Mountain EmpireCommunity College3441 Mountain Empire RoadBig Stone Gap, VA 24279

276-523-2400

www.mecc.edu/explorations

EXPLORATIONSFine Arts Magazine • 2017

A Publication of Mountain Empire Community College

P h o t o g r a p h y • P a i n t i n g • P o e t r y

ELCOME to Mountain Empire Community College’s 2017 arts magazine, Explorations. In these pages you will find the photographs, paintings and writing of some of our very talented students and alumni. The artistic style and vision that produce each piece may vary greatly, but all the works represent an artist who’s creative, inspired, engaged with the world, full of curiosity and energy, and eager to reach an audience.

On behalf of the entire campus community, we would especially like to thank all the contributors for their willingness to share their talents with all of us. Also, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the very talented judges, all distinguished in their respective fields, who agreed to judge the entries for us. Finally, we appreciate the support of the college administration, Student Services, the Arts and Sciences Division, Printing Services, and the Office of Community Relations for their financial support and technical expertise.

Explorations Faculty Sponsors:Brandi MartinezDerek Whisman

Mountain EmpireCommunity College

Table of Contents

Color Photography1st Place - Hannah Maness - “Mom’s Cantaloupe” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32nd Place - Kelsey Kennedy - “Snow White”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43rd Place - Richard Pickell - “Spring”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Honorable Mention Lana Kennedy - “The Tree” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Hannah Maness - “Lily” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Black and White Photography1st Place - Lana Kennedy - “Hands of Time”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82nd Place - Kristy Hood Pickell - “For You Mommy 3”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93rd Place - Kelsey Kennedy - “Ms. Porch”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Honorable Mention Victoria Thomas - “Looking Up To You”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Painting1st Place - Ryland Smith - “Over Yonder - Van Gogh” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122nd Place - Ryland Smith - “1 of 2” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133rd Place - Dennis Barnett - “Elephant” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Honorable Mention Courtney Hay - “Atlantic”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Poetry1st Place - Rebecca Lane - “Ink Stained Page” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162nd Place - Hannah Maness - “Another Getaway” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173rd Place - Kristy Hood Pickell - “A Different View” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Honorable Mention Hannah Maness - “The Monster” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Kari Phillips - “The Depths”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

P H O T O G R A P H YExplorations First Place 2017 - Color Photography

Mom’s CantaloupeHannah Maness

Spring 2017 | 3

P H O T O G R A P H Y 4 | Explorations

Explorations Second Place 2017 - Color Photography

Snow WhiteKelsey Kennedy

P H O T O G R A P H YSpring 2017 | 5

Explorations Third Place 2017 - Color Photography

SpringRichard Pickell

P H O T O G R A P H Y 6 | Explorations

Explorations Honorable Mention 2017 - Color Photography

The TreeLana Kennedy

P H O T O G R A P H YSpring 2017 | 7

Explorations Honorable Mention 2016 - Color Photography

LilyHannah Maness

P H O T O G R A P H Y 8 | Explorations

Explorations First Place 2017 - Black and White Photography

Hands of TimeLana Kennedy

P H O T O G R A P H YSpring 2017 | 9

Explorations Second Place 2017 - Black and White Photography

For You Mommy 3Kristy Hood Pickell

P H O T O G R A P H Y 10 | Explorations

Explorations Third Place 2017 - Black and White Photography

Ms. PorchKelsey Kennedy

P H O T O G R A P H YSpring 2017 | 11

Explorations Honorable Mention 2017 - Black and White Photography

Looking Up To YouVictoria Thomas

P A I N T I N G 12 | Explorations

Explorations First Place 2017 - Painting

Over Yonder - Van GoghRyland Smith

NOTE: The above is a recreation of an illusion painting of Vincent Van Gogh by artist Oleg Shupplyak©

P A I N T I N GSpring 2017 | 13

Explorations Second Place 2017 - Drawing

1 of 2Ryland Smith

P A I N T I N G 14 | Explorations

Explorations Third Place 2017 - Drawing

ElephantDennis Barnett

P A I N T I N GSpring 2017 | 15

Explorations Honorable Mention 2017 - Drawing

AtlanticCourtney Hay

16 | Explorations P O E T R Y

I keep my memories in a book of poems

Days may fade

Faces change

But immortal stays the ink stained page

Bound and covered with dust

And the record there will never rust

My memories forever strong

And as they were right then

For poetry is immortal

And mighty is the pen

My hands may wither

And my memory fade

But my words forever will stay

On some ink stained page

Explorations First Place 2017 - Poetry

Ink Stained PageRebecca Lane

Spring 2017 | 17P O E T R Y

Between the night and day.

Come whatever may

Daylight always fades away.

Everything once bright is gone

Forgotten until the morning.

Grace dances upon the dew that

Happily glistens in the morning,

Ignoring all the mistakes of the night before.

Jacketed in the secrets of a new day,

Keeping everything away,

Least for a brief moment.

Morning fades and

Night falls once again.

Opening the wounds of the past.

Playing things over in your mind.

Quiet peace will come in time

Raising old questions of the past will come first.

Serenity and chaos all at the same tone.

Time passes slowly late at night,

Until the sandman finally appears.

Visiting only after thoughts run abound.

While night lingers,

Xerox the day and put it away for safe keeping.

You catalog the memories as they come,

Zigzagging across night and day.

Explorations Second Place 2017 - Poetry

Another GetawayHannah Maness

18 | Explorations P O E T R Y

I take a look around, and quickly become overwhelmed,

The lights, the sounds, the movement of people,

It’s too much.

I try to focus but all sense of security is lost,

I am scared.

I crouch down and cover my ears,

People look at my mommy as though to say

“Why don’t you control your screaming child?”

What they don’t understand is

I am a child with Sensory Processing Disorder.

I am special in that I can hear things they can’t.

I hear things they don’t such as the ceiling fan, or the lady stocking the cooler,

Some would say I have supernatural powers,

But at my age, it’s scary.

So I withdraw deep down inside my own little world,

All you can hear is my screaming,

It’s scary, it’s scary, it’s scary….,

Please mommy take me someplace safe

It’s scary, it’s dark, and it’s lonely.

Mommy knows just what to do as she picks me up

and takes me to my safe place.

Explorations Third Place 2017 - Poetry

A Different ViewKristy Hood Pickell

Spring 2017 | 19P O E T R Y

Step inside the darkness

to try to hide away the pain.

Turn away from the sun

so no one knows your name.

Creep inside the shadows

careful not to breathe.

If you wake the monster inside

never shall you leave.

Fight back the feelings

that haunt you day to day.

Deep in a hole you sit

plotting your escape.

The bleak darkness holds you so tight

You can only feel its squeeze.

Silencing you to the point

that no one can hear your please.

Hopelessness is all you feel, sorry all you know.

Again the monster holds you, never to let you go.

Explorations Honorable Mention 2017 - Poetry

The MonsterHannah Maness

20 | Explorations P O E T R Y

The waves have pulled me under, they’ve tossed me about…. all the while I was

thrashing but you didn’t hear a sound. I strangled on the water filling up my lungs. I knew

I should have stopped fighting but I didn’t want to succumb. I saw the sun glistening on

the water above, if only had I swam in the shallow instead of the depths of this kind of love.

I want to drain this ocean out. I want to yell, scream and shout!! I will slowly lose sight as I

fade into the depths. I wonder to who will I truly be missed?

Explorations Honorable Mention 2017 - Poetry

The DepthsKari Phillips

Mountain EmpireCommunity College3441 Mountain Empire RoadBig Stone Gap, VA 24279

276-523-2400

www.mecc.edu/explorations