A Taste of Art & Wine: April 16

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will host its annual event A Taste of Art & Wine to benefit the Rogers-Green House on Friday, April 16 from 7 - 10 p.m. at the Rogers-Green House.

This year’s event, Fly Me to the Moon, will feature dinner, wine and spirits, and a silent auction which will include artwork by Mississippi artists, as well as wines and wine accessories. Music will be provided by The Wes Lee Trio. Tickets are $45 per person with proceeds from the event going toward the renovation and preservation of the house and grounds.

Built in 1903 by Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Rogers, the Rogers-Green House was the childhood home of Lauren Eastman Rogers and was donated to the Eastman Memorial Foundation by Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner Green, Sr. The house has been occupied by the Museum since 2003, and is utilized for museum offices and activities and as a rental facility for private events and social gatherings.

A Taste of Art & Wine is chaired by LRMA Guild member Mary Anne Sumrall. The event is generously supported by Silver Sponsors Jones County Medical Supplies and Trustmark Bank, and Bronze Sponsors The Essmueller Company, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Sauls, Larry J. Sumrall Contractors, Inc., Dr. and Mrs. Aremmia Tanious, and Thermo-Kool. The event is also sponsored by E. & J. Gallo Winery and the LRMA Guild of Docents and Volunteers.

To purchase tickets contact Liz Brumley at the Museum at 601.649.6374 or info@LRMA.org by Wednesday, April 14.

Art Talk, March 18: Randy Meador

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will present Art Talk on Thursday, March 18 at noon in the Lower Level Lecture Hall. Randy Meador will present "Rediscovering the Lost Spaces of Laurel - The City Beautiful."

Meador’s talk will center on Laurel’s rich history of projects based on values that reflect the city’s special qualities, the intrinsic values that have made Laurel vibrant, and some successful examples of rediscovery. The presentation will also highlight initiatives that will turn new ideas for rediscovery into reality with a language that speaks of art and history.

Meador is a native of Jones County where he lives with wife, Cindy. He holds a B. S. Degree in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University. He has worked for the past 25 years as an engineering and planning consultant in the Pine Belt Region and for his home town of Laurel.

Meador is Vice-President of Neel-Schaffer and has been principally involved in the development of the firm’s south Mississippi region. He is a 1995 graduate of Leadership Mississippi. He was recognized that same year for his contributions to the economic progress of the Pine Belt Region and the state by being named to the Mississippi Business Journal’s "Top 40 Under 40." Meador says "the reward for an engineer and planner is to see the positive impacts of our projects to the communities in which we live and work and to see the difference those projects make in the lives of people."

Art Talk, sponsored by West Quality Food Services, Inc., is free and open to the public. Guests are invited to use the North Garden Entrance and bring a sack lunch. Desserts and beverages will be provided. For more information, call LRMA at 601.649.6374 or visit the website www.LRMA.org.

Guest Blogger: Angie King

Springtime Fun at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

By Angie King, LRMA Outreach Education Coordinator

We in the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art education department, are getting ready for spring! There will be several activities for families and children during Spring Break week. The LRMA Spring Break Festival will be held on the front lawn of the Museum on Tuesday, March 16 from 1 until 3 p.m. This year’s festival will feature live animals from the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson. Art projects will center around a "nature" theme using common household items. The various projects will include solar prints, a masking tape mosaic, and playing card paintings, as well as a table with ideas for art projects that can be made at home out of recycled materials. This event will be a great way to entertain the kids for free during Spring Break.

During Spring Break week, the Museum also offers a fun art class for children ages K5 through 6th grade. Spring Break Art Break will be held for three days, Wednesday, March 17 through Friday, March 19. Classes will be held from 10 a.m. until noon for children ages K5 to 3rd grade and 2 to 4 p.m. for 4th through 6th graders. Students will create projects in a variety of media based on the LRMA permanent collection. The cost is $35 for Museum members, and $45 for non-members. Please contact the Museum at 601.649.6374 or info@LRMA.org to make your reservations now, as space is limited. Reservations will only be held with payment.

Randy Meador of Neel-Schaffer, will speak at Art Talk on "Rediscovering the Lost Spaces of Laurel, " at noon on Thursday, March 18. Wildlife photographer Steven Kirkpatrick will be the featured speaker on Earth Day, April 22. Art Talk is an exciting serious held monthly in the spring and fall that features a wide variety of speakers on artistic topics. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch to enjoy while listening to a stimulating lecture. Art Talk is free and no reservation is required.

There will be a lot happening this spring at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. Even if you cannot make it to one of these great events, stop by to view our permanent collections and temporary exhibitions any time during regular operating hours which are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. or on Sundays from 1 - 4 p.m. Admission is always free and there is something here for everyone.

2010 Art Fair at the LRMA

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art held a reception to honor the winners of its second Art Fair on Tuesday, March 2 in the Museum Lobby.

First place was awarded to Mailea Halstead with second place going to Justin DeBoxtel and Waymon Moore claiming third place. All three winning entries were students at South Jones High School under the instruction of art teacher Sharon Howard.

For further information on LRMA Art Fair contact the Museum at 601.649.6374 or info@LRMA.org.

LRMA Outreach Education Coordinator Angie King presents a check to the 2010 LRMA Art Fair winner Mailea Halstead of South Jones High School.


front: Mailea Halstead (1st place) Sharon Howard, South Jones High School art teacher, back: Waymon Moore (3rd place) and Justin DeBoxtel (2nd place).

Spring Break fun for the kids!

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will hold its third annual Spring Break Festival on Tuesday, March 16 from 1 - 3 p.m. on the museum's front lawn. The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science will showcase a variety of reptiles and other animals, and music will be provided for the event by Mark Brown. Art activities include solar prints, masking tape mosaics, playing card paintings, and more. The festival is free and open to the public and intended for the whole family.

The Museum will also hold its annual "Spring Break Art Break" classes March 17 - 19 in the Museum annex. The schedule will be 10 a.m. until noon for K5 through third grade and 2 until 4 p.m. for fourth through sixth graders. Participants will create multi-media crafts inspired by the LRMA collection. Cost is $35 per child for LRMA members and $45 for non-members. As space is limited, reservations will only be held with payment. To reserve a space contact the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at 601-649-6374 or info@LRMA.org.

Guest Blogger: Allyn Boone

In 1903, Nina and Wallace Rogers built an elegant redwood home in the Prairie style of architecture on Laurel’s beautiful Fifth Avenue. There they raised their son, Lauren, and participated in the life of the community, managing one of the town’s lumber companies and entertaining friends and business associates in their well-appointed home.

