Uplifting art event supports breast cancer research, care for victims

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

By Richard Anderson

Ever dream of being a fashion designer and watching a statuesque model strut down the runway sporting one of your fabulous creations? Soroptimist International of Jackson helps make your fantasy come true with its second annual “Bras for a Cause!” fund- and awareness-raiser.

Wannabe designers have until Friday to decorate or sponsor a bra for the fashion show and auction, set for 7 p.m. on May 12 at 43 North, when local women will model the entries and Soroptimist supporters will bid on them. The entry fee is $100.

Last year’s entries included a “Martha Stewart” bra featuring prison stripes and manacles; a “Hooters” bra with owl eyes and a beak; and Planet Jackson Hole Publisher Mary Grossman’s “First Amendment” bra. The auction raised $12,000, which went to the Wyoming chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the St. John’s Medical Center Women’s Health Care Fund.

Anne Schuler, president of the women’s support organization, said she expected to auction off 20 entries this year. “Body and Soul Salon and Spa did two,” she said, one of which is titled “Stand Up For Your Troops,” and the Jackson Hole News & Guide’s entry, she said, is called “Tips of the Tetons.” Others are expected from First Interstate Bank, Grand Teton Property Management, Farm Bureau Insurance … “But we don’t have them yet,” Schuler said, “people are still working on them.”

Schuler said the event is not a Jackson Hole invention – similar fundraisers have been held in Los Angeles and Cody, that she knew of – but “we’ve modified it for Jackson Hole,” most notably with models and the live auction. The May 12 event also will feature silent auctions of donated items, a martini bar and a DJ dance party.
For more details about the party, see next week’s Planet. In the meantime, get cracking on those entries. Call Soroptimist’s Jeanne Simanek for more information about rules and how to enter at 733-5913.

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Like much of the rest of the world, or at least this community, Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary wants to go green. The gallery at 130 S. Jackson will share news about a few of its modest measures and encourage others to join them at its next “First Friday” program.

Lyndsay McCandless, the gallery’s proprietress, said this month’s event came about through a series of coincidences: A sick daughter first prevented her from doing much advanced planning for the event, and then she was unable to attend Saturday’s ECO-Fair at the Teton Science Schools.

“So I felt like I missed the boat,” she said.

On the other hand, Peter “Chanman” Chandler had been looking for a place to rehearse with his Papa Chan Jazz Trio, and McCandless invited him to do so at the gallery. She loved having live music there and thought she’d like to find a way to do it more often.
So, turning lemons into lemonade, she decided to make this month’s “First Friday” a “celebration of working to go green.”

The evening will feature old-time jazz by the Papa Chan Trio 5:30-7 p.m., organic beer and bread from the Snake River Brew Pub, and “green produced” wines provided by the Jackson Hole Wine Company.

In addition, McCandless wants to share some green ideas she’s implementing at the gallery – compostable corn-based cups, recyclable paper and vegetable-based inks for invitations, and other “beginners steps,” she said.

And of course, the whole evening will take place surrounded by fine art. If guests are moved to make a purchase, a percentage of all sales will be donated to the Murie Center to benefit the 2008 ECO-Fair.

“I’m really just beginning to educate myself about the possibilities and the big picture,” McCandless said. The green measures she’s taken so far represent just the start of what she hopes will be significant changes in her gallery.

To learn more, call Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary at 734-0649.

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In other art news: If you haven’t picked one up yet, The Art Association’s latest edition of “Splash!” is out. The spring-summer 2007 installment features the usual comprehensive schedule of classes and events for the community visual arts nonprofit, Dancers’ Workshop, the Off Square Theatre Company and other area arts organizations.

There’s also a joint interview with Mari Andrew, John Oldani, Ron Klein and Michael Sherrill, four of the five artists participating in the “Culture of Nature: Uncommon Botany” exhibit coming to the ArtSpace Gallery on June 21.

I liked the “Art Seen” pages, a grab bag of other artsy news. Did you know, for instance, that local artist Bland Hoke wants to turn the old gas sign at the corner of Broadway and Scott Lane into an “Artspot,” a place to exhibit public art? What a great idea. Or that Michele Walters, the first student to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree through Central Wyoming College here in Jackson Hole, is due to graduate this month? Way to go Michele!

Advanced planning: The National Museum of Wildlife Art hosts “Photography at the Summit” next week. In addition to aspiring photographers spending the week under the tutelage of the best shooters in the biz, the summit also features an evening lecture series with the all-star faculty. From May 14-17, lectures will be offered by National Geographic’s Joe McNally, David Griffin, William Albert Allard and Bruce Dale, and TIME magazine’s Mary Anne Golon. All lectures start at 8 p.m. in the museum’s Cook Auditorium. Admission is free for NMWA members, $7 for non-members. Call 733-5771 for more information.



Michael Sherrill, whose work appears above, is one of five artists who will participate in “Culture of Nature: Uncommon Botany” in June.

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Uplifting art event supports breast cancer research, care for victims | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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