Artist showing at the Capitan Library through November 21st

Barbara Cooper: artist statement

A great starting point for a new hobby is a period of crisis in
 ones own life. In my case, it was when my first husband was      diagnosed with cancer and would not live long, 
his mother found a drawing/ pastel class to distract me. 

Thus began my love affair with art. I could begin 

working on a picture in the evening and before I 

looked up it was 2 a.m. in the morning! When my 

husband died I couldn’t seem to draw or do

pastels any more. Then I became a teacher and there was

 no time to paint.

I remarried and about forty years later my family bought me art 

supplies: an easel, oil paints and brushes, everything I would need

to paint in oils. After retiring from teaching three years ago, I joined

a Friday painting group with members that gave me advice. 

That fall I began studying with Daniel 
Edmondson online. To my surprise he 

wanted to see each painting as it was 

finished and he made videos explain-
ing what was good about  each 
painting  and how I could improve. 

            Wow! I loved it all.
I still try to never miss the Friday art

group. Edmondson’s instruction 

advanced my skills immeasurably. 

Sunset Splash

I seem to excel at painting

water and rocks. I enjoy 

painting everything from 

landscapes to still lifes,

flowers. I am enjoying the

challenge of painting 

animals and wildlife and 

capturing action in ranch

scenes. 

My studio is very small. It’s the space 

between my dining room and kitchen 

next to the sink, and includes the 

counter space coffee pot and tea boxes.

A skylight and a nearby window provide 

plenty of light. 

Round Up (reference Julie Carter photo)

Balloons at  White Sands

Malpais and Cactus

Black Bear

Butterfly on Dahlia (reference photo by Krystyna Orzeł-Jowsa)

Fawn

Barbara Cooper has many paintings she would like to share with our patrons, so she promises to come and exchange paintings throughout her art show stay at the Capitan Library.  Be sure to check the art everytime you come to the library to see what's new!

Aug 19th Sunday program at 2 pm

The Sweep of American History and Culture as 

Revealed through Currency and Coins

Capitan Public Library    102 East 2nd Street, Capitan, NM 575.354.3035

Program: Sunday,  August 19th,  2:00 PM

Presented by David Higgins 

Eagles, Bison, Native Americans, Tennessee Woodsmen, Discovery of America,

 Western Expansion, Explosion of Agriculture, Rapid Industrialization, 

 Idealization of Women, Wars, and more.

 The numerous re-issues of currency and coins glow with insights into 

the people and events that have made Americans proud. 

They are a serial depiction of how our culture and values have evolved.

The line of evolution will be revealed through numerous photographs

of currency and coins and the interesting stories behind their design.  

Special attention will be given to
 the introduction, development, and
eventual disappearance of Miss Liberty

David Higgins is a retired finance professor 

who taught at universities in Arizona, Wisconsin, 

and Texas.  His expertise areas are economics,

 financial management, treasury operations, 

and personal investment management prior to

 and during retirement.  

He conducts short classes that address current  

economic conditions, personal asset management,the history of money, and the history of the Southwest.  

David and his  wife Peggy reside in Denton, Texas, and spend much of the  summer in Ruidoso.

NOTE:  A light lunch will be served during an intermission in the 90-minute program.      Please RSVP for the lunch portion at 575.354.3035.

Contributions to defer the lunch cost will be appreciated.  

The Capitan public library is donor supported.  Donations and/or volunteer

 assistance are always needed and much appreciated.

For more information call Capitan Public Library at 575-354-3035.  

Writers' meet at Capitan Library this month

Next writers' meeting at Capitan Public Library at 9.45 a.m. Monday, August 13.

Help kids with back-to-school needs

The Capitan Public Library will be collecting school supplies for Capitan Elementary - grades 1-5.  Lists will be posted.

Thanks for caring!

