome emotion that pulls at the viewer’s closed doors. The work of Denzy has been described as visual poetry exploring untouched reaches of the soul. A journey meant for ghosts that dream. It is derived from his own hauntings, internally and externally. Where the veil is thin, is where we find Denzy’s work; hung in the recesses, staring back at us as though a mirror of our darker places where angels weep and phoenix rise. 
Denzy has been featured at the Pennsylvania State Capital Rotunda in Harrisburg, York Art Association, Hive Art Gallery, Ironic gallery and coffee house, Kings Courtyard Artist Collective, Central Penn College, The Altland House, The White Rose and the York Holistic Expo. In addition to creating artwork he has also curated artwork for his former Gallery The Rooted Art Gallery, where local artist and Internationally renown artists had their works featured. The likes of Peter Max, Salvador Dalí, Henry Matisse and John Lennon made their way through The Rooted Art Gallery while it was in operation. 
In addition to his visual art, Dustin Nispel is an author of two full length books of poetry, The Tower (2014) and his latest work The Road Home. He has been writing Poetry and prose since 13 years of age. He has won multiple awards for his writing and performances in slams and competitions; including being recognized on the international stage in 2015 DITËT E NAIMIT in Tetova, Macedonia, receiving Niam’s Candle for best poem performed.
You can find Denzy's art at: https://denzydark.com/

The Art Box - Episode 168 - From Lullabies to Band Camp - Meet Natalie Harris

Linda and her granddaughter Natalie sat down during the summer to discuss music in the schools, and the physical and intellectual challenges of playing an instrument in a marching band.  Natalie has advanced in her music since this discussion, and recently won Gold for her saxophone solo in her District Competition.  She now advances to the state competition.  

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.