The Art Box

My name is Doug Figgs and I am a Western music singer/songwriter from Lemitar, NM. My musical influences include Country, Western, and Southern Rock. I can perform solo, as a duo, or as a trio (Doug Figgs, Jim Jones and Mariam) as "The Cowboy Way". I have 5 CDs currently available at the "Store" on this website. They are "All Because of You", a collection of Western/Americana songs mostly written or co-written by me, "Partners", a very well received album with 3 award winning songs, the award winning Western album "A Cowboy Like Me", "...thinkin' of you" an album I recorded with award winning singer/songwriter Mikki Daniel, and 2022 IWMA Western album of the year “Yellow Horse”. My latest album “One More Ride” is now available through this web site and also from CDbaby, Spotify, Itunes, etc. More about Doug: https://www.dougfiggs.com/

We shared the media room with fellow press member Larry Hillberg from KMVR 89.5. Larry, a friend from last years gathering presented a special poem at an open mic session. Enjoy. More about Larry: https://www.kvmr.org/users/larry-hillberg/ Thank you Larry.

As Steve made his way through the vendor area in the Elko Conference Center he ran into a fellow Children's book author, Gus Brackett. We enticed Gus to come over to our media room with the promise of a Ribeye Steak. OK, we lied about the steak but the nice guy Gus is, he stayed for a fun interview. This is an episode you will want to listen to. Thank you Gus! You can find out about Gus' books at: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Gus-Brackett/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AGus+Brackett

Linda being the adventurer she jumped right into dancing with the Basque dance company Txori Baltza with Katlyn, Olivia and Franci. Afterwards we dragged them into our Media room and with a ruckus concert going in the room next door, we proceeded to have a fun discussion of Basque history, delicious Starr steaks and their creative dancing. Though we may not be in the Basque Country, we are in peak cider season! Before the cider can bubble in your belly, it must first be made. Watch as contemporary Basque dance company Txori Baltza illustrates the tale of making cider and enjoying it after. Gather around the cider barrel and listen for the cry of “txotx!” Are you up for it? Enjoy this episode.

It was not poetry that brought Nancy to use, it was Linda looking at some incredible paintings from Tuscarora where she ran into Nancy and started talking writing. Next thing you know Nancy is visiting with us in the Media room. You will enjoy this interview. More about Nancy: https://www.nancyharrismclelland.com/

If there was a reason we could hardly wait to get back to Elko, it was probably Annie MacKenzie, bringing real prose from Jordan Valley, Oregon we just love her work and mater of fact delivery. We convinced her sister Megan to join in with us and we had a rousing conversation that you are going to love. OK, enough blabbering from me, time to start this episode for some listening pleasure. Thank you Annie and Megan.

Yeppers Linda and Steve got to sit down the Nevada Humanities Program Manager Bobbie Ann Howe for a wide ranging interview about humanities in our state. Learn more about Nevada Humanities: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/ Learn more about Bobbie: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/blog/2021/11/4/what-i-love-about-nevada

Linda and Steve were all smiles when Doris Daly was our first guest this year. Doris was on our mind all year after she wowed us with her brand of creativity last year in Elko. Doris brought along her husband Doc this year for an entirely fun interview. Sit back and enjoy as Doris and Doc entertain us. Doris web page: https://www.dorisdaley.com/home "If cowboy poetry was fresh milk and the cream that rises to the top was the very best, then Doris Daley would be very rich and very fattening." So says renowned cowboy ambassador Waddie Mitchell about an Alberta ranch girl whose love of wordsmithing has made her one of North America's favourite western poets, emcees and western humorists. Born and raised on a family ranch in the foothills of Alberta, Doris's authentic, sparkling poetry has taken her to campfires large and small, to highways, roundabouts and gravel roads throughout the west, and to concert appearances with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Saskatchewan Opera Company. With a performance career spanning more than 20 years, Doris is a frequent performer at corporate and community events, Christmas parties, private parties and cowboy poetry gatherings. To purchase poetry books or CD recordings, simply send an email: [email protected]

Linda and Steve just arrived in Elko for the 39th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering and sat down for a quick review of our schedule and goals. Get ready for our 13 episodes with the most amazing down-home creative talent in the USA. Please enjoy our opening and closing music provided by Jessie Veeder and our opening and closing voice Diana Lee Rose. We recorded from the media room at the Elko Convention Center that quite often had traffic traversing through, so you will notice some noise in the background. Many thanks to Western Folklife Center's Press Coordinator Karyn Erikson for her work herding around us needy press corp members.

