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Letter From The Editor

Hi Pirates! I hope you enjoy the fluidity of this publication as much as I do. I am Jaylin Roberts, the Editor of the Print Division. I am so excited to see this publication come to life. This edition of Rebel will always hold a special place in my heart because it is the first magazine I have helped curate as the Editor!

This edition of Rebel is centered around the fluidity of color and investigating what color or the absence of color, looks and feels like to an artist. I am so excited to showcase how the artists in this publication utilize color within their artwork. See how this edition of Rebel comes alive with color inside!

With much love,

Jaylin RobertsInterim Print Editor in Chief

Nia CruzCreative director

Jamie AntinoreGraphic designer

Cherie SpellerDirector of student media & TEC Advisor

Annah HowellMultimedia Production Manager

Ryder BarrettAdvertising & Marketing Administrator

Candy GriffinAdministrative Support Associate

Printing -

Morgan Printers, Inc.

Black, white, and everything in between

Spins and Dips

CHASE ALLEN

Catwalk CHASE ALLEN

Doorslam

PAUL EDWARDS

The Doorslam is an emotional reaction common among INTJ & INFJ types. By cutting people out of the fabric of one’s life, the self is protected from conflict and external stress. Doorslams can be applied in many cases and even to long-standing relationships that have lost their mutual benefits. The creation of this work was not only emotionally draining, but physically exhausting. At times, the labor was equitable to penance for the sudden and harsh ways that some of the strands were removed from the cloth of the artist’s life. Though the action was one of self-preservation and growth, the retrospective view is frequently negative and painful. The broken and loose warp threads remain tangent to the cloth and their absence can be discerned within the weave itself.

Untitled GRACE SCOTT

Betty Boop

OLIVIA GRAVENESE

Makeup ELIZABETH HENRY

Forbidden Fruit

OLIVIA GRAVENESE

In my mind

GRACE SCOTT

Heart and Mind

ALEX LOBO

This Too Shall Pass

KALEY SANDRIDGE

This Too Shall Pass is a series that came from an extended “burnout” approaching my senior year. These self-portraits explore a multitude of fears and concerns I experienced during this time. This series isn’t about the specific things I was worried about but, represents the emotions and fears that many of us face during times of significant change. I stage scenes intentionally using color and light, to provide only pieces of information to create an atmosphere of tension and transition. I use the deliberate manipulation of color and light, not only for aesthetic but as a tool to evoke an emotional response from the viewer. By playing with light and shadows, I invite the audience to partake in feelings of tension and tranquility, hope and despair. When I first started this series, it was just making images that popped in my head, I had no idea what they meant, I only knew that they fit together somehow. Throughout my time making this series I struggled to find what that meaning was, at first, I could provide a few reasons, but I knew that it was just me grasping at straws. Honestly, I am still not sure if I know the answer, even now I struggle when people ask me what this series is about, because this series is so much more complicated than just showing those feelings. I’ve taken care to construct every scene just how I imagined it, spent time collecting and making the props the way I wanted them, and that feels much bigger than what I have made it out to be. It’s not just about making photos that look pretty, it’s about creating this atmosphere that feels tense and dark, but that is kind of beautiful in its own way. The phrase “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” comes to mind, to be unable to turn something ugly or inferior into something attractive or of value. I feel that encompasses what I have done with this series, I took the ugliness of what I felt during that time, and I turned it into something beautiful and valuable to me, to remind myself that good can come from bad and that these feelings too shall pass.

