As we're writing this, we're watching the evening light transform the mountains in Banner, WY for the last time. What an amazing month this has been. This land, these mountains, this sky.... they've been a comfort and an inspiration. Our fellow residents - Linda, Zebbie, Kevin, and John have brought their own particular talents and flavor to the mix. We've had some deep discussions and some deep belly laughs around the big oak kitchen table. We've also gotten a lot of work done. Stay tuned, we're selecting, editing, and uploading and we'll share the new work soon.
Updates
Ten Sleep
Probably one of the best town names in the country, Ten Sleep is an old Native American name meaning how many overnights it takes to get there from... somewhere else.
The canyon is a wide, beautiful drive that starts on the southwestern side of the Big Horn range. We scouted around for a while in the afternoon and finally found a really odd grouping of trees to shoot in.
Vostrum has been shooting with her Polaroid, documenting some of the wild flowers and the change in seasons. Most of the snow has melted at this elevation. Spring feels like it's springing. Ticks are out. Bear spray is at the hip.
Side note: As we were setting up the shot, one of the larger rocks rolled over; Slobek/Mis fell off and in the tumbling had a finger smashed under the rock. Finger injuries are the worst because there are so many nerve endings in the fingertips. The gut reaction is nausea and light-headedness, even for minor injuries. It was sort of a bloody scene, with a little bit of goriness in the way the finger was smashed. Some tape from local climbers, and we kept on shooting. That's how dedicated we are. Mis tried to get pictures in the moment, but that didn't happen. Here's tape and the remnants of a former mess.
Jentel Presents
Tonight Missy and I, along with our fellow residents - writer Zebbie Watson, playwright Kevin Doyle, sculpture artist John Melvin, and visual artist Lynda Smith - had the chance to present our work to the local community here in Sheridan, Wyoming. We each gave a casual talk, showed some images, and had some time for Q and A. All of the artists and writers were very well received and the crowd was really engaged and supportive. Unchronicled Explorations got a great response. Thank you Sheridan!
String, Tape, Clipping - Conspiracy
I have a long standing fascination with the conspiracy board. This hidden map that you keep in private with visual theories tacked on to the cork board, usually tucked behind the county map or on the other side of the chalkboard. There is something both hilarious and psychotic about having a huge interlaced theory.. Mostly because it takes so long to create; the maker obviously spends a lot of time on these ruminations. This was something that I pictured Vostrum and Slobek creating, but not necessarily admitting to doing it.
Perhaps one of them has a bit of hypergraphia. Too many ideas to contain. There are shreds of concern about an archaeological dig with some stolen bones, some shady characters, odd findings, newspaper clippings, maps, weather reports.. everything that might suggest there's more to this than meets the eye....
