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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Upcoming Exhibit
Charles M. Russell: Master of Western Art
October 8, 2009 – January 3, 2010
Charles M. Russell: Master of Western Art
October 8, 2009 – January 3, 2010
Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926) was many things: consummate Westerner, historian, advocate of the Northern Plains Indians, cowboy, outdoorsman, writer, philosopher, environmentalist, conservationist, and not least, artist. Born in St. Louis, Russell dreamed of being a cowboy, living the exciting life of men on the range. Russell came to the Judith Basin of Montana in 1880 a few days after his 16th birthday.
Working briefly tending sheep, he realized that his dreams of the West were not to be fulfilled in this manner. He soon teamed up with a local hunter, Jake Hoover, with whom he spent two years sharing a cabin on the South Fork of the Judith River. Shortly thereafter, Russell became a night wrangler for the Judith Basin Roundup.
This was exactly what Russell the child had dreamed of, and what Russell the adult wanted and needed. It gave him time to observe the cowboys at work during the day, and to sketch and document all the activities and excitement of the cow camp. He continued to work as a cowboy and wrangler for 11 years before retiring to become a full-time artist.
Russell greatly admired the American Indians, especially those of the Northern Plains. He spent the summer of 1888 visiting often with the Blood Indians in Alberta, Canada. This experience affected him for the rest of his life, and can be seen in the many detailed works he created of Plains Indians.
Charlie married Nancy Cooper in 1896. He painted and sculpted in his log studio adjacent to their home, filling it with his collection of Indian clothing, utilitarian objects, weapons, cowboy gear, "horse jewelry," and other western "props" useful in accurately depicting the scenes of the Old West of which he was so fond. It was here that Russell completed all of his major paintings after the studio's construction in 1903. In 1916, Charlie and Nancy adopted their son, Jack.
While Jake Hoover may have kept Charlie Russell here as a young adult, it was Charlie's love of Montana that kept him here for 46 years. The life he observed and participated in greatly influenced his art and personal philosophy. He painted in a time when there was considerable interest in the West. Charlie's works were popular because of their narrative subject matter, unique style, and dynamic action. In addition, he had the ability to accurately depict specific times or events in western history. Russell died on October 24, 1926 at his home in Great Falls, Montana.
Charlie Russell completed approximately 4,000 works of art during his lifetime. He was the first "Western" artist to live the majority of his life in the West. For this reason, Charlie knew his subject matter intimately, setting the standard for many western artists to follow.
Source: Charles M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Texas Heritage Living History Day!
UPDATE: Texas Heritage Living History Day on September 25 honors September as Hispanic Heritage Month and as the birthday of the Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers!
KERRVILLE, Texas—The Texas Heritage Music Foundation is proud to announce that the 22nd annual Texas Heritage Living History Day (formerly the Jimmie Rodgers Jubilee) will be presented on Friday, September 25 at the Robbins-Lewis Pavilion on Schreiner University campus in Kerrville from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event, billed as “Another Way of Learning Using Stories and Songs,” will be open to the public and admission will be free. From 4-6 p.m. in the historical Union Church on the festival grounds the Texas Folklore Society and THMF will co-host a panel on the songs of Texas. All events are free and open to the public.
For Living History Day, more than 50 performers and presenters will be spread throughout the park surrounding the pavilion to both entertain and educate, including Aztec Dancing, Hispanic Heritage Tribute with Joel Guzman and Sarah Fox, chuck wagons and cowboy cooking demonstrations, teepees with Native American exhibits and stories, Texas heritage demonstrations, storytellers and oral historians, Texas singers and songwriters and many, many more. Central to the event will be the annual noon tribute to former Kerrville resident and “Father of Country Music” Jimmie Rodgers. Joel Guzman will add his accordion to this special tribute! Come and listen to the stories of Jimmie Rodgers as told by Tony Navarra while area musicians play Rodgers’ legendary songs on stage. Food and drinks will be available for sale at the event. A take home educator’s packet will be available to all teachers.
Friday evening at 7:30 Located at Luckenbach the THMF will pay tribute to Hispanic Heritage Month by showcasing the music of Joel Guzman and Sarah Fox. Recently featured at the 28th Annual Conjunto Festival in San Antonio, Joel brings an original perspective to this music so important to our state’s musical history. Mexico and Texas have interchanged land, language, and music since the beginning of the distinction “Texas.” This performance will be a fundraiser for the Wayne Kennemer Scholarship Fund, and we are inviting other organizations to join us in this celebration! Call 840-792-1945 for more information. Terri Sharpe, songwriter now singing in Spanish and paying tribute to Lydia Mendoza will also perform. Joel will also be featured at the first THMF coffeehouse on September 2 at Schreiner University.
For more information about Texas Heritage Living History Day, go to the foundation website at www.texasheritagemusic.org. This event is co-sponsored by THMF and Center for Innovative Learning at Schreiner University.
Friday, August 21, 2009
2 Day Massage Hot Deal
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Texas Metal Arts at Gruene
WHAT: Texas Metal Arts - A Festival at Gruene
WHEN: Saturday & Sunday, September 12 & 13, 2009
10am-5pm both days
WHERE: Gruene Historic District at New Braunfels, Texas
ADMISSION: FREE
From red-hot steel to polished gold, you will find a full range of imagination and craftsmanship in the artwork at the 6TH ANNUAL TEXAS METAL ARTS - A FESTIVAL AT GRUENE. Artistic metal work including fine jewelry, decorative art pieces, sculpture, fun and funky garden pieces and functional objects will be presented at this art show and sale.
- More than 30 select Texas artists, including blacksmiths, bronze sculptors, tinsmiths, silversmiths, steel sculptors and goldsmiths will present their creations for your shopping pleasure.
- Ongoing demonstrations will reveal the wide range of intricate skills, techniques, and tricks used by metalworkers to transform raw metal into fine art, jewelry, furniture, folk art and functional everyday objects. These demonstrations will include metal working processes that have been handed down through the ages, as well as materials and methods from the space age. Items vary from sophisticated to practical to radical and everything in between!
- Visitors will be able to watch the jewelers cut, form and assemble metal into wearable art, a blacksmith making functional objects with a hot forge, hammer and anvil, and sculptors cutting steel and assembling large works of art for the home or garden.
The festival will be held in the heart of Gruene Historic District at New Braunfels, Texas, on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Be sure to visit the unique stores, dine at a variety of local restaurants and enjoy free music in that daytime at Gruene Hall, Texas' oldest dance hall. The E Flat Porch Band featuring Rudy Littrell & Duane Brown will play on the festival grounds both days. Gruene is located in New Braunfels, just off IH 35. Take IH 35 to Exit 191 (Canyon Lake, FM 306), go west 1.5 miles and turn left at the traffic light on to Hunter Road and go one half mile to Gruene.
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