Hmmm - many loved the book. Maybe worth watching. Premiering August 10

This Thursday, Friday & Saturday

Saturday, Aug 4 is $5 for a BAG of Books day. 
Library is open on Saturday 10 am to 2 pm

First Friday is Aug 3 at 7pm, see information below

Thursday, Aug 2 is an Alto Artist Studio Tour PREVIEW party at the Spencer Theater 5pm to 7pm. Great music (of course - it's music performed by Debbie Myers, Fred Kinnan and Jim Helms), awesome ART, a Silent Auction, see special guest Michael Hurd and Free food! See you there!

Voices From the Past: Adventures

 in New Mexico’s Archives

Capitan Public Library welcomes
 Chautauqua Speaker

Robert J. Torrez

Friday, August 3, 2018 - 7:00 p.m.

This presentation is based on the title of the recently published

 Voices From the Past,  The Comanche Raid of 1776 and other Tales of

New Mexico History,  the second volume of short stories  taken from

 the author’s long-running monthly column, “Voices From the Past,
 which has been  published in Round the Roundhouse since 1992. 

The first volume  of these articles was published by the 

University of New Mexico Press in 2004 under the title,

 UFOs Over Galisteo and Other Stories of New Mexico’s History. 

Robert J. Tórrez, an award-winning author of six books,

 was born and raised in northern New Mexico community of Los Ojos.

 After attending Tierra Amarilla High School, he received his undergraduate

 and graduate education at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas

 and the University of New Mexico. Torres served as the New Mexico State

 Historian from 1987 until his retirement in 2000. 

He continues to research New Mexico’s archives, teach short-term adult
 education courses,  lecture and write on various aspects of New Mexico history.

This program is made available through New Mexico  Humanities Council

Refreshments will follow the presentation. 

Capitan Library Rocked this Summer!

Capitan Public Library completed a exciting summer reading program July 23.  With music being an instrumental part of the program, several musicians performed for the children and their parents; the children were able to play some of the instruments.  The program ended with pinata ruination, hot dogs, and water games.

Top readers were Alice Allen, Fiona Roberts and Wesley Roberts.

First Friday - Aug 3 at 7 pm

Bookclub reads

On Thursday, August 2 @ 10 am, we will be discussing Less  by Andrew Sean Greer. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was the June selection of the PBS NewsHour Book Club. 

The book for September will be 
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. It will be a quick read at 120 pages. It is based on a true story, set in Sudan.

Last chance to see Alto Artists in the libraries. Art leaves July 31 for the tour Aug 3-5

Libraries showing artwork of the artists of the Alto Artist Studio Tour

Capitan Library

Ruidoso Library display case

The exceptional talents of Alto artists are on display at the Ruidoso and the

 Capitan Public Libraries for the months of June and July.  Go to either, or

 go to both, to see art that is a preview of what can be seen on the actual

 Alto Artist Studio Tour in August.  Tour flyers will be out mid-July to show

 the tour route on Aug 3-4-5 weekend. 

 Plus there will be another preview of Alto artists artwork at the Spencer Theater

 free Preview Party on Thursday evening, Aug. 2, with special guest, Michael

 Hurd.

Art at the libraries is available for purchase, but you will need to contact

 the artists  directly to buy their pieces. 

 Contact information is with their art.

At both libraries, you can see the art of: Kai Brown, Nancie Ferguson, Deborah

 Christopherson, Deborah Harris, Anacleto Loya, Steve & Madeline Sabo, Pam

 Schuster and Mark Stambaugh.

At the Ruidoso library, you can also see art by Christine Citarella, Linda Hand,

 Karen McCort and Tish Rhoads.

To view Alto artists work online, go to www.altoartistsstudiotour.com and on

 FaceBook at Alto Artist Studio Tour 2018.

Capitan Public Library is located at 101 E. 2nd St in Capitan. (closed Sundays

 and Mondays). For times open call 575-354-3035

Ruidoso Public Library is located at 107 Kansas City Road in Ruidoso.

 (closed Sundays). For times open call 575-258-3704.  

The August tour will be awesome if the library preview art is any indication.

