BIOGRAPHIES

Ben Bunting

Ben is a Ph.D candidate in literature at WSU. His dissertation research explores the possibilities generated by combining the study of urban wilderness and location-based mobile technologies. When he isn't attempting to be scholarly, Ben is either writing poems, short stories, books, or songs, depending on the amount of ambition and Diet Coke in his system at any given time. Currently he's working on a article about the concept of "home" in Minecraft and a record about driving 10,000 miles across and around the U.S.

Deb Brumley

The SouthWest desert is Deb's favorite place on Earth. This photo at twilight captured a tremendous moment of desert quiet. She have been taking photos since Brownie cameras were in vogue.

Amber Contreras

Amber was raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is currently a student (of an unknown class standing) at WSU Tri-Cities. She is already a professional at confusing people. She is not addicted to Castle Age; she simply thinks about playing it all the time. When she was little she wanted to be a potato. She now wears big, clunky, combat boots and does not enjoy talking about herself in third person! She is loud.

"1", "3", "4": These are the artist's attempt at making a haiku sound deeper than most tend to.

"The Interpreted End": This poem was written in the artist's Sociology class because she was bored.

"Journey": Inspired by the artist's self-reflection of how her life has gone.

"The Rock": Inspired by sitting by the river and thinking deeply.

"Symbolically Put": The artist having fun with descriptions.

"The Unknowing Wanderer": This piece was written years ago and inspired by the long walks the artist often takes.

"Unicorns": This is a flash fiction piece that turned out unexpectedly, but the artist really likes it.

Kat Culbertson

Kat is a photographer by hobby and an editor for The Element. She decided to submit her works partially on a whim and to see what it was like to be on the other side of the submission form. She's glad that she did.
"Last Words": Seen on the trail going up Badger Hill
"Untitled 2": On the way to Pullman

Sara Ehlers

Sara has written poems and short stories as a hobby for as long as she can remember. She has never submitted any works to any sort of journals or other types of publications and is excited to get feedback from those who read her material.

Jenny Ewer

Jenny Ewer is a first year WSU Tri-Cities student and is working toward a bachelor's degree in English. She enjoys reading, watching trashy reality TV shows, and creative writing. She's currently working on three contemporary romantic suspense novels. Among the professions she is considering are novelist, literature teacher, kindergarten teacher, book editor, and mental health counselor.

Stephanie Fanning

Justin Floyd

Interested in commercial and fine art photography. Has been attending WSU Tri-Cities since Fall 2010 and is majoring in Digital Technologies and Culture. Mission: to provide aesthetically pleasing compositions and images with rhetorical value.

Jarod Franklin

Pedro Guajardo

"God's Hands": Driving back from Mexico, Pedro stopped to take this picture in the middle of the night and noticed that the lines resembled hands praying. Another thing he noticed is that, in the middle of the hands, there is something that resembles the Virgin of Guadalupe.

"One Step Towards Confusion": In this photo, Pedro says "I see this footstep in this picture is stepping into the path of the unknown, which causes confusion."

Amy Hatch

Amy is a recent graduate of WSU Tri-Cities. She received her bachelor's degree in English in the Fall.

Amy Jensen

Amy is a senior and will graduate this fall with a Bachelor's in English Literature and a Professional Writing Certificate. She enjoys writing poetry in her spare time. These two poems "Pressure" and "Tonight" were written and used for an assignment for Dr. Pieracci's Love in the Arts class.

Lisa Kafentzis

Lisa is a junior at WSU Tri-Cities pursuing a bachelor's degree in Digital Technology and Culture. She was born and raised in Kennewick and attended Southridge High School, then went on to earn her A.A. from Columbia Basin College, where she attended on the Allied Arts scholarship. Lisa says, "as an artist, I aim to create work that explores my personal interests, however different those interests may be from time to time."

Katie Klopfenstein

"A River View": This image was taken for a photography project at Columbia Basin College in 2009. The image was taken at Old Yellepit, a ghost town south of Kennewick, Washington. All that is left is crumbling foundations covered with graffiti, moss, and bullet holes. This picture was taken through a peephole in one of the foundations overlooking the Columbia River.

"Sun's Last Rays": This image was taken for a photography project at Columbia Basin College in 2009. The image was taken of a Gothic style barn located in Sunnyside, Washington, and can be seen from highway 181/I-82. It was early in November and the sun quickly dipped behind the hills, letting its last rays warm the old barn's weathered boards.

"Refuge": This image was taken for a photography project at Columbia Basin College in 2009. The image was taken of a Gothic style barn located in Sunnyside, Washington, and can be seen from highway 181/I-82. The day this image was taken, it was damp and windy and many pigeons had taken refuge in the old barn.

Denice Laws

Denice is a graduate student at WSU Tri-Cities. She wants to lead children in their education who come from difficult home lives because she believes that education saved her.

Mike Luzzo

Mike is currently a graduate student at WSU Tri-Cities. He writes various types of articles, non-fiction prose, and poetry. Professionally, he has had submissions accepted for public comment periods by the state of Washington for environmental studies and safety concerns. These have been written into Washington administrative code.

Nancy Maher

William Minthorn

William Minthorn is an Environmental Science student at WSU Tri-Cities. He is an infrequent and usually anonymous public author and music imaginist. He enjoys everything interesting, honest and imperfect in arts and in people.

Brent Rust

Brent Rust a self-taught photographer has been taking pictures since middle school. He originally used film then he moved to digital SLR's as equipment became more affordable and the quality increased.

He enjoys the colors, action, emotion, and challenges of sports photography. Yet he prefers to stretch his creative mind in the realm of model and portrait photography.

One of Rust's guiding thoughts when he creates images is that he wants to: "stop traffic when he creates an image or stop traffic when they see the results."

Something else that drives his desire for creative photography is: "Everyone has a story and I want to help tell it." He believes that there are so many stories, so much texture and an immense depth in all things created that the world is truly a studio just waiting for the right light in order to be captured in an image. The challenge is to tell a story in a single image. Capturing that moment for all of time.