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Page 3 • Thursday, July 15, 1999
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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JP BEATO
BY HEATHER BRONDY
The Battalion
C ollege Station may not be
known as the high-art mecca of
the state, but it is definitely not
suffering for lack of talent.
Any creativity cats can medicate
their right-brained needs with a trip to
the art galleries of the College Station
area, where art is not only a hobby,
but is a unifying source in the com
munity.
Marie Kelly, owner of the commu
nity’s newest art galleries. Soul
Works, said art is the world’s stimu
lant for the reception and celebration
of diversity.
“Our goal here is to show that art
is not right or wrong,” Kelly said. “It’s
as broad as there are people. Every
culture has its artists, and what we
want to show is the diversity of our
own community.”
Kelly has always been fascinated
with art of all kinds and is a painter
herself.
With local artist Dale Wicks, the
two have worked to create a gallery
that is a refuge for viewing as well as
a place of interaction.
Kelly and Wicks said they believe
everyone has artistic ability and
putting too much faith into the con
formed views of good and bad art is
limiting.
“A lot of people don’t think they
have art in them,” Wicks said. “But I
would like to see people start explor
ing their creativity.
“Valuable art is being able to trans
parently convey what is within you.
Technique is a nice vehicle, but it’s re
ally about sending a message without
fear of what others are going to
think."
Kelly and Wick’s plans include
community painted murals, outdoor
exhibitions, art classes and displaying
and selling the work of local talents.
“I’d really like to get some work
from the A&M international students
as well as some more photography,”
Kelly said. “Though really, if I think
we can sell it, then it’s welcome to go
on display.”
Wicks, whose paintings are for sale
in other Bryan-College Station gal
leries, has been working as a serious
artist for the past 10 years.
“It’s really been a lot of fun,”
Wicks said. “This is a great opportu
nity for locals to show their work. If
you look around, you’ll see we have
people of all ages, genders and na
tionalities selling their stuff here.”
Soul Works offers a various collec
tion of local, national and interna
tional art including photography, pot
tery, woodwork and other eclectic
artistic mediums.
Afficionados of local art may enjoy
the random photographs of local mail
boxes or the feather rakus done by Dr.
Scott Linthicum, professor of veteri
nary medicine.
Kelly said art is not a purely visual
experience.
“It’s about sounds and thoughts
and strong emotions,” Kelly said.
The Local Color Gallery & Store is
another College Station art store spe
cializing in Texas artists. Opened by
the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, the
store’s primary objective is to promote
local and state-wide talent in the vi
sual arts.
Executive director of the arts coun
cil David Romei said he is proud of
what the gallery has done for Texas
artists.
“The Local Color Gallery is the Arts
Council’s avenue for exhibiting and
selling works by artists from all over
Texas,” Romei said.
“As the Brazos Valley continues to
grow, it is the goal of the Arts Council
to ensure that the arts are well repre
sented and that our quality of life con
tinues to be aesthetically challenging,
pleasing and worthy of our American
heritage,” he said.
Because of plans for renovation,
the gallery is currently holding a sale
so remodeling plans can begin as
soon as possible.
Jeffery Davis, gallery director, said
the Arts Council is hoping to remodel
the store in the more contemporary
style of popular metroplex galleries
such as those located in Houston and
Austin.
"We want to create an environment
similar to those found in galleries in
larger cities,” Davis said. “But we
don’t want to replicate them, simply
use them as a model.”
Both the Local Color Gallery &
Store and Soul Works are interested in
displaying the work of new and as
piring artists, but the owners said they
hope to attract individuals who do not
feel they are artistically gifted.
Bea Uvacek, Local Color customer,
said she is no Picasso.
“I’m not an artist myself,” Uvacek
said. “But I truly appreciate and ad
mire other people’s work. That’s why
I’m here, just to enjoy the creativity of
others.”
