This year, the Plano Art Association is excited to have artist Ryder Richards and Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden’s Director Laura Green as jurors. They will select works for the exhibit, and choose the recipients of our Grand Prize of $1000, as well as first, second and third place cash awards in each category.

Aiming to showcase and reward the best art from Plano and the Metroplex area, the show is non-thematic and welcomes submissions from all areas of art, whether in cutting-edge contemporary or traditional disciplines, in three categories: Two-Dimensional, Three-Dimensional and Print & Photography.

This is the Seventh consecutive year for this exhibition, and the art selected for the 2011 show can be viewed on the PAA’s website (jurors Michael O’Keefe and Enrique Cervantes): In 2011, the show featured over 70 works, and the selected works can be viewed on the PAA’s website: http://www.planoartassociation.com/art-news/sixth-annual …

The Plano Art Association is excited to be able to provide a platform for all level of artist, whether student, amateur or professional, to take part in a high-quality show in a modern gallery setting. We would like to thank Professor Betty Siber, of Collin County College Art Department) for her continuing help in hosting and planning this show.

The show’s submission deadline is February 12th; the show runs from March 8th until April 4th, with an Opening Reception on on Wednesday March 21st, from 5 until 8 p.m.

About the 2012 Juror

Laura Green

Laura Green is the Director of Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden, in Dallas, where she has worked since 1997.  She received her Bachelors with a double major in Art History and Music from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  She has been active with the Junior Associates Circle of the Dallas Museum of Art for over 10 years, having served as Co-Chair and currently serves on their Advisory Committee.  She also serves on the Avant-Garde Society Executive Committee at the Nasher Sculpture Center.  She is a graduate of the Leadership Arts Institute of the Business Council for the Arts, and currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Leadership Arts Alumni Association.  She also serves as a Steering Committee member of the Marquee Circle of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and is on the Advisory Committee for Art This Week.  Her volunteer work includes the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas, Dallas Art Dealers Association, Highland Park United Methodist Church, and the Junior League of Dallas.

Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden was founded in 1954 by Margaret and Donald Vogel.  The gallery represents established and emerging contemporary artists working in inventive ways with traditional media.  Along with Gallery Director Laura Green, Cheryl and Kevin Vogel continue to build on the tradition forged by his parents.

Ryder Richards

Ryder Richards, born in September of 1977, grew up in Roswell, New Mexico. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Texas Tech University with a minor in drawing and architecture. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting on a scholarship from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Ryder has studied art in Italy, Spain, and Germany during his European travels.

Richards is currently an Instructor and the Gallery Coordinator for Richland College in Dallas, Texas. He is co- founder of the Ryder Jon Piotrs Nomadic Gallery, a traveling art gallery in the form of a Ryder truck, and Culture Laboratory, a collective of 12 American artists interested in the exchange of ideas and the social development of art in the 21st century.

Known for his much artistic collaboration, Richards continues to explore art as social experience. He is the recipient of several scholarships and awards for his achievements in art, including residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Vermont; Hilmsen, Germany; Paducah, Kentucky and Portales, New Mexico.

For more information, contact Alison Jardine at alison@alisonjardine.com.

The Plano Art Association was formed in 1969, and is funded by both our members and by a grant from the City of Plano. We are entirely run by art-loving volunteers who donate their time, and as an organization we are committed to creating opportunities for artists to show their work and to grow, as well as offering a diverse calendar of art events in Plano for our art-loving community.

Recently, the Museum added live sharks and other family-fun features to enhance and expand the exciting shark experience for all ages. Temporarily moved from the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park, the sharks are housed in a 515-gallon two-tank aquarium display in the MNS Science Building lobby and will be on view for the duration of the Planet Shark: Predator or Prey exhibition (September 16, 2012). Every Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m., the sharks are fed. An aquarist is on hand to answer questions before and after the feedings and talk about the sharks, making it a popular interactive activity. On Saturdays at 1 p.m., visitors can learn about the interesting anatomy of sharks while witnessing a shark dissection.

A child-friendly area has been added within the Planet Shark: Predator or Prey exhibition where kids can draw, do puzzles and enjoy various shark- and underwater- themed activities. Also new, beginning December 26, family-friendly exhibit tours will take place at 10 and 11 a.m., and 2 and 4 p.m. from December 26 – 30; 10 and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on December 31; 2 and 4 p.m. on January 1; and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on January 2.

