Backbeat 10/14/09

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

By PJH Staff

LOVE ANIMALS, MAKE FILMS
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Earthfire Institute, a wildlife sanctuary in Tetonia, Idaho, will open its gates this week for wildlife lovers and would-be filmmakers. In a three-and-a-half day digital storytelling workshop, 10 participants will explore the sanctuary, interact with the animals and produce a short film from start to finish. Leslie Rule, Director of Digital Storytelling for KQED Public Television in San Francisco, will lead the workshops and bring all the equipment. By the end of the weekend, everyone will have a web-ready film, which Earthfire will use on its new website.

The animals at the institute have been rescued from various situations, such as abandonment or farms.

“This is a chance to actually come meet wild animals and film them,” Earthfire executive director Susan Eirich, said. “They aren’t afraid of people, so you’ll have the genuine connection, and a chance to translate the experience you had with the animals into a digital story.

Earthfire acquired a grant to significantly offset the cost of the workshop from $550 to $150, and Rule is providing her services for free, out of her own love of animals, Eirich said.

The workshop is the first of its kind for the institute, and Eirich intends to provide more in the future. JHW

The digital story-telling workshop is 4 to 7 p.m., tonight; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to noon, Sunday. $150. www.earthfireinstitute.com. 208 456-0926.

Drawing with wire
In any art form, the materials, to a large degree, determine the work, or at least what is possible for the work. After two decades drawing on paper, Mari Andrews noticed that the lines, began to take on sculptural forms. So she asked herself what would happen if she got rid of the paper. What if she drew with wire?
She calls the collection, “Paperless Drawings.”

When she began working with “annealed” wire, the sculptures were very flat, looking more like her drawings, but then, the California-based artist began including found and man-made objects into her works. She used moss from trees, river rocks and tree branches. And she still uses some paper, but only in patches and too make segments look thicker. The work grew in complexity and dimension, and the materials told her what she could do.

“Vortex” is a cylinder, a couple inches deep, and wrapped in a ring of moss, almost like a net or web, analogous to her interest in found materials, but also, she said, hopefully drawing attention to the source of those materials, namely nature. “Propensitus gravitus” features river rocks dangling on the end of steel rods. The weight of the stones determine how the piece looks.

Almost all of her work, and certainly all at the Muse Gallery this week, must be hung. It’s not freestanding. JHW

Mari Andrews “Paperless Drawings,” 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, at Muse Gallery. Her work will hang until mid-November.

Dancing and fitness FREE this week
You can dance if you want to. You can leave the fees behind. Sounds like a basic cable commercial – I apologize.

Nonetheless, it’s true – if you’ve been interested in adult classes or workshops at Dancers’ Workshop, but have shied away for any number of situations, then early next week you’re out of excuses.

Demo week, held twice a year at DW, is very popular, according to organizer Meg Daly, with classes like Zumba, Pilates, poi and bellydancing filling up quickly. Family Tae Kwon Do has also been popular in the past.

In addition to the satisfaction of a more toned, more agile body, DW will give you a raffle ticket for each class you take during demo week. The prize: a five-class punch card.

This year, DW also added “tasters,” which allows folks to sample upcoming workshops, before committing to a particular dance form.

Classes next week include Pilates, Zumba, ballet, tae kwon do, capoeira and yoga. Workshops include modern jive, bellydancing, contact improv, salsa and flamenco.
Demo Week culminates with the second annual Thriller Party on Oct. 24, but more about that in next week’s paper. JHW

Adult Demo Week at Dancers’ Workshop begins Monday. For a full schedule, visit the calendar section of JH Weekly or visit www.dwjh.org. 733-6398.

Library book sale
Used bookstands are iconic to New York City, vendors sometimes refusing to sell a book they suddenly want to read again.

Well, no such fun in Jackson Hole. But wait – the Teton County Library does in fact have a big fall book sale. For three days, folks can choose from thousands of almost new and gently read libros. They’ve got Spanish books, too. Books start at 25 cents for the little tykes and hover around a buck for many adult titles. Of course all the proceeds of course benefit the library. JHW

The Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale is 4 to 9 p.m., Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; and 1 to 3 p.m., Sunday – at the Teton County Library. 733-2164.

Free alternatives
A common complaint about the U.S. health care system is that is reactive, not preventative. True, some health insurance plans have added chiropractic care and event acupuncture to their list of covered services, while some plans don’t even include dentistry, let alone alternative therapies.

The point: the Latino Resource Center will bring free alternative care to Jackson Hole through the Global Alternative Healthcare Project. Practitioners will offer acupuncture, massages and Chinese herbal treatments for two days this weekend. JHW

Global Alternative Healthcare Project is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at Jackson Hole Middle School. Free, but appointments are required. 734-0333.

COURTESY THE EARTHFIRE INSTITUTE
A photographer works closely with wolves at the Earthfire sanctuary.

PERMALINK:
Backbeat 10/14/09 | Planet JH News Article: General News

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