Silver City Welcomes Visiting Librettist, Dancer, and Artists

The Resident Artist Program in Silver City is excited to announce the summer 2019 line-up of visiting artists. Please help us welcome UK artists Claire Scully and Stewart Easton; Philadelphia artist Morgan Craig; NYC librettist and playwright David Cote; and dancer Jessica Sanford.

Stewart Easton, an artist from the United Kingdom who works in thread, ink, paint and digital, has shown his unique artwork at the V & A and Tate Modern in London, and the Ashmolean at Oxford University, as well as in galleries in New York, LA and beyond since he was last here in 2016. Stewart will offer an embroidery/ abstract and consciousness workshop on July 13, 2019 at the Holland Project in Reno from 11am-3pm. Website: http://www.stewarteaston.net/about

London-based artist Claire Scully has shown her work at University Nevada Reno, St. Mary’s Art Center in Virginia City, and a number of galleries in the UK. Since she was last here in 2016, she has published a series of popular books full of illustrations of wildlife and landscapes. Her latest book, Desolation Wilderness, is like “jazz for the eyes.” You can get a signed book and meet Claire at Sundance Books in Reno on July 10, 2019 or meet her and learn about her creative process at an artists talk at the Brick in Carson City on July 11th from 5pm-6:30pm (Texas-based artist Russ Connell, who has a summer residency at the Buffalo Creek Art Center near Minden, will also speak). Website:http://www.clairescully.com/

Morgan Craig of Philadelphia has a number of shows this spring and summer, including at Colorado State University, University of Central Florida and ArtSpace in Virginia. He has exhibited throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, including SPACES in Cleveland, the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts and the Australian National University. He's received numerous awards including the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (2007, 2011), and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship. If you’d like to meet Morgan Craig and learn more about his work, he will speak about his creative process in an illustrated lecture at the Brick in Carson City on July 25 from 5pm-6:30pm, along with NYC artists Adrian Landon and Ewelina Bochenska, visiting artists at the Buffalo Creek Art Center near Minden, Nevada. Website: http://www.morgancraig.org/

David Cote is a playwright, opera librettist, and theater critic based in New York City. His reporting and reviews regularly appear in the Observer, Theater News Online, American Theatre, etc. His plays include Otherland (finalist, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference) and Fear of Art. His opera libretti include Blind Injustice (Cincinnati Opera); Three Way (Nashville Opera and BAM); The Scarlet Ibis (Chicago Opera Theater and Prototype); and the one-act Fade (world premiere: London, 2008). He's written companion books for several hit Broadway musicals, including Wicked. He was the longest serving theater editor and chief drama critic of Time Out New York. His reporting and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Guardian, and Opera News. You can learn more about David's creative process during a talk at the Brick in Carson City on August 22 from 5pm-6:30, along with Chicago-based artist Nicole Beck, one of the resident artists at Buffalo Creek Art Center in Nevada. You can also hear more about David Cote's librettos and the operas they're in at a talk at Sierra Arts in Reno on Aug. 24, 2019. Website: https://www.davidcote.com/about

Jessica Sanford studied dance at Indiana State University and is a popular instructor of Barre at many venues. With a Masters in Social Work from Indiana University, Jessica also offers workshops on Mindfulness and is the Director of Counseling Services at Earlham College, one of the best National Liberal Arts Colleges in the U.S. http://earlham.edu/

McCormick House, the housing for visiting artists with the Resident Artist Program in Silver City, Nevada is located in the historic Comstock region, a federally designated historic landmark 3 miles from Virginia City and less than 30 miles from Lake Tahoe and Reno

Silver City Offers Summer Events for All Ages

Silver City, Nevada – A number of different groups sponsor an annual summer series of public events in historic Silver City. This summer, events include a free family-friendly concert by Kantu Inka, visits from award-winning visiting artists and writers, kids science and engineering activities, plus a floral design class, a coding workshop, lectures and more for adults and teens. All of the children’s STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Math) events are co-sponsored by Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties.

For more information, contact Quest Lakes at (775) 847-0742.

Where: Events take place at the Silver City School House (community center) or the town park and outdoor stage (the Silver Pavilion),at 385 High Street, Silver City, Nevada 89428.