Linda and Steve had the privilege of a visit by local graphics designer, regional entrepreneur, and author Dustin Berg. Put on your head set and sit down with us for an enjoyable thirty-minute chat. Mesquite Branding - https://mesquitebranding.com/ Purchase Dustins Book "All Around Mesquite" - https://www.amazon.com/All-Around-Mesquite-Nevada-Destinations/dp/B0CPG62LWP

Meet award winning editor and journalist James Luksic, Wright State University graduate and current Moapa Progress journalist. Jim is all about movies, great books and is beloved in our community. You can catch Jim's work at: https://mvprogress.com/?s=James+Luksic Movie Reviews: https://mvprogress.com/2024/02/20/critics-corner-bob-marley-one-love-earnest-but-lacking/

This episode started over six months ago while your hosts were volunteering at the ⁠Love Family⁠ Prom and Linda watched Billy the King perform an amazingly athletic pole routine. Linda's jaw dropped and she could be heard all evening, "I wanna do that". Well do that she did, as Nicky Wangsgard (a.k.a. Billy the King) arranged for pole dancing lessons for Linda and afterwards we adjourned to Nicky's house for an incredible podcast interview. We love a quote from our interview: "That's what we want to do as artists', give somebody hope." ⁠Billy's Face Book Page⁠

Linda and Steve were super excited to sit down the most amazing couple, Charlotte and David Sirignni owners of Juniper Outpost in the Mesquite Plaza. (312 W Mesquite Blvd #114, Mesquite, NV 89027) They strive along with their unique vendors to "Make the World a Better Place" with the most incredible array of beautiful art, many of which support those of lesser means through giving organizations. We believe Charlottes statement "Not an Amazon experience" says it all, you must visit to understand. Sit back and enjoy the next 45 minutes, then hop in the car and visit the Juniper Outpost. Thank you to our voice of the Art Box Pericles Rellas and our music provided by Kit Pristine.

We were so happy to sit down with February 2024 Artist of the Month Randy Bauman for a ten minute quick episode, thirty minutes later we finished but could have talked for another hour. Randy is an amazing photographer and we were able to dig in on reasons why we love photography. Come visit Randy's exhibit at the Mesquite FIne Arts Center, January 29 until February 23.

This is STEAM Chat episode 005, but we thought we would release it as an Art Box episode in parrallel because space travel and science is Art. Enjoy. Mesquite Works STEAM Chat was honored to host Shannon McConnell for a stimulating conversation about her career journey at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab that cemented her love for STEM education which then culminated in her appointment as the Education and Public Engagement Lead for NASA’s Deep Space Network. We talk about the many projects she was part of: Magellan, Space Shuttle, Cassini and TOPEX/Poseidon, also artificial intelligence, her lead role in NASA collaboration with K-12 education and why there could be no STEA without Mathematics. Learn more about Shannon: https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/we-are-nasa-shannon-mcconnell-education-public-engagement-lead-nasas-deep-space-network-dsn/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-mcconnell-96a8a530/ https://onegiantleapfoundation.com.au/team-archive/shannon-mcconnell/

Linda and Steve we so super excited to visit with Nancy Good at her Las Vegas studio/gallery 'Core Contemporary'. What an amazing chat about creativity, STEAM, Nancy's many mediums and oh so much more. This is a must listen as is a visit to 'Core Contemporary' 900 Liberace Ave Suite B111, Las Vegas, NV 89109, your eyes and heart will thank you. Learn more about Nancy at: https://www.corecontemporary.com/about.html

The Art Box was invited to travel back in time to Lizard, Nevada 1942. This time there was no train but Steve was blown back via a haboob. I had the pleasure of chatting at the Virgin Valley Theatre with the cast (in character) on the stage. As always this group of neighbors, friends and performing artists were funny, talented and at times serious as we chatted about their new melodrama A Haboob in the Hoodoos. You can find out more and purchase tickets at: https://www.vvtgnv.com/buy-tickets See you at the show!