Through December 31, daily live shows including Electric Theater and Fire & Ice are held in the auditorium at the Science Building, plus the Planetarium is open daily from December 17 – January 2. IMAX^® films include SHARKS, Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World and, returning January 2, Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure.

As always, exciting exploration awaits everyday within the three buildings that make up the Museum of Nature & Science. The Science Building, home to the family favorite Children’s Museum on the lower floor, offers fun for young children up to seven years old and includes live animals such as turtles, snakes and spiders. Here, imaginative budding scientists can find engaging ways to stimulate their curiosity through a variety of hands-on, sensory experiences that foster a thirst for discovery and knowledge. Within the five-gallery “Come and Explore Your World” area kids can become a farmer, an actor or actress, an EMT or an engineer through dressing up in costume, all while learning about communities, art, culture and more, in a safe educational environment.

Other highlights inside the Science Building include Texas Dinosaurs – Fossil Dig (a.k.a. the “Dino Dig”) where children can explore, dig and unearth real fossil casts found in the Big Bend; Your Incredible Body featuring 24 interactive stations for children to learn how much skin weighs, explore the microscopic world of germs and journey through the body’s maze of complex systems; and Putting DNA to Work, an engaging area featuring interactive multimedia activities where visitors can learn how inherited and infectious diseases are identified, explore the various uses of DNA analysis in criminal forensics and crop improvement and unlock the secrets hidden in genes.

Next door in the three-level Nature Building, the fun-while-learning continues. Four distinct wildlife diorama halls showcase Texas’ diverse ecosystems with coyotes, bison, alligators, amazing minerals and one of the largest scientific collections of birds in Texas. Upstairs, the beloved children’s TV show comes to life in the exciting, interactive Bob the Builder: Project – Build It! exhibit for preschoolers and young children. (Note: Bob the Builder closes January 8.) The Trinity, a collection of winning photographs from the Trinity River Corridor Project photography contest is on display from December 19 through May 2012 and is includedwiththecost of general admission. Outside, visitors can take a stroll around the Leonhardt Lagoon Nature Walk and encounter all sorts of swimming creatures and water-bearing wildlife.

Holiday Hours, Admission and General Information

Regular hours of operation are from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Saturday and from noon – 5 p.m. Sundays. Please note special holiday hours: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. December 24 (Christmas Eve) and December 31 (New Year’s Eve); closed December 25 (Christmas). Extended hours are from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. December 26 – 30 and from noon – 6 p.m. January 1 (New Year’s Day)

Regular general exhibit admission is $10 for adults 18-61; $9 for seniors 62+ and students 12-17; $7 for children 2-11; children under 2 are free. MNS members of all ages are admitted for free.

Planet Shark: Predator or Prey requires a surcharge in addition to the purchase of MNS general admission for a total admission cost of $18 for adults (18-61); $16 for seniors (62+) and students (12-17); $13 for children (2-11); and $5 for MNS members of all ages. Children under 2 are free.

IMAX^® shows require additional tickets: $7.50 for adults 18-61 (member adults $6); $6.50 for seniors 62+, students 12-17 and children 2-11 (member seniors, students and children $5). Children under 2 are free.

The Twin Fin Package, which includes admission to Planet Shark: Predator or Prey and any IMAX^® film, is $24 for adults 18-61, $22 for students (12-17) and seniors (62+); $18 for children 2-11; and $10 for MNS members of all ages.

Planetarium tickets are $3.50 for non-member adults, students, seniors and children 2-11; and $2.50 for member adults, students, seniors and children ages 2-11. Children under 2 are free.

Tickets for the Museum, IMAX^® and Planetarium shows, and all special exhibits are available online.

The Museum of Nature & Science campus is located in Fair Park. The Science Building is at 1318 S. 2nd Ave., the Nature Building is at 3535 Grand Ave., and the Planetarium is at 1620 First Ave., Dallas, TX, 75210. Parking is available via Gate 5 or Gate 6 and is always free, except during State Fair. MNS can also be accessed via the DART Green Line with stops at MLK, Jr. and Fair Park stations.

For more information, please call 214-428-5555 or go to natureandscience.org.

Style with Elements: Designs by Chelsea Bell (image by Laurie Ruth Photography)

Style with Elements: Designs by Chelsea Bell
Fashion on Main in the UNT System Building
December 1 -16, 2011

University of North Texas fashion design student Chelsea Rose Bell answers the needs of today’s women, taking into account their busy lifestyles with her well-tailored ponté knit dresses and ensembles that offer the comfort of jersey and the feminine styling of the 1950s. Each piece is adorned with her hand-crafted metalwork embellishments.