This year's summer public programming kicked off on Tuesday June 18th with a visit from the scientists of Nevada Bugs & Butterflies. Scientists including Kevin Burls, PhD, offered an Insect Petting Zoo at the Silver City School House. Parents, grandparents and children all enjoyed learning more about butterflies, scorpions, tarantulas and more.

A Day for Preschoolers: United Way offers its annual School Readiness and Educational Fun Fair for preschoolers and their parents on Tuesday, June 25 from 10am-noon at the Silver City School House. The event is perfect for children ages 1 year to 6 years and their parents and grandparents. The event, which includes children's books, healthy snacks, plus arts and crafts and hands-on science and literacy activities led by United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra, is free.

Hands-on Science Fun: On Tuesday July 2nd and also Tuesday July 9th, join popular teacher Jim Barcellos of the University Nevada Cooperative Extension for his interactive science experiments for 8-13 year olds with their parents.

Robotics Camp: One of the most popular summer events, the Engineering/Robotics Mini-Camp for kids ages 8-14 and their parents, takes place on Tuesday, August 6th from 10am – noon at the Silver City School House. The annual event is led by the Society of Women Engineers and First Nevada.

Floral Design and Computer Coding: Summer events include something for teens and adults too, with a Floral Design Class for adults and teens, Tuesday, August 20 from 10am-noon at the School House with floral designer Lynnette Edmondson of Community Roots & Shoots. There will also be a free Computer Coding Workshop for teens with programmer Zephyr Perkins (time and day to be determined).

Book Signing: Also for adults, Virginia City’s Shaun Griffin offers a book signing and reading from his latest book of essays, Because the Light Will Not Forgive Me, on Sunday July 28, at 2pm.at the Silver City School House. The book is described as “a poetic meditation on living meaningfully in this world.”

Outdoor Concert: Kantu Inka will bring a family-friendly concert to the Silver Pavilion outdoor stage in the Silver City Park on Saturday, August 3. Bring a chair and a picnic and enjoy music of Peru and the Andes performed with traditional instruments like zampoñas, quenas, charangos, bombos, chacchas, and cajón. The concert is sponsored by the Silver City Historic Preservation Society and local donations. Audience members are invited to arrive around 6pm. The concert begins at 6:30pm and ends at 7:30pm.

Jam Sessions: In addition, there’s a casual acoustic jam in Silver City on the fourth Saturday of each month from 3-5pm in the park or School House (depending on weather). Bring your instrument and join in. The jam is sponsored by Silver City Arts group.

Visiting Artists: Throughout the summer, visiting artists with the local Resident Artist Program will offer free artist talks, workshops, and pop-up shows. Summer Residents include Stewart Easton of the United Kingdom, whose unique artwork has been shown at the Tate Modern, the Ashmolean, the Victoria and Albert Museum, etc. and Claire Scully of London whose latest book of illustrations , Desolation Wilderness, is like “jazz for the eyes.” Award-winning painter Morgan Craig of Philadelphia arrives in July, after a busy spring with three solo shows in three states. David Cote, a talented playwright and librettist from Manhattan, arrives in August. In the last two years alone, his librettos have been in operas performed in New York (Carnegie Hall), Chicago, Boston, Montréal (Canada), Cincinnati, Nashville , and Shreveport.

Silver Citizen June 2019 Town Newsletter

Public Reception Friday June 7th for "Translating Silver City" Show

Several art and music events in Carson City on Friday June 7th are perfectly timed so you can attend all three. Drop by for appetizers and see the "Translating Silver City" art show at City Hall between 3pm-4:30pm, then view CCAI's "New Crop 2019" exhibition and meet the artists over a glass of wine at the nearby reception at the Court House Gallery from 5pm-7pm. Finish the night with a free concert by Athena McIntyre at McFadden Plaza near The Fox Brewpub from 7:30pm-10:30pm.

First stop, see the exhibition titled “Translating Silver City: Artwork from the Permanent Collection of the Resident Artist Program in Silver City” at City Hall at 201 North Carson Street during a reception from 3pm-4:30pm (to locate the event, enter on the East Musser Street side entrance to City Hall). The show, which has been up since March and will be on view until June 28th, is sponsored by the Municipality of Carson City’s Department of Arts and Culture, and graciously hosted by City Hall.