A life and death struggle occurs daily just south of the cute little artist community of Ajo, Arizona. A small non-profit works to save lives in the Sonoran Desert by strategically placing and maintaining water catchments for those in need. Linda and Steve had the honor of interviewing one of the heroes of Humane Borders, Laurie Cantillo.

Your hosts Linda and Steve are delighted to release our very first 'STEAM Chat' podcast in parrallel on the Art Box. Since 2016 our loving neighbors Ann and Burton Weast have used their energy and skills to help our community find jobs with Mesquite Works. Now Partnering with George Gault they are placing Mesquite on the educational map with their creation "The Mesquite Works STEAM Center" a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Center that also includes key elements of Art and Agriculture. The mission of the STEAM Center is: Our mission as the Mesquite STEAM Center is to engage students with hands-on learning within the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Students will have the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to find success within their future professions and academic pursuits. Our STEAM Center students will be hosting STEAM themed podcasts to bring science, technology, engineering, agriculture, art and math subjects to our listeners. Stay tuned as STEAM Community Radio is also in the works. Settle back and listen to two Mesquite wonders Ann and Burton.

Linda and Steve were treated recently with a delightful interview with our friend, award-winning author and essayist Kase Johnstun. Our chat ranged from Craniosynostosis, how he researched and wrote Let the Wild Grasses Grow, dreaming, writing discipline, artificial inreligence, his grand parents, mom and passion for creativity and writing. More about Kase. KASE JOHNSTUN lives and writes in Ogden, Utah. Author of Let the Wild Grasses Grow, Beyond the Grip of Craniosynostosis and coeditor of Utah Reflections: Stories from the Wasatch Front, he teaches at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, the Graduate School in Creative Writing for Southern New Hampshire University, Barton Community College, and Weber State University. His essay collection Tortillas for Honkies was a finalist for the Autumn House Press Nonfiction Award, and his work has been published in Label Me Latino/a, Creative Nonfiction, The Watershed Review, and elsewhere. He holds an MA in Creative Writing and Literature from Kansas State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University. You can find him running on the trails of the Rocky Mountains along the face of the Wasatch Front. You can find Kase's work at: http://kasejohnstun.com/

Linda had to track down her friend Lynn Maguire on Rust Island, MA, 2,666 miles away for this episode. Lynn has embarked on creating an art community that is afforable, allows for unbridle creativity, healthy habits, and fosters great friendships. Grab a good wine, open Spotify on your smart phone and settle in for a fun chat about art. Find Lynn and her Snug Harbor Studio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snug_harbor_studio/ You can email Lynn at: [email protected] Snug Harbor Studio opening announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyt5cz1RPYR/

You are going to love this episode. Linda and Steve were so privileged to welcome Mesquites preeminent Master of Ceremonies Pericles Rellas to our studio to talk; theatre, arts, building cathedrals, loving life and just to have fun. We talked about Pericles profession as a mind-set coach, you can find out more about this on his web site: https://www.periclesrellas.com/ As we head into 2024 we have a new lead-in and closing voice for our podcasts, that would be non-other than Pericles. We also changed our music selection using Kit Pristine’s – Effortlessly Beautiful and Witness of Infinity. You can find Kit’s music on his web site: https://kitpristine.com/

A quick review on our 2023 Podcasts for The Art Box and Clouds in the Sand.

Hosts Linda Harris and Jean Watkins sat down with the Mesquite Hertitage Museum Coordinator Elspeth Kuta to discuss the early history of Bunkerville and Mesquite. Enjoy this heartfelt episode and learn about our founding familes. It should be noted Elspeth will be retiring this month, if you can drop by the museum before December 21, stop in to say hi to one of our Mesquite Heroes. Learn more about the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum by clicking here.

