Meet the Team
Victor Avitia
Miriam Delgado
Estelle Orleans
Anthony Gonzalez
Esther Phipps
Graphic Design
Sythia Cao
Eunice Chang
Shyannon Dwyer
Ilan Elenbogen
Guifu Liu
Priscilla Mendez-Ocampo
Sophie Mennenga
Lauren Peters
Aliyah Philip
Charlotte Watson
Hannah Wootton
Xiaoyi Zhu
Writing
Sandra Casco
Juliana Damian
Paige Henley
Sofia Jasso
Marieli Lopez
Annika Mandrekar
Jacob McGrath
Stephanie Mosqueda
Julissa Rodriguez
Charlotte Wisthuff
Vivian Xu
Multimedia
Abby Cabrera
Karla De La Cerda
Kandy Delgadillo
Francesca Dumitrescu
Ilan Friedman
Saanvi Gupta
Giselle Mancera
Lillie Ostarello
Rebecca Padilla
Sofia Ramos
Olivia Rebellón
Bailey Witter
Creative Director
Editor-in-Chief
Multimedia Director
Event Planning Exec
Social Media Director
Event Planning
Sandra Agafonova
Cameron Alagna
Najmah Amir
Amala Ather
Lily Brooks
Joy Chavez
Alexia Chur
Grace Cook
Presley Fox
Eliesse Gallegos
Della Griffin
Dhanai Haderaj
Emma Haugh-Ewald
Jasmine He
Zenny Hughes
Chai Ivaturi
Salman Khan
Cayleigh Kissinger
Serena Jimbar
Savanna Lasson
Manuella Lusambo
Edith Luna
Natalie Monroe
Tessa Olson
Sam Pasquesi
Pavel Paunov
Molly Pfeifer
Sofia Pulido
Gracelyn Sensibar
Rebecca Urrutia
Shagun Varma
Outer Front Cover by Guifu Liu
by Giselle Mancera
Inner Front Cover by Michelle Soltys
Daijah Williams Spring Has Come Digital
Sasha Agafonova Eyes
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
Anjelic Jones Jo March Graphite
Madeline Kruse Untitled
Cameron Fong
Childhood Friends, Sidewalk and Sun Collage
Porcelain Vase
PORCELAIN VASE, MILKY AND KIND, SITS ON A DARK OAK PEDESTAL
Descending to the core of the body, between bone and veins and ribs and brain, cleaves a porcelain heart. A porcelain heart comes universally gifted and polished clean and cold. Like it was brought down from the sky, it is untouched, and oh so pure. Kindly, it rests in the crook of white hard ribs, suspended in the air by veiny spider spindles. Much like an aerialist hanging from their favorite silks, the porcelain heart feels happy here.
Of course, Porcelain heart’s purpose isn’t to think. Quite the opposite, its only purpose is to feel. Touch, compare, and use, the porcelain heart feels. Boundlessly.
…
Writer
PAIGE HENLEY Designer
GUIFU LIU
Just as a baby sleeps, the porcelain heart nestles into the body and tucks its hands and legs into itself. At the beginning of its life, there’s no reason to have its limbs extended and tense, there’s no reason to run. Right now, its only purpose is to absorb the world around it. Today, I feel no film coveting the porcelain heart. Of trusting intent, the heart feels kisses for the first time, and what applesauce tastes like. What grass feels like inbetween its toes and how it feels to have someone watch over you from a few feet away. In censored exploration, porcelain heart feels the sun on its face. Porcelain heart is cool to the touch, as smooth and as potent as paint, and as white as untouched snow.
By the laws of nature, all spiders produce silk, but not every spider spins a web. Only a select few, in fact, are bred with webbing intentions in mind. Spider webs have one purpose, to catch things. Spider silk is sticky, and things tend to get caught in it. This is not an avoidable act. Much like a spider, delicate and skillful, it is the brain that finds itself in the role of a webb-spinning spider.
