West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
See West Plains Playhouse on Facebook for further information.
Check the Country Express Band Facebook page for cost and other details, including potential cancellations due to weather, holidays or other unforeseen circumstances.
From Country Express: Two step, Cha Cha, Waltz, Electric Slide, Charleston, Foot Boogie, River Waltz, Sweetheart, Around the Room, Tennessee Waltz, Neon Moon Cha Cha, and many more. Or just come listen to some good ole country music. Old country, new country, southern rock music. No alcohol allowed. Family fun for all ages.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
See West Plains Playhouse on Facebook for further information.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
Local artist Barbara Williams artwork will be featured on OzSBI’s first floor from early January through the end of March 2025. The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Statement: “Always the Ozarks: frequently family, often rock buildings” – Rural Ozarks family images in their environment–drawings, etchings and mixed media collage have been the major thrust of my work for fifty years. Portions of these etchings have been reconfigured and are displayed alongside the original etchings. The mother and child theme appears frequently in this exhibit. These pieces are of my own family, though not taken from actual photographs, they are imagined, could-have-been snapshots.
Barbara Williams was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and earned art degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (Missouri State University), Springfield, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, graduating with an MFA. After graduation she spent one year traveling and working in Europe visiting countries of favorite artists. In 1997 she returned to Europe taking a class in monotype printmaking in Florence, Italy.
Her work has been included in international juried printmaking exhibitions in England, Italy, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia and numerous juried national and regional shows in the USA, including one held at the Smithsonian Institution, which was also included in a year-long traveling exhibit. Williams’ prints and mixed media collage paintings are included in permanent collections in Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts); Boulder, CO; Swannanoa, NC (Swannanoa College) and in private collections in the USA and Italy and has been in four Watercolor USA, Springfield, MO, exhibits. Influenced by impressions from an Ozarks 1940s-50s childhood the prints and mixed media paintings are personal expressions and help preserve the history of that time and place. Williams served as an adjunct art faculty for 30 years at MSU, West Plains, MO.
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend to meet Williams and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com at OzSBI or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
Presentation on Celia Newsom’s legacy featuring coalition members, including descendants and historians. This event connects local history to broader themes in African American heritage. RSVP on Messenger Lincoln School Project.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
Local artist Barbara Williams artwork will be featured on OzSBI’s first floor from early January through the end of March 2025. The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Statement: “Always the Ozarks: frequently family, often rock buildings” – Rural Ozarks family images in their environment–drawings, etchings and mixed media collage have been the major thrust of my work for fifty years. Portions of these etchings have been reconfigured and are displayed alongside the original etchings. The mother and child theme appears frequently in this exhibit. These pieces are of my own family, though not taken from actual photographs, they are imagined, could-have-been snapshots.
Barbara Williams was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and earned art degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (Missouri State University), Springfield, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, graduating with an MFA. After graduation she spent one year traveling and working in Europe visiting countries of favorite artists. In 1997 she returned to Europe taking a class in monotype printmaking in Florence, Italy.
Her work has been included in international juried printmaking exhibitions in England, Italy, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia and numerous juried national and regional shows in the USA, including one held at the Smithsonian Institution, which was also included in a year-long traveling exhibit. Williams’ prints and mixed media collage paintings are included in permanent collections in Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts); Boulder, CO; Swannanoa, NC (Swannanoa College) and in private collections in the USA and Italy and has been in four Watercolor USA, Springfield, MO, exhibits. Influenced by impressions from an Ozarks 1940s-50s childhood the prints and mixed media paintings are personal expressions and help preserve the history of that time and place. Williams served as an adjunct art faculty for 30 years at MSU, West Plains, MO.
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend to meet Williams and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com at OzSBI or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
Officials with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center (OHRC) at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) will host a presentation about “Lincoln School’s Legacy of Service: Honoring Soldiers from WWI to the Gulf War” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the OHRC. The center is inside MSU-WP’s Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St., in West Plains.
About the speaker
The presentation will be given by Crockett Oaks III, a retired U.S. Army colonel with over three decades of distinguished service in emergency management and security operations. A former FBI Special Agent and corporate security executive, Oaks has worked across government, law enforcement and the private sector. Currently, he serves as associate vice chancellor of business and support services at MSU-WP.
He also is co-founder of the Lincoln School Project, which is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of this historic Black school in rural Missouri. His commitment to honoring the past and educating the future continues to shape his work in the West Plains community.