Upon Lauren’s untimely death at the age of 23, his parents and grandparents created the Eastman Memorial Foundation to operate a museum and library for the town. As a result, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art opened in 1923 across the street from the Rogers house, and the Museum continues to serve as the cultural heart of the city of Laurel.

In 1950, the Rogers house passed to Gardiner Green, Sr., who was Lauren’s second cousin, and his wife, Eleanor. In 2003, the house became the property of the Eastman Memorial Foundation through a generous bequest from the Greens, who had been longtime supporters of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art and its programs.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a pivotal structure in the Laurel Historic District, the Rogers-Green House is highly significant in terms of its age and its architecture. A rare example in Laurel of the Prairie style, the house stands as one of the primary examples of the Belle Epoch period. Outstanding features include original Tiffany light fixtures and extensive leaded glass windows.

The Rogers-Green House has become an indispensable part of the community. Five museum offices are situated on the second floor of the building, and LRMA utilizes the main level and grounds for numerous Museum events.

Additionally, the house has become a popular site for a wide variety of community celebrations including parties, weddings and receptions. The rental income from these festive occasions helps offset the expense of operating and maintaining the 7,000 square-foot structure, and the community enjoys the opportunity to utilize the house for special occasions.

Initial renovations to the house were funded by a Mississippi Arts Commission Building Fund for the Arts grant and contributions from generous individuals in Laurel and as far away as San Francisco and New York City. The common denominators among these donors were a connection to Laurel, a love of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, and an appreciation of this fine old building.

Thanks to the donors’ generosity, the Rogers-Green House is the center of activities ranging from LRMA planning and administration to festive parties and elegant receptions. As we look to the future, we envision renovating a small guest cottage on the grounds for LRMA overnight guests including lecturers and artists-in-residence. Other needs include roofing improvements for the Carriage House Studio and an endowment fund for future Rogers-Green House repairs.

A Taste of Art & Wine on Friday, April 16, at the Rogers-Green House will provides an opportunity to have fun and raise money for the Rogers-Green House. The annual event is presented by the LRMA Guild of Docents & Volunteers and features gourmet food and wine, a silent auction, and music and dancing. Area businesses and individuals have the opportunity to become sponsors for the event and be recognized on the invitation and in other publicity.

Later this year, we plan to unveil a plaque that will list the generous individuals and businesses who helped us restore and renovate the Rogers-Green House for LRMA and the community. Categories range from the 1903 Society for gifts of $1,903 to the Redwood Society for gifts of $50,000 or more. For more information about these and other giving opportunities, please call George Bassi or Allyn Boone at the Museum, 601-649-6374.

Allyn Boone is Director of Development at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Snow day!

On Friday, February 12 we will be closed due to inclement weather.

Garden Lecture Thursday, February 11

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art and the Laurel Garden Club will present Gardening Through the Seasons by Dr. William E. Barrick, Executive Director of Bellingrath Gardens on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Gardening Through the Seasons will focus on creating landscape displays that provide color throughout the seasons of the year using examples from Bellingrath Gardens and Home, well known for its imaginative and creative use of annuals, tropicals, and perennials.

Dr. Barrick received BS and MS degrees from Auburn University and a PhD in Landscape Horticulture from Michigan State University. Since 1999, he has served as the Executive Director of Bellingrath Gardens and Home, located in Theodore, Alabama. He was Executive Vice-President and Director of Gardens in Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, for almost 20 years before going to Bellingrath. Dr. Barrick is a past President of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, past Chairman of the American Horticultural Society, and a recipient of the Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal.

The lecture will be held in LRMA’s American Gallery. Following the lecture, lunch will be served at the Rogers-Green House which is located across the street from the Museum. Tickets are $35 per person and include lunch. Seating is limited. For reservations contact LRMA at 601-649-6374 or info@LRMA.org.

Gardening Through the Seasons is presented by Lauren Rogers Museum of Art and the Laurel Garden Club, a member of The Garden Club of America.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in Historic Downtown Laurel. The Laurel Garden Club is a member of The Garden Club of America.



Top picture:
Bellingrath Gardens: The Rose Garden in May

Bottom picture:
Bellingrath Gardens: The Mirror Pool

For more information on Bellingrath Gardens, visit their website at www.Bellingrath.org

At the Museum: A Recent Acquisition

The current exhibition at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is Recent Acquisitions: 2004-2009, featuring works added to the permanent collection through both gift and purchase. Although the works were all added to the Museum’s collection in the 21st century, they are not all contemporary works of art. We have added American, European, Native American, and Japanese works to the collection, although the majority are American paintings and works on paper.

One of our major purchases of the last few years is a small painting called Concord Grapes (1903) by the American painter John Frederick Peto. Although small in stature, the painting has a strong presence and fills an important gap in our collection. Works in our American Gallery fit into one of four major categories: landscape, portraiture, still life, or genre (scenes of everyday life). A still life painting consists of objects which, obviously, lack the ability to move (such as jugs, fruit, crockery, flowers, books, and candles, for example). These objects are carefully chosen and grouped into a composition for artistic purposes. The still life is not meant to depict an accidental scene or a snapshot of real life, in other words.

Although several still life paintings were already in the collection, until recently we did not have an important work in the late 19th-century “trompe l’oeil” tradition. “Trompe l’oeil” means “to trick the eye”, and in painting refers to works which are highly detailed and carefully finished. Peto was one of a few major painters of the style in America, along with William Harnett and Jefferson David Chalfant. Peto was a native of Philadelphia, and trained at the Pennsylania Academy of the Fine Arts. However, after he married, he decided to move out of the mainstream of American art and live much of his adult life in Island Heights, New Jersey. There he produced a steady stream of still life paintings, punctuated by the occasional landscape.

Because of his isolation from city life and the fact that his career was cut short by Bright’s Disease at age 53, Peto’s work was considered secondary to Harnett’s for several decades. In fact, a number of his pictures were attributed to Harnett at one time. Only beginning in the 1950s did scholars manage to untangle the authorship and identify which works were by Peto and which by Harnett. Since then Peto’s reputation has steadily increased. His works are more tonal, a bit more moody and color-infused than Harnett’s, whereas Harnett tended to a crystalline finish and detail and a bit more flash.

A student of history and art history, Peto was almost certainly aware of one of the earliest stories about a painter in the Western world, that of Zeuxis. Zeuxis was a Greek painter during the Classical era (about 2500 years ago) who made a painting of grapes was so real-looking that, when it was unveiled, a bird flew down out of the sky and tried to peck at it. Peto’s grapes, however, are Concord grapes, a unique American grape developed in 1849. Peto’s still life, then, both evokes the European origins of oil painting and asserts its American identity apart from that history.

