Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art has announced that junior art student Randi Davis of Henderson is this year’s recipient of the Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship, which was established and funded by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts.

The scholarship was established to support the educational goals of students currently enrolled in the SFA School of Art by providing financial assistance to outstanding students in the visual arts program, and to honor Kinsell as a teacher, as an ardent supporter of the arts in our community, and as a huge supporter of the FVA and its fundraising activities.

An art professor at SFA for 25 years before retiring in 2013, Kinsell taught courses in painting, drawing, figure drawing and advertising design. The Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship is awarded annually to a junior, senior or graduate level art student with painting or photography as his or her major study area, according to the criteria developed by Kinsell.

In recommending her student for the award, art instructor Johanna Warwick wrote Davis “is an incredibly hardworking and dedicated student. She pursues her projects endlessly with the greatest amount of determination. She has high expectations of herself, and of her peers around her – making her a strong role model in the classroom. She has spent this past semester photographing her family and a young girl named KK. These photographs are technically well made and have a stillness and sad beauty that make them continually fascinating to look at.”

Davis is a transfer student from Kilgore College and has been photographing for the past five years.

The SFA Friends of the Visual Arts is made up of community members who support the arts in East Texas and provide monetary assistance to students enrolling in the School of Art by conducting fundraisers, such as the upcoming annual 12 x 12 event in July.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11, in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. in Nacogdoches.

Tim Hartmann, Earth-Kind program specialist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, will present “Gardening for Food or Beauty – Why Not Both?”

Hartmann earned his Bachelor of Science in horticulture with an emphasis in fruit and vegetable production and his Master of Science in plant breeding and horticulture from Texas A&M University in 2009 and 2013, respectively. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in horticulture.

Originally from Blanco, Texas, Hartmann developed a passion for horticulture while working for a commercial greenhouse operation and while also operating a home-based nursery business in high school. He began working for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in 2014, focusing on water conservation in home landscapes.

Aside from daily tasks, Hartmann’s responsibilities include delivering educational presentations to homeowners and master gardeners, conducting statewide plant trials and developing printed and Web-based materials for the Earth-Kind Landscaping Program. Additionally, he has special interests in propagation, exotic fruits and in incorporating well-adapted edible plants into residential landscapes for both food and aesthetic value.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month at SFA’s Pineywoods Native Plant Center. A rare plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School, 2428 Raguet St., with continual shuttle service to the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building.

For more information, call (936) 468-1832 or email grantdamon@sfasu.edu.