About the Show: Although Silver City, Nevada has roots in the Comstock mining boom of the 1860s, by the 1950s the town had become a quiet place, a curiosity for passing tourists who saw it as a ghost town. A shift began in the mid 1960s, however, with the arrival of a new wave of residents, and the town's "cultural re-population" continued for the next five decades.

Among those contributing to the “cultural re-population” was University of Nevada, Reno art professor Jim McCormick, who came to Silver City with his wife and children in the 1970s and built a unique house, which writer Lisa Gavon describes as being like a “giant sculpture: unexpected and aesthetically compelling.”

Today McCormick House serves as the living space for visiting artists, musicians and writers from around the world who come to participate in the Resident Artist Program in Silver City. Jim’s son, Theo McCormick, and daughter-in-law Quest Lakes, fund and direct the Program.

“Translating Silver City” includes selections from the Resident Artist Program’s permanent collection that show how artists and writers living at McCormick House have interpreted Silver City. David Lee, Utah’s first and longest serving Poet Laureate, described sunrise and the Sierra mountains as seen from the large kitchen windows of McCormick House. Sophie Scott of New Zealand chose to paint an image of 19th century Silver City. Jim McCormick’s Comstock Lode Series of lithographs imagines the Silver City men and women of the 1860s whose hard lives were centered around mining. London-based artist Claire Scully drew the present-day art studio at McCormick House, while photographer Frances Melhop captured images of past and present Silver City denizens in her “Comstock Portrait Project 2013-2017.” After the reception for “Translating Silver City,” there’s an opportunity to see some of Frances Melhop’s more recent work at the nearby Court House gallery.

Stop two: From 5-7pm, Capital City Arts Initiative (CCAI) hosts an opening reception for “New Crop 2019,” an exhibition featuring work by Frances Melhop and Mark Combs at the beautiful gallery on the second floor of the nearby Carson City Court House at 885 E Musser Street. The artists will give brief talks about their work starting at 5:30 p.m.

Stop three: After the CCAI show, catch a free outdoor concert. From 7:30pm-10:30pm, one of Northern Nevada’s favorite song writers/singers, Athena McIntyre, will offer a concert at the Bob McFadden Plaza, 223 W Third Street (behind the Fox Brewpub and near Bella Fiore Wines).

More events: There are many other things happening as well in Carson City on Friday, June 7, including the Nevada State Fair at Mills Park. Find the full schedule of all June events here: https://visitcarsoncity.com/events/2019-06/

Jim McCormick and Burning Man’s First Art Installations

First published as a column by Quest Lakes in the Mason Valley weekly news column Silver City Neighbors, Aug. 2018

Nevada’s Burning Man event has become internationally known with about 80,000 participants from all over the world expected this year. The art portion of the annual festival got its start back in 1992 and now, extraordinary art is one of Burning Man's main attractions.

My father-in-law, artist and University Nevada, Reno professor Jim McCormick, installed a monumental, cartographic grid sculpture titled “Vista Revisited” on the Black Rock playa in 1992. The large piece, which he had created while he was on sabbatical leave from UNR in 1989, had been shown previously at the university under the title, “Vista”. Two other primary works on display at Burning Man that year were three wicker “women” by British artist Serena de la Hey and a sculpture titled “Waterway” by Gregg Schlanger.

Jim had retired earlier that same year, with a Governor’s Arts Award, UNR’s Distinguished Faculty Award, and many other awards under his belt. As a key advocate for the arts in Nevada, he loved the challenge of bringing art to the “canvas” of the Black Rock desert.

Jim’s “Vista Revisited” was a 320 foot long cross, composed of individual boxes measuring 12' x 12' x 1.5' that formed a huge compass that oriented toward the 40-foot-tall Burning Man sculpture.