Recent Acquisitions: 2004-2009 is on exhibit in the Lower Level Galleries through March 24, 2010. The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of 5th Avenue and 7th Street in historic downtown Laurel. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm , and on Sundays from 1 pm to 4 pm. For more information call 601-649-6374 or visit us on the web at www.LRMA.org

Jill R. Chancey, PhD is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Holiday Art Class later this week

This class is not yet full, but it's filling up quickly. Join us for our annual holiday art class:

Thursday, December 17 3:30 - 5 p.m. (Grades K - 6th) Museum Annex

Children will make funky soda can angels, amazing pop-up holiday cards, and pretty painted ornaments.

Cost for this class is $15 for LRMA members, and $20 for non-members.

Call us at 601-649-6374 to sign your little artist up!

Holiday Hours

The Museum will be closed for the holidays on:

December 24, 25, and 31

and

January 1

Guest Blogger: Holly Green

At the Museum

With the arrival of the holidays, you may find yourself looking for a place to take respite from the hustle and bustle of activity that accompanies this very busy time of year. You may also be looking for ways to entertain your out-of-town guests. The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, in historic downtown Laurel, is perfect for both.

Whether you or your guests enjoy American, European or Asian art, Native American basketry, English silver, or have more modern tastes, there is something for everyone at LRMA.

In the Lower Level Galleries beginning December 15, there will be an exhibition pulled from our very own vaults. Recent Acquisitions: 2004 - 2009 celebrates the additions to the LRMA collection made possible by the generous support of the community. Included in the exhibition are important works by Mississippi artists William Dunlap and Ethel Wright Mohamed; two baskets by Native American weaver Pat Courtney Gold, and the first addition to the Japanese Ukiyo-e print collection in many decades, The Dragon King’s Palace (1858), a triptych by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

As it is the Christmas season, make sure you step into the Reading Room to view the beautifully decorated Christmas tree and the exquisite crèche at its base. These sixteen figures are made of dense cedar and were carved by an elderly Mayan Indian living in the hills of south central Guatemala. They were commissioned and purchased, piece by piece, from 1980 - 1981 by LRMA patron Jean Chisholm Lindsey, who then donated them to the Museum.

In the LRMA Library, you can find books on most any artist or art form imaginable. Take a moment to browse the shelves for something that peaks your artistic interest, find a quiet place, and spend an afternoon reading.

The staff at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art appreciates your patronage and participation over the past year and welcomes you to visit your Museum and take part in the exciting events and educational arts programs in 2010. We wish you and yours a beautiful holiday season and a healthy, happy New Year!

The Museum is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel and is open 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, call LRMA at 601.649.6374 or visit the Museum’s website, www.LRMA.org.


- Holly Green is the Director of Marketing at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Guest Blogger: George Bassi

At the Museum

by George Bassi, Director

As with most things in our lives, we tend to divide up the calendar year based on sporting activities, school, holidays and family events. For us here at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, our year always includes the excitement in November and early December of planning the annual museum gala.

LRMA will celebrate the sights, sounds and tastes of New Orleans at our annual black-tie gala on Saturday, December 5. Gala Chairmen Deborah and David Ratcliff promise a memorable evening of delicious food, lively music, and fabulous decorations to raise money for the Museum’s education and exhibition programs.

Highlighting the evening will be the Live Auction under the leadership of chairmen Mary Ella and Clay Johnson. Bidders will have the opportunity to purchase artwork by Bill Dunlap, Lucy Mazzaferro, Greg Gustafson, Patterson Barnes and Ginny Futvoye. The Live Auction also features two exciting week-long trips to the private residences of Lessley and Bobby Hynson in Ireland and Sara and John Hendrickson in Nantucket. Jewelry will include a stunning Judith Ripka gold and diamond cross necklace and an exquisite multi-colored string of pearls. Completing the Live auction is a beautiful table designed and crafted by Walter Bailey.

Pam and Jack Ward are serving as Silent Auction chairmen and their committee of 13 couples is gathering more than 100 auction items in six categories. Included are vacations, private dinners, jewelry, artwork, antiques and just about anything else on your Christmas list.

The gala is the museum’s primary fundraising event, raising almost 15% of our annual operating budget in this one night. But it is not all business– this is a night to laissez les bons temps rouler! The evening features a gourmet dinner inspired by New Orleans cuisine and dancing with the music of The Triple Lindy, featuring Laurel native Wes Brooks. Be on the lookout for mimes, ostrich plumes, a second-line and maybe even Chris Owens.

The fun begins with the annual Preview Party on Thursday, December 3. This event is sponsored by the LRMA Guild of Docents and Volunteers and highlights the many auction items up for bid. Katie Sullivan is serving as chair of this event, and the Guild will prepare a menu of delicious Big Easy treats to start the bidding.

Of course, an event of this magnitude takes a host of volunteers, and LRMA is fortunate to have great committee chairmen helping us out. Included are Jo Lynn McLeod as Decorations Chair, Ann Ellis and Betty Harper as Auction Display Chairs, and Diane Thames as Food and Beverage Chair.

Tickets are now on sale for this December 5 event, and you can call the Museum at 601-649-6374 for more information.

Sunday Concert Series: November 15

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art and The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra present the second installment of their 2009-2010 Sunday Concert Series on Sunday, November 15 at 3 p.m. in the LRMA American Gallery. Harpist Kimberly Houser along with guest flutist Katherine Kemler will perform music by Godefroid, Debussy, Houser, Tournier, and Piazzola in a program titled “Dances with Harp.”


Kimberly Houser has performed on the harp since she was eight years old. She began her study in Portland, Oregon, performing her first full recitals and freelancing in high school. She received her Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of Arizona while on full scholarship. Houser continued her study under Catherine Michel, principal harpist of the Paris Opera. She has performed at The World Harp Congress, The American Harp Society Convention, and the Soka City International Festival in Japan. She has toured Mexico, Japan, Prague, and Puerto Rico. Houser spent three years as principal harpist with the Billings Symphony in Billings, Montana while she taught both privately and through Montana State University. She has served as principal harp for the Columbia Symphony in Portland, Oregon and was on faculty at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, where she taught music theory, history and appreciation. Her first solo CD, Pure Harp, was reviewed in the October/November 2006 issue of Fanfare Magazine. She is a Professional-in-Residence at Louisiana State University.


