Sola Cafe & Market November-December 2015 Art Show

MACK (Margaret Anne Campbell Kohler) is an award winning painter from Bozeman whose art has been juried into shows from Montana to California. MACK’s art is always bright, whimsical and thought provoking.    Her characters are multi-ethnic and are loosely based on Yup’ic Eskimo masks from her childhood, as well as ethnic influences from around the world and the American West/Northwest. MACK “Characters” are to be viewed by their attributes alone.  It is the best parts of their spirit that adorn their clothing and crowns. This show focuses on the gentle, yet monumental, power of women “Gentle Giants”. MACK paints with vibrant colors to remind us there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow.  Each piece makes a statement, celebrating the beauty of the human spirit and our magnificent planet!

The art show beneficiary is Haven, 20% of all original artwork proceeds will be donated to them. 

Community Health Partners, BridgerCare and Bozeman Public Library are collaborating to share information with anyone interested in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sometimes referred to as Obamacare. There will be trained, certified counselors available for visits in a confidential, private setting to explore what type of coverage is available and how to enroll.

The enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act is the 90 day period when people can select and join in a health insurance plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace. For 2016 coverage, the Open Enrollment Period is November 1, 2015 - January 31, 2016. “It's free to set up the account, and it's free to receive our help,” said Beth Renick, “We are required by law to be impartial, and we don't get any financial reward." Be prepared with a current email address, all household members' Social Security numbers, and best estimate of your household income for 2016 if you are planning to enroll.

Sessions will be held on Monday, November 9th from 1-4pm, Thursday, November 19th from 6-8pm, and Saturday November 21st from 10am-1pm in the second floor study rooms at Bozeman Public Library. Appointments are not required, but available, drop-ins are welcome. No one will be turned away.

For more information or to schedule an appointment during the Bozeman Library Affordable Care Act Insurance counseling with a Certified Application Counselor please contact Beth Renick at (406) 922-0879 or email : renickb@chphealth.org<mailto:renickb@chphealth.org>.

Bozeman: Our First Best Place is a cheerful array of oil paintings by artist June Safford and will be on display in the Atrium Gallery at the Bozeman Public Library November 1 through December 30, 2015.   The exhibit, paintings of Bozeman’s familiar and favorite historical buildings, is sponsored by the Bozeman Public Library Foundation.  The Foundation is hosting an Artist Reception, with refreshments, on Friday, November 20, 6 – 7:30 p.m., free and open to the public.  At 6:30 p.m., historic preservationist Derek Strahn will give a presentation on the downtown buildings featured in the paintings, enlightening us on the stories behind these familiar structures.

“Bozeman became a subject for me to paint the day a fellow artist spoke about her impending trip to Tuscany to paint that charming city. I looked around and decided there was charm enough for me and my canvases here in my hometown, Bozeman,” said Safford. Although she was raised in New York, she has lived in Bozeman with her family since 1968. “Images of buildings help make up my psyche, as I was raised in Brooklyn, where there are forests of buildings,” she said.  

Safford taught in public schools for 30 years, but now that she’s retired, the studio in her Bozeman home opts as her favorite classroom. Oil has been her medium of choice; yet, acrylics, water colors and pastels have a great appeal.  “It is Bozeman that has drawn me to try and capture it in oils and watercolors. It is a more vibrant Main Street than exists almost anywhere in the state,” she said.  Safford has a passion for Bozeman and expresses that through her art. Her first pieces depicted architectural structures, but now she is equally interested in windows and activities associated within the buildings. “The artist Edward Hopper’s mingling of buildings and people has also affected me,” said Safford.  “While Hopper chose to highlight the emotion of loneliness, I opt more for vitality.”

Derek Strahn is a historian, high school teacher, radio show personality, and folk/blues musician. He has lived in southwestern Montana since 1976. In 1992 he received a Master of Arts in History from Montana State University-Bozeman and began a nine-year career as a historic preservationist for the City of Bozeman. In June of 2010, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History named Strahn Montana’s Preserve America History Teacher of the Year.

 
The exhibition will be on display during Library hours.  A percentage of sales will go to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation to ensure continuation of cultural programs at the Library for public benefit.  For more information about the exhibit or opening reception, please call Sarah DeOpsomer at 582-2425 or email programs@bozemanlibraryfoundation.org.

The Artists’ Gallery in the Emerson Cultural Center will feature the work of Don Sander and Barb Starner during the month of November.  The show will include a Featured Artist Reception where you can meet the artists and share a glass of wine.

Barb Starner has spent her career as an artist and educator.  She credits her students with motivating her to use dynamic mediums, ranging from collage and alcohol ink to oils, masa paper and richly hued watercolors. Starner finds beauty and inspiration in her surroundings.  Whether in a grand-scale landscape, or an intimate glimpse at the smallest of flowers, she conveys a deep and vibrant appreciation for the beauty of the world around us.

A naturalist, outdoorsman, and history buff, Don fell in love with Montana's landscapes and rich heritage during his first visit in the late seventies.  He moved his family to Churchill, MT not long after.  Becoming a popular landscape painter, he has also won awards for portraiture in juried shows. Don paints the majesty of Montana's landscape, in addition to mountain men and other characters, both real and imagined.

Come see the artwork and meet its makers at the Featured Artist Reception in The Artists’ Gallery, Friday, November 13th, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

One of Montana State University’s research and teaching farms was recently ranked among the 40 best college farms in the nation by College Ranker, an independent online college decision source.

The Arthur H. Post Teaching and Research Farm at MSU was ranked number 28 out of 40 of the best college farms nationwide. The rankings are based on hands-on experience, student involvement, community outreach programs, workshops, classes, lectures, volunteer opportunities and degree plan options.