Tyler popped into our STEAM Center studio on Thanksgiving eve with his sons to record a quick episode about the genisis of his unique "Imagine That" exhibition entry that garnered a first place in the photography category. The October exhibition was sposored by Sherry Gosdis. Enjoy.

There are a few places in the world where Steve is complete awe, one of them is the Pando tree in Fishlake National Forest, Utah. I have visted, I have camped and each time I am content to sit and listen to the Aspen leaves in the wind, they are soothing to my soul, laying in my sleeping bag memsurized at night as the Milky Way makes its way across the sky, stars apprearing and dispearing amongst the tiny fragile leaves. Your Art Box hosts have been working for the last year to grab amazing photographer, conservationist, thinker, and creative genius Lance Oditt as our guest. Either we were going one way or Lance the other, our schdeules finally connected and Linda and I were able to welcome Lance via phone as our guest. Lance is the Executive Director of Friends of Pando and owner of Studio 47.60° North. We urge you after listening to this episode to visit Friends of Pando web site and look in on the ground breaking work Lance is doing at Studio 47.60° North. Then you just have to visit Fishlake National Forest and Pando. Pull out your camp chair and spend a few hours listening to the worlds largest organisn charm you with it's sounds, throw out the cot and sleeping bag, spend a summer night in the Pando looking up at as the Milky Way pokes and prods its way through the tree. Pure delight! Lance thank you for inspiring us to love the tree.

Several years ago, in a galaxy far, far away Steve on his way to a State Historic Preservation Office meeting happened upon Don painting an incredible cat on a traffic control box at the corner of Decatur and Vegas Avenues. It has taken me this long to finally drag the recording equipment to Don’s studio at the Domsky Glass Gallery in downtown Las Vegas. We could have talked for hours. In this unique interview Don painted with music playing in the background right in his gallery studio. Talk about fun! You can find out more about Don from his website: https://www.donmichaeljr.com/

It took a while to sync schedules but we finally were able to connect with Los Angeles based artist Marisa Futernick. Last in our series of Majorie Barrick - Modern Desert Markings exhibition artists, Linda and I totally enjoyed our chat with Marisa. It is full of discussions on conceptual art, creativity, her wide range of art, London flats, what is Americaness, and Frozen Enchiladas...... and oh yeah, we also touched on eating Taco Bowls in Trump Tower. Click here for Marisa's Modern Desert Markings piece. Her book: "13 Presidents" can be purchased using this link.

What does one do between podcasts guests? Linda and I just started recording and talking about her and Ron's uninvited house guest. Silly yes, but we can say we recorded an episode less than 10 minutes. If you have a name for their guest please feel free to send it to us at: [email protected]

Listen in as Linda and Steve dropped by much beloved and award winning artist Floyd Johnson's studio to chat about creating his latest "Best in Show" art piece "Billy the Kid" for the November-December 2023 "Lucky 13" exhibition. Yes, there is a good story! We love you Floyd.

We think one can define Denis Feehan as an unbound bundle of literary and musical energy. This is an episode that no one will want to end, Denis a Mesquite based author, actor, director, professor, poet and musician graces us with his infectious attitute talking about his art and of course his upcoming holiday special "Rocking and Singing Christmas" on December 2 at the Mesquite Theatre (150 North Yucca Street) with performamces at 3 and 7 pm. You can purchase tickets by clicking here. Denis also invited others to join the writers group "Write on St. George" and you can click here to lean more. We also discussed a poem by Joyce Kilmer and we thought it fitting to include below. Trees BY JOYCE KILMER I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

Paul Atkinson is a self-taught American artist working in the photographic medium. His work celebrates not only the natural landscape, but also explores the human landscape from a detached examination of what is left behind. He employs the assumed truthfulness of the camera to present a reality that frequently transcends the limits of human visual perception, through both night photography and by including light from the near-infrared spectrum. While he pursued a “safe” career in engineering, he never forgot his passion for art; and with his retirement, he plans to work full-time indulging that passion. Through his art, and this residency, he hopes to share with others the beauty and wonder of the night sky, while promoting awareness of the growing threat of light pollution. Atkinson’s work has been exhibited nationally in numerous juried shows, and resides in private and institutional collections. He is an advocate for dark night skies with the International Dark-Sky Association. He resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. His work may be seen at www.patkinsonphoto.com.