Katherine Kemler is Professor of Flute at Louisiana State University, flutist with the Timm Wind Quintet, and a regular visiting teacher at the Oxford Flute Summer School in England. A graduate of Oberlin, she received her Master of Music and D.M.A. degrees from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Kemler has taught master classes and performed solo recitals at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China, Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall and taught master classes at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 2006, she was a guest artist at the Slovenian Flute Festival and in the summer of 2007 she performed and taught at the Festiv'Academies in France. She was featured on the cover of Flute Talk Magazine in December of 2006 and also on the cover of the Flutist Quarterly, the official magazine of the NFA, in 2003. Dr. Kemler has appeared as soloist with the British Chamber Orchestra in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, and with the Orchestra Medicea Laurenziana throughout Italy. She made solo broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and National Public Radio and has recorded CDs with Centaur Records, Orion, and Opus One labels.

This Sunday Concert is sponsored by Tim Lawrence of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC in Jackson and is free and open to the public.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel. For more information, call 601-649-6374 or visit the Museum’s website at www.LRMA.org.

Fourth Grade Tours

On October 20th and 22nd, about 800 fourth-graders visited the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. As part of their unit on Native American history, they toured our Basket Gallery; learned about the three kinds of weaving (coiling, twining, and plaiting) and handled baskets of each type; did several hands-on art activities; watched Choctaw dancing; and saw a demonstration of Choctaw rivercane weaving. The weather held out, so we were able to use the front lawn for the activities and the demonstrations, and a lot of the classes went to Gardiner Park (behind the museum) to enjoy a picnic lunch.

Reminder: Moe Brooker exhibition closes November 8!

This Sunday is your last chance to view the exhibition Moe Brooker: Carelessly Exact.

The exhibition Eudora Welty in New York will be closing soon after, on Sunday, November 15. From now until then, you may find one section of the Welty show has been taken down. This is because our construction project is causing one wall of that gallery to vibrate on occasion, and on those days we have to take those pictures down. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Field Trip to Stennis Space Center

This week the LRMA staff took a field trip to Stennis Space Center in Southwest Mississippi. We are gearing up for the exhibit NASA|ART: 50 Years of Exploration, featuring 65 artworks commissioned by NASA over the last fifty years, which will open on April 8, 2010. The exhibition is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and NASA in cooperation with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

We started with a driving tour of the immense facility, which in addition to testing rocket and shuttle engines, is host to a number of other federal agencies and contractors. We saw NOAA, weather buoys, and the enormous test stands, and more. Stennis even has its own daycare, mini-mart, gas station, fire station, medical clinic, and several cafeterias to serve its thousands of employees.

We then visited the Stennisphere, a museum/hands-on activity center which presents the history of the area, the space center, the shuttle, and more. Several members of the staff did a fine job of landing...er, *crashing* the space shuttle in the simulator.

George and other members of the staff enjoyed the space suit:



We were hoping they had an extra space suit to lend us for photo ops, but alas, they do not.

We were all impressed by the enormous scale of the engines tested at the center:



And, finally, we had a great meeting with members of the Education, Outreach, and Public Affairs staff, who have a lot of great programming ideas for us. We have big plans for the programming around this exhibition, and we are looking forward to partnering with the folks at the Stennis Space Center.

Guest Blogger: Lizabeth Brumley

At the Museum –

Halloween is now behind us and it’s time to begin thinking about the holiday season. If you are looking for unique gifts, stop by the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Gift Shop where we have a wide selection of gifts for young and old. For the children we have books and educational games and toys. Browse our offerings of Mississippi-crafted works including hand-turned pens by Dr. Steven Nowicki, hand-blown glass from Sweetwater Studio, and hand-painted ceramic birds from Wolfe Studio, as well as beautifully woven Choctaw baskets. We also carry a collection of stationery items and books both of local and artistic interest. New items are arriving daily in anticipation of the holiday season. We welcome you to stop by and shop in the Gift Shop of Mississippi’s first art museum surrounded by beauty, history, and fine art. Remember to mention your LRMA membership when making purchases at the Museum Gift Shop to receive a discount on your selections.

For a special treat, join us at our annual Shop Open House on November 24^th from 10 am to 5 p.m. Come shop and enjoy special discounts, free gift wrapping and delicious refreshments provided by the Museum’s Guild of Docents and Volunteers. From 10 a.m. until noon, local writer Karen Rasberry will be signing copies of her new collection of short stories, Travelers in Search of Vacancy. Jewelry maker Robbin Lee will also be returning for a trunk show of her freshwater pearl and sterling silver jewelry also between 10 a.m. and noon. The ever-popular chef and author Robert St. John will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.to sign copies of his latest book entitled Dispatches from My South.

The LRMA Gift Shop is now a consignment vendor for Mississippi Magazine which features articles and recipes from around the state. Come in and get your copy today.

The Museum is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in Historic Downtown Laurel. For more information about the Museum and Gift Shop, call 601-649-6374 ir visit the Museum website at www.LRMA.org.

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Lizabeth Brumley is Shop Manager and Visitor Services Coordinator at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

At the Museum: October Days are Flying by at LRMA

October is promising to be the busiest month of 2009 for the education department at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. On October 3, we held our annual Heritage Arts Festival on the front lawn of the Museum. We had our biggest crowd yet, and everyone enjoyed the free art activities, music, and beautiful weather. We hope that next year will be even better.

This past week, we had a visit from a wonderful Mississippi artist, Dot Courson. Ms. Courson is from Pontotoc, Mississippi, and creates beautiful landscapes in oil. She spoke at our October Art Talk on Thursday and held a one-day workshop on Friday. It was a great experience and we hope to have her back again.

This Tuesday and Thursday are going to be exciting days at LRMA because we are conducting our Fourth Grade Tours Program. For years, the Museum held its Third Grade Tours Program in the fall of the year but is gearing the program for fourth graders this year as this age level studies the state of Mississippi and Native Americans. The Fourth Grade Tours Program will introduce approximately 800 local students to our By Native Hands Basket Collection, as well as allow them to experience a Choctaw weaving demonstration and a dance by Choctaw dancers. The students will enjoy immersing themselves in Native American culture while creating art activities to take back to the classroom.

Is this all that we have on the schedule this month at LRMA? Of course not! On Thursday, October 29, we will hold our Trick Art Treat Halloween Art Class for children in grades K5 through sixth. The class is from 3:30-5:00 p.m. in the Museum Annex. Call the Museum today for prices and to reserve your child’s spot in this spooky class! If your children are home-schooled, don’t forget about our Home School Fridays, which will take place this month on Friday, October 30. This is a great opportunity for your child to create a fun and free craft and to socialize with other home-schooled children. This event is from 1- 4 p.m. in the Museum Annex. If you have any questions about any of the programs offered by LRMA, please call the Museum at (601)649-6374. We have something for everyone at LRMA, so come by this month!