David Gettel, farm operations manager of the Arthur H. Post Farm, said the farm was honored to be recognized for its many efforts.

“We have an incredibly active farm in terms of research, activities and community engagement,” Gettel said. “The people that are involved in plant breeding, pest management and crop rotation studies are absolutely the best in the nation. It’s not surprising that we are nationally ranked. This farm and the people that are conducting research here are a priceless asset to Montana State University and the state of Montana.”

The Arthur H. Post Farm is one of 12 active teaching and research farms affiliated with MSU, the MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. The farm encompasses more than 254 acres of wheat and barley variety trials, cropping systems, pest management studies, and trials for Foundation seeds, or seeds developed by the experiment station for potential commercial production.

Additional institutions that made the list were Penn State University, Dartmouth College, Yale University and Cornell University.

First Choice Home Health is the best home health care agency in Gallatin County, according to the new Medicare star rating system. Consumers now have a new way to compare home health agencies, and the nurses and therapists they invite into their homes for skilled care.

First Choice Home Health, the only locally owned home health agency in Gallatin County, received four out of a possible five stars, which not only puts it above the other agencies in Gallatin County, but above the Montana and national averages for quality of care and patient experience.
First Choice out-ranked the other two Medicare‐certified agencies in Gallatin County, both of which scored Medicare star ratings below the Montana and national averages.

The new star rating system is part of Medicare’s Home Health Compare website that allows consumers to compare care provided by home health agencies, based on results from third party surveys of actual patients, regarding their perception of the care provided. Patients are asked questions about their recent home health care experiences, with topics covering the home health care team’s professionalism, communication, and the likelihood that they would recommend the agency to others. The star rating also incorporates various clinical data, which reflects specific process measures and patient outcomes.

To learn more, visit FirstChoiceMontana.com to learn more.


Livingston Women in Business (LWIB) is kicking off the 1st Annual Spread the Warmth Winter Clothing Drive. Donations of new or gently used winter clothing will be collected October 28-November 18 at various locations throughout Park County. We are in need of coats, hats, mittens, gloves, snowpants, boots, socks and scarves for men, women and children.

All donations collected will be distributed November 21-22 to those in need in our community to help Spread the Warmth as winter approaches.

DONATION DROP SITES

Livingston: Ace Hardware, Albertsons, Katabatic Brewing Co., Markouture, Printing For Less (8-5, M-F), The Shane Center, Town & Country Foods

Clyde Park: Drinking Horse Coffee Cabin

Wilsall: Ace Roofing (9-2, M-F)

Donation site collection hours are regular business hours for each location unless otherwise noted.

CLOTHING DISTRIBUTION

The Community Closet Motor Home will be loading up all of the donations and heading out to distribute them to the community.

November 21st
Food Resource Center - 10am-12pm
Loaves and Fishes - 2-4pm

November 22nd
Community Closet's Alley Annex 10am-1pm

More information can be found online at www.livwib.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lwibspreadthewarmth

Thirty books were selected as finalists in ten categories for the ninth annual High Plains Book Awards. Twenty-four different publishers from Canada and the US were represented in this year’s competition. Of the 34 finalists, 13 were from Montana, and eight are from Canada.
 
Winners in each category received a $500 cash prize at the Awards Banquet on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana. The Awards Banquet is a signature event of the Billings Public Library. More information and reviews of the books can be found at highplainsbookawards.org.

 
The 2015 winners are:
 
Fiction – Laura Pritchett, Bellvue, CO.,  Stars Go Blue, Counterpoint
Nonfiction – Bryce Andrews, Missoula, MT, Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West, Atria Books
First Book – Bryce Andrews,  Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West
Woman Writer – Carrie La Seur, Billings, MT., The Home Place, HarperCollins
Poetry – Shann Ray, Spokane, WA., Balefire, Lost Horse Press
Art & Photography – Larry Len Peterson, Sisters, Oregon, Charles M. Russell: Photographing the Legend, University of Oklahoma Press
Short Stories –Jamie Lisa Forbes, Greensboro, North Carolina, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, Pronghorn Press
Young Adult Book –  Brenda Baker, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Camp Outlook,  Second Story Press
Children’s Book – the late Cheryl Chad, Stittsville, Ontario, Canada,  Back to Batoche, Your Nickel's Worth Publishing
Culinary –  Seabring Davis, Livingston, MT.,  A Taste of Montana: Favorite Recipes from Big Sky Country, Farcountry Press
 
204 books were nominated for the 2015 High Plains Book Awards. All the nominated books were read and evaluated by community volunteers in the first round of the selection process. The finalist books in each category were judged by writers who have significant connections to the High Plains region, many who have won in the particular category he or she judged.

 
Nominations for the 2016 High Plains Book Awards, honoring books first published in 2015, will open January 8, 2016
 
Award Sponsors: Billings Public Library Board of Trustees, The Billings Clinic Foundation, Billings Public Library Foundation, Stella Fong & Joe Dillard, Friends of the Billings Public Library, Sharon Ilie, Robert & Susan Lubbers, MSU-Billings, The Ucross Foundation, The Writer's Voice, Yellowstone Art Museum, and the Zonta Club of Billings.

 
About the High Plains Book Awards: The Billings Public Library Board has established the High Plains Book Awards to recognize regional authors and/or literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

The Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture is seeking exhibit proposals for our Weaver Room and Lobby Galleries. Art works must be wall hung and original by local and regional artists. We are taking submissions now with availability starting this winter. For more information and proposal guidelines please check our website or contact Alissa, education@theemerson.org.