Different works of art created by Texas State students, faculty, staff, alumni and retirees cover the walls and panels inside the San Marcos Art Center for March.
Inspired by lyrics from the Texas State “Alma Mater,” Green Hills Rising is the San Marcos Art Center’s third exhibition featuring Texas State students and alumni. This year, to “broaden the scope,” the exhibition includes Texas State faculty, staff and retirees.
“It isn’t just students anymore, that’s the difference,” Nancy Brown, director of the San Marcos Art Center, said. “It’s a very successful show. It’s nice to be able to tie into Texas State, to coordinate with them and collaborate with them.”
Due to changes in the exhibition, Gwendolyn Hustvedt, a professor of family and consumer sciences, had the opportunity to participate in this year’s showcase. In the past, Hustvedt attended the exhibition to view student work, but this year she feels honored to be a part of it.
“I wasn’t so lucky as to be a Texas State alum… but I got here as good as I could… I’m glad that we opened it up to retirees and staff members, faculty and alumni as well as students, so we get to have the dialogue about our experience of this beautiful community [through the exhibition],” Hustvedt said.
Hustvedt’s piece is batik on silk, an ancient textile art technique using rice paste and dyes to paint designs on silk fabric. Her passion for the art technique began in 2016 after she took a silk painting workshop, at the London Museum of Fashion and Textiles.
“It’s always exciting when you get to show your work and meet your audience because that’s valuable to understand how people are seeing what you’re doing,” Hustvedt said. “I’m excited to have that chance to be part of the student group; it’s really meaningful to me.”
Attendees can view mixed media, oil, acrylic, watercolor, ceramics, photography and several other forms of artwork by the Texas State community.
For Jacqueline Bracamontes, art alumna, the exhibition was not only a place for her to showcase her art but a place to connect with other artists.
“A lot of people here I went to school with, I had a class with or I know from Texas State,” Bracamontes said. “It’s been kind of a reunion in a way which has been awesome.”
Bracamontes made her piece for her thesis at Texas State. She experimented with a new ceramic technique and created a piece while thinking about the body and transformation.
“[I’ve gotten] a lot of positive feedback,” Bracamontes said. “It’s opened conversations about ceramics, and I’ve kind of been like encouraging people to take the community ceramics classes here in town and stuff like that from this.”
Jose Vega, photography alumnus, participated in the first show that featured Texas State students and alumni and was excited to enter again.
“I love that San Marcos has a space for local art,” Vega said. “It’s a very low barrier to entry. It’s like $10, and I think that encourages people to submit the little doodles that they make, the little crafts that they don’t think are gallery-worthy, but you submit them, and then people look at them and [you] get validated.”
Vega’s piece was a picture of a tree he saw on one of his meditative walks and he submitted it because he believed it matched the exhibition’s name.
Kayleigh Melvin, Vega’s friend, came to view his work and was impressed with the artwork made by the Texas State community.
“It’s a really great opportunity to see local art from your local artists, and just to get to know the art scene in San Marcos,” Melvin said.
The Green Hills Rising exhibition will occur from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and Sunday and 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays until March 28 in the San Marcos Art Center at 117 N. Guadalupe St.