Angela King is Education Outreach Coordinator at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Workshop this Friday: Dot Courson

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will offer an oil painting workshop by artist Dot Courson for beginning to intermediate level painters on October 15 - 17 in the Carriage House Studio. Times for the workshop are 6 - 8 p.m. (Thurs. Oct. 15) and 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. (Friday, Oct. 16 and Sat., Oct. 17).

Pontotoc artist Dot Courson, whose work has been featured throughout Mississippi, will lead this 3-day workshop. Through demonstration and instruction, the class will teach the elements of painting landscapes in plein air with a focus on trees in landscapes. Workshop participants will be instructed on basic compositions, design, and use of color in the southern landscapes. There will be lectures, slides, demos, and a closing critique of the students’ work.

Instruction will cover simplifying subject matter, values, color, and composition. Students will paint from their own landscape photographs and are asked to bring four or five of their own original photographs of landscapes. Participants should obtain a supply list upon registration. The workshop will be limited to 12 participants. The cost is $80 for LRMA members and $100 for non-members.

Call the Museum at 601.649.6374 to register for the workshop.

Art Talk, October 15

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art presents artist Dot Courson as its next ArtTalk speaker Thursday, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Lower Level Lecture Hall. Free and open to the public. For more information call 601.649.6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.

For more information about Dot Courson,visit her website at www.DotCourson.com

At the Museum: Albert Bierstadt

If you have been watching the Ken Burns series about our National Parks on
PBS, you’ve heard about artists traveling on many of the earliest expeditions to the parts of the American West that are today part of the park system. One of the artists in the LRMA collection, Albert Bierstadt, traveled with Colonel Frederick Lander’s government-sponsored expedition to map an overland route to the Pacific. In fact, Bierstadt’s career arc was enormously influenced by his participation in that expedition.

Born in Prussia, but raised in the United States, Bierstadt knew from an early age he wanted to be an artist. Unfortunately, it is almost universally acknowledged that his early work as a self-taught artist was really quite awful. It wasn’t until he studied art in Europe as a young man that his skill and talent developed sufficiently to match his ambition. He studied in Düsseldorf under Emmanuel Leutze, the American history painter best known for the iconic painting, “George Washington Crossing the Delaware.” He traveled widely and returned to the United States an accomplished and successful landscape painter in the European mode.


Until his Western travels, Bierstadt’s scenes of Europe and America were serene, luminous, and to some extent pastoral. This would change when, in 1858, he joined Lander’s exhibition. Bierstadt and several other members of the expedition did not stay with Lander all the way to California. Instead he opted to stop in Wyoming and spend the summer sketching in that wilderness. Shortly thereafter, Bierstadt launched a career built on large canvases depicting dramatic scenes of the then-exotic American West. From 1863 to 1883, Bierstadt commanded the highest prices of any American painter, living or dead. He would return to the West multiple times throughout his career, always sketching and preparing for yet another grand statement, usually a sweeping sunset in technicolor setting over the Rockies.


However, in between trips to the West, Bierstadt also visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire for sketching trips. It was on one of these trips, probably between 1857 and 1869, that he would have originated the idea for the Museum’s Bierstadt, “Autumn in New Hampshire.” The Museum’s painting harks back to Bierstadt’s early serene European style, rather than the drama and grandeur of his popular paintings of the American West. By the 1860s, New Hampshire was well-settled and thoroughly populated; it was nowhere near as wild and untamed as the Western half of the continent. The misty mountains in the background are barely visible behind the bright oranges and greens of the autumn foliage of New England. For Bierstadt, New Hampshire was something like home, whereas Wyoming was exotic, dangerous, and distant. Wyoming wasn’t even a state until 1890, years after Bierstadt’s visit; New Hampshire, after all, was one of the original thirteen colonies. Hence Bierstadt’s use of his more traditional mode of painting for this New England scene, which he was probably painting alongside his Western works.


“Autumn in New Hampshire” has been part of the Museum’s collection since it was donated in 1926 by Lauren Rogers’ grandfather, Lauren Chase Eastman. Mr. Eastman had purchased the painting in 1911, not too long after Bierstadt’s death. It hangs in the Museum’s American Gallery today.


The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sunday. For more information about exhibitions, tours, and programming, call 601-649-6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.


Jill R. Chancey, PhD, is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Heritage Festival coming up!

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel is hosting HERITAGE FESTIVAL this weekend, October 3. It is FREE! We have free art activities, free pizza, music by the Cowboy Blues Band, Choctaw dancers, and more. Saturday from 10 AM-2 PM on the front lawn. (Rain site: Sawmill Square Mall)

Interested in Southeastern Indian basketry?

Our registrar, Tommie Rodgers, will be speaking at a symposium on basketry in Natchez in November. This looks like an excellent program, with something for the collector, the weaver, the museum professional, and anyone with an interest:

2009 Southeastern Indian Basketry Symposium

Co-sponsored by the National Park Service, Northwestern Louisiana State University,

and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History

Except where noted, all sessions to be held at the

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, 400 Jefferson Davis Blvd., Natchez, MS 39120;

601-446-6502/jbarnett@mdah.state.ms.us

PROGRAM

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians (GVNI)

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Informal reception with food and refreshments, display of baskets borrowed from local owners.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13

GVNI (coffee, bottled water, snacks provided)

9:00 a.m. Welcome and introductions – Jim Barnett, Mississippi Department of Archives & History

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Informal panel discussion on marketing:

Janice Sago, Sales Shop Manager, GVNI

Kimble Marshall, Ph.D., Professor of Marketing, Alcorn State University

Deborah Cowart, Unit Manager, Eastern National Retail Outlet, Natchez National Historical Park

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Break; informal discussions among weavers

11:00 – 11:45 a.m. Informal discussion on split-cane baskets:

Dustin Fuqua, Cane River Creole National Historical Park

Hiram F. “Pete” Gregory, Northwestern State University (LA)

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch (catered on-site)

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Informal group discussion on cane propagation research:

Rachel Jolley, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Dr. Jolley wants to hear from weavers about desirable cane attributes.