More about the Feb. 25 presentation
The historic Lincoln School in West Plains shaped the lives of many young men who went on to serve with honor in the U.S. military. From the trenches of World War I to the battlefields of Vietnam and the Gulf War, Lincoln School alumni have played a vital role in defending freedom at home and abroad. This presentation will highlight their stories, sacrifices and enduring legacy, ensuring their contributions are remembered for generations to come, organizers said.
The presentation is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be served. For more information about the event, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu.
West Plains Women’s Acappella Community Chorus Rehearsals, Every Tuesday, 7pm to 9pm, West Plains Boys and Girls Club. Women singers always welcome. Get more information at 661-303-8686
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
Local artist Barbara Williams artwork will be featured on OzSBI’s first floor from early January through the end of March 2025. The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Statement: “Always the Ozarks: frequently family, often rock buildings” – Rural Ozarks family images in their environment–drawings, etchings and mixed media collage have been the major thrust of my work for fifty years. Portions of these etchings have been reconfigured and are displayed alongside the original etchings. The mother and child theme appears frequently in this exhibit. These pieces are of my own family, though not taken from actual photographs, they are imagined, could-have-been snapshots.
Barbara Williams was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and earned art degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (Missouri State University), Springfield, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, graduating with an MFA. After graduation she spent one year traveling and working in Europe visiting countries of favorite artists. In 1997 she returned to Europe taking a class in monotype printmaking in Florence, Italy.
Her work has been included in international juried printmaking exhibitions in England, Italy, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia and numerous juried national and regional shows in the USA, including one held at the Smithsonian Institution, which was also included in a year-long traveling exhibit. Williams’ prints and mixed media collage paintings are included in permanent collections in Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts); Boulder, CO; Swannanoa, NC (Swannanoa College) and in private collections in the USA and Italy and has been in four Watercolor USA, Springfield, MO, exhibits. Influenced by impressions from an Ozarks 1940s-50s childhood the prints and mixed media paintings are personal expressions and help preserve the history of that time and place. Williams served as an adjunct art faculty for 30 years at MSU, West Plains, MO.
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend to meet Williams and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com at OzSBI or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
Officials with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center (OHRC), in collaboration with the West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and the West Plains Public Library, will host a reading of the award-winning book “James” Feb. 26 for the 2025 African American Read In event. The event will get underway at 6 p.m. at the OHRC inside the Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St., on the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) campus. Ozarks historian and teacher Vincent Anderson from Mtn. Home, Arkansas, will read excerpts from the book then will lead discussion about how it relates to slavery in the Ozarks, organizers said. For more information about the event, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu.
About the book – Written by Percival Everett, “James” is a novel that re-imagines Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of Huck’s friend, Jim, who is an escaped slave and travels the Mississippi River with Huck. “James” was published in 2024 and received numerous awards, including the 2024 Kirkus Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It also was a finalist for the Booker Prize.
More about Anderson – Born in Mountain Home, Arkansas, Anderson grew up along the Arkansas/Missouri state line and later served in the U.S. Air Force at Little Rock AFB as an altitude chamber instructor. He obtained a Bachelor of Biblical Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. In 2018, he completed his graduate degree in American history from American Military University. His thesis focused on the history of the White River in 1888.
Anderson published his first book, “Bald Knobbers: Chronicles of Vigilante Justice,” in 2013. He was appointed by former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to serve on the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park advisory committee for five years. He also has served on the board of directors for the Arkansas Genealogical Society and as president of the Baxter County Genealogical and Historical Society. Anderson has worked as a consultant for the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, SYFY network, The New York Times and Animal Planet. He also is a guest columnist for The Baxter Bulletin, writing various articles on historical events in the Ozarks and county politics. He began a new radio show, “Retracing Our Roots” in September on KTLO in Mountain Home.
Currently, Anderson works as a historian and teacher at the Baxter County Library in Mountain Home and guides historical Ozarks tours. He lives in Baxter County, Arkansas, where he maintains the blog and YouTube channel Ozarks History.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
Local artist Barbara Williams artwork will be featured on OzSBI’s first floor from early January through the end of March 2025. The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Statement: “Always the Ozarks: frequently family, often rock buildings” – Rural Ozarks family images in their environment–drawings, etchings and mixed media collage have been the major thrust of my work for fifty years. Portions of these etchings have been reconfigured and are displayed alongside the original etchings. The mother and child theme appears frequently in this exhibit. These pieces are of my own family, though not taken from actual photographs, they are imagined, could-have-been snapshots.
