The Bridge, Volume 5, 2008 Bridgewater State College
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Bridgewater State University Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University the bridge Campus Journals and Publications 2008 the bridge, Volume 5, 2008 Bridgewater State College Recommended Citation Bridgewater State College (2008). The Bridge, Vol. 5. Retrieved from http://vc.bridgew.edu/the_bridge/5 This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. ANNIVERSARY EDITION Printed by RPI Printing, Fall River, Massachusetts. Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro, Bickham Script Pro, and Existence Light, designed using Adobe CS3®. Created on Macintosh G5 systems running OSX 10 and PC systems running Microsoft Office XP Professional®. Copyright © 2008 The Bridge 131 Summer Street Bridgewater · MA · 02325 Phone 508·531·2317 Fax 508·531·1781 www.thebridgejournal.com [email protected] BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE To Mercedes Nuñez Professor of Art for advising the advisors Contents Mission Statement and Staff v Copyright Statement vi Introduction vii Contributors’ Notes 102 Honors 106 Volume VI Submission Guidelines 108 Special Features A Quiet Collapse 26 David George, Jr. | Alumni Award Recipient, Art Enticing 36 Despina Cunningham | 2007 John Heller Award Recipient An Interview with Art Conservator Ms. Theresa Carmichael 42 Laura Bowen Professor Groovy 61 Joan Medeiros Livingston | Alumni Award Recipient, Literature i Fiction Deep Water 14 Kate E. Pesanelli The Lady of North Babylon 29 Leah VanVaerenewyck A Life of Fiction 55 Cynthia Heslam Poetry Role Model 8 Amber Rhilinger what it is 11 Colleen Farrell Her Mouth Is a Startled Sparrow 34 Sean Janson small talk 59 Stacy Nistendirk Traffic Light Imitating Feeling 67 Richard Brancato Hoarding 77 Sean Janson I’d Like to Smoke 1000000 Cigarettes, Please 93 Sean Janson Nonfiction The Rose 2 Alexandra Carvario Stepping Out 49 Benjamin Hogan Sense 79 Leah VanVaerenewyck Scarred 96 David Bevans, Jr. ii Photography & Digital Art Untitled 7 Jason R. Gregory Untitled 9 Jenna Doyle Hollow 20 Stephen O. Johansen Vista 21 Cheryl Tullis Untitled No. 12 35 Eric Bailey Animal Series: Chicken 37 Agnieszka Wawrzak Captivated 68 Alicia Kelly Equality 75 Madeleine Patch Self-Portrait #2: Pimp My Ride 76 Jason Niemann Untitled 78 Kurt M. Schleehauf Irizumi: A Path to Self-Identity: Japanese Rockstar 87 Anna Takahama Beach Dune 94 Grant Ferro Three-Dimensional & Mixed Media Foundation Series: Holding 25 Lisa Arnold Metallic Past 38 Maggie Fiedler Coral Pearl Pendant 40 Patrick Fahy Fleeting 60 Lauren Rheaume Nuts and Bolts 69 Mary Lawrie Shea Islands of the Sheepscot 70 Juliana Williams Folk Flare 73 Maggie Fiedler Oilcan Tea Set 74 Jason Niemann Mokume Tigers Eye 85 Patrick Fahy Decommissioned II 86 Rose Esson-Dawson Winter Box 88 Laurie A. Riley The Elder 90 Derek T. Hambly iii Painting & Drawing Bianca 1 Nicole Fontenault Untitled 10 Sarah Haag Woods 12 Bernadette J. Bossé Crab Apple Sunset 22 Christin Hedman I Am Uncertain 23 Kelly LaBlue Nude Male Reclining 24 Tania Henry Locating an Echo 28 Derrick J. Zellmann Escape 33 Cynthia Steinkrauss Woodfall 39 Christopher Bennett Untitled 41 Nicole Fontenault Self-Portrait #1 48 Leia Terry Eternal 54 Michael Boudreau Corporate America 66 Benjamin Thurston My Thought Process: The Places Where I Think 72 Sean Leary Fauvism 89 Adrienne Berkland Piano 91 Kate Kelland Display 92 Nicole Fontenault iv Mission Statement The Bridge is produced and managed entirely by students. Our charge is to serve, as we are dedicated to showcasing the artistic talents of the student body while providing intern- ships in both editing and graphic design. Our goal is to excel, as we wish to pay a debt to our alumni, keep a promise to ourselves, and set an example for our successors. Staff Maria Alonso | Co-Editor-in-Chief Whitney White | Co-Editor-in-Chief Theresa Barnes David Bevans, Jr. Laura Bowen Jason R. Gregory Victoria Large Mandy Lyons Kurt M. Schleehauf Tara M. Sullivan Cheryl Tullis Shaylin Walsh Alumni Consultants Linda Hall, ’95 Rosann Kozlowski, ’92 Faculty Advisors Mary Dondero Jerald Walker v Copyright Statement The writers and visual artists have consented to have their work published in this volume of The Bridge; they have reserved all other rights. Works published in The Bridge are the property of the individual writers and visual artists and may not be reprinted or otherwise duplicated without their consent. Editors may submit work by following the established guidelines, but they are ineligible to win awards. Comments and inquiries can be sent to: [email protected]. vi Introduction This year’s publication marks an improbable milestone:The Bridge’s fifth anniversary. Many of the resources necessary to launch a venture such