You see, the brain’s job is to rationalize and sort stimuli into boxes. Wrist grabs, bad, honey for a sore throat, good, scarfs when it’s too cold for just a jacket, irritating. A spider is skillful like the brain, it can discriminate between harmful and helpful. But a porcelain heart isn’t made with this kind of intellect. It feels and loves with no hesitation, so it becomes the spider’s purpose to watch the porcelain heart, as porcelain heart learns how to grow into itself.
As porcelain heart is soundly suspended in its silk hammock, it is privileged with the pedestal to feel. In its natural state, the porcelain heart feels so intensely clear you feel as if your own eyes could ruin its blinding naivety. Upon disturbance, a berating comment about the pimples on your face from the 7th grader you liked as a 6th grader, the spider receives a kick of intuition to start working. The spider spins its silk around the porcelain heart to be protected from antagonists. Under so much wrapping, porcelain heart doesn’t get to feel as pristinely as it could. Doesn’t get to cry salty tears into a childhood stuffed animal as it should. The spider’s highest priority is to protect the porcelain heart from being hurt, so this wrapping is necessary. Porcelain is fragile, there are no second chances. Once it is cracked or yellowed, you can’t repair it. The spider’s job is to make sure nothing can do that to the heart. Porcelain is unchanging. Its only nature is kind and pure. Spiders are more aware and adaptable to change, they know more, and feel less. Spiders are able to know when something bad is going to happen and act swiftly enough to keep the heart from receiving the blow. With a physical body so unforgiving and a nature so fragile, the porcelain heart undoubtedly reigns the body. It is undoubtedly more powerful than the spider, which is why the spider works so hard to shelter it, truly fearing its uninhibited beauty.
BROKEN PROCELAIN AND BROKEN HEART
I don’t place resentment on this behavior. I don’t try to overlook it or try to squash the spider. Defensively true, spiders can remove the silk when they see fit. The spider’s nature is able to ebb and flow, porcelain hearts can’t. Spiders are able to process and break down thoughts, accurately use defense mechanisms, habitualize, and determine what our world is made of. A brain is just as important as a heart, it is good to be smart like a spider, but it is not productive to hide the porcelain heart under sheaths of silk.
When so tightly bound, the porcelain heart starts to collect dust. It becomes dormant, dead as a mummy in a tomb. It is out of use. Here, the spider portrays feeling. Deceivingly so, it doesn’t feel, it only thinks. However, nobody else knows this. Not the boy you shared a slow dance with last weekend, his phone number is written on a piece of paper crinkled under the train tracks. With silk so tightly protecting the heart, it can’t move, it can’t feel, and it can’t see what shouldhavebeen.
Life can go on like this. Unreachable, in solitude. You can live on your own. Here, there is no risk of hurt. The scenery here is gentle and forgiving. Roaming hills, wildflowers, bees, and kissing sunbeams run through the windows onto the shagged carpet and vermillion couches. One can strings orange slices from the windows and dance in slip dresses when the moon is shining. With no light emitting from porcelain heart, every star in the sky will look down on it every night, shining for the dormant heart, yearning for it to wake up. Wondering how a heart of grace and purity can be so vastly empty, all of the time. One fork, one toothbrush, one imprint on the couch, and one porcelain heart bound by silk.
This life isn’t made by a porcelain heart, it was constructed by thought. Life isn’t an accurate describing word however, a life needs fulfillment, noise, and a pulse. This was a thoughtful life, thought running from feeling. Thought winding up something so serene and kind. Porcelain heart was still there but had nothing to do with this beautiful emptiness created by the spider.
“WHAT AN EMPHATIC CHILD”
When the brain works too hard, it becomes the heart’s worst enemy. When the spider wraps itself around the porcelain heart too many times, the porcelain heart can crack under pressure. Spider can think and rework and fixate and manipulate and get pieces of life caught in the silk so often that it becomes a mess.
Truly, a confusing, wired, mess. It takes a breakdown to realize this. After stepping back. The spider sees what the heart now looks like. Pieces of life are caught and wound upon and caught in its web now. Things the brain wasn’t quite able to shake.