Bell, who is working toward a master of fine arts degree in fashion design from the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, researched the needs of women today and turned her findings into a stylish collection that will be on display in a free fashion exhibition. Style with Elements: Designs by Chelsea Bell will be exhibited from Thursday, December 1 through Friday, December 16 at Fashion on Main in the UNT System Building, 1901 Main St. in Dallas.

An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 1, 2011.

“The idea is you can pull the garment out of your closet and wear it without having to think about getting ready,” said Bell, a Dallas resident who earned a bachelor’s degree in fashion design from UNT in 2006. “The adornments are more than just an accessory, but they are works of art in themselves and a perfect complement to the fashion design.”

Exhibit Information

What: Style with Elements: Designs by Chelsea Bell — A fashion exhibition featuring garments and accessories designed by a master’s student in the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design

When: Dec. 1 (Thursday) – Dec. 16 (Friday)

Opening reception: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 (Thursday)

Gallery hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays

Where: Fashion on Main in the UNT System Building, 1901 Main St. in Dallas

Cost: Free

Contact: 214-752-8151 or 940-565-3732 or visit www.tfc.unt.edu/fashion-on-main

Style with Elements: Designs by Chelsea Bell (image by Laurie Ruth Photography)

The Big Great American Auction hosted by Ty Pennington

TV special features historic comics, currency, historic Ty Cobb memorabilia; filmed aboard The Queen Mary

ABC has announced that it will air The Great Big American Auction, starring Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, one of America’s leading reality TV personalities, and featuring exclusively Heritage Auctions’ experts, auction services and staff, in a very special television first made-for-TV auction event, at 10 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, Dec. 8.

The special was produced by Cineflix (Auction) Inc. for ABC. Executive Producers are Lisa Levenson, Ty Pennington, Joe Houlihan and Simon Lloyd.

Ty Pennington has been transforming people’s homes and lives for several years now as the host of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and has now found an exciting new way to change lives by turning their memorabilia and assorted hidden finds into treasures worth life-changing amounts of money.

After scouring flea markets, cellars, attics and yard sales to find one-of-a-kind items whose owners have no idea of their real value, Pennington, with a team of experts from Heritage Auctions, tags the best items and brings them to The Queen Mary oceanliner in Long Beach, CA for The Great Big American Auction. The exceptional collectibles range from first edition classic comic books to rare American currency to an early 20^th century baseball icon’s checkbook, and much more in-between, all chosen for their rarity, value and the uniqueness of the consignor’s story.

“It’s a great thrill to be part of this major network, prime time show, to work with Cineflex and ABC and a star the magnitude and class of Ty Pennington,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “We went to great lengths with our staff and experts to make sure that all these unique items have great stories and that they live up to Heritage’s exacting consignment standards. We hope that everyone will enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed being a part of it.”

Objects originally bought for mere dollars, or literally plucked right out the trash will go for thousands of dollars as their lucky owners’ lives are changed for the better.

The Great Big American Auction will air on Thursday, December 8, 2011, at 10 p.m. (ET) on The ABC Television Network.

Heritage Auctions is always seeking “consignments with a story” for possible future TV projects. If you think you might have a unique item and a unique story, email to TVShow@HA.com.

Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 600,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

The Big Great American Auction hosted by Ty Pennington

Landscape by Mabel Vandiver, crica 1930

Laying the Foundation: UNT Art FAculty, 1890-1970
UNT on the Square
December 2, 2011 through February 11, 2012

The University of North Texas’ venerable art program began with a drawing class around 1893 at what was then called Texas Normal College and Teachers’ Training Institute. Over the years, the program has matured into UNT’s nationally respected College of Visual Arts and Design.

A new exhibition titled Laying the Foundation: UNT Art Faculty, 1890 – 1970 explores the roots of the visual arts program at UNT, looking at art works from early faculty members who provided the foundation for UNT’s award-winning art programs.

“I have wanted to do something like this for a very long time,” said Dr. D. Jack Davis, professor emeritus of art who retired this summer after 40 years at UNT, including several years as dean. “All of the years I was involved in administration in the arts program, I recognized that we had a rich legacy. We wouldn’t be where we are today had we not had these faculty members building the program.”

The exhibition will be on display Dec. 2 (Friday) through Feb. 11 (Saturday) at UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St. on Denton’s historic courthouse square.