Meet our friend Jesus Baeza Jr, creator of business, smoothies and heart.

Linda and I happily release our friend Diana Lee Rose first episode of her Opportunivore podcast. Diana's first guest is Victoria Hafen an inspirational nutrition and weight loss coach for the Mesquite Recreation Center. Besides eating and exercise, Victoria touches on sleeping and social media habits as they pertain to healthy living. Diana and Victoria hit the ball out of the park on this first podcast.

Linda and Steve were honored to host Las Vegas artist and College of Southern Nevada art professor Mark Brandvik at our Mesquite Works STEAM Center studio. Mark graduated from UNLV with a BFA in 1996, then from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a MFA in 1998. In his artist statement he writes: “The figure/ground and palette of most the architectural landscape works reflect my take on the elusiveness and temporality of the dreamlike cityscape of Las Vegas and the Western landscape.“ Place, he says, is an important component of his practice. Born and raised in Las Vegas, he often includes identifiable elements of the city in his work. The building in Morocco II is the El Morocco, a motel and café that once occupied a spot between the Peppermill Restaurant and La Concha on the Las Vegas Strip. Designed by the architect Paul Revere Williams, it opened in 1964 and was demolished in 2008. A new art installation created for the grounds of the Overton Community Center is largely complete. Las Vegas artist Mark Brandvik has spent the last couple of weeks on site completing the final assembly of the sculpture. Called “Earth Rise,” the sculpture portrays a “dynamite blast” of rock which also doubles as a dynamic rocket exhaust plume. At the top of the 17-foot-tall sculpture appears a representation of a Saturn 5 rocket blasting off. Brandvik’s work was the finalist selected for the space in a project called “Gateway to Double Negative.” It is the result of $231,000 in public funding that was set aside by the Clark County Commissioners in 2016 for a public artwork at the location. The project called for artists to create an piece that would interpret and point toward the famous “Double Negative” earth artwork completed in 1969 by Michael Heizer. Heizer’s work is located in a remote spot on the east edge of the Mormon Mesa and is accessed by passing through the Moapa Valley.

Jane Tolar creates baskets inspired by Gullah sweetgrass and Native American pine needle baskets, both ancient traditions of coiled and stitched natural materials. Jane uses pine needles and grasses, the coils bound with thread or cord. Jane urges you to touch her art, saying “I would like everyone to pick up a basket, then feel its textures and inhale its scent. I want people to look at my work and see thread and straw brought together by my love of the materials and my excitement to create something beautiful and useful. Every piece is a lesson in something to me: shape and color to start, to pattern and texture, then the bringing of it all together into a finished piece.” Steve met Jane in the mid-80's playing adult ice hockey in Easton, Maryland. It is through Face Book we rekindled a friendship with Steve's wife Gwen falling in love with Jane's beautiful baskets.

Getting our musical art on last week, we invited Skip Anderson (Batman) and Julie (a.k.a. Robin) into our STEAM Center studio for an ultra fun chat about all things growing up music. Skip is the lead guitarist for the Terry Wayne Project, quite often playing at the Casablanca. We laughed and learned alot about the ins and outs of this amazing lifelong musician. Click here to visit Skip on his Instagram page. Click here for the Terry Wayne Project.

