May 29, 2019
2019 Apprenticeship Team, Dorairajan & Murugesan
We are excited to introduce you to master artist Smrita Dorairajan and her apprentice Charunetha Murugesan, first-time participants in Missouri’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Smrita Dorairajan and Charunetha Murugesan. Photo courtesy of Smrita Dorairajan Since November 2018, Dorairajan and Murugesan, both of Columbia, have been meeting regularly at the master dancer’s studio for the apprentice’s lessons in Bharatanatyam. Perhaps the biggest cultural lesson that we may learn from this Indian traditional art form is that dance often involves so much more than simply how one moves one’s feet. Like most traditional…
May 18, 2019
Tribute to Becky Walstrom
The storytelling community in Missouri and beyond grieves at the unexpected loss of Becky Walstrom earlier this week. We at the Missouri Folk Arts Program thank master storyteller, author, and community scholar Dr. Gladys Caines Coggswell for writing a tribute to Ms. Walstrom, which we’re sharing here in its entirety. Rebecca Sue (Hull) “Becky” Walstrom left a lasting impression on all of the lives that she touched. She was certainly one of Missouri’s invaluable treasures. She was born on April 6, 1948 in Eldon, Mo. and suddenly, shockingly left us on May 13, 2019 in…
May 13, 2019
KBIA 91.3: Traditional Arts Feature
KBIA report Seth Bodine visited MFAP staff, as well as Bharatanatyam TAAP team Smrita Dorairajan and her apprentice Charunetha Murugesan for this story about both the Indian dance tradition and the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Smrita Dorairajan practices Bharatanatyam dance movements with Charunetha Murugeson on Friday, May 3 in the basement of her home in Columbia. Credit Seth Bodine / KBIA…
May 10, 2019
2019 Apprenticeship Team, Kinder & Farrar
Meet Peggy Kinder and her 2019 apprentice Cindy Jarrar, enrolled members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, who reside in Clay County, Missouri. Peggy Kinder and Cindy Jarrar display small applique beadworks at Folk Arts at the Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo. Photo by Deborah A. Bailey Since 2011, Peggy Kinder has taught in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program three times helping her apprentices to strengthen their skills and knowledge of applique ribbonwork, shawl fringe tying, and now applique beadwork. Each is a tradition that Kinder observed and began learning at…
April 25, 2019
2019 Apprenticeship Team, McCarty & Dickson
It’s time to roll out another profile of a 2019 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program team. Master blacksmith Pat McCarty (left) and apprentice Matt Dickson (right) work on joinery at McCarty’s Washington Forge. Photo courtesy of Pat McCarty Coal, copper, and steel. These are the basic materials that master blacksmith Pat McCarty and his most recent apprentice Matt Dickson require when they meet for eight hour sessions at Washington Forge. With those materials, Matt practices joinery and hammer control, riveting and fastening, heating and veining. With those materials, techniques,…
April 12, 2019
2019 Apprenticeship Team, Dence & Francis and Remolina
Once again, we are excited to roll out a new profile of a 2019 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program team. Today, we are happy to introduce readers to master Colombian traditional dancer, choreographer, and costume designer Carmen Sofia Dence and and her two apprentices Sophia Francis and Ana Sofia Remolina. The Sofia-triunvirato! Carmen Dence learned to dance as a child in her local barrio (neighborhood) in Barranquilla, Colombia from her mother, her aunt, local elders, and her peers. In her coastal state, the music and dances are imbued with indigenous, Spanish, and African influences. She is proud to share with others the…
March 21, 2019
Columbia Missourian, Story on TAAP
In his home dedicated to his instruments, Bob Cathey prepares to play a tune on his favorite violin in Hallsville. Photo by Madison Parry for the Missourian Columbia Missourian reporter Olivia Garrett interviewed MFAP’s Folk Arts Specialist, as well as two previous Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program participants for the story Statewide program preserves and passes on traditional folk arts. The article was published online, in print in the daily newspaper, and in print and online for the Missourian’s special Boomtown: How to Live your Best Life in Columbia over 50. …
March 21, 2019
2019 Apprenticeship Team, Boylan & McLaughlin
We are excited to continue to roll out profiles of the 2019 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program teams of master artists and apprentices. This week, we introduce readers to master Irish musician Turlach Boylan and and his most recent apprentice Molly McLaughlin. Boylan previously taught an Irish tin whistle apprenticeship in TAAP in 2008. This year, he is working with McLaughlin on traditional Irish flute. A “selfie” snapped by Molly McLaughlin at a February 2019 TAAP lesson at Turlach’s home in Lenexa, KS. Molly travels monthly from her home in KC, MO for lessons. Photo courtesy of Molly McLaughlin Boylan himself…
March 6, 2019
Alive Magazine: Carmen S. Dence
We were excited to see this lovely profile of master Colombian folkloric dancer, seamstress, and choreographer Carmen S. Dence at Alive Magazine. Follow this link to read the entire essay by Amy de la Hunt, which describes Dence’s passion for the traditional dances that she grew up with and that sustain her today: Visionary Awards Honoree Carmen Dence Performs Like Every Day Is Carnaval…
Feb. 22, 2019
2019 Apprenticeship Team, Hastings & Whiteside
It is with great pleasure that we roll out profiles of the 2019 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program teams of master artists and apprentices. Keith Whiteside and Ray Joe Hastings pose in the shop with two-prong gigs. This week, we are excited to introduce readers to master Ozarks Riverways gigmaker Ray Joe Hastings and his most recent apprentice Keith Whiteside. Most of our readers know Ray Joe Hastings of Doniphan; he has participated in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program since 1996, when he himself apprenticed to the late Paul Martin of Bunker. Just last April, MFAP featured Mr. Hastings in a Then and…