2:00 – 2:30 p.m. Break; informal discussions among weavers

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Tour of the Grand Village (Jim Barnett)

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Informal discussions among weavers

4:00 – 6:30 p.m. Dinner on own (numerous restaurants available)

6:30 p.m. Basket Conservation Workshop (public invited to bring baskets)

Cindy Gardner, Director of Collections, Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Tommie Rodgers, Registrar, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

* Open to the public (free admission) – location will be GVNI or the Natchez Visitor Reception Center auditorium.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 “Basket Day” Open to the public (free admission)

GVNI (in case of rain, to be held at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center)

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Demonstrations and sales by basket weavers

Linda Farve, Mississippi Band of Choctaw will sell fry bread and Indian tacos; soft drinks and bottled water will be provided to participants and visitors.

Guest Blogger: Mandy Buchanan

At the Museum

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is planning fun, fall activities for children and families.

This fall, we will provide a special program for area home school families. Home School Fridays will be offered once a month and feature a variety of art activities. This "make and take" class is offered from 1 until 4 p.m. September 25, October 30, and November 20. No reservations are required and this class is free of charge for home school groups. We hope families will take part in this new program.

For a spooky, good time, please join us for Trick-Art-Treat, Thursday, October 29, from 3:30 until 5:00 p.m. This class is offered for ages kindergarten through sixth grade. We will make Halloween art projects including a paper mache’ pumpkin, a haunted house collage, and a super cool trick or treat bag. Class size will be limited. So reserve your spot early for this spooky art class!

One of our favorite family fall activities at LRMA is our annual Heritage Arts Festival. This festival has been a Laurel tradition since 1993. The LRMA staff and Guild of Docents and Volunteers are all working hard in preparation for this fun day. The 2009 Heritage Arts Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, from 10 am until 2 p.m. on the LRMA front lawn. The theme of this year’s festival is "The Wild Wonders of Mississippi" with the art activities centered around the Mississippi wilderness and its native animals. We will feature Choctaw Dancers and Choctaw basket weaver, Jessica Thomas. Back by popular demand, The Cowboy Blues Band will be our musical entertainment. At noon, we will serve free pizza and soft drinks. This special day is generously sponsored by The Laurel Arts League, Neel-Schaffer, Coca-Cola of Laurel, The First, and Hughes, Inc. The Festival is also supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission.

The Loblolly Festival, formerly called Laurel’s Main Street Festival, will also take place on October 3^rd in downtown Laurel. There will be live music, food, fine arts and children’s activities all within walking distance of the Museum. Laurel’s Historic District and downtown area will be the "place to be" to celebrate the arts and have some family fun!

For more information please call the Museum at 601.649.6374 or visit the Museum’s website at www.LRMA.org.

Mandy Buchanan is Curator of Education at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Guest Blogger: Tommie Rodgers

At the Museum: Critically Thinking with the Artist

If you visit the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in the coming weeks, you will be amazed at the joy of color on the walls of the Lower Level Galleries. The exhibition titled Moe Brooker: Carelessly Exact presents paintings that consist of vivacious blocks of dancing, intense colors creating movement, life and visual tension. Most are created with oil pastels and encaustic (wax and pigment that become liquid when melted).

The painter, Moe Brooker, is the artist and he finds joy in all aspects of his art. He is also a teacher and community worker from Philadelphia, PA who enjoys jazz music and feels a kinship to the colorful quilts created by African-American women. He serves as a deacon at the First African Baptist Church in Philadelphia and considers his time of painting as part of his daily devotion and worship.

His paintings are abstract and created with large areas of flat color and patterns, including stripes and checkerboards. The blocks of color are reminiscent of fabric pieces placed randomly to create visual vibration. Calligraphic squiggles of lines float across the central portion of the image while small blocks of color float across the central portion of the canvas.

While his work gives the impression of spontaneity, Mr. Brooker does have a working plan. His work is defined by the use of shapes, patterns and color that involves intensity, chroma, and value. Those are not easy elements to juggle and the layers can easily create a painting of “mud” if handled without some organization.

Mr. Brooker held a day-long workshop for area artists in which I attended for a brief time in the afternoon. Mr. Brooker has quite a following from his days of teaching at the Mississippi Art Colony. He asked the students to bring along work that was in process or completed work to critique as well as some painting supplies.

The morning was spent warming up with color choices and loosening up the arm. The afternoon was set aside for critique. For those of you who have never sat through a college critique session, you would have had quite an awakening.

“Critique” does not mean that your teacher or advisor will pat you on the back and say “Great Job! Wonderful Painting!” Instead, the teacher might say: “Does that color really work there?” “What were you THINKING?” And, all the while, the student is sliding deeper into his seat and answering with a meek “I don’t know.” Of course, the student is thinking that the teacher is yelling those questions whether they really are or not.

Mr. Brooker’s session was conducted much the same way. This type of critical discussion is really the best way to teach students to improve their art. He was not there to pat the students on the back and say “job well done,” but he was right on target in asking thought-provoking questions. He discussed the good points, recommended other artists’ works to study, and provided other options to change the work and make it better.

One of the most important points that he shared was to paint large areas of color first and pursue the details last. That point is much easier said than done. As most of the artists who participated will agree, it can be scary and disheartening to have a critical discussion about one’s work. A solid understanding of design elements is essential to building on one’s knowledge of art. A teacher who avoids the discussion of them may be one who doesn’t know and understand them himself and he certainly can’t help his students improve or teach them to make critical design decisions on their own.

Moe Brooker: Carelessly Exact will be on display through Sunday, November 8, 2009. The Museum is open from 10:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays from 1:00-4:00 p.m. The Museum is closed on Mondays. For more information, call 601-649-6374 or check the museum’s website at www.LRMA.org.

Tommie Rodgers is the registrar of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Eudora Welty in New York (in Laurel)

Eudora Welty in New York
August 21 - November 15, 2001
Stairwell Gallery

Opening events, all of which are free and open to the public:

5:00 Reading of Eudora Welty's "Petrified Man" by Catherine Nowicki
5:30 Lecture by Welty Scholar Suzanne Marrs
6:30 Reception

Eudora Welty in New York features fifty black-and-white photographs by Eudora Welty, one of the 20th century's greatest American authors. The photographs illuminate the artist's ties to New York City at the outset of her professional career. It includes a re-creation of Welty's first solo exhibition of her Mississippi photographs, mounted in New York City in 1936, as well as a dozen of her New York images, capturing American in the depths of the Great Depression and revealing a compassion and sensitivity towards her subject that became a hallmark of her writing.

