The Great Globeville Wish List!

Thanks to the tireless help of many volunteers, we have erected shelving at our new site in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood, and moved in over 30,000 Land Library books.

The Globeville library design plans has been underway ever since,  and it’s clear that the space is in need of some furniture!  We’re scouting out the following items from second hand stores and donations:

– Library Table (as long as possible, like the example above!)

– Two long folding worktables

– Armless benches

– Wall plant holders

– Rugs (4-6′, square or round)

– Desks

– Office chairs

– Upholstered chairs in good shape

– Coffee table (round or oval)

– Table, wall and floor lamps

– Throw pillows in good shape

– 1-2 floor fans

– Cool object to hang over the door

If you have something you think could make a good addition, please send a photo and dimensions to: jeff@landlibrary.org

Note: if you have an item that’s not on the list, but you think would be great anyway, please let us know!

It was fun, but the heavy lifting is officially over!

Stay tuned for our first volunteer work days, when we’ll actually be touching the books, and getting them ready for the shelves in Globeville, and at Buffalo Peaks Ranch.

We hope to have our first sessions sometime in June, or early July. If you missed our volunteer sign-up in the Spring, email jeff@landlibrary.org, and we’ll get you on the list!

Join us in Globeville!

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Join us in July!

JOIN US AT BUFFALO PEAKS RANCH

For Two Place-Based Writers Workshops!

Environment as Inspiration:

Observing Landscapes, Bookscapes, Mindscapes with author Emily Sinclair

Saturday, July 7th, 10:00 am to 3:30 pm

Annie Dillard wrote, “Seeing is of course very much a matter of verbalization.” In this daylong class intended for non-fiction and fiction writers of all levels, we’ll explore how observing and writing about our surroundings — whether the natural world, the local coffee shop, or more imaginative environments, like the pages of a favorite book — enrich and deepen our work.

Our day together will be spent writing, reading, and discussing our own work and that of published writers, with the goal of drawing inspiration from the physical world around us. Writers will leave with new ways of seeing and understanding place.

The workshop fee is $50, plus a $3.03 ticketing fee. More details and directions will follow. Feel free to send any questions to jeff@landlibrary.org

Click Here to Register

Poetry and Place with poet Jodie Hollander

Saturday, July 14th, 10:00 am to 3:30 pm

Returning to Buffalo Peaks Ranch after very popular 2017 & 2018 poetry workshops, Jodie Hollander and attendees will discuss several aspects of writing and poetry including structure, development, and the creative process. Come prepared to write your own poetry, and explore questions with an internationally published poet.

Jodie Hollander studied poetry in England, and her poems have appeared in journals such as The Poetry Review, PN Review, The Dark Horse, and Verse Daily. Her debut book, The Humane Society, was published in 2012, and her most recent collection, My Dark Horses was published by Liverpool University Press. For more on Jodie Hollander’s work, be sure to visit her website.

The workshop fee is $50, plus a $3.03 ticketing fee. More details and directions will follow. Feel free to send any questions to jeff@landlibrary.org

Click Here to Register

For much more on our 2018 Ranch Schedule, see our full schedule here!

Finding the Cosmos in the Bramble

Andrew Beckham returns to Buffalo Peaks Ranch!

Finding the Cosmos in the Bramble: A Photographic Study of Seeds, Stars & Sedges

Saturday, June 9th, 10 am to 3:30 pm

Join artist and photographer Andrew Beckham for a day of exploration and photographic inquiry along the banks of the South Platte at Buffalo Peaks Ranch.

In the morning, we’ll look at a range of photographic approaches to seeing the land through the lens (literally and metaphorically) of cosmology, followed by significant time in the field, making images and collecting natural objects for further photographic study back at the Ranch. Andrew will share techniques and ideas for how to creatively engage with the “cosmos in the bramble.”

Suggested Equipment: DSLR, tripod, laptop with PhotoShop or similar software. For field exploration: sturdy boots, backpack, water bottle, layers (fleece, rain jacket, etc.).

