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ARTS & CULTURE
HOROSCOPES »
WHAT'S YOUR SIGN?
KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, SEPT. 28, 2015
Aries (March 21-April 19) Keep movements slow and gentle to minimize accidents. Mental alertness is key. Get professional advice to handle a breakdown. Surprising news with a group project prompts action, Begin a new personal phase. What do you want?
Taurus (April 20-May 20) New possibilities stretch
helps.
old boundaries. Guard against excessive spending. Begin a new phase in planning and visualization. Work it out together. Public obligations interfere with private time. Make time to assimilate loss. Your team helps.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Gemini (May 21- June 20)
Encourage another's creativity. Provide great service while still serving yourself. Figure out a workable compromise.
It's a big mistake to think you're the smartest. Heed a professional advisor. Use your network. Begin a new social phase.
Cancer (June 21- July 22)
Last night's Harvest Moon
(lunar eclipse) reveals new
professional opportunities
over the next six months.
Embrace your creative inspiration. Take advantage of recent changes. Keep your accounts balanced. Apply elbow grease. Go for
distance, not speed.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
New adventures beckon under last night's Harvest
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
New adventures beckon under last night's Harvest Moon (eclipse in Aries). Shift your educational path.
Explore options and possibilities. Don't discuss future plans yet. Let them gel. Go for your heart's desire, and ignore naysayers. Pursue a dream.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
A turning point in family finances arises, for a new
six-month phase after last night's Harvest Moon eclipse. Adapt to changes at home. Align on decisions together or risk domestic tranquility. Find the silver
lining.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
A creative collaboration blossoms after this Full Harvest Moon (eclipse in Aries). Resolve breakdowns by letting go of stuck positions. Gossip may spice the copy, but it gets messy. Try on another's view. Get terms in writing.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Make work changes over the next six months, after last night's Harvest Moon (eclipse in Aries). Re-evaluate what you have and want. Seek new levels of excellence. Be spontaneous, but not reckless. A
creative spark ignites.
Sagittarius(Nov.22-Dec.21)
Shift to a new romantic phase over the next six months. Last night's Harvest Moon eclipse reveals a new passionate phase.
Grow what you love. Clean up messes. Practice your arts. Follow your heart. Be unreasonable.
Capricorn(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Make repairs. A domestic turning point arises, for a new six-month phase following last night's Harvest Moon eclipse in Aries.
Replace what you left behind. Figure out what everyone wants. Family takes priority.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Speak out. Begin a new phase in communications with this Harvest Moon eclipse in Aries. Upgrade your technology. Take on new leadership. Timing matters... know when to play your cards. Avoid arguments. Get assistance with a project.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Keep your objective in mind. A new six-month financial phase, after last night's Harvest Moon eclipse, offers profitable opportunities wrapped in change. Take a leap of faith. Don't talk back; be respectful
IN THE
An evening spent-nude-with the Heartland Naturists nudist community
JARRET ROGERS @JarretRogers
Editor's note: Two of the people quoted in this story are described only by their first initial or first name in order to protect their privacy.
On a cool, gray evening I entered an indoor swimming facility about 45 minutes away from Lawrence to meet up with the Heartland Naturists, a group that practices nudism. Adrenaline shot through me as I prepared for what I thought would be a wild night of skinny dipping.
Since its inception in 1982, the Heartland Naturists has been a group for those who want to experience life without the typical threads. The members of the community participate in a wide range of activities; one night they'll socialize in a coffee shop, the next they'll jam out to 80s music while doing jello shots — all of this completely nude.
For one night I decided to follow their lead and see if the freedom of nudity would overtake me or if I would fall victim to embarrassment.
I had no experience with anything like what I was walking into. In the high school locker room, guys tried to dress as quickly as possible. At home, clothing is the only acceptable option. Inside my dorm, the shower is the only place I'm
ever nude.
To see how comfortable people were with leaving all their clothes behind and stepping into the pool was odd. I knew what would happen, but — similar to how Hunter Mickelson is never as tall as he is when he is standing next to you — the Heartland Naturists were never as naked as they were until I was among them.
Inside the swimming facility, there was no turning back. The longer I chose to stay clothed, the more I would stand out. Before I could talk myself into anything else, I undressed and got in the pool.
The initial feeling is one of personal shock. "Am I really doing this?" I thought to myself.
I bobbed around in the water, taking in some of the faces surrounding me. People chatted each other up about the recent events in each others lives and said hello to those whom they'd missed the past couple weeks. There were men who looked like TV politicians, couples who looked like they were from a bad romantic comedy, and someone else who looked like my brother's best friend from college.
It was an overwhelmingly normal group of people, which shouldn't have been a shock — but it was.
My first encounter was with a fellow student, L. A junior, L. had been a member of the group since the spring.
"It's just fun being nude," L. said. "I never really understood what the big deal is. Back when I was in Germany there were magazines out in the open with nudity in them. In America [being nude] is such a big deal."
"A lot of people don't get what it is that we do here. Most people think it's one big sex orgy when the truth is there is nothing sexual about what we do. We just like to be naked."