In the very first issue of Building/Burning/Man: Newsletter of the Burning Man Project, June 1992, Volume 1 No. 1, Richard Washburn discussed Jim's installation in his column "Guest Artists." He wrote, "This year, for the first ime, the Black Rock festivities will include works and performances by guest artists...All works will have been designed with the surreal, empty desert flats in mind...Nevada artists will be represented by Jim McCormick, chair of the University of Nevada-Reno's art department which will display a work which by his own admission, resists description. Consisting of 1,000 moveable wood and foam-core modules, the work is reconfigured and retitled every time it is shown in a new environment. Though currently on display in the confines of a gallery, entitled "Vista" and meant as a statement about the human obsession with measuring and dividing, the character of the piece will doubtless undergo a radical change when it is shown outdoors for the first time."

The world is always full of surprising connections. One of my sons-in-law has worked with teams on a number of sound and art projects for Burning Man, and one of my stepdaughters helped weld a large pipe dome structure for a Burning Man camp. And several years ago, before I even realized that Jim had installed one of the first pieces of artwork at Burning Man in Nevada, I went to the festival with an economic development group consisting of representatives from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, USDA Rural Development, the City of Fernley, etc. We embarked on a “ship”, a double decker bus re-purposed as a ship on wheels, with the playa as the sea. Burning Man art covers an enormous area, but the ship tour allowed us to take it all in from the ship’s portholes and upper deck, with stops along the way at central art structures such as the Temple.

Stochastic Terrorism

*First published by Mason Valley News as a column by long time Silver City resident Quest Lakes on March 14, 2019.

Stochastic terrorism is the “use of mass public communication to demonize a particular individual or group, which incites or inspires acts of terrorism which are statistically probable but happen seemingly at random.” It’s an important concept to understand in the context of what happened in New Zealand just hours ago, as I write this column. Based on what the news is reporting at the moment, at least 49 people at their place of worship in Christchurch, New Zealand, were killed by a terrorist, who also injured about 50 more in the same attack. An Australian man in his late twenties has been charged with murder.

The white supremacist terrorist in this case left a manifesto of sorts stating that he wanted to punish Muslims and immigrants for “invading his soil.” He used similar phrasing and expressed similar intent to Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, Quebec mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette, and Christopher Hasson of the U.S., who recently planned to kill Muslims but was caught before he carried out his plans.

In the New Zealand case, the victims were Muslim. But this attack isn’t unique to New Zealand or to Muslims. In recent months, 11 people were killed by a white supremacist at a synogue in Pennsylvania, who shared a post on his Gad account about punishing "filthy evil Jews" for bringing in "filthy evil Muslims." This was in reference to the false Soros-caravan conspiracy theory. Several people were shot in Kentucky by a white supremacist who was unable to gain access to a nearby church with a majority Black congregation. He was trying to copy a 2015 attack in which 9 African Americans were killed by a white supremacist in their church in South Carolina.

Regarding this most recent horror in New Zealand, journalist and writer Wajahat Ali commented that, “the underlining ideology anchoring all of this is white supremacy and their main fear is ‘replacement.’ That the immigrants, Jews, blacks and Muslims will replace them, the whites. Remember Charlottesville? [They chanted], ‘Jews will not replace us.’ See [Iowa Congressman] Steve King's tweets about babies...The victims are not just Muslims, but also Jews, immigrants, refugees, Blacks, Sikhs, Latinos and women (they really hate feminists). It's a zero sum absolutism. No grey area. Just like ISIS. These groups are rising in the U.S. and Europe. They have mainstream elected messengers.”

The stochastic terrorism being employed by certain social media personalities, “leaders,” and “news” sites to promote the murder of people because of their religion or race is unacceptable. It’s not free speech. It’s yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater, and worse yet, getting paid to do so.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, noted that many of the victims had chosen to make New Zealand their home. She said, “They are us...The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not ... There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence.” I agree. . My thoughts are with everyone affected by these tragedies. Let's all stand with them against hate and white supremacist terrorism.