“Great art schools develop traditions based on the creative efforts of generations of faculty and students,” said Robert Milnes, dean of the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design. “We all know that, but seldom have the opportunity to see the work and honor the people who dedicated their careers and talents to make something wonderful happen for their students and for the cultural enrichment of the community and nation. Dr. D. Jack Davis’ research and his own longtime commitment to the art, art education, art history and design programs at the University of North Texas are legendary in and of themselves. This extra effort at mining our collection and the collections of others to put together a show of this magnitude is yet another milestone in the future development of our renowned programs.”

The exhibition is sponsored by the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts, the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts and the College of Visual Arts and Design.

“Over the years, many of the UNT art faculty participated significantly in the daily life of Denton and helped shape it into the artistically rich and diverse community we enjoy today,” said Herbert Holl, director of UNT on the Square and the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts. “For this reason, I am especially pleased that the community and university can share this common legacy here at UNT on the Square, in the heart of the city.”

The earliest works available for the exhibition are by faculty member Martha Simkins, who taught at UNT from 1901 to 1906.

“When the Industrial Revolution occurred in this country, it was believed that every student needed to learn how to draw because those kinds of skills would help the U.S. produce better designed products that would be more competitive economically,” Davis said.

As a result, normal schools across the country began to offer drawing classes, and UNT followed suit.

The exhibition also includes examples of publications by Cora Stafford, a legendary figure of the art program and the person for whom a gallery on campus was named. Stafford came to UNT in 1921 and remained on the faculty until 1964, the year of her death. Other works are by Carlos Merida, the world-renowned Guatemalan painter, and Gyorgy Kepes, an experimental photographer from Germany’s Bauhaus, a famous art school that began in 1919 and continued until it was closed by the Nazi regime in the 1930s.

Still others in the exhibition are Lorraine Estelle Berger, Claudia Webb Betti, Carl Benton Compton, Michael Eugene Cunningham, Richard Miller Davis, Rudolph Fuchs, Ray Gough, Wilfred Higgins, James Jefferson Johnson, Flossie Kyser, Richard Harlow Laing, Georgia Belle Leach-Gough, Corinne Marquis, Mickey Story McCarter, William McCarter, Bliss Stone McManus, Octavio Medellin, Blaine James Richards, Donald Jerry Scaggs, Don Raymond Schol, Sonja Schulz-Whiddon, Francis B. Stephens, Mabel Vandiver, Mack Vaughan, Henry Whiddon, Leroy Robert Wilce, Ronald Williams, Robert Winokur and John Paul Zelanski.

“Certainly, the program has moved far beyond just the training of teachers,” Davis said. “That direction really started to change in the ‘40s, and part of that was because Cora Stafford was very futuristic in her thinking.”

Under Stafford’s leadership, the program added interior design, advertising design and fashion design, he said.

“Today, people are making the case that skills in the arts are critical to the future of the economy because of how much we depend on visual information rather than the written word,” Davis said.

What: Laying the Foundation: UNT Art Faculty, 1890-1970 — A collection of work from past UNT art faculty members

When: Dec. 2 (Friday) – Feb. 11 (Saturday)

Hours: 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Where: UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St. on Denton’s historic courthouse square

Cost: Free

Contact: www.untonthesquare.unt.edu or 940-369-8257

Landscape by Mabel Vandiver, crica 1930

The free concert at 8 p.m. in Voertman Hall in the UNT Music Building, southeast corner of Avenue C and Chestnut Street, features the center’s Bancroft String Quartet, Piano Quartet, Wind Quintet and Brass Quintet. The undergraduate and graduate students in the center’s ensembles come from Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Israel, Korea, Russia and the United States and have performed across the world.

The wide-ranging program includes Plog’s 4 Sketches for Brass Quintet, Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Gyorgy Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet and Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor.

“Students are invited to study in the Center for Chamber Music Studies, where they receive coaching and training from faculty members in piano, strings, brass and winds,” said George Papich, director of the Center for Chamber Music Studies at UNT. “They’re honing their skills in chamber music performance in preparation for their professional careers, and they’re also getting international experience as they perform and travel across the world.”

About the UNT College of Music

The highly comprehensive programs of the UNT College of Music enroll the largest number of music majors of any university in the country. The UNT College of Music is the choice of more than 1,600 music majors from all over the world who are pursuing a wide variety of specializations, including classical music performance, jazz studies, music education, composition, musicology, theory and ethnomusicology. The college provides a rich musical environment with 100 full-time faculty members, 200 adjuncts and graduate assistants, a vast music library, and more than 40 student ensembles. UNT music alumni populate every corner of the profession in this country and abroad.