Workshop fee is $50, plus a $3.03 ticketing fee. More details and directions will follow. Feel free to send any questions to jeff@landlibrary.org

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

A Vortex of Brambles — Andrew Beckham

Andrew Beckham serves as the Visual Arts Department Chair at St. Mary’s Academy in Englewood, Colorado, where he teaches aesthetics, photography, works on paper and the illustrated book. In recent years Andrew has devoted much of his creative practice to the design and construction of artist’s books, some of which have been placed in the Special Collections Departments at both the Penrose Library at the University of Denver and the Norlin Library at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Two of these books, The Lost Christmas Gift and Firmament, have been acquired by enthusiastic publishers (Princeton Architectural Press and GFT Publishing) who have helped to bring his work to a much wider audience.

In the fall of 2013, Andrew Beckham’s first solo museum exhibition was installed in the Taylor Museum at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

 “Andrew Beckham is a lot of things, but I would consider him a visual poet, using language both written and visual to construct nuanced work that is compelling, fragile, and poignant.” — Aline Smithson, Lenscratch

For more on Andrew Beckham and his work, be sure to visit his website!

 

Registration is Open for our Summer Ranch Schedule!

Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing much more information on this summer’s Ranch Workshops & Events. But for now, we are excited to announce that registration has begun for our 2018 schedule!

CLICK HERE for our SUMMER SCHEDULE!

Please join us this summer, and enjoy the inspiring learning landscape that is Buffalo Peaks Ranch!

 

A Big Day for Buffalo Peaks Ranch

What an amazing day! Yesterday the Rocky Mountain Land Library hosted it’s first volunteer Ranch Work Day of 2018. Denver was socked in with low clouds and showers, but somehow South Park managed to have a glorious blue-sky day.

Over 20 volunteers turned out, and before much time had past we had crews spread across the ranch doing a variety of tasks, including clearing the corral stalls of blown-in debris and preparing two old ranch trucks for their new lives. One truck will allow folks to string up hammocks for a night under the stars. And the old white pickup (seen above) will be the ranch’s new stage for live music!

We also cleared out a promising building that will soon house the ranch’s Childrens Library. While that was happening, another crew was rehabilitating an old caravan that will soon provide people a comfortable book-lined place to stay while visiting the ranch:

And it that wasn’t enough, we had a separate team digging holes, adding ranch manure, and planting seven hardy varieties of apple trees, along with two cherry trees!

One of our (well-guarded) tree-planting teams.

What a remarkable crew! 

Stay tuned for much more on Buffalo Peaks ranch’s best summer yet!

And if you’ve missed recent volunteer calls, feel free to email jeff@landlibrary.org for updates & shout-outs!

Come to Como and Learn More About South Park!

The Rocky Mountain Land Library is thrilled to be presenting at the South Park National Heritage Area Symposium, June 9th in Como. Come and learn more about South Park & explore a wonderful historic railroad town, which includes the Como Roundhouse!

Great Books, Wonderful People and a Few Sore Muscles

Thanks to great volunteers, the Rocky Mountain Land Library’s urban center is taking shape! Yesterday’s team (pictured above) arrived eager to unload over 1,000 boxes of Land Library books. Those boxes have been safely stored at Acme Distribution Center for more than five years. They were about to move on to actual book shelves!

While we waited for the truck to arrive, we continued to pop in shelves to the old Tattered Cover Book Store bookcases.

We had a few dozen book boxes already at the Globeville site, so we started to spread them across the empty shelves. This was a volunteer team that just couldn’t relate to an empty shelf!

Before we knew it, our new space started to look more and more like a library.

We were also getting excited about what amazing treasures we’d find once the 1,000+ book-boxes arrived.

We even had time to set up a wall of magazines & journals!

As those early tasks wrapped up, our semi-truck arrived from the Acme Distribution Center’s warehouse.

Alex, the driver, had an incredibly tight fit to deal with. After a few tries be docked the oversize load as if he was on a NASA mission to the moon.

We started rolling book pallets off the truck. Here’s the first 6, with 18 more to go!

Job done, and we even had time to sweep out the truck!

This was a great (& pivotal) day for the Land Library’s new home in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood. Our thanks and admiration goes to all our volunteers, Patricia Miller for taking so many great photos, and to our friends at Acme Distribution Centers for helping the Land Library move forward over the past few years. Acme’s help with both transport and storage is about to reap a harvest in Globeville!

Stay tuned for what’s ahead — we’ve only just begun!