A poor report card, a candle from your best friend’s birthday cake. A handwritten card from your grandma, and a shoe from a past partner. A train ticket, hair dye, your mom’s kindest words, a former friend’s meanest. A drink you once loved, hair from a lost pet, or your favorite movie as a child. The spider frantically starts to unwind the silk, pulling out these items that should have been seen by porcelain heart. The things are scattered around the rib cage as years and years of silk are being shed. The spider pulls and pulls until it reaches the other side of the hardened silk. By thinking so hard and sealing away porcelain heart, the spider has turned into its own worst nightmare, porcelain heart lay shattered on the silk below. Shards of yellowed porcelain lay dispersed between the silk. The spider wept and wept while touching what once was porcelain heart. Who was once so pure and willing to feel everything, now lay dead on the ground. The spider has prevented feeling so severely that the silk ended up squeezing porcelain heart so hard it shattered
MONEY, FRIENDS, A LOVE
Devastated, spider looks around at all of the things porcelain heart missed out on. A heart so capable of feeling everything the world had to offer. Every hug, every sunset, every exchange with a loved one. I am sorry, porcelain heart. Spider and the brain have failed you. To have such potential, head-turning beauty, and to remain silently suffocated. I can’t forgive this. All of the time lost. Everything that should have been felt by you. I am so sorry, lovely lovely porcelain heart. If your voice had been heard, spider would have known there has to be a balance between head and heart. Spider would have known some things are meant to be experienced by the heart. Unrequited love, cancer, a bad haircut, and bigots. Spider, don’t shield too closely. Let the heart breathe. I understand the need to protect but protection in awareness is what was needed here.
This isn’t the end, Spiders are smart creatures, so they know how to gather and fix. Porcelain heart is still there. Nothing can be reversed, but it is still there. Between items, silk, and shards of porcelain, porcelain heart can recover. Spider, Spider has learned how to care. Care of everything. And to care about nothing at all.
I sympathize with everyone because everyone is so similar to me. I feel the unignorable need to cower and protect from fully feeling. I understand in situation, in difference, and in tolerance, that everyone leads a different life. Under that, however, I understand we are all nothing but porcelain hearts with spider brains. Webbed, fragile, and protective people. All porcelain hearts are the same, yes even you and your neighbor. It is our brains that all operate differently, defining us as what we want to be seen as. Seen as strong, unforgiving, strict, or as outspoken. But underneath this all, we are just porcelain people, living in a very brained world. Have patience with yourself and those around you, for you never know whose heart is whitely exposed, and who lays under miles of hardened silk.
Giselle Mancera Vulnerability
Photography
Giselle Mancera Play Ball
Photography
Giselle Mancera
We all are a light-house Photography
Giselle Mancera
We all are a light-house Photography
Mads Klump The Kiss Digital Painting
Sophie Mennenga The Female Gaze Collage
Olivia Rebellón Buffort Docking
Photography
Thrift Event
On Feb. 8, The Collective began its spring
semester with one of its popular thrift events. It was held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Siebel Center for Design, and offered an array of clothing to shop from.
By 3:50 p.m, 10 minutes before the event began, a long line wrapped around the main floor of the Siebel Center. Dozens of eager students gathered in hopes of finding new clothing items to spruce up their wardrobes.
Anthony Gonzalez, the executive director of the event planning committee, shared the process of planning such an event.
“When I first got here (UIUC) we did it at a cafe, but now we do it at the Siebel Center so that’s kind of easier, you just book it online through the school.” Gonzalez said.
The Collective is entirely student-led and funded, so any events held are thoroughly thought through by Gonzalez and his team.
“The hardest part is getting the clothes and actually organizing them.” Gonzalez said.
The clothing is donated by Collective members and friends, making the process community oriented.
The Collective also strives to make the event affordable and emphasizes its efforts to help create a more sustainable campus.
“I think it helps because people aren’t buying from retail, they are helping us, and also they are buying from people who have donated. It’s the recycling of fashion.”
The clothing items, which ranged from $2 to $6, were all second-hand. Shoppers were excited at the prospect of bringing life to used clothing, while also promoting sustainability.
Jessie and Christine, who are seniors at UIUC, have attended multiple collective events in the past.