Book Signing in the Gift Shop this weekend

Book signing by local authors Lori Leger and Cleveland Payne

Saturday, Aug. 22
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm
LRMA Lobby




Lori Leger will be signing copies of The Night Walker

Description
The Night Walker is a love story like no other. Written for men and women alike, this story takes the reader into the Klamoth Mts. living through the life of Bigfoot who is in fact a shapeshifter. The reader will be whisked away through the trials of murder, poaching, kidnapping and..love. It will make you wonder is Bigfoot a real hero or a monster.

About the Author
Lori born in Sep. of 1969, was raised in Richton, Ms. but has lived with her husband and three daughters in Laurel for over twenty years. She has always been intrigued with Indian folklore due to her Grandfather being full blooded Choctaw. She enjoys reading love stories by her favorite author Cassie Edwards. These two aspects along with her interest always being piqued by Bigfoot stories brought her to combining the three into this wonderful new love story full of action, terror, and heartbreak to reach out to all readers, man and woman alike. Lori says her dream is to have people read her books and feel as though they are there themselves.


Cleveland Payne will be bringing his latest book.

About the author:

Cleveland Payne is a lifelong resident of Laurel, Mississippi, and a 1957 graduate of Oak Park Vocational High School where he was a star athlete. As a result, he was inducted into the Oak Park Hall of Fame in July 2000. Payne received his undergraduate degree from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1965.

While at Rust, although majoring in the social sciences, his talent for writing was discovered by his English instructor, who encouraged him to write as much as possible. He enjoyed writing, but with his busy schedule as a basketball player and track star, there was little time to pursue this interest.

His journey as an author started to take direction while completing his graduate work at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Hattiesburg. Although he had a wide range of interests, he eventually discovered a great affinity for history and research. In 1982, he became the first student to earn a Specialist in History at USM in the new degree program. His thesis, "Laurel: A History of the Black Community 1882–1962," was refined and published as his first book.

Payne is the author of nine other books. They include The Oak Park Story: A Cultural History (1988), A History of Black Laurel (1990), From Kemper to California—The Long Journey (1992), The Road to San Antonio: The Journey of Career Airman Johnny Hearn (1995), Laurel Remembrances (1996), The Defining Moment (2000), The House on the Boulevard (2002), and The Silver Pendant (2006). The Long Drive (2008) is Payne's tenth book and is his fourth novel featuring his adventurous protagonist, Slim McCall.

On February 14, 2000, his hometown of Laurel honored him with the Millennium Medallion in recognition of his lifelong commitment to illuminating the beauty of life in Laurel through his lyrical writings and memoirs.

Looking Forward to Fall at LRMA

It’s hard to believe with the August heat still going strong, but fall is right around the corner. The kids are back in school, football season will be underway soon, and there are new and exciting programs happening at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. Home School Fridays will start up again this month, with the first class on Friday, August 28. These free classes are for home schooled children of all ages, and take place on the fourth Friday of every month from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. in the Museum Annex. This is a great time for kids and parents to socialize and create a fun art project.
There are two wonderful new shows up at LRMA right now. The first is Moe Brooker: Carelessly Exact, which features large, colorful, abstract works by African-American artist Moe Brooker. Mr. Brooker is a working artist, and visited the museum last week for a lecture, workshop, and the opening reception for his show. You can see these impressive works on display in the LRMA Lower Level Galleries until November 8. Starting at the end of this week, you can also enjoy Eudora Welty in New York, a show of photographs taken by Eudora Welty. This show commemorates the 100th anniversary of Eudora Welty’s birth and will be available for viewing in our Stairwell Gallery until November 15.
Next week, on August 25, the LRMA Guild of Docents and Volunteers will host its annual Guild Membership Coffee. This invitation-only event is held each year to introduce potential Guild members to current members and to acquaint them with the purpose of the LRMA Guild. The Guild is a vital part of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, with members volunteering for virtually every event held at the museum throughout the year. The Guild Docents also give tours every day that the museum is open. If you are interested in more information on how to join this prestigious organization, please call the museum at (601) 649-6374.
Pottery classes will be offered for children and adults this fall at the museum. The children’s pottery class will be on Tuesday afternoons in September, beginning on September 1 and running through September 22. Children who are currently in Kindergarten to 6th grade can participate. Kids will learn the basics of working in clay, both hand building and throwing on the potter’s wheel. The class will be from 3:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. in the Carriage House Studio on Seventh Street. Adults can enjoy pottery this October on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. This class will be taught by local ceramic artist Byron Myrick and participants will work exclusively on the potter’s wheel. For more information about any of these programs, or to sign up for a class, call the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at (601) 649-6374.

Fall Children's Pottery

If you are looking for a great after-school activity for your child this fall, sign them up for Children's Pottery at LRMA! This is a fun opportunity for your child to create original art. Participants will create hand-built projects as well as learn to throw on the potter's wheel. The class will be held on Tuesday afternoons beginning on September 1 through September 22. It goes from 3:30-5:00 P.M. in our Carriage House Studio on Seventh Street. If you are interested in registering your child, just call the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at (601) 649-6374.

MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTE OF ARTS & LETTERS: Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the Mississippi Institute of Arts, LRMA has organized an exhibition featuring MIAL award winners in Visual Art and Photography over the past 30 years. The exhibition will be a virtual "Who's Who" of Mississippi artists, including William Dunlap, Sam Gilliam, Birney Imes, Mildred Wolfe, Maude S. Clay, Eudora Welty, Wyatt Waters, and Charles Carraway. Your chance to revisit three decades of some of the best artists Mississippi has to offer is almost over! The show closes on Sunday, August 2.

Sister Cities Artist Exchange: Laurel, MS and Shelby, NC

“Sister Cities Artist Exchange”
June 11 - August 2, 2009


This summer, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art and the Cleveland County Arts Council of Shelby, North Carolina have organized a juried cooperative exhibition. The Shelby County Arts Council will host an exhibition of Laurel & Jones County artists, while the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will exhibit artists from the Shelby, North Carolina region. Shelby, North Carolina adopted Laurel as its sister city following Hurricane Katrina, and were involved in recovery efforts. Although the idea for this exhibit evolved from this relationship, art that thematically focuses on Hurricane Katrina is not the intention. The purpose of this exchange is to showcase a variety of artforms and artists from both areas. For the LRMA’s exhibition, Shelby County Arts Council invited selected artists to submit works, and co-curators Mark Brown and Jill Chancey selected works from those submissions. The resulting exhibition features a wide variety of works, including textiles, pottery, painting, and works on paper.

This exhibition closes in less than two weeks! Don't miss your introduction to a whole community of artists little-known here in South Mississippi.