Linda and Steve were over the moon recently when Cory Clemetson dropped by the studio for an interview. Cory and his brother Chad are owners of one of the top golf courses in the world, Wolf Creek in Mesquite, Nevada. Besides golf Cory is the newly named head basketball coach at Wardlaw+Hartridge School located in Edison, New Jersey, Cory and Chad founded Kids For Sports, a 501C3 organization that provides financial assistance to families in need who want their kids to participate in youth sports. Our organization is located in Mesquite Nevada. Since the creation of our Foundation in The Kids For Sports Foundation has raised approximately $300,000 dollars and has given over 700 grants to kids that have enabled them to participate in various sports such as youth soccer, basketball, baseball, football, wrestling, swimming and golf. Those interested in supporting Kids for Sports can attend a 1920's fundraiser on September 22. Click here for info: https://www.kidsforsportsfoundation.org/post/10th-annual-winefest-fundraiser-2023

Enjoy a recent sit-down Linda and Steve had with Mesquite, Nevada mayor Allan Litman. We talk Lahaina, local disaster preparedness, housing, loving your job and of course Trader Joe's. The emergency alert app the mayor discussed. NIXLE https://www.nixle.com/

Steve's new favorite podcast "Night Sky Tourist" host Vickey Derksen graciously was our guest for a super-duper interview chatting about dark skies, home schooling, US Rt. 89, light polution and of course podcasting. Vicky Derksen Night Sky Tourist Bio Vicky Derksen fell in love with the night sky while teaching naked-eye astronomy to local students in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Her passion for stargazing and cultural astronomy brought her face-to-face with light pollution, leading her to become a dark sky advocate. She’s the President of the Fountain Hills Dark Sky Association, helping her community gain certification as an International Dark Sky Community in 2018 and hosting an annual Dark Sky Festival. She serves on the board for the International Dark Sky Discovery Center, a 23,000-square-foot facility in Fountain Hills that is in its final stretch of fundraising before construction begins. She’s also an Advocate with the International Dark Sky Association. In 2019, Vicky launched Night Sky Tourist, where she blogs, hosts a podcast, leads stargazing events, and is writing a book about night sky experiences on Highway 89 from Mexico to Canada. She focuses on outstanding night sky destinations, stargazing experiences, cultural astronomy, and dark sky preservation. You can find her at NightSkyTourist.com.

It was Linda and Steve's extreme pleasure to interview nic recently to chat about their art career, passions and work included in the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art at University of Nevada Las Vegas, Modern Desert Markings exhibition sponsored by Nevadans for Cultural Preservation. nicholas b jacobsen is a seventh-generation Utah-Mormon, trans-nonbinary settler raised in Nuwu homelands. As a creative historian, culture critic, & visual artist, their work addresses their personal and ancestral connections to the U.S. & Mormon settler-colonial-imperialist project. Through this, they work to disassimilate from the myths of white-supremacy and settler-innocence central to Mormon & U.S. cultures. jacobsen completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in Art & Ecology at the University of New Mexico & a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from Southern Utah University. They’ve have won many awards & have been published, podcasted, exhibited, and collected throughout the U.S. This art was mentioned by nic and we thought a link to it would be interesting for our listeners. https://www.uwo.ca/visarts/research/2009-10/bat_2010/mt.html You can see more of nic's work at: http://nicholasbjacobsen.com http://unsettlingmormonism.com @Unsettling_Mormonism on Instagram

Bethany Overland-Green our Art Box episode 50 guest brings two of her daughters in to talk all things creativity and just in case you cannot tell, we had fun. Also, you will meet the VVAA's newest member Sasha Green. Sasha has an exhibition in the Mesa gallery during August 2023. Make sure you get by the Mesquite Fine Arts Campus at 15 W. Mesquite Blvd and see it.

There is not enough room to say how much we love Lizz Larson. She put the STEAM in the STEAM Center, she made it possible for our little podcast to have a professional studio, allowed us to host a Podcasting 101 class, is our cheerleader, makes things happen and like I said there is not enough room. Linda and Steve had the pleasure of interviewing Lizz and could have talked for hours. Lizz ozzes heart, intelect and caring. Please enjoy this episode. For more on the Mesquite Works STEAM Center click here. The STEAM Center in the News Visit Lizz on Facebook.

