Everything Nac

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. The competition provides an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents.

The artwork submitted for the competition by students living within U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert’s congressional district will be displayed in Griffith Gallery on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

The entries will be exhibited beginning Tuesday, Nov. 28, and will be displayed through Saturday, Dec. 2, when an awards ceremony will be held and an open house/reception will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The exhibition will close following the reception.

Griffith Gallery is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building and is open from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday during fall and spring semesters when the university is open. The exhibition will open at 10 a.m. prior to the awards ceremony on Dec. 2.

First place winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Since it began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of local artists in each district select the winning entries.

First place winning entries will be displayed in the hallway of the U.S. Capitol; second place winning entries will be displayed in Gohmert’s office in Washington; and third place winning entries will be displayed in Gohmert’s district office in Tyler.

The SFA Gardens will host a garden seminar, “Deck the Halls: Using Evergreens to Decorate for the Holidays,” from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St.

Evergreen branches and garlands once served as symbols of enduring life and a fruitful year to come. Join Dawn Stover, research associate with SFA Gardens, to learn how to create elegant wreaths and garlands using materials from the garden.

Participants will learn principles of wreath, garland and centerpiece construction and make a wreath to enjoy and take home for the holidays.

In addition to the traditional wreaths and garlands, Stover will introduce new crafts using natural items from the garden and forest. All materials will be provided.

Class size is limited, so register in advance by calling (936) 468-1832, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu. The cost is $25 for SFA Garden members and $30 for non-members.

The Friends of the Visual Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University continues to make dreams come true for young Mexican artists who want to attend SFA but have limited economic resources.

For several years, the FVA has awarded scholarships to students from Mexico who would like to enroll in the School of Art’s ceramics program but could not afford to do so. These opportunities exist in part due to the influence of SFA Professor of Ceramics Piero Fenci and his collaboration with the ceramics program at La Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Mexico.

Fenci was the driving force in founding the first program of contemporary ceramic art in northern Mexico, and the ceramics program at the Chihuahua university located just south of El Paso is now thriving. In particular, two former students who were products of the program – Kira Enriquez and Adan Saenz – came to SFA a few years ago to study ceramics. Today, Saenz is the professor in charge of the ceramics program at La Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, and Enriquez heads up the ceramics program at Indiana State University.

Fenci recently returned from another successful trip to work with ceramic students at La Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua. While there, he was instrumental in helping to build the first wood fire kiln in the history of Northern Mexico”My trip to La Universidad Autonoma was glorious, as always,” Fenci said. “Adan Saenz, my ex-MFA student who runs the program there, his students and I worked for a solid week to finish the job of constructing the new wood fire kiln, a copy of the one we built at SFA several years ago. It’s the first wood fire kiln in Northern Mexico.

“A wood fire kiln uses wood as fuel, just as the anagama kilns of Japan that have been used for centuries,” he continued. “The results are spectacular, as the falling ash in the ware chamber of the kiln land on the work, and then the ash melts into glaze at 2,400 degrees causing a lovely effect prized by ceramic art enthusiasts everywhere.”

The FVA continues to foster similar relationships through scholarships. Gaby Hijar, Erik Ordaz Lozano and Aldo Ornelas are among those who have traveled from homes in Mexico to further their education as graduate students at SFA. Hijar recently began her second-year graduate studies in the School of Art, and Lozano and Ornelas have begun their graduate work in the ceramics program.

“I cannot believe how much I’ve learned in the last two years studying at SFA,” Hijar said. “The best thing about studying here is meeting wonderful people. Not only are my classmates and professors great, everyone here is always willing to help each other and share their knowledge. I can’t wait to do the same in my community after I finish my degree.”

“I hope to contribute in a positive way to the artistic community through my previous knowledge and experiences which I have acquired over time in the labor and artistic fields,” Ornelas wrote in his application letter to SFA. “At the same time, I am committed to being a positive influence for my peers, both graduate and undergraduate students, and to be an active member in the local art field not only within SFA, but also within the state of Texas.”

