College of Fine and Applied Arts

Appalachian State University Department of Technology graduates, Adam Sacora, Andy Fulton and Alan Watts, are recognized in the latest edition of the FLS Energy newsletter.

Sacora and Fulton are recognized for their work on the company’s Canton Solar Farm.

According to FLS, at the Evergreen Landfill site in Canton, NC, the first phase of FLS Energy’s solar photovoltaic farm is ready to be turned on. So far, 15 FLS Energy designed units have been installed as part of the first of six phases. Each solar unit has 12 panels, and a panel can generate 240 watts of electricity. There will be 90 units once the project is complete by the end of February 2010.

A crew of five led by Adam Sacora and Andy Fulton has been working with Progress Energy and Evergreen for the past five weeks to plan, design and build a system that can adapt to the potential settling of the old landfill.

“It’s been a fun challenge trying to figure out how to build on a landfill site with restrictions on the ground,” Sacora said. “There is a two-foot cap over the debris and we cannot penetrate the cap, so everything has to start at the ground level. That makes it unique for any type of construction.”

To provide a base for the solar units, FLS Energy constructed concrete pads on top of the soil. Sacora said the pads will provide counterweight against high winds to the solar units, as well as support on the ground.

For more information about the project, visit http://firstlightsolar.com/blog/?p=28.

In addition, Fulton, Sacora and Watts passed the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Certification Exam for Photovoltaic. They are now certified NABCEP installers for Photovoltaic systems. Sacora also is certified in Solar Thermal.

The NABCEP provides a voluntary certification process that offers the public a high degree of protection because practitioners have to meet standards or qualifications and pass an exam.

A solar energy company near Asheville, FLS Energy specializes in Solar Hot Water (Solar Thermal) and Solar Electricity (Photovoltaic) Systems. The company’s Solar Energy Systems provide clients a hedge against rising energy costs and a clean, renewable source of energy.

The Department of Theatre and Dance Presents “A Still Life with Iris,” by Steven Dietz

Wednesday, Oct. 28, through Saturday, Oct. 31 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 1 2 p.m.

Tickets are $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for students. The Box Office is open Monday-Friday, 2-5pm, and one hour prior to show time. Purchase tickets in person, by phone at (828) 262-3063, or online at http://www.theatre.appstate.edu/performances/.

Still Life with Iris, by Steven Dietz is a fantastical adventure which centers on a little girl’s search for the simplest of things: home. Iris (Ariel Nicastro), lives with her mother in the land of Nocturno, a magical place in which workers make, by night, all the things we see in the world by day. For example: flower painters are busy painting all night the colorful blooms of the next day. In Nocturno, memories do not reside in people’s minds, but in their coats, called “PastCoats.” The rulers of Nocturno, the “Great Goods,” are determined to have the “best” of everything on their island, and therefore take Iris away from her home and bring her to Great Island to be their daughter. The Great Goods take her PastCoat away in order to ease the pain of being taken from her family. Fortunately, Iris was able to keep a single button from her coat, which serves as a clue to help her get back home. With the help of friends she meets along the journey, Annabel Lee (Colleen Longo) and Mozart (L.B. Brown), she frees herself from the Great Goods and returns to Nocturno, having found her past and her home once again.

A beautiful story full of magic, empowerment and hope, Still Life with Iris is the first play for young audiences to receive the Kennedy Center’s Fund for New American Plays Award.

Currently one of the most widely-produced plays for young audiences in the country, Still Life with Iris is an interdisciplinary art experience, with stunning visual images, magic effects, and an underscore of music by Mozart. Teresa Lee directs the production.

The Valborg Theatre is located at 480 Howard St., behind the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Parking is available on campus in faculty lots, the parking garage behind the Carol G. Belk Library and Information Commons, and behind the Turchin Center.

Students from Appalachian’s Thomas W. Reese Center for Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology thank the 10th Annual C-GAIT Golf Classic sponsor, NAPCO. The students are (left to right) Jack Hand, Carl Parker, Andrew Boehm, Emily Vidovich and Elizabeth Bond.

Appalachian State University’s Thomas W. Reese Center for Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology (C-GAIT) held its 10th annual Thomas W. Reese C-GAIT Golf Classic Thursday, Oct. 22, at Lake Hickory Country Club in Hickory.

NAPCO served as the sponsor of the event, and Harper Corporation sponsored lunch for the players.