as this were simply not available to the founding editors. But Bridgewater State College students are competitive, determined, and dedicated—it is simply not in our character to abandon a goal within our reach, no matter how difficult the pursuit. It helped, too, that BSC students are gifted writers and visual artists, a fact borne out by the more than forty national honors and awards The Bridge has received during its relatively brief existence. With this proud history of tenacity and talent in mind, we could think of no better way to commemorate our fifth anniversary than by turning some of our attention to students from the past. For the first time, we sponsored contests in both literature and visual art that were open to all BSC alumni. We were thrilled with the response, receiving hundreds of quality submissions that spanned several gen- erations. Selecting our winners was a welcome challenge, and we are proud of all of our alumni who have maintained a connection with their alma mater while continuing to express themselves artistically. In addition to the alumni contest, we are pleased to include an interview with Ms. Theresa Carmichael, a BSC alumna whose extraordinarily successful career in art conservation has led her back to our campus to tackle an exciting project. Ms. Carmichael, along with the other alumni showcased here, is a role model for those of us who dream of continuing our involvement in the arts long after our studies here are done. But peers can be role models too, and this volume has no shortage of works by current students from which inspiration can be drawn. Once again, the journal received a tremendous number of submissions, all of which were carefully considered by each editor. Works were judged blindly, our sole concern being the merits of each individual piece. While we strove to be fair in our selection process, we recognized that it was in some ways unfair because we simply could not publish all of the excellent literature and visual art submissions that we received. Needless to say, choosing what to include was not easy. In fact, nothing about producing this journal was. For that reason, we are indebted to a great many people and departments for aiding us with their generosity and dedication. First, we must thank the Bridgewater State College Foundation, the Office of the President, and the Office of the Provost for their continued financial support. We also must thank the faculty and staff for all of their support. In particular, we’d like to thank the Department of Art, which has for five years allowed us use of its facilities and equipment, sometimes at the imposition of its students. As usual, we received wonderful advice and support from alumni consultants, Ms. Linda Hall and Ms. Rosann Kozlowski. And of course we would be remiss if we failed to sincerely thank our advisors, Dr. Jerald Walker and Professor Mary Dondero, who have consistently steered student editors to success. Their dedication to the college is unmatched; to us, invaluable. Finally, we are as always indebted to Bridgewater State College students, past and present, who have made possible The Bridge’s fifth anniversary. The Editors April, 2008 vii Nicole Fontenault Bianca Drawing · Ink · 18 in × 24 in 1 The Rose Alexandra Carvario Nonfiction ind rips at the flowers draped across the casket waiting to be lowered into the ground. Beneath a black tarp erected by the funeral home, a priest, whose name I don’t know and won’t bother to find out, drones on about my late uncle, whom he never actually met. Mourners huddle together, trying to squeeze under the tarp or beneath umbrellas, lest they get soaked by the freezing, windblown rain. The news is predicting blizzard conditions later in the night. I stand away from everyone, my sharp heels sinking into the earth, making keeping my balance a challenge. I refuse the umbrellas and the tarp. The rain runs through my hair and across my skin, drenching everything. The metallic, almost sweet taste of my blood swirls around my mouth; my teeth are chattering so uncontrollably, I’ve bitten my tongue. I realize I can’t feel my toes anymore. My ears, on the other hand, I can feel. They hurt so badly, I think they might fall off. Still, I stay right where I am. As the priest launches into a prayer to some saint, read straight out of a leather-bound black book that isn’t the Bible, I turn my palms up to catch the water. Above me, fierce gray clouds boil and roll. My dress, some cheap, black, Wal-Mart thing I bought last night, clings to me as if it too were made of water. I close my eyes as the rain pounds my upturned face. I know I am alive because I am cold. I know I’m alive because I can feel the rain beating against my skin. I know I’m alive because I can feel anything at all. I wonder what it would be like to be dead.