Before arriving in Nacogdoches, Ornelas was an art and pottery teacher in Chihuahua. He described his work as “a blend between the classical art prevalent at my former university and the personal search for self-expression.”

“During my time as a graduate student, I wish to promote the artistic and cultural exchange between my former university and SFA, as well as other artistic spaces inside and outside the country,” he wrote. “In addition to fulfilling my personal goals and contributing positively to the artistic and cultural development of Nacogdoches, I wish to share my knowledge with other artists (worldwide), and I consider SFA the ideal place to achieve that goal.”

When Lozano completed his undergraduate degree in industrial design, he began searching for a graduate program to continue his education.

“I had always dreamed of going abroad, but it really was beyond my means in every possible way,” he wrote in his scholarship application. He looked for a program in Mexico “that was really exciting for me,” but he soon realized that the type of program he wanted to pursue was not available in Mexico.

“Not because graduate programs in my country were bad; there are a lot of really good ones,” he wrote. “But there is not a single program focused on the artistic and personal development in a field like ceramics.

“For me to attend SFA is an incomparable and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I feel incredibly fortunate to have,” he added. “I am convinced that the School of Art will provide the opportunities I have not had to explore the ideas, concepts, emotions and feelings that exist inside me.”

Lozano wrote that he hopes to show SFA and Nacogdoches his commitment to making positive academic and artistic contributions to the community.

“I know that if I manage to leave even a small trace of my passing through SFA and Nacogdoches, I will have used my time there in the best possible way,” he wrote. “I wish that, through my work, one day, you will be as proud of me as I am proud of going to school there.

“I hope to generate strong and lasting professional relationships as well as friendships that go beyond an academic program,” he said, adding that he hoped to establish “partnerships that can contribute and generate knowledge both for SFA and Nacogdoches and my future workplace and professional development upon returning to Mexico.”

The result of Fenci’s yearly visits to Mexico is that talented Mexican students put SFA in their sights.

“The hope is that more will matriculate in the future,” he said. “I must add that the help of the Friends of the Visual Arts has been a lifesaver for this program. Their generosity helps make the international component possible.”

The FVA accepts donations to fund its scholarships. Donations can be made by sending checks to Linda Mock, School of Art business manager, at P.O. Box 13041, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962, or by calling her at (936) 468-4418.

The Christmas celebration in the Oldest Town in Texas will be more spectacular than ever this year with a much-anticipated holiday-themed performance of the popular Annie Moses Band.

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and its 2017-18 University Series will present “Christmas with the Annie Moses Band” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

The Nashville-based Annie Moses Band combines the best of beloved genres in a style that unifies audiences, young and old, classical connoisseurs and roots enthusiasts, jazz aficionados and bluegrass buffs, according to Scott Shattuck, associate dean in the College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series.

“The Annie Moses Band has been inspiring and entertaining audiences for over a decade, bringing their distinctive style of music across the nation and around the world,” he said.

Creating a captivating blend of folk and classical, the Annie Moses Band is a talented family of singers and musicians who combine technical skill with exhilarating showmanship, Shattuck said. At the group’s core are three Juilliard-trained string players and a harpist that once studied with Emily Mitchell, now a faculty member in the SFA School of Music.

“Well known nationally from their popular PBS Christmas special, these inspiring siblings play and sing holiday favorites arranged in dazzling style by their father, Bill Wolaver, a leading composer on the contemporary Christian music scene,” Shattuck said.

Among their most popular seasonal performances are sensational versions of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “O Come O Come Emmanuel.”

“Christmas with the Annie Moses Band” is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Medical Center.

Prior to the performance, SFA senior music major Emily Williams, who has worked extensively with the Annie Moses Band members at their Fine Arts Summer Academy, will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the band and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor.

Tickets are already selling quickly for this performance. Tickets to the event would make unique early Christmas gifts, Shattuck added.

“This is a can’t-miss Christmas event that could well sell out before the day of the show,” Shattuck said, “so we hope our audience will avoid disappointment by ordering now, while some of the best seats are still available.”

Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.