Winning the Joe Seaman Spirit Award for low gross score was Appalachian’s Department of Technology team of Kevin Howell, Steve Jesseph, John Krumrine and Jeff Tiller. Winning The Colonel’s Cup for low net score was the Appalachian College of Fine and Applied Arts team of Greg Langdon, Richard McDevitt, Doug Rice and Glenda Treadaway. This is the second year that the team won the cup.

In the individual awards for men and women, Phil Garrison of the Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc., (PICA) team won the Longest Drive competition for the men, and Maggie Whitman of the Winston Packaging team won for the women.

In the Longest Putt competition, Rod Ambrose of the Fuji team won for the men, and Maggie Whitman won for the women. In the Closest to the Pin competition, John Krumrine won for the men, and Glenda Treadaway won for the women.

Funds raised from the tournament will benefit the GAIT program.

Michael Hendrix, Boston director and associate partner at IDEO, a world leader in human-centered and design-led innovation, is the keynote lecturer for Appalachian State University’s Third Annual “Power of Design” event, “Little d, big D,” held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Helen A. Powers Grand Hall at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center in Boone.

The Power of Design brings together students, faculty and members of the professional community in all design disciplines such as architectural design, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and theater design. The lecture is open to all design professionals and the public and is free of charge.

“IDEO is a design powerhouse,” said Jeanne Mercer-Ballard, program coordinator and professor of Appalachian’s interior design program. “They are a global leader in innovation and human-centered design and are leading the market in the connection of design and business. We are honored to have Michael Hendrix of IDEO come share his experiences with our students.”

Hendrix will share his personal journey into design thinking with examples from his career and the IDEO portfolio. Some of IDEO’s clients include Procter & Gamble, Nokia, Intel, Converse, Lilly, Del Monte and Vodafone. Nominated by business leaders globally as one of the world¹s most innovative companies, IDEO employs over 500 staff in eight locations worldwide.

In addition to leading the Boston location, Hendrix provides guidance for brand strategy on projects ranging from counter-culture apparel to over-the-counter drugs to luxury home goods. Prior to IDEO he served for six years as chief brand officer and creative director of Tricycle, Inc., a sustainable design company he co-founded to reduce petroleum use and landfill waste in the commercial flooring industry. Under his direction Tricycle received multiple recognitions for sustainable design and thought leadership from Business Week, the Smithsonian Institute, the Prince of Denmark and the British House of Commons, as well as the professional design associations of AIGA, IIDA, AIA, ASID and IDSA.

Hendrix’s creativity has merited awards from all of the major American graphic design associations and publications including the One Show, Type Directors Club, Print, How and Communication Arts. Hendrix now gets to return the favor by serving as a juror for these competitions.

In 2008 Hendrix was selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow, a trans-Atlantic fellowship of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, established to enrich Euro-American relations. In 2008 he was also named an AIGA Fellow, an honor acknowledging designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in the practice and conduct of graphic design within their local or regional design community and local AIGA chapter.

A native of Upper East Tennessee, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from the University of Tennessee. If he’s not designing he’s playing his vintage guitars and exploring New England with his wife and three children.

In addition to the lecture, Hendrix will lead a multidisciplinary workshop for design students. The cost for the workshop is $7. Those wishing to attend may contact Mercer-Ballard at 262-7832 or Marilyn Smith at 262-2220.

For more information about Hendrix, visit http://www.michaelhendrix.com/. For more information about Appalachian’s Power of Design visit http://www.faa.appstate.edu/powerofdesign/ or contact Mercer-Ballard at mercerja@appstate.edu.

Photo by Chad Everhart

Chad Everhart, AIA, an assistant professor of Building Science at Appalachian State University and a registered architect in North Carolina, recently had his project titled “Farmhouse Redux” featured in two notable publications, both of which contain Everhart’s photographs of the dwelling.

Composed by freelance writer Mike Welton, an article and slideshow of the project was featured as one of the Editor’s Picks on Dwell magazine’s website, dwell.com, and included a cross-promotional piece in the November issue of Dwell Magazine. Dwell is an international publication devoted to modern residential design.

Also, the project was selected for the 2009 Home of the Month juried exhibition. The Home of the Month Program is an annual selection of recent homes built by registered architects practicing in North Carolina and is a collaborative effort between the NC State University College of Design through its Home Environments Initiative and The News & Observer. The project was the subject of a feature article titled “A Remake that is Restrained, Respectful, and Rich,” which was prepared by Associate Professor Kristen Schaffer, Ph.D. of the NCSU School of Architecture, on September 26, 2009 in The News & Observer.