Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and Art Galleries will host “Image & Text Collaborations: A 20-year Celebration of SFA Book Arts” April 13 through June 8 in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

The exhibition was organized to recognize the history of the former Lanana Creek Press, which for 20 years served as a center for collaborative projects between artists, writers and designers and achieved regional and national attention, according to Dr. David Lewis, professor of art history at SFA and curator of the exhibition.

“The exhibition surveys the production of the LCP’s long engagement with the book as a fine art and brings attention to its core mission of creative collaboration,” Lewis writes in his description of the show. “Its impact has been extensive and enduring.”

The idea for collaborative printmaking at SFA began in 1997 in a conversation between printmaker Charles D. Jones and Lewis. At the time, Jones had been professor (now emeritus) of printmaking for many years, and Lewis had joined the SFA faculty in 1995.

“We discovered a shared conviction that the book was a viable medium of contemporary expression, and perhaps, since the advent of the digital age, one that might be appreciated anew,” Lewis writes.

The two founded the printmaking initiative with Jones as director and master printer and Lewis as editor. During the life of the program, the book arts experienced a renaissance among contemporary artists, critics, collectors and historians, with many workshops, conferences and exhibitions held across the country, according to Lewis.

Books from SFA have entered major rare book collections across the globe, including among others, the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, Yale University Library, the Harry Ransom Center and the Boston Public Library. A number of these publications feature works by internationally recognized artists. SFA faculty artists, writers and professors contributed to text and editing the books, and many SFA students participated in printmaking projects as interns or volunteers.

A soft opening of “Image & Text Collaborations,” which will show in Reavley Gallery of The Cole Art Center, coincides with the opening of the 2019 Texas National Competition and Exhibition on April 13 in Ledbetter Gallery. An art talk for “Image & Text Collaborations” will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2, and will feature a panel discussion with Lewis serving as moderator. In addition to Jones, panelists will include SFA art faculty members Candace Hicks, Neal Cox and Aloma Marquis. The audience will be invited to participate in the discussion. A reception will follow at 6 p.m.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131. Exhibitions and receptions are sponsored in part by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, The Flower Shop and William Arscott.

Photography students from the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art recently put their skills to work for a good cause by taking part in a national service event called Help-Portrait.

Students set up a mobile lighting studio at Nacogdoches HOPE, a local food pantry, and made portraits for clients who might not otherwise have been able to afford professional quality photographs. Students also edited and printed the portraits on site,so that people were able to take home several finished prints from each session.

“I love doing this project,” said Amanda Breitbach, assistant professor of art at SFA. “The students learn from working with new people and making portraits in a new setting, and they also learn that they can use their skills in photography to give back to their community.”

Breitbach’s students in the photographic lighting class have spent this semester learning the technical and creative aspects of lighting using studio strobes, flash and ambient light. The Help-Portrait project gave them the opportunity to practice those skills in a real-world setting, Breitbach said.

“I’m so glad we did this,” said student Cameron Sweet as he and colleagues packed up their gear at the end of the day.

“Our clients and volunteers were absolutely delighted with their pictures,” said Nacogdoches HOPE director Denise Lee. “It was a joyful day for me to observe individuals and families getting such beautiful portraits when I am certain they could not afford such a luxury. Everyone left with smiles on their faces.”

Breitbach said she hopes to make the project an annual event for SFA photography students.

Photographer Jeremy Cowart founded Help-Portrait in 2008 with the mission of empowering photographers and others to use their skills, tools and expertise to give back to their communities. Help-Portrait events take place each year in communities across the country.

Wesley Turner, lecturer in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Geology, is teaching his students to play in the sand.

With the help of an augmented reality sandbox, Turner brings geological concepts to life. The simplicity of the field and the way it helped explain the world around him was what originally attracted Turner to geology and gave him the desire to teach it to others.

“It involved stuff I already knew because it’s about the world we live in, but I’d never really thought about it before,” he said. “Questions I had about the Earth, the planets and space — they were all kind of answered by geology. I hadn’t previously realized that geology was so all-encompassing.”

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from SFA, Turner began teaching in the department in 2015 while obtaining his master’s degree. He currently teaches introductory geology courses, as well as online classes, and serves as the lab coordinator.

“I get to teach something that I love and I’m excited about, which I don’t think everybody gets to do,” Turner said. “It’s nice to see when people start to understand things about their world that they had an idea about already.”

The AR sandbox is one way Turner makes learning about geology a hands-on experience for his students. He and another faculty member built the box and hooked a 3D camera up to an Xbox Kinect and a projector. By manipulating the sand, students can change the way contours representing the topography are projected onto it.

“Being able to visualize it and make your own surface and see how the contours will reflect that surface helps students get the concepts a little better,” Turner said.

In recognition of his work, he was awarded a Bright Spot award by the SFA Faculty Senate, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the SFA vice presidents.

