The dalmation carved by sculptor James Phillips from one of the many dead oak trees in Galveston. This sculpture, as well as Phillips’ fire hydrant carving, are located next to Galveston’s city hall building.

Christine Crump

The Signal Staff

Hurricane Ike tore through Galveston Sept. 13, 2008, with a storm surge of 15 feet covering the island with petroleum laced salt water. Ultimately, the salt water from the storm’s surge left thousands of trees dead, including the 100-year-old live oaks that lined Broadway Boulevard.

On the city of Galveston’s Web site, there has been an estimated 11,000 trees that have died as a result of Ike. Of those trees, 3,400 have already been removed from public right of ways.

The Galveston Island Tree Conservancy started a committee because they did not want to see the dead trees end up in a landfill. Instead, they are using the wood to recycle, reuse and create works of art.

Two dead oak trees in front of Galveston’s City Hall were selected to create a work of public art, instead of cutting them down and sending them to the landfill. The Galveston Island Tree Conservancy chose James “Jimmy” Phillips to create a dalmatian and fire hydrant sculpture out of the trees.

“At first I was hesitant to agree to the sculptures,” said City Manager Steve LeBlanc. “But, the members of the Tree Committee and the community at large convinced me it was a worthwhile endeavor.  I agreed to support the carvings and I really think they are spectacular.  Mr. Phillips is quite an artist.”

James Phillips saws away as he sculpts a fire hydrant out of an oak tree that died as a result of Hurricane Ike. This sculpture is located next to City Hall in Galveston.

Phillips is a hobbyist carver who started carving trees four years ago, after cutting down a tree in his front yard.

“I was doodling with a chainsaw and someone liked what I did,” Phillips said.

Donna Leibbert, a member of the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy, got a call from Phillips saying he would donate his time to do the sculptures.

“He came down with a little clay statuette of a dalmatian,” Leibbert said, “and I went ‘Bingo, you’re my guy!’ ”

Leibbert said a donor offered to cover all of Phillips’ expenses.

“The dalmatian and the fire hydrant were requested by Donna and the tree committee,” Phillips said. “It was a tribute to the fire department and their inability to have a dalmatian on site.”

Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Smith said that there cannot be a dalmatian on site because “It’s more for the safety of the puppy and the liability.”

Ike was a devastating storm that left many people overwhelmed with everything that was lost.  The city of Galveston needed something to lift the spirits of everyone on the island.

“The storm’s surge really devastated our island,” LeBlanc said, “We were cautiously optimistic that our trees would survive, but so many of our live oaks eventually succumbed to the salt and stress.  Having an artist create something positive from our dead trees helps our community heal.”

Giving hope to a community that lost over 80 percent of its trees from Ike is an essential.

“It’s just, can we save the trees, can we have something to smile at, can we bring some joy to somebody, can we keep them just a little while longer rather than grind them up in a landfill?” Leibbert said.

Phillips has a few more tree sculpting projects coming up, including three private commissions in Galveston and one in Houston.

LeBlanc said four more trees have been identified to be carved by Phillips in Galveston. There will be one tree at Adoue Park, Wright-Cuney Recreation Center grounds, Jones Park, and Schreiber Park carved into sculptures.

Other examples of Phillips’ work is on display at the Rene Wiley Studio and Gallery on Postoffice Street in Galveston.

The sculptures of the dalmatian and the fire hydrant are located next to City Hall at 823 Rosenberg in Galveston, Texas.

Debris scatters the yard in the storm’s aftermath.

Courtney Brodbeck

The Signal Staff

The power had gone out and the sounds outside were like the sound track to a bad disaster film. My mother and I, along with three others, hadn’t evacuated very far from our home on the west end of Galveston Island; we were in Santa Fe and about to use every ounce of strength our bodies possessed.

We were all downstairs in our friend’s home when the water started seeping in through the cracks of the French doors. The wind was beating ferociously at the house and it was only a matter of minutes before the doors would blow open, letting the chaos outside rush into the haven we made inside.

We all scurried to find anything to barricade the doors. First was the couch, then the chairs, and finally, as a last resort, we flung our bodies across the furniture to make sure the doors were secure.  It was man versus nature, and for a second it seemed nature would win.

All my mother and I could think about was our little beach hut we called home.

“Please let it be standing, let our neighbors be OK and let our island still be home,” we prayed.

When we were finally able to get back on the island, my mom and I slowly turned the corner to our street. Though severely beaten by the storm, we still had a house. I know others were not as fortunate, so I’m thankful that the stilts stood strong and held up our beloved home.

