Artwork 'bear'ly misses first place

Photo courtesy of Pam Kraft

This bear designed by Encampment High School students recently took third place in a state art competition.


By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Bradley Russell was getting frustrated with his bear’s design, so as a joke, he just started to draw it into a pile of rocks.

The other advanced art students from Encampment High School quickly latched onto his design, enhanced it and turned it into the project that took third place out of 35 entries at last weekend’s state art competition.

The contest asked students across Wyoming to decorate a three-dimensional, Fiberglas bear with any design theme, much like the pronghorns scattered throughout Rawlins. The competition celebrated the 20th anniversary of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson.

“We wanted to use a bear because it’s a Wyoming animal, it has a smooth figure and it’s a blank canvas,” said Jane Lavino, Sugden family curator of education at the museum.

The students in Encampment thought their rendering of Vedauwoo, the rock formation near Laramie, would take first place. Brandon Russell, Bradley’s older brother, formed and painted the rocks while his peers personalized the project with molded figures.

“It was like having a Play-Doh hour to build each figure,” Brandon Russell said. The bear was built from epoxy, a sticky substance that can be sculpted before it has a chance to harden.

Art teacher Pam Kraft said her favorite figures are the raccoons that are stealing chips and Pepsi from the landscape artist’s tent. The inhabitants of “Bear Rock,” are visible upon closer examination, she said. Rabbits peer from the rocks on which an eagle, ram, deer and mountain lion are perched.

Though the students won a $2,000 cash prize for the furtherance of the school’s art program, they are disappointed with not getting the blue ribbon. The $7,000 for first place would have bought them a trip to an art center in Sante Fe, N.M., or New York City, not to mention a lot of glory.

However, Kraft said people outside the program who have seen the statue are excited about it. She is unsure of what she’ll do with the bear when it returns from it’s tour of the state.

“There are a lot of creative ways to use these once they’re done,” said Lavino. According to her, some schools have talked about auctioning the piece, some plan to display it and some will donate theirs to the community.

Tree cities plan to celebrate Arbor Day

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Friday is Arbor Day, the day when America celebrates its trees.

To observe the day, the three Carbon County communities that are members of Tree City USA — a national program dedicated to enhancing community forestry programs — will hold celebrations in the coming weeks.

Rawlins has been a member for more than 12 years, Saratoga can claim about five years and Medicine Bow is stepping out of its infancy and into its third year.

To become a Tree City, communities must designate a tree board or a city department responsible for public trees and designate $2 per resident from the annual budget for tree maintenance and planting. They must also plan an Arbor Day celebration.

Rawlins City Planner Dan Mika estimates that the city spends about $6,000 each year on new trees. Sometimes, unexpected maintenance costs prevent planting new trees, such as the case of last fall’s snowstorm that toppled numerous branches and trees around Rawlins.

“A lot of money was spent toward safety instead of improvement,” Mika said.

Medicine Bow has a large budget — $10,000 this year — for the size of the town, which numbers 274.

“The town has been very supportive,” said Jim Colman, chairman of Medicine Bow’s tree board.
While Rawlins is scheduled to hold its planting festivities on Saturday, Medicine Bow and Saratoga plan to delay theirs until the weather is more suitable for the young trees.

Saratoga has not yet set a date, but the event should be an educational one where elementary students and staff learn about trees and planting, a town official said.

Medicine Bow has set its event for May 17, but plans have not been finalized. In its first two years, the community planted trees in the park and around its baseball diamond. The community also created plaques identifying the trees and three welcome signs for the town entrances.