Dream Time Flora: Photography by Tim Lewis

From August 24, 2009, through
October 30, 2009
Gallery 1, Hunter Library
(First floor, across from Music CD,
DVD, Video Collection)
Western Carolina University

Artist Tim Lewis has used photography as a creative tool for most of his life. Growing up in Kansas, he developed a sense of awe in even the most common things, encouraged by parents who loved to explore the natural world, including looking at rocks and investigating what was underneath them. Classes at the University of Kansas helped refine his skills and deepen his interests in photography, glass and drawing. He eventually chose glass as his primary medium, but returned to photography twenty years later. Discovering the digital process and the versatility of a flat-bed scanner, he pushed the limits and found new ways of working.

Dream Time Flora is a collection of black-and-white photographs of umbrella magnolia, dogwood, wild grape, horsetails and other plants. The photographs have a darkness about them that suggests first light, twilight or a stormy day. In the dark there is “something more---unseen, unknown, mysterious.”

Lewis’s work has been exhibited in North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois, and Colorado. He is artist-in-residence at Gallery 1, Main Street, Sylva, N.C. More about his work is online at timlewis.blogspot.com.

“Arcadian Monuments” on Exhibit

A series of 25 photographs of rustic buildings and old homesteads forgotten by time along the Appalachian landscape is currently on exhibit at Hunter Library.

“Arcadian Monuments” is the work of documentary photographer Anna Fariello. Over the past 20 years, Fariello has driven hundreds of miles along rural roads and byways in southern Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina to find the solitary structures. She often visits the sites first, returning later with her cameras and softly colored filters to preserve through photography what she describes as “vanishing cultural artifacts.”

Many of the photographs in the series were originally part of a touring exhibition of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Fariello, research associate professor and director of the Craft Revival Project at WCU [http: craftrevival.wcu.edu], is a former research fellow with the Smithsonian American Art Museum and a former field researcher for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The author of several books, she taught at Radford University and Virginia Tech before coming to WCU in 2005.

The exhibit runs through December 31. Take the library’s main floor elevator to the second floor. Open to the public 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Hunter Library Snack Room Gets Refreshed!

In the library’s first-floor snack room, vending machines stocked with soft drinks, candy and chips have traditionally been the main attraction. But thanks to the work of an enterprising group of students, the area has a refreshing new look that invites students to sit down and take a break.
The 34 students who gave the area its extreme makeover are orientation counselors who were in search of a service project that would benefit the campus community. They drew up floor plans, consulted and collaborated with various departments, and canvassed the campus for unused furnishings that could be reused and relocated.
The results? Café chairs and tables, some upholstered pieces, wall décor and fresh paint in earthy shades of gold, cinnamon, and teal make the snack room ambiance more lounge worthy. The students did much of the painting, cleaning and furniture rearranging, assisted by personnel from Facilities Management.
“We want our Orientation counselors to have an opportunity to give something back to their university. We also want them to take on a project that results in an obvious change for the better,” says Tammy Haskett, director of orientation programs.
The refurbished lounge area is located next to the library’s main entrance, a short walk to the right down the outdoor walkway.

Database Access Problems

Hunter Library has been experiencing technical problems with database access. Links in our research guides and some handouts may not work or only have intermittent access. If you experience a problem accessing a database, please check Hunter Library's subject list or A-Z list on our main page or go to http://www.wcu.edu/1602.asp.

Hunter Scholar Award Deadline Extended

The Hunter Scholar Award deadline has been extended until March 25, 2009. All tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible and encouraged to apply. The award includes two course releases (one for the Fall 2009 semester and one for the Spring 2010 semester), funding for a full-time graduate research assistant for two semesters, $400 in support funds, and private study space in Hunter Library.
For more information about the award and to apply, please visit the Hunter Scholar Award page (http://www.wcu.edu/6831.asp).