“Mr. Turner is a proficient lecturer and is highly regarded among his students and colleagues,” said Dr. Wesley Brown, chair of the Department of Geology. “He is known for his creativity outside of the AR sandbox and is a creative thinker behind several innovative activities in the Department of Geology.”

For more information about SFA’s Department of Geology, visit sfasu.edu/academics/colleges/sciences-math/geology.

By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Landscape Competition Team won multiple awards at the 2019 National Collegiate Landscaping Competition held in Fort Collins, Colorado, during spring break.

Anna Clair Cunningham, a junior horticulture major, was named Top Student and overall winner of the event’s school social media competition.

“I posted 153 photos to Instagram in three days,” Cunningham said. “The point was to promote the event, support other teams and raise awareness of the competition.”

For her efforts, Cunningham received $1,000, and the SFA Landscape Competition Team received $1,000 worth of landscaping equipment.

Dr. Jared Barnes, assistant professor of horticulture and faculty advisor for the team, won the faculty social media competition for his coverage of the event and also received $1,000.

“When you have a student and faculty member who win a social media competition, I think it shows that we also are teaching the concept that you have to share what you do and what you love,” Barnes said. “I think that is something we as an industry haven’t done enough.”

Junior horticulture major Jevon Richeson placed in the top 25 among 90 competitors in the interior plant identification competition and said that his work growing plants with the SFA horticulture program provided him with valuable experience.

“Every student competed with the best intentions,” Barnes said. “They were enthusiastic and really put their best foot forward in competing at a national level.”

More than 800 students from 60 universities across the U.S. and Canada attended the three-day event that hosts nearly 30 different competitions, as well as a career fair and student workshops.

While the event focuses on the horticulture, landscaping and tree care industries, Barnes said there are numerous other opportunities for students who have other skills related to business, sales and heavy equipment operation.

For more information on this event, as well as the SFA Landscape Competition Team, contact Dr. Jared Bares at barnesj@sfasu.edu.

Story by Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Contact information: (936) 468-1185 or fullersa@sfasu.edu.

What do you get when you add a passion for education and a love of mathematics? Dr. Mark Montgomery, assistant professor at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Four years ago, Montgomery joined the SFA faculty in the James I. Perkins College of Education and since then has been working to break the stereotypes associated with mathematics in his elementary education courses. Often people think they aren’t “mathematics people,” but Montgomery believes these negative feelings are linked to an unpleasant classroom experience.

“These moments can convince us we can’t do mathematics,” he explained. “My moment was in seventh grade mathematics with a teacher who would make fun of me for asking questions. It broke me and my belief in myself as a mathematician.”

In his classroom, Montgomery works to create a positive space for students to learn mathematics and how to teach the subject to elementary and middle-level students.

“Teaching is about relationship building. The relationships between the teacher and students, each student and their peers, students and the content, and the content to its purpose in the real world,” he said. “Creating environments where all of these relationships can flourish so every child feels appreciated and supported in taking risks, learning from mistakes and building understanding is critical for developing effective problem-solvers.”

At the beginning of each semester, Montgomery asks SFA students to identify with one of the five emojis he has in the room. Whether students stand by the smiling or crying face, this gives Montgomery an idea of how each student feels about mathematics.

“Once students realize many of their negative feelings came from outside forces and not from a lack of ability, it becomes freeing. They are often able to let go of their anger at mathematics and begin to repair the relationship,” he said.

Before teaching college students, Montgomery worked as an elementary teacher, middle-level mathematics teacher, instructional specialist and district instructional technologist in schools in Oklahoma and Texas. He holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and a doctoral degree in curriculum and teaching from Baylor University, both focusing on mathematics education.

At SFA, he teaches mathematics methodology courses to both elementary and middle-level teacher candidates and supervises pre-service teachers in a field experience course focused on mathematics and science instruction.

“I want my students to understand that if they want to inspire their own students, they must realize the power they have over the children’s own belief in themselves and the impact that their decisions can make on the student, both during the school day and at home” he said.

Recently, Montgomery was recognized with an SFA Teaching Excellence Award for being an outstanding faculty member for the James I. Perkins College of Education. This award is based on knowledge of subject matter, quality of lectures and assignments, enthusiasm for teaching, interest in and availability to students, commitment to continuous improvement, and contribution to the quality of teaching at SFA by assisting and encouraging other faculty members.

Montgomery believes in the power of education and the important role of teachers.

“Educators throughout my life have seen something in me that I did not see for myself. This feeling is something that keeps me drawn to education as a career,” he said. “Education is more than a profession, it is a calling to serve my students, their future students and my community as a whole.”

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present the comic operetta “The Pirates of Penzance” by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan at 7:30 nightly through Saturday, April 6, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. Memorable melodies, sharp dialogue, a twisting plot, and clever lyrics make “The Pirates of Penzance” one of the most beloved shows in the English-speaking world. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.