Student Artist from Aberdeen to Speak at Noxubee Refuge

Recent graduate Shelby Nichols, the first student receiving a MSU-Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge Artist-in-Residence award, creates ink wash paintings of a bald cypress.
Photo by: submitted

STARKVILLE, Miss.–As Mississippi State’s first student artist-in-residence, Shelby K. Nichols of Aberdeen is busy taking in the nature and beauty of the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

Between now and her scheduled Thursday [May 28] departure date, the recent university graduate in fine arts/sculpture and Dean’s List Scholar is researching and creating a body of work inspired by the iconic black-and-white landscape photographs of Ansel Adams (1902-84).

During a free 10:30 a.m. program Saturday [the 23rd] at the refuge visitor center, Nichols will discuss how and why she identifies her work with that of the American photographer and environmentalist who helped establish photography as a fine-art form.

Immediately following the presentation, she will lead interested audience members on a walk through some of her favorite refuge areas.

Located 12 miles south of the Starkville campus, the more than 48,000-acre federal land reserve spanning Oktibbeha, Noxubee and Winston counties was established in 1940. It serves as a feeding and resting area for migratory birds and resident wildlife, including white-tailed deer, alligators and beaver. Wetlands, cypress groves, prairie grasslands and forest also are among its many features.

“I love walking out my back door and being in a kayak underneath the cypress trees in less than five minutes,” Nichols said of her experience. “It’s like vacation, only better, because I’m processing a body of work. I’m able to breathe, expand and have a clarity of mind.”

From its history to its plant and animal inhabitants to the community of wildlife management, volunteers and interns, Nichols said “so much about this place is special.”

She added, “The people who work here are full of love and knowledge and are my kind of humans.”

In addition to photography, Nichols plans to translate her refuge-inspired experiences through a variety of other media, including wood and ceramics.

Following the two-week refuge stay, she travels to Snow Mass, Colorado, to spend a week at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. After that, she will begin exploring other parks and refuges around the country.

For more, visit http://shelbynicholsartisan.com/blog/2015/5/19/noxubee-wildlife-refuge-residency-orientation. Nichols also may be found on instagram.com/shelbynicholsartisan.

In addition to the MSU art department, the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife artist-in-residence program is a collaborative effort of the refuge and its Friends organization, along with the Starkville Area Arts Council.

Previous participants in the artist-in-residence program have included painter and Webster County native William “Bill” Dunlap; printmaker Kathryn Hunter of Decatur, Alabama; Pennsylvania ceramicist Lilly Zuckerman; mural artist and illustrator Michael Roy of Jackson County; and New Orleans artist and critic Marian S. McLellan.

Complete refuge information is found at www.fws.gov/noxubee, facebook.com/NoxubeeNWR, and twitter.com/USFWSsoutheast.