Photography

This Too Shall Pass

KALEY SANDRIDGE

Cake Walk

Caroline Koerner

Lay my body here to rest

JAYLIN ROBERTS

You continue to stab me while I lay in a field of wildflowers

I looked into your beautiful eyes as you cut through the essence of who I appeared to be It brings you ecstasy knowing that you are the one opening up parts of me that have been untouched

This brutal act is happening to me and all I can think about is how I’m finally going to get the chance to become one with the earth

Leave my body here to rest so that the flowers can grow through my soul

Leave my body here to rest so that the animals of this world can feast upon my skin

Leave my body here to rest because as soon as the first stab went through me, my soul passed through me as well

Untitled GRACE SCOTT

Untitled GRACE SCOTT

The Darkness

JOSHUA BURNETT

Sometimes I wish the night would never end

Sometimes I wish the darkness would surround me so I could blend in

Blend into the darkness so I can’t be seen Blend into the darkness so I can’t be perceived Especially not by you or me

Cause with perception comes judgment And with judgment comes hurt Like your face being pushed into the dirt Judgement of the mistakes I’ve made

Even if my thoughts were delayed that day I don’t like being judged so in the darkness I stay It is in the darkness where I will lay For in the darkness, I am safe For I have made it that way.

BIANCA GUTIERREZ

Echoes of Eternity

COLTON YANCY

Click.

With her rifle cocked, Namye peered down the sights. Following the small silhouette through the foliage of the forest, her finger slowly caressed the trigger as she locked onto her target. “Do you have sights on our target?” Namye heard a voice come from the communicator attached to her shoulder. The voice came from Priam, her partner.

“Yes,” Namye affirmed. “Let me know when.”

The silhouette came to a complete stop. “Take the shot,” Priam said through the communicator. Namye took a deep breath, focusing her aim at the head of the figure, and fired. “Did you get ‘em?”

“Yes,” confirmed Namye. “You’re free to move in.”

Priam revealed himself from his hiding spot on the other side of the clearing. “Copy, moving in.”

Namye peered down her sights once more, following Priam’s movement through the clearing. “Hey, Priam?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful going towards that thing.”

“Aw! You actually do care about me!” Priam laughed.

“It’s not that. We’ve never had readings this high before, who knows what you could bring back to the colony.” Namye rebutted.

“Oh sure… Whatever you say, Nam. I always knew you were a big softie!” Priam laughed. Namye could hear his laugh even without the need for the communicator.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Just go investigate the body. I don’t want to be out here all day. Sis is expecting me back in a few hours.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.” Priam retreated. Through her sights, she watched as Priam got closer and closer to the forest’s edge. As he got closer, he raised his gun so he would be ready if something unexpected happened.

“Anything to report?” Namye asked through the communicator.

“Nothing yet. Are you sure you shot it?” Priam answered.

“I’m sure. I never miss.” As she said this, she could see Priam jump and raise his gun towards the trees, “Is everything okay?”

“I heard some rustling. Checking on it now.” Priam disappeared through the foliage.

“Keep me posted.”

Five seconds passed. Then twenty. When it reached forty-five seconds, Priam’s voice through the communicator could be heard, “Nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?!”

“I mean, all I see is blood. A lot of blood. Like, you definitely shot it. But it’s still alive. Somewhere.” Priam’s said in a worried voice.

“Okay. Stay there. I’m on my way.” Namye confusingly said. Namye lifted her body up from her position and started to cautiously march towards where Priam had disappeared into the foliage. She grabbed the pistol situated in her holster and raised it just in case. The wind blew heavily on her face as she started to pick up the pace. Two thoughts roamed through Namye’s mind. What was this thing that she shot, and how did it survive? Whatever the case may be, all that was important was that she got her partner back safely. The colony couldn’t afford to lose another good soldier during its most troubling time.

As Namye neared the opening into the forest, she could hear a faint gurgling sound coming from ten feet in front of her. Readying herself for whatever may be in the forest, she rushed in and…

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

She saw the blood that Priam had been talking about through her communicator, but no Priam. No dead body. She grabbed the communicator from her shoulder blade and spoke into it: “Priam, you there?! What is your position?”

She waited a few seconds for a response, being sure to look around and stay cautious in the process. Nothing. She tries again: “Priam, answer me. Are you okay?!”

Still nothing. Now she was getting worried. It was very unlike Priam to not answer. She almost missed him talking, but she wouldn’t tell him that. “Priam, you’re scaring me. What is your position?!”

This time, there was a sound coming from the other side. But it wasn’t Priam’s voice. It was that same gurgling sound that she had heard before making her way into the forest. A feeling of dread surged through Namye, thoughts running rampant through her mind.

