University Star

If a picture could tell a thousand words, then Eye of the Dog Art Center would hold a library of stories.

Paintings, clay pottery and life-size dog and cat sculptures line the walls of the main art studio, as a few real dogs welcome visitors with Frisbees and chew toys.

Local artists Billy Ray and Beverly Mangham opened the center two years ago. The couple began conducting workshops at their home in San Marcos after 20 years of travelling across the country putting on art shows. The couple decided to build an art studio next to their house in the hopes of educating aspiring artists through weekly workshops and demonstrations.

“They’re both these really great talents in the art world,” said Kevin Huffaker, long-time friend of the Manghams. “Imagine if you had two really, really good professors but no college. In order to get the information, you had to invite the professors to come to your town. That’s kind of the way they’ve been operating for a long time.”

Huffaker, director of classroom technology support at Texas State, helped build the main art studio, the space was completed by volunteer work from numerous local artists in the spring of last year. Huffaker said the goal for the center is to host art experts from all over the world. Locals will then be able to take classes from them at a cheaper expense than it would regularly cost.

The art center offers classes in specialties such as screen-printing and Origami, but Billy Ray Mangham said his area of expertise has always been sculpture.

“I’ve been doing pretty much nothing but sculpture for the last 30 years now,” Mangham said.

Mangham said he knew he wanted to pursue art upon leaving the Navy and entering college in the early ’70s. Mangham’s original goal of becoming a forest ranger changed once he enrolled in a couple of art classes.

“I remembered how much fun I’d had back in junior high school doing art,” Mangham said. “That kind of got me back into it. That was during the time when hippies were going back to the land, and everybody wanted handmade pottery. So that’s how I drifted toward clay.”

Peter Arcidiacono, lecturer in the School of Art and Design, said one of the main aspects that sets Eye of the Dog apart from other local centers is the expertise the Manghams provide to students. One of the couple’s largest accomplishments was the founding of the Texas Clay Festival 18 years ago. The event has since become one of the largest art-centered events in the state.

“It’s the major ceramics exhibit for the State of Texas,” said Arcidiacono. “(Billy Ray and Beverly) bring in people from all over to engage and participate in what’s going on in the local ceramics scene.”

The name of the art center stems from Mangham’s first personal studio, Sleeping Dog. Neighborhood dogs would sleep on the building’s clay floor during the summer months.

Mangham said the curiosity he has for sculpture is reflected in the entire development of a piece, rather than the finished product. “That’s one of the cool things about pottery,” Mangham said. “You work in a series, and a series might last 20 years or it might be done in five pieces.”