Barbara Williams was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and earned art degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (Missouri State University), Springfield, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, graduating with an MFA. After graduation she spent one year traveling and working in Europe visiting countries of favorite artists. In 1997 she returned to Europe taking a class in monotype printmaking in Florence, Italy.
Her work has been included in international juried printmaking exhibitions in England, Italy, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia and numerous juried national and regional shows in the USA, including one held at the Smithsonian Institution, which was also included in a year-long traveling exhibit. Williams’ prints and mixed media collage paintings are included in permanent collections in Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts); Boulder, CO; Swannanoa, NC (Swannanoa College) and in private collections in the USA and Italy and has been in four Watercolor USA, Springfield, MO, exhibits. Influenced by impressions from an Ozarks 1940s-50s childhood the prints and mixed media paintings are personal expressions and help preserve the history of that time and place. Williams served as an adjunct art faculty for 30 years at MSU, West Plains, MO.
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend to meet Williams and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com at OzSBI or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
Area residents are invited to attend a Career Fair hosted by the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Career Services office. The event is set for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Student Recreation Center at 323 W. Trish Knight St. in West Plains. Admission is free for participants, according to Career Services Director Lindsey Hicks. Area employers who want to reserve a booth for this event should contact Career Services at 417-244-7230 or WPCareer@MissouriState.edu no later than Feb 21, Hicks said.
The Career Fair is a free event that welcomes MSU-WP students, alumni and community members who wish to network with employers to explore career opportunities and apply for vacant positions on site. Employers from a variety of industries are invited to attend, including education, manufacturing, healthcare, banking, retail, food services, hospitality, agriculture, law enforcement and more. Jobseekers are encouraged to dress professionally to make a positive first impression. They also should bring several copies of their updated résumés, Hicks said.
“Some helpful tips to the job seekers are to dress professionally, bring 10-15 copies of your resume, allow time to talk with employers, prepare a summary of your skills, practice your 30–second commercial/elevator speech, and bring a list of questions to ask employers,” she said.
Jobseekers who have questions about the event can contact Career Services by calling 417-255-7230 or via email at WPCareer@MissouriState.edu.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
Local artist Barbara Williams artwork will be featured on OzSBI’s first floor from early January through the end of March 2025. The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Statement: “Always the Ozarks: frequently family, often rock buildings” – Rural Ozarks family images in their environment–drawings, etchings and mixed media collage have been the major thrust of my work for fifty years. Portions of these etchings have been reconfigured and are displayed alongside the original etchings. The mother and child theme appears frequently in this exhibit. These pieces are of my own family, though not taken from actual photographs, they are imagined, could-have-been snapshots.
Barbara Williams was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and earned art degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (Missouri State University), Springfield, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, graduating with an MFA. After graduation she spent one year traveling and working in Europe visiting countries of favorite artists. In 1997 she returned to Europe taking a class in monotype printmaking in Florence, Italy.
Her work has been included in international juried printmaking exhibitions in England, Italy, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia and numerous juried national and regional shows in the USA, including one held at the Smithsonian Institution, which was also included in a year-long traveling exhibit. Williams’ prints and mixed media collage paintings are included in permanent collections in Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts); Boulder, CO; Swannanoa, NC (Swannanoa College) and in private collections in the USA and Italy and has been in four Watercolor USA, Springfield, MO, exhibits. Influenced by impressions from an Ozarks 1940s-50s childhood the prints and mixed media paintings are personal expressions and help preserve the history of that time and place. Williams served as an adjunct art faculty for 30 years at MSU, West Plains, MO.
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend to meet Williams and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com at OzSBI or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
Tickets here.
From Dev’s: Well, you guys voted – so for our first Music Bingo night we will be playing 90s Country! Bring your friends and join us for a fun evening filled with food & drink specials + prizes! FREE to play!
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and West Plains Public Library (WPPL) partner to bring quarterly art displays to the library. Students from West Plains schools, along with Southfork students, will contribute to the display to be featured early January through mid-March 2025. Visitors may view the display at the library during open hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Displayed works will include pieces from the classes of Tiffany Bryce, Madyson Callahan, Kathy Grigsby, Mary-Louise Grisham-Nash, Jamie Pendergrass, and Audrey Scott.
WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott says, “We are incredibly excited to be able to display these young artists’ work! It is inspiring to see their technical skill level and commitment to their work, as well as their fresh perspective on artmaking and their unrestrained imaginations at play.”
A Meet-the-Artists event will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the library, 750 W. Broadway, in West Plains. The public is invited to attend, meet the young artists, view, and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Dianna Locke Dianna.Locke@westplains.gov at the library or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org
Organizers say this swap is about seed and plant sharing and caring. No admission fee. Open to gardeners of all types. “If you have stuff to share great, if not that is fine too. Come grow with us!” This is an indoor event. Enter through the door under the bright yellow awning just down from Enterprise Car Rental. For more information call Bryon 417-861-8860.
Mr. Dennis Bottoms will be back in the lounge playing piano & banjo, and singing all your favorite classics from Eagles, CCR, Ray Charles, Elvis, Billy Joel, & more.
Tickets here.
Check the Country Express Band Facebook page for cost and other details, including potential cancellations due to weather, holidays or other unforeseen circumstances.
From Country Express: Two step, Cha Cha, Waltz, Electric Slide, Charleston, Foot Boogie, River Waltz, Sweetheart, Around the Room, Tennessee Waltz, Neon Moon Cha Cha, and many more. Or just come listen to some good ole country music. Old country, new country, southern rock music. No alcohol allowed. Family fun for all ages.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host an exhibition entitled “Then and Now – Artistic Journey of Ann Kulpa” by area artist Ann Kulpa in the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from February 1 through March 8, 2025. The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.
Artist’s Statement: As a child my hands were kept busy creating things. In school doodling on my papers instead of writing notes was an issue. I was a dreamer then and even today my mind wanders.
My husband and I lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks and have lived in Cabool now for over 20 years. In Colorado I competed in juried art shows from Evergreen to Ft. Collins, earning awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist. I worked for Interweave Press in Loveland CO, creating and writing ‘How To’ articles on herbal crafts that were published in The Herb Companion Magazine. In Missouri, I have won awards for my artwork in photography, graphite, pen & ink, digital painting and most recently, mixed-media acrylic paintings. As well, I taught classes in arts and crafts for the local art council. Because of my interest in the intuitive creative process, in 2022 I returned to the form of abstract art that I created naturally as a child and have continued this intuitive experiment in the multimedia process.
I am inspired by lines and patterns I see all around me and colors in nature, how they change in hue and move over a surface. When I draw lines and swirls that meet and part, intersections, thick lines and thin, there’s an intuitive connection to explore. It is through this process that a painting eventually tells me what it wants to be.
WPCA will host a reception for the exhibit on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, meet the artist, and discuss her work. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
Local artist Barbara Williams artwork will be featured on OzSBI’s first floor from early January through the end of March 2025. The West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) and Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Artist Statement: “Always the Ozarks: frequently family, often rock buildings” – Rural Ozarks family images in their environment–drawings, etchings and mixed media collage have been the major thrust of my work for fifty years. Portions of these etchings have been reconfigured and are displayed alongside the original etchings. The mother and child theme appears frequently in this exhibit. These pieces are of my own family, though not taken from actual photographs, they are imagined, could-have-been snapshots.
Barbara Williams was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks and earned art degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (Missouri State University), Springfield, and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, graduating with an MFA. After graduation she spent one year traveling and working in Europe visiting countries of favorite artists. In 1997 she returned to Europe taking a class in monotype printmaking in Florence, Italy.
Her work has been included in international juried printmaking exhibitions in England, Italy, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia and numerous juried national and regional shows in the USA, including one held at the Smithsonian Institution, which was also included in a year-long traveling exhibit. Williams’ prints and mixed media collage paintings are included in permanent collections in Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts); Boulder, CO; Swannanoa, NC (Swannanoa College) and in private collections in the USA and Italy and has been in four Watercolor USA, Springfield, MO, exhibits. Influenced by impressions from an Ozarks 1940s-50s childhood the prints and mixed media paintings are personal expressions and help preserve the history of that time and place. Williams served as an adjunct art faculty for 30 years at MSU, West Plains, MO.
A Meet-the-Artist event will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2-4 p.m. in OzSBI’s lobby at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains. The public is invited to attend to meet Williams and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com at OzSBI or WPCA Coordinator Audrey Scott audrey.scott@zizzers.org