Spring 2023
Jessie shared her thoughts on sustainable shopping. “I think it’s really nice that college students are curating a thrift event which isn’t really accessible for all college students typically.”
“I really appreciate the initiative,” Christine added. Apart from the donated clothing, guests could also get their hands on the newest collective merchandise, including a hoodie and a variety of colorful stickers.
Overall, the event was deemed a success with a majority of the clothing being sold by 5 p.m. and many students leaving with new sustainable pieces of clothing to add to their closets.
Guifu Liu
Antacid Poppy
James Benson Internet Shit 2 Digital
Comic_Book_World1
Digital Photography
Eye_Opening
Digital Photography
Francesca Dumitrescu
Francesca Dumitrescu
GirlhoodoftheTravelingDenim
SabrinaLongo
There’saphotoofmymother
Withajeanjacket
Drapedacrosshershoulders
1995
Acidwashandaviators
Ablondstrandwavingtowardsthecamera
Grazingherlefteye
Toeventuallytranscendtime
Andbecomemine
Thesunpeersbehindher
Doesshethinkit’sblazingoronlybright?
Doesshewelcomeitorisitawarningsign?
Hansenontheradio
1988
Didyoulistentohim?
Didyoulistentowhathesaid?
Didyou?
Atthetime?
There’saphotoofme
Ridingatricycle
CherryMaryJanes
Adenimdressagainstthechains
Scrapingcobblestones
Thatnolongerexist
Eyessquinting,bottomlip
Disgustedbymyinternaldiscussion
IimagineI’mlookingattrees
Thatwouldbeuprooted
Forskeletons
Drab-squarewarehouses
Inadecade
Hindsight
Madeline Kruse Untitled
Madeline Kruse Untitled
Pizza FM Impacting Local Musicians and Campus Culture
Written by Marieli Lopez
Designed by Priscilla Mendez-Ocampo
Album covers and local art coat the dorm walls. LED lights trace the edges of the room as assorted vintage CDs fill the shelves. A desk provided with monitors, mics, and a pair of headphones sits eagerly in the DIY radio studio of Pizza FM.
Pizza FM is a free-form, non-commercial, online student-run radio station based in Allen Hall, a student dormitory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Established in 2013, this year marks the station’s 10 year anniversary.
UIUC sophomores Olivia Marsden and Katelyn Barbour are two of many on the Pizza FM team. Mardsen and Barbour began their journey with the station their freshman year. They joined after seeing the Pizza FM booth at Allen Hall’s Creative Living Learning Community showcase.
Marsden’s initial draw to the station was rooted in her love of music. “Since I was a little kid, everything I’ve done was musically inclined,” Marsden said. “I always thought college radio was so cool and DIY.”
Barbour appreciated the station’s focus on creativity and art. “I was drawn in from the free-form, sort of artsyness of it!” Barbour stated. “Allen very much prides itself on being artsy. I was drawn to Allen Hall and Pizza FM glorified that.”
After a year of contributing to Pizza FM, Marsden and Barbour became the first Co-Presidents of the station. With Marsden’s passion for local music and Barbour’s enthusiasm for creativity, the girls began a new era for the radio station.
Pizza FM became recognized for its impact on the local music scene through concert planning and on-air streaming of Urbana artists.
Marsden noted that one of her proudest moments as Co-President was planning Pizza FM’s 2022 charity concert. “A Pizza My Heart was a fundraiser for Books for Prisoners.” Marsden stated. “It was a 6 hour music festival at the Independent Media Center.”
Marsden and Barbour explained that the show’s process was very intense. With assisted planning from Barbour, Marsden was in charge of booking the venue, finding local artists, and running sound for half the show.
Pizza FM recruited local music acts Romantica, Daisy Chain, and Ms. Jones if You Nasty. Chicago musicians Rotundos and Sweet Hudson were also added to the bill.
In addition to promoting Illinois artists, Pizza FM’s benefit concert raised over $300 for Books for Prisoners.
Along with concert planning, Pizza FM streams local artists during DJ segments. Marsden said, “Streaming local music on the radio is my favorite thing to do.”