After assessing the damage of our home, the next step was locating my car. Since we didn’t want to take the chance of being separated, we left my car behind. A couple of days later a friend found it four miles from my house. I don’t think it would have passed a Carfax report; it would have read, “New upholstery, freshly painted, and recent work down to the exterior.”

Although one good thing did come from my car being demolished; I could pay my loan off from the bank. Oh well, at least we were home.

We were not supposed to stay on the island. Residents were being allowed in to the city on a “look and leave” basis, but we couldn’t bear the thought of leaving our home again. Besides, there was no place else to go. There wasn’t a hotel room empty for a 300-mile radius, so we decided to rough it the best we could.

The break-away walls helped to reduce damages to the upper level of Courtney Brodbeck’s house; however, the lower left portion of the house was left in shambles after Hurricane Ike.

The routine we had was simple:  drive into town to pick up our ice and army meals, fill our containers with gasoline so we could power the generator and, of course, get lots of water.  Since the power hadn’t been turned back on yet and we could only plug necessary items into the generator, we had to become energy savvy. Running the electric water heater wasn’t a necessity so every morning we set out jugs of water on the deck so the sun would heat them up and, once heated, we took our infamous “jug baths.”

At night we looked outside our window and waited for just one tiny glimpse of a light to come on in the neighbors’ homes, giving us hope that our community was beginning to be restored. We loathed the sound of the generator turning off, when the fan would stop and the mosquitoes would hone in and attack. Gasoline was precious and we allowed ourselves only one tank per night.
However, as time passed, seeing a friendly face and unbelievable kindness from others brought hope. A disaster can bring out the best and the worst in people, but witnessing the selfless acts of compassion after Hurricane Ike showed me the true nature of mankind.

Efforts to rebuild our lives and community continue, and the road to recovery is still being tackled, but as the anniversary of Hurricane Ike passes, we are just grateful to have each other. Though some of the possessions we collected over the years were lost, we learned a great deal about ourselves, and during a time that tested our abilities we discovered how strong we are.

Shelter, by Bethany Quillin (steel, wood).

Mary Ann Wangler

The Signal Staff

The Art Alliance Center at Clear Lake, located at 2000 NASA Parkway, is currently hosting “Flotsam & Jetsam: Artists Respond to Hurricane Ike.”

“To encourage creative interpretation of the theme and to diversify the art and the materials used to make it, we have tilted our August exhibition about Hurricane Ike, Flotsam & Jetsam,” said curator Debra Kendrick.

Flotsam is debris found floating or that has washed ashore, and jetsam is cargo cast overboard to lighten the load. Artists had the choice to use the hurricane as the theme or subject of their work, or they could use the “flotsam churned up by the storm or the jetsam cast off by its victims to create something fresh form all the devastation,” Kendrick stated.

Looking Up, by Che-Hwa Wang (dry plum leaves). The artist is a UHCL student.

“The invitational aspect of the show will include both; as well as works by Galveston artists and other coastal area artists who suffered particularly at the hands of Ike.”

Kendrick also said that several of the works on display are by current and former University of Houston-Clear Lake students.

The “Flotsam & Jetsam” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 8, 2009. The gallery is open to the public Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and accepts donations.

Gretchen Mueszkowski, professor of literature and women’s studies, and Angela Howard, professor of history.

Nancy Nguyen

The Signal Staff

Gretchen Mieszkowski, professor of literature and women’s studies, will be retiring from UHCL after  35 years.

Dean of Human Sciences and Humanities Bruce Palmer reflected on Mieszkowski and the first year UHCL opened.

“She has been here 35 years and was one of the three senior people hired in HSH that first year,” Palmer said. “She led the program and has also been one of the most dedicated teachers and faculty members the school has ever had.”

The Bayou Building was under construction and the second atrium was almost complete when she first started her career at UHCL.

One thing that Mieszkowski will miss is sharing her knowledge of Literature and Women’s Studies with her students.

Mieszkowski is  passionate about modern and contemporary writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton and women writers of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

As the founder of the Women’s Studies Program at UHCL, Mieszkowski has many published articles including a monograph, The Reputation of Criseyde: 1155-1500 that focuses on medieval literature and gender issues.

“I love to talk about the marvelous material I get to teach,” Mieszkowski said. “It’s a great pleasure to talk about material as wonderful as this with students who find it interesting.”

The passion that Mieszkowski has brought to the university has helped shape the way the Women’s Studies Program of UHCL has grown over the years.

“HSH would not be what it is today without her,” Palmer said. “I would say she has had as much impact on HSH as any faculty member or administrator has since the beginning of the UHCL.”

Mieszkowski has fond memories of UHCL.