What: Center for Chamber Music Studies Showcase Concert – Presented by the University of North Texas College of Music. George Papich, director.

When: 8 p.m. Nov. 28 (Monday)

Where: Voertman Hall in the UNT Music Building, southeast corner of Avenue C and Chestnut Street

Cost: Free

Contact: www.music.unt.edu

Lari Gibbons, associate professor in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, works on a restored letterpress. (photo by Jonathan Reynolds)

Merging old with new, University of North Texas faculty member Lari Gibbons earned honorable mention in the international Adobe Design Achievement Awards competition for using Adobe software to make a printing matrix for a restored printing press.

Gibbons, associate professor of printmaking in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, earned the honorable mention in the “traditional media in education” category for using Adobe Creative Suite and a computer-numerically-controlled router — or CNC router — to create a printing surface that can be used in presses without traditional and sometimes hard-to-find accessories, she said. The project was the extension of a Spring 2011 project, in which she and four students rebuilt four letterpresses.

“In planning how we might use them, I felt that using some of CVAD’s new software and computer-run production equipment might offer us a great way to start using the presses even while we were finding — or in some cases, making — missing parts,” Gibbons said.

“Traditional letterpress printing involves setting each individual letter and image by hand. It requires specialized tools, equipment and accessories that we did not necessarily have — especially in the early stages of our project,” she said.

And learning how to set type and design a page merits a class of its own, she said.

This semester, Gibbons plans to refine the prototype in preparation for an upcoming conference presentation at Southern Graphics Council International in New Orleans, where a video demonstration of the UNT press restoration project will be shown. She points out that the prototype has limitations and does not replace traditional lead type or engraved blocks.

“My idea is that if you use the resources you have available to make people to fall in love with printing on hand presses, you can hone their passion and build their skill set in time,” Gibbons said.

Billed as “the world’s premier design, film and interactive media competition for higher education students and faculty,” the Adobe Design Achievement Awards competition had more than 4,600 submissions. In addition to Gibbons’ honor, UNT senior Brady Jackson was named a finalist in the mobile design category in the competition this year for designing a concept for an iPad app that would allow people to donate sugar-free confectionery to diabetic camps for kids.

Lari Gibbons, associate professor in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, works on a restored letterpress. (photo by Jonathan Reynolds)

UNTold+new: Communication Design Alumni Retrospective Exhibition

This juried exhibition of award-winning art from University of North Texas communication design alumni, presented by the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, features graphic design, advertising, illustration, photography, copywriting and interactive design.

Juror Patrick Coyne — editor of Communication Arts magazine, the industry’s leading trade journal — has selected 123 works from a field of more than 700 entries.

“Our program has existed in one form or another since 1947, and in that time it has produced a great number of highly successful alumni and an impressive array of work,” said Alex Egner, assistant professor of communication design. “UNT graduates work in many of the top design firms and advertising agencies around the country, so this is our opportunity to showcase their — and our — accomplishments.”

The exhibit is November 15 through December 17, 2011. The opening reception is Thursday, November 17, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. The UNT Art Gallery is located in the UNT Art Building, one block west of Mulberry and Welch streets. Admission is free.

For more information call 940-565-4005 or visit online at www.gallery.unt.edu.

UNTold+new: Communication Design Alumni Retrospective Exhibition

Jazz trumpeter Terell Stafford (photo by Jimmy Ryan)

Jazz trumpeter Terell Stafford, hailed by piano legend McCoy Tyner as “one of the greatest players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player,” will perform with the world-renowned University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band in its 51st Annual Fall Concert.

The concert will take place at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 (Tuesday) in the Murchison Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Performance Hall, located along the north side of Interstate 35E at North Texas Boulevard (2100 N. Interstate 35E) on the UNT campus. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens, students, children, UNT faculty/staff and groups of 10 or more. Call 940-369-7802 or visit www.theMPAC.com.

The six-time Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band will open the concert with new material composed this year, as well as other selected pieces. Stafford will join the band for the second set with his own original works arranged by Jesper Riis and others.

“Having the opportunity to work with such an important artist in jazz will really be an inspiration for the students,” said Steve Wiest, Grammy-nominated director of the One O’Clock Lab Band. “Terell is simply one of the best jazz trumpet artists in the world right now.”