*This attack is directly related to the crisis narrative that white supremacist groups are using. See work by J.M. Berger, an author who studies extremist movements. In a recent NPR interview with him, he explained, "Extremist ideologies have three major components. One is identity. So that's the group you're in. One is a crisis narrative. So that's an argument that things are happening in the world, usually threatening but not always, that require decisive action to protect your identity. What we call the in-group is the group that you belong to. So the crisis narrative then leads to a solution narrative. And the solution for extremists is hostile action against what we call the out-group, which is the enemy identity. And so the president and many of his allies in both mainstream politics and mainstream, semi-mainstream media are able to provide a just constant stream of crisis narratives. So this is just red meat that's out there for extremists to pick up. If everybody is talking about a crisis, then the question turns to, what kind of solution do you propose to the crisis? And that's where the extremists come in. So they come in with a solution that is deport everyone or create concentration camps or kill everyone." https://www.npr.org/2019/03/25/706482037/author-says-new-zealand-massacre-points-to-a-global-resurgence-of-extremism

New Zealand’s Prime Minister embracing people as they gathered for prayer at a mosque, just days after a white supremacist terrorist murdered dozens of worshipers in Christchurch, NZ.

Silver City and the Craft Guild

Following is a rough draft of an article describing the 1970s Craft Guild days of a building that has now become the "Bee Magic" building. Let me know which details I have wrong, and/or add your own memories and photos. Thanks for your help in editing this. Let me know if I can quote you, please. Send corrections and additions to me at quest@theodata.com

Awhile back I noticed a gorgeous new mural of a fuzzy honey bee on the old Craft Guild building in Mound House on State Route 341 near the Chocolate Factory. Then a sign reading “Bee Magic” appeared on an arched entryway to the property.

This development was especially interesting to me because the building, known as the Craft Guild, was built by Silver City folks in the 1970s as a sort of co-op for artisans and craftsmen.

Longtime Silver City resident Don Works was among the Craft Guild founders. Although Works is known as the co-founder of the Red Dog Saloon and the music scene that attracted talent such as Janis Joplin to Virginia City in the 1960s, he is also a skilled stone mason. The uniquely beautiful completed building was something of a largescale work of art for him.

Ralph and Barbara Stein of Silver City were also key members of the Craft Guild.

In his memoir, Ralph Stein wrote that he helped create an “artisans cooperative” when he lived in Silver City. My husband remembers that as a kid, Ralph taught him how to use a lathe at the Craft Guild to make spinning top toys.

Before coming to Nevada, Ralph lived in New York City where he spent time at an artists’ hangout, the Waldorf Cafeteria in Greenwich Village. There he met and was influenced by famous artists such as Jackson Pollock. After having a stroke in 1962 at the age of 33, he moved to Silver City with his wife, artist Barbara Stein, and their children. He wrote that the quiet, rural place helped him recover, and allowed him to pursue his passion - painting in Pollock’s abstract expressionist style. However, he was also a craftsman who made his living creating custom made cabinetry.

His wife Barbara Stein had trained at the Art Students League in New York under German expressionist artist George Grosz. In Silver City, she is remembered as the artist who created an iconic poster for the town’s short-lived Silver City Free School.

Original founders of the Craft Guild also included ironworker Barry Crandall (can anyone help me fill in details about Barry and the Craft Guild)?

Wayne Thomas could also frequently be found at the Craft Guild. An artist working with glass and other mediums, Thomas created some of the building’s stained glass windows.

The Craft Guild was also the spot for some gatherings that resulted in stories that are still told today. In 1972, Silver City held a benefit for its new Free School at the nearby Craft Guild with popular local bands like the Sutro Sympathy Orchestra. Someday, maybe I’ll devote an entire column to the story of the “ringing of the anvil” and the story of the race between a horse and a motorcycle at the Craft Guild property.

Today: So what is going on at the old Craft Guild and why does it now have an Erik Burke mural of a honey bee? The building is now called the “Bee Magic Building” and it’s the meeting place for both seasoned and novice beekeepers, “offering a place to gather in kinship with those who have a passion for beekeeping.” Great Basin Beekeepers of Nevada, an organization of people interested in the well being of the honey bee, host regular monthly meetings there on the fourth Monday of each month (excluding December), at 6:30pm. For more information about Great Basin Beekeepers, see their website at https://greatbasinbeekeepersofnevada.org/

I’m delighted to see the building put to this good use, especially now when the world is in dire need of more pollinators. And about that large honey bee mural on the outside of the building: it’s by award-winning artist Erik Burke, who is known for his enormous murals in Reno, Bosnia, South Korea, Italy, etc.

The Craft Guild, 1970s