“My fondest memory takes some explaining,” Mieszkowski said. “Our first dean in HSH, Calvin Cannon, was splendidly into promoting the arts in Houston and, along with Chancellor Alfred Neumann, loved contemporary music. The second atrium had just been built.

“The second half of the Bayou Building wasn’t yet in operation. Chairs were placed around the edges of the atrium and four wooden tower-like structures were built in the four corners of the atrium. On those structures were positioned two excellent singers, one man and one woman, a trumpet player, and one other instrument player. With the lights extinguished and the stars shining through the top of the atrium, they premiered ‘Sirus,’ a piece by Karlheinz Stockhausen, a famous contemporary German composer. I will never forget the magic of that trumpet in the night as this new university came into being.”

“Perhaps the best I can do to describe [Miesckowski] is to describe her as an intelligent, gracious person who has given a great deal to her students, HSH and UHCL,” Palmer said.

Mieszkowski is the only UHCL Piper Award Nominee to win at state.

Mieszkowski leaves behind a note of advice to all students about the importance of education.

“Never forget that what the university can give you is an education,” Mieszkowski said. “Not simply training for a position, but an education:  exposure to the thought and experience of many cultures; a taste of many different ways of thinking; the ability to think critically and express your thoughts.”

Howard Eisner, associate dean for the School of Human Sciences and Humanities.

Savannah Drake

The Signal Staff

After 35 years of dedicated work to the university, Howard Eisner, associate dean for the School of Human Sciences and Humanities, will be retiring this summer. Eisner, who was a member of the founding 40 faculty members that began this university in 1974, has been associate dean of HSH for the past 10 years.

Eisner, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, began his career at UHCL unexpectedly. While at Duke University, he came across an announcement for job openings at a brand new school in Texas, that school being UHCL. He applied for the position not thinking much about it. Later, he received a call from the founding dean of the university. Eisner, having no plans to go to Texas, figured he would be honest and told the dean what he felt philosophically. The dean replied by saying that if Eisner had been able to read his mind, they could not have not been more on the same page.

Eisner has a lot of memories to share about the university and the changes he has seen. At the beginning, the entire faculty was blended together in the small space they had to share. The school did not have traditional degrees; each degree was designed for each individual student. He recalls the majority of the population of the university being adult females who had children and were really excited to return to school. He says that the approximate age of the students was two years older than the average age of the faculty, which was 29 at the time. We have a much wider age range of faculty now. We now also have a very diverse student population, with a much greater age range.

One of his favorite memories was being a part of a great bunch of people working together to create new programs with a great passion. Now, he is proud of the fact that the university has done what it has set out to do. Eisner says the school now has all different types of departments and a wonderful faculty.

Eisner’s decision to retire was a family decision. His wife retired about three years ago, and he has grandchildren on both coasts. He loves traveling and wants to be able to travel before he gets too old to do so. He also has found that after 35 years of being at the university, it has been hard to continue to be passionate when a lot of paper work has been added to the curriculum. He adds that a lot of the people who began this journey with him have already retired and tell him they are enjoying retirement. He wants the chance to do the same.

Eisner said his plans after retirement include becoming “A combination of a bum, a traveler, a returning student and a volunteer.” By this he means taking time to read, traveling with his wife, maybe returning to school to take classes he is interested in and volunteering at the United Way.

Eisner says that he will miss the people here at UHCL the most.  He enjoys the “neat” people he gets to work with on a daily basis.
“He’s a pretty remarkable fellow; I think in some ways HSH is what it is because of him,” said Bruce Palmer, dean of HSH, who is also a charter member of UHCL. “I can’t think of anybody else in the last 35 years that has had such an impact on the way that the school works; he’s always been an extraordinary partisan for the school.”

Division Chair of Humanities and Fine Arts Deborah Griffin also had stories to share about Eisner.

“Often, he is asked to make difficult and unpopular decisions,” Griffin said. “When doing so, he always thinks of the people who will be impacted by those decisions and does all he can to mitigate the challenges.”

Griffin is also impressed with his love for UHCL.

“He is proud of this institution, and he has dedicated his professional self to serving it, nurturing it, and helping it grow,” Griffin said. “He is quite the role model—for students, for faculty, and for administrators.  We will miss him very, very much.”

Eisner will officially retire Aug. 31.  Robert Bartsch, associate professor of psychology, will serve as interim associate dean while a formal search is conducted to fill the position.

“He has a huge amount of institutional memory, hopefully throughout our work this spring and summer I’ll be able to learn enough of it to have a relatively smooth transition,” Bartsch said. “In taking over as an interim associate dean, I feel honored to be selected and awed at the responsibility the job entails.  I know I’ll have some huge shoes to fill and I’ll do the best job I can.”