L. s friends around campus are unaware of L.s nudist habit, but at the end of the day, L. said secrecy is no big deal.
SCOTT HAINES PR Director
"I'm just not an open book that opens up about everything," L. said. "No one ever really asks, and I just tell them I'm going out."
For others in the group, though, secrecy is crucial.
"Some people in here keep this away from their spouses or other people like that in their lives," said Scott Haines, the group's PR director. "A lot of people don't get what it is that we do here. Most people think it's one big sex orgy when the truth is there is nothing sexual about what we do. We just like
to be naked."
He added: "Anytime I've told a girl about this, things have gone downhill pretty quickly."
Ray, a man in his 60s who told his family about his membership with the group, was disregarded by his children when he opened up about his lifestyle.
"I told my daughters and they just don't get it," Ray said. "They can't really comprehend what it is I do so they don't really speak with me anymore."
The general sentiment among the group: Other people can't seem to comprehend the freedom of the people inside of the group. They can't fathom a group that sees each other nude more than they do clothed and has no sexual desire for each other, Haines said. I'm not one to step into people's minds, but the only reason I can imagine people having such a visceral reaction to people coming out as nudists is that they haven't seen it themselves. Sure, it's easy to see the group as a place to fill sexual fantasies if you've never been there. But even if you spend the smallest amount of time with the group, all predetermined conclusions will go by the wayside.
The people of Heartland seek the same thing as anyone else in the world: They want to be accepted for who they are and for doing what they choose to do with their free time. The group is nothing more than a
social community that gets together to have some fun with people who have similar tastes.
The group itself is a diverse set of people who are the most open-minded and kind people I personally have spent time around. They took interest in who I was even though I was just a writer looking for a story. They invited me to play volleyball and were open and honest when I asked questions. They didn't want me to see what they experience; they wanted me to experience it for myself.
After the swim wrapped up, the group reconvened at a restaurant. If you didn't know any better, the Naturists seemed like office employees who had just put in a late night. People talked to their kids on the phone, asked each other about where they'd gone to college and collectively groaned at the Royals' loss.
The Heartland Naturists might not be the group you're looking for. They weren't the group I was looking for. I was hoping to report back with crazy stories of how nudists love to flaunt their bodies and get crazy, but instead I left meeting great people, many of whom ran into real road blocks because of how they've chosen to spend their free time.
I went in expecting to meet people I never considered as normal humans. But I left wishing everyone could be as human as the people I had just met.
Alumnus and sculptor team up to make a collection of small Jayhawk sculptures
JARRET ROGERS
@JarretRogers
For over 20 years, artist Robin Richerson worked as a sculptor making everything from Viking busts to athletes in action. Richerson, based in Kansas City, is now working on a collection of Jayhawk sculptures to be sold under ICON Artworks. The sculptures will document the evolution of the Jayhawk logo over time.
Sculptures by ICON Artworks founder Matt Palmer and artist Robin Richerson.
Richerson said hed always wanted to do something related to the University, but because of the Jayhawk being licensed, he never went through the process of acquiring the license in order to legally sell the logo.
Matt Palmer, a KU alumnus and Richerson's nephew, originally approached Richerson with the idea of making the Jayhawk in 2009. The idea wasn't anything more than conversation during the holidays between family.
However, in late 2013, the two established ICON. From there, Palmer worked on acquiring the license, which he gained in July 2014. The Jayhawk collection debuted on Sept. 1 this year.
erson said. "Someone's going to be making these and purchasing these long after me. It's just a unique experience."
CONTRIBUTED son
The sculptures come in seven- and eight-inch versions with the option of bronze or pewter. The pewter sculptures cost $289, while the bronze cost $589. Within the next month, the company will debut a cheaper five-inch version for the common fan.
"This is going to be an ongoing thing, and it's really interesting to think that this is going to go on after me," Rich-
The company uses the lostwax casting method, a style used for thousands of years, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The process includes a clay model, a wax mold and hours of intensive labor.
Both Richerson and Palmer's connection to the school and the state of Kansas as a whole gives them a sense of pride in the sculptures.
"I do feel a sense of pride" Richerson said. "The two-dimensional drawings of the evolution of the Jayhawk have been around for a long time and I've seen these drawings and as far as I know, I'm the first person that has produced them in three-dimensions and had the University's blessing."
"For me to have the opportunity to [work on the sculptures,] I can't describe the kind of honor and pride that I feel," Palmer said.
Richerson has two degrees from UMKC, one in art education and another in studio art, but he said four years of training from Chinese sculptor Kwan Wu provided his most valuable education. Wu is responsible for the Phog Allen statue in front of Allen Fieldhouse and the George Brett statue at Kaufmann Stadium,
amongst many other works.
Going forward, the company will continue to work with the
"I worked my schedule around to work with him, and he helped me to understand more about anatomy, proportion and to use my eyes better," Richerson said. "I learned more in those four years than I ever did at the University."
University to make new sculptures beyond the six Jayhawks it now features. They are also working with other schools to start doing similar projects.
"To launch our company with this mythical bird we all know and love has been a dream come true," Palmer said.
- Edited by Maddy Mikinski
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