Local artist Owen Anderson, professionally known as Refractor, has been streamed a few times on Pizza FM.
Anderson describes being played on Pizza FM as “such a brilliant opportunity to share goofy, little tunes I’ve made with people who really enjoy [the] ability to express themselves through the music of others.”
Anderson is one of many local musicians who’ve found great appreciation in being streamed on Pizza FM.
While the station takes pride in interacting with local music, Pizza FM thrives as a registered student organization. Through workshops and mixers, the station gained great recognition for cultivating a creative space for all UIUC students.
Barbour began the discussion by emphasizing the station’s student organization status, “We are a club and we recruit UIUC students, who are also a bigger part of the Urbana-Champaign community as a whole.”
Pizza FM provides a creative student body at UIUC. In conjunction with hosting open mics and jam sessions on the quad, Pizza FM makes a space for visual artists to express themselves.
The vivid art on the studio walls is the result of a Pizza FM album drawing party. Colorful zines in the studio were made at a zine workshop hosted by Marsden and Barbour.
Along with encouraging music and visual art at UIUC, Pizza FM gives students creative journalism opportunities through the Pizza FM blog. Barbour said that one of her proudest moments as Co-President was reviving the blog.
“We have articles that we have yet to publish,” Barbour explained. “We have a pretty good readership and I’m happy we’re going to start recruiting to write for the blog more!”
Barbour recently organized a blog writing workshop in Allen Hall. She is very proud of the direction the blog is going. The Pizza FM blog provides UIUC students a vocal outlet for their opinions on all things music, art, and creative.
Both Marsden and Barbour expressed the desire for more student engagement. “Anyone on the UIUC campus, if they have something to say, they can post it on the blog. They can become a DJ. They can come to any of our events.” Mardsen emphasized.
Sound technicians, DJs, writers, music lovers, and creatives all have a place at this student-run radio station. Pizza FM’s successful approaches towards promoting local musicians and encouraging creativity within the UIUC community contribute to Pizza FM’s overall goal:
“We want to provide a space for people to engage with local music and local art,” Marsden stated.
If you’re interested, check out pizzafm.org or follow the station on Instagram @pizzafm !
Priscilla Mendez-Ocampo Strawberry Cup Ceramic
Sasha Agafonova
Grandparent Driving Oil Pastels
William Hohe Pink Wig Photography
William Hohe Weimer WIlliam Photography
William Hohe
You Can Look
Photography
The Spring 2023
As people walked into the blue house, they were surrounded by walls covered in art from creatives in the area.
A little after 8 p.m, the music started playing and people started dancing. This indicated that the Collective’s semi-annual art gallery had begun.
Every semester, the Collective hosts an art gallery where students and people in the area have a chance to showcase their art.
This year the gallery was hosted on April 8 in the Powder Room.
Written by Stephanie Mosqueda
“Being able to socialize with a lot of friends and all talk about art and take pictures was fun,” she said. “The energy overall was exciting.”
In additional to displaying visual art created by people in the community, the gallery is also a place for sonic art to be showcased and enjoyed.
The talented performers for the night were Femi, Steve Sol, DJ Pendeja and plumb. level. They filled the room with their beats and lyrics ‘til everyone bobbed their heads and moved to the rhythm of the music.
Designed by Ilan Elenbogen
Plumb.level, who performed a DJ set, said the event provided them with a space to share art with people in their similar age group.
“Having a space for people to interact with artist’s work that’s created by people within that same community of artists [was my favorite part].
It can be difficult to get art and music out to people your own age when the setting displaying work is organized by people much older than you,”
Our Collective members are not only talented in visual art, but also musically.
Francesca Dumitrescu in-and-out-of-focus
Digital Photography
Francesca Dumitrescu through-the-kaleidoscope
Digital Photography
James Benson
James Benson
James Benson
Sabrina Long Too Good For This World Marker and Oil Pastel on Poster
Valentina Grant
ArtGallery WHAT IS
Olivia Rebellón juggler Photography
Mads Klump Rain
Digital Painting
Sasha Agafonova
Vera Mak XOXO Digital
Vera Mak Witch of the Night
Digital Art
The Collective
kicked-off their spring takeover on March 26, with the first vendor event of the year. With more than thirty vendors available to shop from, the options were endless.
march 26 th siebel center for design @
As 1 o’clock struck, everyone marched down to the Siebel Center ready to spend and shop ‘til they dropped. When people walked in, they were met with an array of handmade items like funky jewelry, lovable plushies, cute stickers, and cool clothing items.