Adriana Chavez (they/them/she/her) - Performance and Visual Artist Linda and Steve on a field trip to an opening in Las Vegas happened upon the Lulu Gallery, we ran into Adriana Chavez and our lives might never be the same. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G human and we could have talked to her for days. Let Adriana explain: Adriana is a Queer, Latinx clown with Spanish, Portuguese, and Indigenous Mexican roots. They were born and raised in California and are based in Las Vegas, Nevada. They perform a character named Juan Chico, inspired by their family's tender and messy men: the drinkers, the dreamers, the cheaters, and mustached karaoke singers. Through Juan Chico they find their culture and connect to family. Through Juan Chico, their identity forms, and while using the lens of play, they find belonging. Nostalgia, myth, metaphor, magical realism, the ridiculous, the sacred, and the profane inspire them. Most of all, they make performances and digital media that encourage empathy, compassion, imagination, and connection. Adriana has performed and exhibited in multiple spaces locally, nationally and internationally. They have been an artist in residence at the Barrick Museum of Art in Las Vegas, Nevada, The Mystery Ranch in Searchlight, Nevada, the Lookout Arts Quarry in Bellingham, Washington, and Z-Forge in Hudson, New York. Adriana has worked as a Teaching Artist for the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, as well as the Sprat Program in partnership with Core Academy. Adriana holds a Master of Fine Arts from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. Find out more at: http://www.adrianachavezphotography.com/ We hope you enjoy this podcast as much as we did recording it.

Linda and Steve had a marvelous interview with Vernon Robison, owner, editor and everything of our local paper The Progress newspaper. https://mvprogress.com/

Linda sits down with Steve to chat about his upcoming stint as the Mesquite Fine Arts Center Artist of the Month for August 2023.

The Art Box in collaboration with Nevadans for Cultural Preservation and Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art @ UNLV present a conversation with Bryant Robison the contractor for Michael Heizer's art piece "Double Negative" completed in 1969 on the Mormon Mesa near Overton, Nevada. Listen in as Katie Hoffman and Rayette Martin sit down with Bryant and his nephew Vernon Robison at the Lost City Museum. Please note the conference room we used at the museum was a touch noisy, forgive us for the background noise.

Linda and her granddaughter Natalie scored big by landing quite an entertainer Terry Wayne of the Terry Wayne Project who frequently play at Mesquites Casablanca Resort. You are going to love this interview as Terry will wow you with his live story, his goodness and his incredible talent. Natalie in her debut as a podcast host will make you smile and think what a wonderful life is ahead for this talented musician. Of course Linda is her smooth self, with timely questions and a unique ability to keep a podcast smooth. More about the Terry Wayne Project. The Terry Wayne Project is one of Vegas' top Variety Bands, TWP sings hits from Pink, Maron 5, Journey, Bruno Mars, Folsom Blues Boogie to Enrique Iglesias - R&B, funk, Dance, oldies, and Classic rock! https://terrywayneproject.com/home Terry Wayne Project Facebook Page

Paul's most recent article in the NY Times. Where Are All the Wild Things, Daddy? A father worries that his favorite children’s books promise his daughter a vibrant natural world that will no longer exist. ABOUT PAUL Paul Bogard is author of The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light, published in North America by Little, Brown, and in the UK and around the world by 4th Estate/Harper Collins. Shortlisted for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, The End of Night has been translated into German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, and is available in hardcover, e-book, paperback, and audiobook. He is also author of The Ground Beneath Us: From the Oldest Cities to the Last Wilderness, What Dirt Tells Us About Who We Are, published by Little, Brown. Paul is the editor of Solastalgia: An Anthology of Emotion in a Disappearing World, author of the children’s picture book What If Night?, and author of the coffee-table book To Know a Starry Night. He is the editor of the anthology Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, Salon, Los Angeles Times, Outside, Audubon, Conservation, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, Creative Nonfiction, and elsewhere. A native Minnesotan, Paul grew up exploring the forest and watching the stars near a lake in the northern part of the state. He has lived and taught in New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Virginia, and is now associate professor of English and Environmental Studies at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.