Ro Malaga is the cosplay coordinator for Salt Lake Comic Con. He brings together creative people to compete in what has become one of the most popular events at the Salt Lake cons. Ro’s background is in entertainment. He is a hip hop dancer and choreographer who has worked on commercial project such as the High School Musical franchise. He first got involved with SLCC as a … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2016
Where Lies the Grave Robber
On a howling, frigid morning in January, 1862, a group of officers rowed across the Great Salt Lake with a prisoner. The prisoner’s head wept blood where his ears had been severed. The words ‘I robbed graves’ were branded across his forehead. His name was Jean Baptiste. On Antelope Island, the officers built him a small shack with few comforts, then left him to live out his … [Read more...]
YouTube Sensations – The Piano Guys
A multi-talented foursome came together by happenstance, gained a huge fan base via YouTube, and have traveled the world and recorded multiple records as The Piano Guys. Meet the Guys John Schmidt had a very successful solo career as a pianist before becoming one of The Piano Guys. He was approached by the owner of a piano store where he was practicing on a store piano for … [Read more...]
Utah Stories – More Than a Magazine, It’s A Movement
Utah Stories Magazine began as a website eight years ago. At a time when journalists all across the country were being released from their long-standing positions at newspapers big and small, aspiring publisher Richard Markosian was in journalism school at the University of Utah, being told that “local print journalism was dying and would soon be dead.” Undaunted by the rapid … [Read more...]
Artisan Bowls Made from Discarded Trees
Kevin Hicks calls himself a dumpster diver for wood. But in truth, he is a visionary, a maker and a discoverer who turns urban trees into useful and beautiful things. Hicks is a woodturner and the owner of Big Ash Bowls, a South Jordan-based one-man shop that makes artisan wooden bowls, serving utensils, and French rolling pins. The wood comes from discarded urban … [Read more...]
Salt Lake Makeup Brings Fright to Life
I met local artist, Brett Hamilton, at his studio in the popular haunted attraction, Fear Factor. Props smeared with blood are piled here and there, randomly; makeup swells out of toolboxes and crates; mannequins and body casts stand and lean like the frozen living, lay like scattered corpses. We sit down at a table scummed with a thin layer of dust, and when he speaks, his … [Read more...]
Bluff, Utah benefits from U of U Architectural Design Program
Few professions in the construction industry practice as many different skills as architects. In addition to exercising creativity they must also understand engineering, building codes, properties of different building materials, and perhaps most importantly, listen closely to their clients to parse out exactly what is being asked for. For the past 12 years, the Design … [Read more...]
Blacksmith of Eden Ragnar Forge
Aaron Richardson makes his living as a blacksmith in Eden, Utah. Says Aaron, “I’ve been a blacksmith for about 15 years. I actually got started when I was 14 and my family visited a blacksmith shop. He was making knives and playing with fire. I thought it was a cool and started working with him.” The blacksmith’s name was Brent Elder, and he practiced his craft in Salt Lake … [Read more...]
Turning Bike Chains and Discarded Engines Into Art
Andrew’s eye for a particular kind of design element, the skill he uses to make manifest his imagination, and the levity that permeates his work, have earned him an established yet playful place in the serious world of art. Andrew Smith’s found-object kinetic sculptures—works that spin gears, move water, twirl rotors and guide rolling balls—are a fusion of … [Read more...]
Olympus Hills Trunk or Treat This Weekend
Community Press Release … [Read more...]