By hosting the vendor event, the Collective introduced people to the multitude of talented creatives in the area.
Attendees also had the chance to grow their vintage clothing collection with pieces from Three Piece Vintage and Deliver Us Serenity. If they were in need of a new
pair of earrings to spice up their outfit, Ani Plambeck had them covered with her handmade sea glass earrings.
Plambeck said that her favorite part of the event was talking to people interested in her work.
Our very own Charlotte Watson was at the event selling her collage art prints and Priscilla Mendez was selling some of her adorable clothing pieces. The Collective also sold the merch, stickers, and printers by our amazing graphic design team
“It’s really interesting to watch people judge my work in real time,” Plambeck said.
“I could tell that their perceptions of it changed sometimes or became more positive as I talked to them about how I made the work.”
As people walked by the different vendors, they would praise them on their items and goodies.
Maria Vasquez, the creator behind Yarnapeutic Crochet, said that the welcoming environment and vibes of the event were what motivated her to participate in the first place.
“Even people who didn’t buy anything gave the sweetest compliments and just seemed so interested in my craft,” Vasquez said.
After looking around for a couple of hours, I left with a bag full of stickers, rings, and new pieces to add to my wardrobe.
With the semester coming to an end, I guess we’ll all have to patiently wait for the next Collective vendor event.
Written by Julissa Rodriguez
Designed by Shannon Dwyer
Photos by Esther Phipps
Mads Klump Untitled Digital Painting
Priscilla Mendez-Ocampo I Heart Me! Digital Art
Angelica Jones Prooom
James Benson
Vera Mak
Estella
Sasha Agafonova
Grandparents
Acrylic Paint on Canvas Board
William Hohe Mother Goth Photography
tok?” and it’s fun leaning into these ques tions because the ‘ridiculousness’ of being a dancer is truly not lost on me. It is something I feel like I’m getting away with every day at this tech-driven university. It is a job you say when you’re in kindergarten and yet, here I am. With this writing I hope to shed some light on my experience dancing professionally with DL (Dance Legend) Jennifer Monson, a professor of dance at U of I, who made a name for herself by dancing in New York in the 80s.
Her new piece titled “Heap Loose” continues Jennifer Monson’s tradition of creating what she refers to as ‘Ecological Improvised Dance’. This is phase 2 of a larger project, Move Thing and I was able to perform in this work in Urbana and Chicago. Move Thing, uses Monson’s network of artists to collaborate in lands contaminated from toxins caused by the extraction of natural resources and industry. The dance followed a set of instructions and overall ‘shape’ but it changed every time we performed it.
The dance begins with running! So much running…
In my first rehearsal, Jennifer launched me into the piece with her very improvisational-dance energy of “well… let’s see what happens” and I found myself running after the group then quickly veering out of the way and crashing into the ballet bars that line the walls.
I could not get over the feeling that I was doing something wrong. In came this fear that permeates dance… It’s a fear of interpreting dance wrong, a fear of getting the steps wrong, a fear of looking stupid. It’s a fear that halts dance from becoming anything other than the perfect replication of moves in perfect sync with the music. I think the fear of being wrong is a total disservice to understanding what dance is. And luckily, I think Jennifer agrees.
I am writing from the position of having jumped into this work less than a month before premiering at Studio Dance 2023 in Urbana IL. I was casted to add “an extra element of confusion” and as a result I’ll be writing mostly about how I came to develop my own meaning through a mix of Jennifer’s rehearsals, my fellow dancer’s instruction, and my Dance 100 students in-class interpretations.