Eisner sums up his experience here as “a wonderful one.”

“When you take someone who has just finished a Ph.D. and say to him, a 29 year old, ‘go start a university,’ that is something that is remarkable,” Eisner said.

The Signal Staff

Red, lifeless carapaces alongside empty beer bottles and clean-picked corncobs fill trash can after trash can as the faint smells of smokehouse mesquite and Cajun seasoning waft through the air.  In the distance, the wails and passion of zydeco music cry their unique and pleasant sounds.  It is that time of year again.  The Texas Crawfish and Music Festival has arrived.

Old Town Spring hosts the Southern United States’ largest crawfish festival that has been going on for 23 years, and this year’s was a sight to behold.

Vendors from around the Houston area and beyond came to sell their oh-so-secret recipe crawfish buckets, complete with the standard boiled new potato and cob of corn.  The prevailing flavors immolate the mouth with cayenne and black pepper, overtones of cinnamon and garlic tickle the palate but mingle oh-so-well with a tall, frosty beer.

This festival boasts as much as 50,000 pounds of crawfish being cooked, all to serve a very special purpose.

Normally, the festival profits benefit the organizations that are charged with preserving Old Town Spring, a railroad town dating back to the early 1900s.  This year, however, the funds are going to assist those who have been hit hardest by Hurricane Ike.

The first weekend of the festival was looking almost as dim as Ike did, with a storm forcing the closure of the festival early on Saturday and not reopening the doors to the public until 5 p.m. that day.  The festival opened up the next day, much to the public’s applause, despite muddy field conditions and a bit of standing water.

Manning the gate of the festival and much of the volunteer posts were members of the local Knights of Columbus Council 6557, a Catholic organization of men who volunteer within their society.  Among the volunteers was Bob Bensfield.  Bensfield’s spirits were high despite the aforementioned rainstorm.

“We have been doing this event for six years,” Bensfield said.  “It’s always fun.  This year’s festival is going pretty well, considering the rain we had yesterday.”

The festival, which happens every year in the springtime, not only features spicy Cajun crawfish, but music acts from around the area and country.  This year’s acts included Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners, LT Roberts & the Zydeco Mob, KISS tribute act Destroyer, Glass Intrepid, Cory Morrow and numerous others playing on any one of three stages set up throughout the festival.

Comments from the public were hard to hear over the sounds of the bands, boiling crawfish pots and gnashing of teeth as crawfish tails were devoured, but  this reporter was able to make out a single word from patron Damon Kothmann of Houston.

“Great,” Kothmann said, summing up how he felt this year’s festival went.

As this spring comes to a close and we all go our own directions for the summer, make sure to raise a toast and observe a moment of silence for those crusty crustaceans we all crave.  Mudbugs, crawdads, crayfish and crawfish – whatever the region may call them – Texas calls them delicious.

The Signal Staff

The University of Houston-Clear Lake hosted the 2009 Visual Art Scholastic Event April 17-18.

VASE is a statewide competition comprised of enrolled high school students grades 9-12 in both private and public school systems. This year, 3,000 students submitted approximately 9,000 pieces of art for judging.

“This venue supports the goal of recognizing the academic and creative achievement of high school students who have excelled in fine arts,” said Sandria Hu, professor of fine arts.

Artworks, which are on display in the Bayou Building, were to be comprised of artwork ranging in different styles from jewelry, sculpture, drawing to print making. Each student was judged on originality, technical expertise, understanding of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, and interpretation of the student’s intentions for his or her piece.

There were 60 jurors present at the event who judged the artworks at the competition. The jurors rated the artworks on a scale from 1, being below average, to 4, being a superior rating. Winners of the superior rating received a regional medal and artworks that qualified for state competition will get an area medal.

This year’s invited international component presenter was Bedrich Kocman. Kocman is an assistant professor of art and design at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic.

He did a series of workshops on Saturday in silk-screen techniques with VASE students. In workshop, students sketched out a design and cut it out, Kocman then assisted the students with silk-screening their sketches.

“I am glad to be here, this refreshes my mind,” Kocman said. “I hope to show the possibilities [on] silk screening.”

A break from the routine of teaching to his older students in Bohemia, Kocman said this trip for VASE was like a big test for him to see how well he can pass his knowledge of silkscreening technique to the students he will only see for one hour, rather than one semester.

Kocman will also have his Metamorphoses of Print, on display on the second floor of the Bayou Building, Atrium 1.

For more information about VASE, visit their Web site www.taea.org/vase.