Everything Nac

“Unconventional Contraptions and Other Oddities,” an exhibition of artworks by Dave Clark, opens in the Teresa Jill Adams Art Gallery at Stephen F. Austin State University with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23.

A high school sculpture teacher in the Houston area, Clark is a graduate student in the School of Art at SFA earning a Master of Fine Arts with a major in sculpture and minor in painting. Drawing from his own experiences as a fine artist and as a former professional artist for the entertainment industry, Clark creates unusual combinations of elements as though cobbled together in the aftermath of destruction. The works are often made from materials that are disguised through paint to make them believably realistic while maintaining a surreal aura.

Clark received his BFA from Oklahoma State University and returned to his hometown in Southern California where he began his career as an artist in the entertainment field. After over 20 years working in that industry, he returned to school and received his teaching certification. He has been creating his own artwork and teaching sculpture for the last 14 years.

Clark’s show at SFA will run through March 8.

The Teresa Jill Adams Art Gallery in located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive, SFA campus. For more information about the School of Art at SFA, call (936) 468-4804.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s East Texas Research Center is set to host a series of workshops during the spring semester in the newly implemented Archive Lab on the first floor of Steen Library. Presentation topics include document research, genealogy, archival research basics, and digitization and storage.

The lab, which opened in fall 2023 after an approximate two-year planning period, is in place to provide instruction and hands-on experience with preservation, digitization and research with archival materials, according to Linda Reynolds, ETRC director.

“The lab helps acquaint students, faculty and staff with the ETRC’s services along with the knowledge of how to handle and work with archival collections that can be used in their personal life or career,” Reynolds said. “It also provides community outreach and connections with many East Texas cultural heritage entities.”

The lab’s workshops are free and open to the public. Faculty members also can schedule times to bring their students in to learn a specific skill, and community organizations can schedule workshops on specific topics.

Upcoming Archive Lab workshops include:

“Slavery Document Research” with Kyle Ainsworth, project manager of the Lone Star Slavery Project and SFA special collections librarian

4 to 5 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 20

Ainsworth will cover the basics of tracing slave ancestry, from offering tips for research in antebellum deed and probate records to exploring early postwar resources. Participants will have the opportunity to examine original documents held at the ETRC.

“Intro to Genealogy” with Linda Reynolds, ETRC director

4 to 5 p.m. March 6

Reynolds will lead an introductory presentation aimed at those who are interested in beginning genealogy but are unsure of where to start. The ETRC will consider future advanced genealogy presentations, if requested.

“Archival Research Basics” with Chris Cotton, university archivist and ETRC researcher

4 to 5 p.m. April 3

Cotton will assist attendees in the process of researching in an archive. In the presentation, Cotton will explain the difference in types of primary resources, how to use tools that help a user find information, how to narrow research focus, and provide tips on maximizing the researchers time in an archive.

“Digitation and Storage” with Linda Reynolds, ETRC director; and Will Honea, ETRC records manager

4 to 5 p.m. May 8

Reynolds and Honea will discuss how to digitize different types of materials using various programs, software and hardware. Additionally, they will assist users in understanding long-term storage of materials once they are digitized

To register for the workshops, visit gosfa.com/archivelab. For more information, contact Candice Cloud, ETRC outreach librarian, at candice.cloud@sfasu.edu.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Houston pianist Mary Katherine Schober will present the concert program “Images,” featuring works by Modest Mussorgsky, Felix Mendelssohn and her own original compositions, at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

The inspiration for the title is Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” “The program is essentially organized to showcase this work, as well as my own compositions,” Schober said. “Every part of the program is evocative of various images, whether literal or abstract.”

She describes Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” as one of the first and very few compositions of its kind. “Each movement is written to showcase an actual painting by Mussorgsky’s artist friend, Viktor Hartmann,” she said. “While not all the paintings still exist today, we can easily fill in the blanks with the evocative writing of this huge work. Images abound that blur the lines between fantastical and real life, from witches, to chicks hatching, to an old castle, to a gigantic gate of an ancient city.”

The program also includes Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words,” which have long been a choice staple of the pianist’s repertoire. “They tend to evoke clear themes and tropes, and the two on this program are no exception,” Schober said. Op. 38, No. 6, in A-Flat major is commonly known as “Duetto,” or “Duet,” and the nickname comes from two different melodies having a conversation throughout the piece. Op. 19, No. 6 is titled “Venetian Boat Song,” imitating the beloved songs of Venetian gondoliers in a rocking, emotional style.

Schober’s “Vignettes,” Op. 2, is a new work written in 2022. While the four-movement structure is reminiscent of a classical sonata, the piece is exploratory and modern, she explains, where modes are used more than traditional major and minor in the piece.

Schober enjoys a varied career of teaching, collaborating, creating and performing in the greater Houston area. Schober’s piano students have participated and earned honors in both regional and state events. She holds an adjunct faculty position at Lone Star College-University Park. At LSC, she has taught private lessons and group piano classes, performs regularly at collegiate events, and received an Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award in the spring of 2023. She also serves as organist and pianist at First United Methodist Church, Pearland. She performs regularly with singer-songwriter Catterina, touring in Texas and New York City.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

South Korean violinist Jeongwon Claire An will present “Celebration of Beethoven – Complete Violin Sonata Series” when she performs at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

She will be accompanied by Dr. Minhae Lee, assistant professor of piano in the SFA School of Music. The program will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in D major, Op. 12, No. 1; Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major, Op. 24, No. 5; and Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 30, No. 3.

An is a versatile violinist experienced in solo, chamber and orchestra settings who joined the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2023 as a member of the first violin section. As a chamber music enthusiast, she is a founding member of Trio Menil, the Grand Prize and Odyssey Chamber Music Series Award winner of the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and she is a recipient of the Peter Salaff Prize in Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music.

An advocate for community outreach, An was a member of DACAMERA’s Young Artist Program in 2022-23, a fellowship program for emerging professional instrumentalists, vocalists and composers that serves the Houston community. She also served as a mentor of YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), the L.A. Philharmonic’s El Sistema music education program, and she is currently a chamber music faculty member at the Hochstein School.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.