The Cleveland County artists chosen for this exhibition are:

Susan Carlisle Bell
David Caldwell
Ray Clemmer
Hal Dedmond
Susan Doggett
Pat Edwards
Lynn Eskridge
Harriette Grigg
Sally Jacobs
Ron Mechling
Ron Philbeck
Bonnie Price
Chrys Riviere-Blalock
Paula Amanda Spangler
Kay Young

July Fourth Holiday

Please note that the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will be closed on Saturday, July 4th, 2009.

At the Museum: Connecting to Collections

In mid-June, approximately three hundred library and museum professionals converged on Buffalo, New York, for a conference sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. I was one of the curators who met with and learned from conservators, collections managers, archivists, librarians, administrators, volunteers, and board members from across the nation. The goal of the conference was to raise awareness and develop strategies for conserving America’s material heritage, from great paintings and sculpture to Revolutionary War flags to the archives of community organizations.

The IMLS conferences on collections were inspired by the 2005 report, “A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections (HHI),” a project of Heritage Preservation and IMLS, which revealed that our collections of objects, documents, digital material, and living collections are not only essential to America’s cultural health, but are also imperiled and in need of swift protective action. The study’s findings, announced in 2005, are sobering. HHI concluded that almost two hundred million objects held by archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and scientific organizations in the United States are in need of conservation treatment; sixty-five percent of collecting institutions have experienced damage to collections due to improper storage; eighty percent of collecting institutions do not have an emergency plan that includes collections, with staff trained to carry it out; and forty percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budgets for preservation or conservation.

Fortunately, although LRMA has some objects needing conservation, we do have safe storage, an emergency plan, and a modest budget for conservation and preservation. Here at the Museum, we hold artworks and local history archives in trust for the public, and we take very seriously our responsibility to ensure that they exist in good condition for future generations. To do that, we give priority to providing safe conditions for the collections we hold in trust; we have staff assigned specifically to the care of collections; and we take responsibility for providing the support that will allow these collections to survive. These general policies are in keeping with the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index.

The term “conservation” often brings to mind images of a laboratory with a conservator painstakingly testing paint chips, restoring lost paint, or re-weaving textiles. I learned at the conference that many young conservators credit the movie “Ghostbusters II” and Sigourney Weaver’s character’s job as a painting restorer for their first awareness of the profession. However, the term also more generally refers to the safe storage of artworks in museum-quality materials in a building with a controlled climate, good security, and art-safe lighting. Many of these elements are invisible to the general public, but they are a central concern for those of us responsible for the well-being of collections. They can also be rather expensive, which is why so many collections across the nation are at risk. Preserving our nation’s heritage is expensive and time-consuming, but all around you are library and museum professionals dedicated to doing just that.

For more information about the Heritage Health Index, visit the website http://heritagepreservation.org/hhi/. Information about the Institute of Museum and Library Services can be found at www.imls.gov.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sunday. For more information about exhibitions, tours, and programming, call 601-649-6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.

Jill R. Chancey, PhD, is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Guest Blogger: Mandy Buchanan

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Education staff is busy preparing for the many classes and art activities to be offered at LRMA this summer for children and adults.

We are offering a five-week oil painting workshop with artist David Wilkinson. This class is offered for middle school to college-aged students. This workshop begins Wednesday, July 1 from 9:oo am until noon and will continue every Wednesday morning in July.

Artist Sharon Howard will be teaching an introductory still life painting class for adults. These classes are offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings July 21,23,28 & 30 from 9 am until 11 am.

Summer Art Camp will be offered July 14 - 17 for children in grades Kindergarten- 6th grade. Grades K-3 will be meet from 10 a.m. until noon and grades 4- 6 will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. The theme for this year’s camp is “Under the Sea.” Participants will create colorful sea art including sea shell pottery, fish sculptures, mosaics and seascape paintings. For prices and additional information on these classes, please call the Museum at 601.649.6374.

The LRMA Education staff is still offering Free Family Art on Wednesday afternoons through July 1 from 1 until 4 p.m. in the Museum Annex. No reservations are required for this activity. Don’t miss out on this fun make-and-take art program!

Mandy Buchanan is the Curator of Education at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

Southern Miss Chidren's Center Playground Mural

Angie King and Mandy Buchanan recently completed a mural in Hattiesburg. Click for pics and more info!

Guest Blogger: George Bassi

Next Saturday, the cultural eyes of Mississippi will be focused on Laurel and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art as we host the 30th anniversary celebration of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. The celebration not only includes an awards dinner but also an exhibition featuring MIAL award winners in Visual Art and Photography over the past 30 years.

Drawn from both public and private collections, this exhibit will be on view June 13 – August 2, 2009, at LRMA and will be a virtual “Who’s Who” of Mississippi artists, including works by William Dunlap, Sam Gilliam, Birney Imes, Mildred Wolfe, Maude S. Clay, Eudora Welty, Wyatt Waters, and Charles Carraway. The list of award recipients is a strong reflection of the talents of Mississippians and the artistic heritage of our state.

The Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters was founded in 1978 by a few discerning individuals, including former Governor William Winter and Dr. Cora Norman, both of Jackson; Dr. Aubrey Lucas and Dr. Noel Polk, both of Hattiesburg; and Mrs. Keith McLean of Cleveland. They knew that among Mississippi's greatest riches are our artists, writers, and musicians, who must be supported, nurtured, and recognized.

The prestigious awards, first made in 1980, are presented in seven categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Visual Art, Musical Composition (Concert), Musical Composition (Popular), Photography, and Poetry.

The Institute's juried competition is one of a kind in the state. Carefully selected judges, chosen from out of state, are prominent in their fields. Supported by Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning, MIAL is privately funded, self-perpetuating, and non-profit.

Those being recognized this year include two Lifetime Achievement winners: painter Marshall Bouldin and writer Elizabeth Spencer. Other 2009 MIAL winners include Howard Bahr (Fiction), Steve Rouse (Music Composition – Classical/Concert), 3 Doors Down (Music Composition – Contemporary/Popular), Douglas A. Blackmon (Nonfiction), Jane Rule Burdine (Photography), Brooks Haxton (Poetry), and H. C. Porter (Visual Arts).

A highlight of the events on Saturday will be readings and book-signings at 4:00 p.m. by this year’s winners in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and visual art, as well as the two lifetime achievement honorees. The readings and signings will be held in the Museum lobby and are open to the public.

The MIAL Awards Dinner will be held at LRMA this Saturday, June 13, beginning with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Lower Level Galleries followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the American Gallery. Tickets for the Awards Dinner are $50 per person; call the museum at 601-649-6374 for more information.

George Bassi is Director of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art