Artists are special people. They create works that you and I, mere mortals, can only wonder at and admire.
Mike Williams poses with one of his duck decoyds. Photo by Jay Aldrich
With that in mind, I felt especially honored to attend the 28th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards in Las Vegas March 27 when Mike Williams, a Walker River Paiute from Fallon, was given the Excellence in Folk and Traditional Arts award. Mike was profiled in Nevada Magazine in 2004, and the story I wrote was used as supporting information for his nomination. I represented the magazine at the event, as it was the publication that gave me the opportunity to introduce this remarkable artist to readers.
Mike makes tule duck decoys as his ancestors did on the shores of ancient Lake Lahontan thousands of years ago. He harvests the tules (also known as bulrushes) at Stillwater near Fallon, uses Indian hemp to make the string used to tie his ducks together, and gathers red ochre and pitch to color the ducks. One of his colored and feathered decoys was recently acquired by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Among Mike’s tule creations are quivers, mats, hats, sandals, and miniature tule boats. He says that his next project is to make a life-sized tule boat—the ancient people made boats to fish and hunt in the marshes—and launch it at Washoe Lake State Park. Mike shares his love for tule work and Native traditions with Paiute Shoshone Tribal children in Fallon. He has twice traveled to Israel as part of a Native American ministry.
While I was thrilled to see Mike receive his award, it was equally thrilling to meet other Nevadans honored for their connection with the arts by the Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Office of the Governor. Gwen Clancy, an award-winning filmmaker herself, showed videos of the honorees during the ceremony.
L. Martina Young, winner of the Excellence in the Arts award, was director of dance at UNR from 1987-1994. She has collaborated with artists of all disciplines and performed with groups around the state. Martina has worked with students from Head Start through college, elder dancers, and dancers with disabilities.
Jim Burke, an instructor at the Washoe County School District’s Regional Technical Institute and Truckee Meadows Community College, was honored for his Leadership in Arts Education. More than 175 of Jim’s students have placed and earned awards in art, architecture, graphic arts, and advertising arts. Sally Ahlstedt, Cultural Arts Coordinator for the City of Henderson’s Cultural Arts and Tourism Department, was awarded for Leadership in the Arts: Individual, for managing cultural programs and promoting the arts, as well as nurturing new talent.
Las Vegas Little Theatre, founded in 1978 in a converted storefront but now housed in a 20,000-square-foot performing space, was awarded for Leadership in the Arts: Organization. The long-time proprietor of the Gold Hill Hotel, Bill Fain, was honored for Patronage in the Arts. Bill started a weekly lecture series more than 20 years ago and founded the Gold Hill Theatre Troupe in 2001.
Candy and Senator Mike Schneider were honored for Distinguished Service to the Arts. Candy was an educator, administrator, and spokesperson in the arts for more than 30 years and a member of the Nevada Arts Council for a dozen years, five as chair. Mike in his capacity as a legislator has helped increase funding for state arts programs. Both are tireless advocates for arts for children.
Governor Jim Gibbons handed the awards to the recipients onstage at the Charleston Heights Arts Center in Las Vegas. The awards, free-standing glass sculptures, were created by Las Vegas artists Barbara and Larry Domsky, who developed what they call “hot-fusion,” a technique combining hot glass and fused glass. Also sponsoring the program were the City of Las Vegas Leisure Services Department, Arts and Community Events Division, and the Metro Arts Council of Southern Nevada.
The Las Vegas Youth Orchestra Quintet played lovely classical and modern pieces during the light buffet reception, and the Shirley Chen Dancers of Las Vegas performed traditional Chinese dances prior to the awards ceremony. The teenaged Muhammed Shakir Sextet from the Las Vegas Academy for International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts, played jazz standards to close the evening.—JOYCE HOLLISTER
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