About Terell Stafford

Since the mid-1990s Stafford has performed with groups such as Benny Golson’s Sextet, McCoy Tyner’s Sextet, the Kenny Barron Sextet, the Jimmy Heath Big Band and the Jon Faddis Orchestra. He is a member of the Grammy award-winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, as well as a member of the Grammy-nominated Clayton Brothers Quintet and the Frank Wess Quintet. Stafford also has been an integral part of bands led by such venerable artists as Cedar Walton, Sadao Watanabe, Herbie Mann and Matt Wilson.

Stafford has recorded six albums as a leader with his debut album in 1995 entitled Time to Let Go (Candid). Stafford’s newest release, This Side of Strayhorn (MAXJAZZ 2011), features Tim Warfield, Bruce Barth, Peter Washington and Dana Hall.

An educator as well as a performer, Stafford is director of jazz studies and chair of instrumental studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he has been a recipient of the university’s Creative Achievement Award. He is also a clinician for the prestigious Vail Jazz Foundation in Colorado and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Program. Formerly, Stafford served as a member of the faculty for the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies in New York. Dedicated to building the jazz arts community through education, Stafford sits on the board of the Jazz Education Network.

Stafford was born in Miami and raised in Chicago and Silver Spring, Md. He received a bachelor of science degree in music education from the University of Maryland in 1988 and a master of music degree from Rutgers University in 1993.

About the UNT One O’Clock Lab Band

The Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, UNT’s premier jazz ensemble, has performed and toured throughout the world — including Australia, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and The Netherlands. Since the 1970s, the band’s albums have received six Grammy nominations, including two nominations for Lab 2009. The band performs under the direction of Steve Wiest, a Grammy-nominated arranger and associate professor of music. The UNT jazz program — the first of its kind in the nation — is housed within the College of Music, one of the country’s most respected comprehensive schools of music.

About the UNT College of Music

The highly comprehensive programs of the UNT College of Music enroll the largest number of music majors of any university in the country. The UNT College of Music is the choice of more than 1,600 music majors from all over the world who are pursuing a wide variety of specializations, including classical music performance, jazz studies, music education, composition, musicology, theory and ethnomusicology.  The college provides a rich musical environment with 100 full-time faculty members, 200 adjuncts and graduate assistants, a vast music library, and more than 40 student ensembles. UNT music alumni populate every corner of the profession in this country and abroad.

Jazz trumpeter Terell Stafford, hailed by piano legend McCoy Tyner as “one of the greatest players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player,” will perform with the world-renowned University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band Nov. 22. (photo by Jimmy Ryan)

Denali Vessel #2 by Harlan Butt

National Parks Project: Works by Harlan Butt
University of North Texas on the Square
November 1 through 22, 2011

About eight years ago, University of North Texas Regents Professor Harlan Butt began a trek through some of the national parks of the United States, gathering inspiration for the intricate enamel vessels and metal works that he creates in his Denton and Colorado studios.

His pieces from the National Parks Project will be on display in a free exhibition from Nov. 1 (Tuesday) to Nov. 22 (Tuesday) at UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St. on Denton’s historic courthouse square. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call UNT on the Square at 940-369-8257 or visit untonthesquare.unt.edu.

“My work has reflected elements from nature for a long time, but it wasn’t until 2003 that I started to specifically focus on national parks,” he said. “The parks are preserved areas in terms of minimum encroachment by people, so they are as close to the natural environment and as unaltered as possible.”

His pieces are in the collections of public museums in the U.S. and around the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Art & Design in New York.

In 2010, Butt stayed at Denali National Park in Alaska as an artist-in-residence in the East Fork Cabin, also known as the Murie Cabin, where scientist Adolph Murie studied wolves and predator and prey relationships in the 1930s and 40s. Butt drew inspiration from the surroundings, keeping a journal, writing poetry, drawing, photographing — using that as source material for creating the vessels when he returned to his studio.

Two pieces from Denali National Park will be in the November exhibition. A third is in the permanent collection in the visitors center at the park, along with works from other artists-in-residence. Other pieces in the November exhibition will include those inspired by Olympic National Park in Washington, Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Arches National Park in Utah.

Each of the pieces includes a haiku poem, reflecting some of the experience of being in the park, he said.

“No photograph or any art object can be the same as being in the location, but hopefully it can recall the experience,” Butt said.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog with articles from Ana Lopez, assistant professor of metalsmithing and jewelry; Bernard Jazzar, board of directors of the Enamel Arts Foundation in Los Angeles; and Timothy D. Rains, Artist-in-Residence Program Coordinator at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Denali Vessel #2 by Harlan Butt