“Who is this? Is that you, Priam? Please say something! Are you hurt?!” It was unlike Namye to be scared, but in this moment, she was.

“Namye-” A voice called out from behind her as she felt a warm touch on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around to see Priam.

Lovers Escape

He was battered, bruised, and bloodied. He looked as if he’d been through the end of the world. He could barely let anything else out before his body gave out.

“Priam!” Namye caught Priam before he hit the ground. “What happened?!”

“T-that thing… I-it’s still alive. It’s unlike anything-” Priam had to take a second to catch his breath. “That I’ve ever seen or heard. It’s not of this world.”

“Whatever it was, it’s gone now. We have to get back to the colony. Warn the others!”

“N-no!”

“What do you mean, no!?”

“I can’t go back. It’s not safe.”

“Don’t say things like that!” Namye wrapped Priam’s arms around her neck and boosted him up. “I’m taking you back, whether you like it or not!”

“Y-you can’t. It-” Before Priam could make out another word, his eyes convulsed. Rolling back behind his eyelids. He had let out a faint groan. His arms started to shake violently, making it difficult for Namye to keep hold of him. The shaking had become so intense, she had to let go.

As Priam fell back to the ground, every muscle in his body started to convulse, all while screaming in pain.

“K-kill me!”

Those were the only words Priam could let out as the convulsing had suddenly stopped. He laid there still. Absolutely still. No more muscle spasms. No more screaming. No more breathing. He was dead. Namye, barely able to process what had just transpired, started to crouch down to Priam’s side.

“Namye…” Before she could be by her partner’s side, she heard something whisper her name through the trees.

Startled, Namye jumps back up, her gun drawn towards the source of the whisper. “W-who’s there?! How do you know who I am?”

There was no response.

“Show yourself!”

Nothing.

Without wasting any more time, Namye starts to head towards the source of the whisper. “Make yourself known!”

“Namye…” The whisper could be heard again. This time, coming from the opposite side. Then another from her left. Then she heard the

whisper coming from every direction. The whispers were getting closer, louder. Namye couldn’t even hear herself think. The whispers turned to screaming. Still, the only word she could hear was her name. The screams pierced her ears, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She dropped her gun and put her hands up to cover her ears in an attempt to block out the noise. “Stop!”

The voices obeyed.

Priam’s lifeless body had suddenly come back from the land of the dead, but it wasn’t Priam. His eyes were still rolled in the back of his eyelids. He looked as if he were a puppet. His limbs were limp. His mouth was open, as if he were trying to speak. What came out of his mouth, however, wasn’t words but a tentacle. Then another appeared out of his mouth. The tentacles kept breaking free from the prison, which was his jaw, until his jaw broke and a new mouth formed in between the escaped tentacles.

“Namye…”

Namye, still recovering from the ear piercing shrieks from before, grabbed her gun from the ground and pointed at what used to be her partner.

“What did you do to him?!”

“We… saved… him…” A group of ten or so figures reveal themselves from the trees. All with the same inflictions that Priam had. In this group, a figure that had its head blown off, possibly due to Namye’s rifle. The tentacles on that one were thrashing around, as if it were in pain, but couldn’t say anything. They all pointed at Namye. “Y-you what?!”

Like a puppet, Priam’s fingers raised and pointed towards Namye, “We… will… save… you… too…”

Untitled KAESON JOHNSON

For this artist statement I plan to not just create photography that would be suitable for album covers, but in addition, these thematic images will also show the personal thoughts of existential crisis and nihilism. For years I’ve always made art to express “The void” and what the void looks like personally for me. All my life I’ve been trapped in an endless loop of the same day everyday, and as a result, I drift into insanity, hopelessness, or perhaps endless thoughts of little to no purpose at all. Although current life events gave me a terribly bleak way of life, I still hold the belief I have a voice and a story to tell. In addition to that, as someone who has recently been making music, my goal is to also make my sounds collaborate with the photography to portray the theme much like how a book cover supports the idea of the story that will be told.