If you ever find yourself dancing in a Jennifer Monson dance, fear of looking stupid tends to be completely obliterated within the first few moments by Jennifer but also by her cast. Something Jennifer told me after crashing into the bars was that she was confident I would be able to perform this the next weekend, the movement wasn’t hard and she welcomed any collisions or accidents, they made things more interesting. Her dancers agreed and on we went… run ning! What a joy! What exciting possibilities I started to imagine, and also… what a confus-
I learned the dance through sections: running, crayons, bird/snake, shelling, hip circles, two speeds, arms, and a final disappearing dance. I’ll leave you to imagine what each might look like. The other dancers each had their own list of sections and it is the combination of these different interpreta tions and choices that created the piece. We were instructed not to copy movements we might see in the toxin infested world but to Become! Become a bird! Become a crayon! It really was Jennifer’s playground and I was happy to be lying on the floor becoming a shell.
When I was learning the bird and snake movement that happens about 2 minutes into the piece, Jennifer’s first reaction was “well no ... but we’ll find it.” I had failed but I had been allowed to and was excited to try again. It took until the night before we performed on stage to get it right. When
beautiful, and mysterious but Jennifer also made it clear when a decision did not work. In a now iconic moment amongst the danc ers Jennifer spoke to three dancers in a row at the front of the stage saying, “Fucking fantastic…. you’ll get it…. well i don’t know what happened but you lost it.”
ine. We had to navigate different imaginary roles while improvising, we had to find language to simplify teaching move ment, and we had to figure out how to dance with each other. We ended up creating a rehearsal for the collective processes we have to make while dealing with our toxic steeped world. This shit affects all of us, and it is Jennifer who led us to perform with such insistence on joy and collaboration.
I often felt gratitude for Jennifer as an artist while in this process because I could feel the attention, drive, and care that she had put into every process of this work. And the result was a piece that was not only fun to dance but opened the stage and my mind to new ways of collaboration and improvisation.
William
Valentina Grant
Grimstory_Burning
Digital Painting
Valentina Grant
Grimstory_Afraid Digital Painting
Ilan Elenbogen
Child’s Play 35mm
Heyaa, I’m Chia and I’m a pastel digital artist as well as a ghost (boo!). I’ve been drawing digitally since I was 12 but I’m more of a hobbyist. I adore drawing anything cute and creepy! I just get inspired by the franchises (Kirby + Splatoon at the moment) around me and I can’t help designing little blorbos to bounce around in my head. Maybe there’s something more to my pieces though? Hehe! Thanks for looking at my work <3
I’m a Junior BFA in Sound Design and Technology. I draw a lot of my inspirations from TV and film, and every year I try to set a new art goal for myself. This year is honing in on digital art :).
Anjelica Jones
@tiniestjellifish
my desperate attempt to make every moment last longer than it’s meant to
Cameron Fong
@cameronkfong
Chiarosethereal
@chiarosethereal
Giselle Mancera
@giselle_mancera4
@gisellexmancera
Hey, I’m Giselle Mancera. I’m a sophomore majoring in Studio Arts with a concentration in Photography. I love working with photographing self-portraits and storytelling different types of emotions, through my poetry. I aim for the dramatics in the model’s facial expressions, lighting, and colors. As my thought process is like how you’d watch a movie trailer! nothing is set in stone. Mixing both “in the moment” and staged in my work. What i like to say is “trust the process”, but of course, i love directing and finding room to make it more fun for both the model and i.
Hi I am Guifu, a third-year Computer Science student. I created my piece using spherical depth map. Each component is stochastically rendered by a colored gradient mesh. The poppy represents the antacid I take when I am having symptoms of acid reflux. It disintegrates into many petals and flows into my stomach. My goal is to discuss the aesthetic perspective and relationship with regard to pain and combatting pain.
@guifu_liu
Guifu Liu
Hi, my name is Gummy & I was born in Chicago! I’m always learning and seeking out new forms of creative expression, which has fueled my interest in digital art because of how accommodating it can be in terms of experimentation.
Klump
@gren-em (tumblr)
a freshman, and my major is undeclared. I like to make all types of art but mainly draw and paint. My art is inspired by listening to music and spending too much time on the internet.