Ruidoso Library

Ruidoso Library

Ruidoso Library display case

Sunday, July 15 at 2 pm PROGRAM "Precipitation variations in the Southwestern United States" presented by Bob Harper

Climate models tend to predict an increasingly arid 
future for the Southwestern United States, in large
part because of increased evaporation due to rising
global temperatures.  But current climate models do
not handle precipitation well, and are not able to 
accurately model natural variability.

This talk will leave the climate models, 
and present actual precipitation data across 
the Southwestern United States from 1860 to the 
present, focusing on the long term natural variability, 
which to date is much larger than any global warming
related precipitation component.  Multi-decadal variations 
of average precipitation of +/-20% around the long 
term mean are largely driven by Pacific Ocean sea surface
temperature changes.  

Presented by Bob Harper.  He has a A.B. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University (1965) & a PhD in Space Physics from Rice University (1972).  His dissertation was on the dynamics of the Earth's Upper Atmosphere. Harper was also a geophysicist in the Petroleum Industry.

Light refreshments afterwards.  

"The New Mexico Humanities Council does a lot with very little." Request for support

The last few years have been tough on the cultural sector. State budget cuts and threats to eliminate the nation's cultural agencies have pushed some humanities and arts nonprofits to retrench or even close. Your support is critical to helping NMHC forge ahead and continue giving voice to New Mexico's stories.

The New Mexico Humanities Council does a lot with very little. This year we have already served more than 4,500 of the state's students with our National History Day program, booked 98 humanities speakers and performers to appear in 36 communities around the state, awarded 10 grants totaling $55,000 to local nonprofits in support of their cultural work, and launched our Journalism, Democracy and the Informed Citizen initiative. 

But that's as far as we can go without support from allies like you. Thousands of New Mexican stories will remain hidden and the creative ideas that could propel us to a more vibrant future will remain unexplored. The thing is, we have big plans. We want to take our speakers bureau on the road to significant historic and archaeological sites and provide you and other New Mexicans with an immersive "humanities-on-the-go" experience, led by experts who can give you each site's "hidden story." We're also developing plans to take high-quality book and story programs across the state. You already know that "story" is a deeply-rooted strand in New Mexico's DNA; your support can help us take storytelling festivals, book fairs, and reading + discussion programs to every corner of the state from Raton to Lordsburg, Clovis to Gallup. Finally, how long has it been since you've been able to chat with your friends at a local bar about current events and ideas through the lens of history or the arts? We want to give you a chance to do exactly this at a Humanities Happy Hour.

Without you, we'll be bound simply to continue our programs as they currently are, with little room for experimentation. Your support will make the difference between NMHC maintaining the status quo and taking our work to a new exciting level.

Please help us take our next step toward creating the "humanities council of the future." As always, your gift to the Council is tax-deductible.

Sincerely,  Brandon Johnson, Executive Director / Jerry Brown, Chair, Board of Directors

 PS: More than ever, we need your support to make the humanities more relevant in New Mexico. To make a gift, please go on-line at http://nmhum.org/NMHC.php?c=1146

Grand Marshals for the 2018 Capitan 4th of July Parade

Pat Garrett

Debbie Myers

Jul 12 Chautauqua at NM Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum

The Churro and the Navajo: One Family's Journey to Save the Sacred Sheep

The Churro and the Navajo: One Family's Journey to Save the Sacred Sheep

Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Dripping Springs Road, Las Cruces, NM

The Navajo elders cried when they saw Sharon Begay bringing the sacred Churro sheep back to the reservation. They thought the "old time" sheep were gone forever. As children, they weaved the fleece and lived on the mutton. They also witnessed government forces slaughter their families' Churro to prevent over-grazing.

Stacia Spragg-Braude's presentation features photographs and anecdotes documenting one
Navajo family's journey to help save the Churro, and in the process, saving the family and Navajo culture.
Stacia Spragg-Braud is a photographer mainly interested in families and communities struggling to maintain cultural identity. She is a former newspaper photographer and has covered projects in the Balkans, Cuba and Uganda, including an extensive project on Bulgarian Gypsies. She is the author of "To Walk in Beauty: A Navajo Family's Journey Home."

Movie at the Carrizozo Library on Sunday July 8 @ 2 pm