20
March
2017
|
12:10 PM
America/Chicago

Art to Share Available for ALL

Summary

By Sheryl E. Taylor

The UHD Bookstore now has art.

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), in partnership with Barnes & Noble Education Inc., which operates the bookstore, now sells notecards featuring artwork by current and former UHD students.

Student art notecards date back to a project initiated more than a decade ago by the late Susan Ahern, former dean of the College Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). The decision to continue this tradition with a new collection began this year.

Barnes & Noble—always a faithful supporter of UHD students and programs—is donating all proceeds from the sale of the cards to benefit CHSS programs and students.

The final images range from watercolor abstracts to poet Lorenzo Thomas to a portrait of a man with grapes and a dump truck were selected by a committee of faculty and administrative staff that wanted the students' work to be technically proficient, creative and engaging.

"These notecards highlight the quality and hard work of UHD art students while offering a personalized method of correspondence and honor the students who come to UHD," said Mark Cervenka, director/curator of the University's O'Kane Gallery and associate professor of art. "They provide a vehicle for the University to share and be proud of the accomplishments of our students. It's also wonderful to show the value of the arts in a university."

The artists were approached for the project by Cervenka. In fact, three of the eight featured artists were students from Cervenka's studio art classes.

"The University of Houston-Downtown is home to some of the most creative students in the city … and in the state," said Michael A. Olivas, UHD interim president. "I'm pleased to see our students' artwork available to the public. These are breathtaking and provocative works that reflect the talents of our students and the faculty who are teaching them."

Artist Quentin Pace, a 2014 UHD graduate, said that it was a wonderful feeling" to know that his work was selected for this initiative. Inspiration for his work, "Nature Study," were the flowers he would pass every day when walking to the Shea Street Building. Presently, Pace works in the University's W.I. Dykes Library and is pursuing a master's degree in Library Science at University of North Texas.

The artful notecards (10 notecards and 10 envelopes) are on sale now for $12.98. Visit the UHD Bookstore to own a piece of art to share