James Benson
@jamesb864
@_s_h_o_w_e_r_
Hii! I am Madeline Kruse and I was a repressed art kid in high school. This is my debut in the art scene at UIUC and I am beyond excited to share it with you! I love all forms of art such as fashion, ceramics, painting, and beyond. Take a peak at my inner turmoil and don’t forget to dance!
Madeline Kruse
@interruptedinterlude
My name is Mads, I’m a sophomore here at UIUC majoring in graphic design, and I’m from a small town two hours south of Champaign. I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and my medium primarily been digital art and painting for most of it. I love to do character art and design, and a big dream of mine is to publish a finished webcomic, which my partner and I are working on during our free time. I don’t have many places I showcase my art, I’m so excited to be a part of the collective!
Hi there! My name is Olivia Rebellón, and I am a freshman. I love doing freelance photography, especially around the UIUC campus. I’ve always been told I had a special eye for the art of photo-taking, and I am so happy that I can share it with others as I grow as an artist.
Rebellón
@robcllrn
I’m a freshman majoring in Graphic Design. I’ve been part of the Graphic Design team of The Collective Magazine since Fall 2022! I’m a first-gen Mexican American from Chicago. I like to experiment with different styles by bringing in a bright and playful energy into my work. I’m inspired by nature, music, and meaningful relationships of all kinds.
Priscilla Mendez-Ocampo
@pmendezo @design.priscilla
Hi, I’m James Benson. I am
Gummy
@gumdaii
Olivia
Mads
@sabrinalong0
Sabrina is a freshman studying Comparative Literature to eventually declare a concentration in the fine arts. Her favorite mediums to work with are red oil pastels, colored pencils, poster board, and magazine clippings. She creates her most fulfilling work when she draws inspiration from literature she’s read, focusing on themes surrounding girlhood, womanhood, aging, memory, and the environment in a political cartoon inspired art style. Her younger self would have never thought she’d be courageous enough to put her art out into the world, and she is proud to say she has proved herself extremely wrong!
I enjoy experimenting with color, pattern, and design in my art. My art focuses on portraiture of my family and friends. I mainly enjoy using acrylic paint and procreate to make art.
Sasha Agafonova
@its.art.account123
Sophie Mennenga
@sophiemennenga
@nuanced_nostalgia
I’m an American artist Daughter of Chileans immigrants. I’ve always had a passion for storytelling through art whether be paintings, drawings or cinema, I believe that when it comes to works of art, it’s always important to tell a story. When creating work, I’ve always try to consumes a variety of contemporary and historical media that explore themes/allegories about our culture, drawings on how they tackle issue such as the environment, discrimination and identity, while also crafting through own digital cinematic narratives
Hey! I’m Sophie! I’m currently a Junior here at UIUC studying Marketing and Media. Aside from being on the Graphic Design team for The Collective Magazine, I am also the Editor in Chief of The Fashion Network Magazine, and the Ad Media Manager for Star Course Student Concert Committee. This is the third time my work has been showcased in The Collective Magazine, the first two being poems. This year I’ve been challenging myself to break into other mediums such as photography, graphic design, and collage, which is what you will find in this issue of the magazine. Hope you enjoy!
William Hohe
@williamlenses
@valentina_grant
William Hohe (they/them) is a multimedia artist, photographer, & creative whose work focuses within the realm of queer relationships & semiotics with an emphasis on the impacts of consumption, waste, and the commodification of memory. Self-described as a “mess-thetic,” Hohe’s work is maximalist and aims to utilize every portion of the frame, canvas, or art piece they pursue. As a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Hohe is currently pursuing a dualdegree in Photography (BFA) and Advertising (BS) with minors in Art History and Business. Hohe currently serves as the president of The Fashion Network (TFN), UIUC’s premiere fashion community focused on cultivating a creative network of individuals interesting in pursuing and expressing themselves through full production photoshoots, runway, amidst other creative ventures. In the future, Hohe hopes to pursue a career in fine arts while also leading in the field of creative direction in fashion campaigns or an adjacent field. You can find William and their work on all platforms @ williamslenses and at williamslenses.com
Sabrina Longo
Valentina Grant