.Clockwise from top left: Dale Wicks, a local artist, stands in front of one of his paintings; many local artists’ works are on display at the
^Soul Works gallery; Marie Kelly, owner of Soul Works, sits in her gallery; various works fill the main room of the Local Color gallery;
Wicks’ work, “The Offering,” is currently on display at Soul Works.
Graveyard Shift
Late-shift workers juggle odd hours, classwork to achieve goals
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BY SCOTT HARRIS
The Battalion
M aybe it is a late-night party or a late-
night study session, or maybe there is
a “Crocodile Hunter” marathon on
television. Whatever the reason, late nights are
a reality for almost every college student — but
no one purposefully puts themselves through
the rigors of the morning after on a regular ba
sis. Well, almost no one. There is a group of
students who do this just about every night.
They are the workers of the late shift.
Working the graveyard shift cuts into study
time, social time and most importantly sleep,
but these workers have found a way to cope
with working late nights and dealing with life
at the same time.
Deepak Devaraj, a senior marketing major
and bartender at The Dry Bean Saloon, said
his late-night job does affect his classes.
“It definitely makes it harder to go to class
es,” Devaraj said. “I can usually stay awake for
the first part, but then I fall asleep. I don’t think
it hurts my grades though. I study harder when
I have to, because I know I don’t have much
time.”
Devaraj said that while many people might
use caffeine to help them stay awake, he
avoids the stimulant.
“I get about five hours of sleep a night, and
you never really get adjusted to sleeping that
much,” Devaraj said. “I just deal with it and
go. I think it is a good discipline builder.”
Theresa Morgart, a bartender at The Dixie
Chicken and senior agriculture development
major, said she and her fellow employees help
each other out when it comes to school.
“We usually swap shifts with each other
if we have a test,” Morgart said. “The man
agers are really understanding. We give them
our school schedules, and they work around
them. They do work with you. I have been
able to take time off right before finals.”
Morgart said she learned quickly how to
deal with late nights and classes.
“I’ve been working here for three years, and
I learned really fast not to get eight o’clock
classes,” Morgart said. “By my second semes
ter working here I knew what and what not to
do.”
Kevin Cambridge, an employee at the
Student Computing Center and a sophomore
mechanical engineering major, said he has
become accustomed to his late nights.
“I work from eleven to four in the morn
ing five nights a week,” Cambridge said. “I’m
used to staying up late. Last summer I
worked the graveyard shift, so I’ve adjusted
to going to bed after four. I just sleep all day
on the weekend.”
Cambridge said he learned to schedule all
of his classes in the evening. He said he had
one class in the morning that actually helped
him stay awake the rest of the day.
“I had a fitness and conditioning class in .
the morning,” Cambridge said. “It made me
feel not as lethargic and got the adrenaline
flowing through my body. It woke me up.”
Cambridge said the key to surviving a late
night job is staying positive.
“It really is a mental thing,” Cambridge
said. “You gotta look on the positive side, if
you let it get to you, it will. I see it as some
thing I have to do.”
Late-shift workers often say they believe
their jobs pose health risks because of altered
sleep schedules, but many feel the benefits
outweigh the disadvantages.
Morgart said that although her lifestyle is
unhealthy, she thinks the job is worth it.
“I work in a smoky environment,” she
said. “That coupled with the lack of sleep
and not being able to eat right makes it un
healthy. The employees tend to get sick a lot,
but working here is worth it.”
Working the graveyard shift can lead to
many embarrassing moments for the student
worker — sleeping through class, missing
tests or answering the home phone as if it
were the work phone.
Morgart said that although nothing too
embarrassing has happened to her, she has
friends that have suffered some humiliation.
“The worst thing I’ve done is been sound
asleep at home, and when the phone rang I
answered like I was at the [Dixie] Chicken,”
Morgart said. “But I did have a friend that
worked here and he slept for three hours [in]
class. His class was over at 10:50 [a.m.], and
he didn’t wake up until one in the after
noon.”
GABBY RUENES/The Battalion