Snowy Schoolhouse

Haley Arsenault is a current sophomore at Indiana University. She is a double major in English and anthropology. Her hometown is Solsberry, and she works in a local library. She enjoys spending time with her Shih Tzu, Evie, and reading while bathing in the sunlight.

Jacobus Marthinus Barnard is a South African immigrant who journeyed across the world for a better life. He now finds success as a second-year Honors student at Indiana University, majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry and medical sciences, with the goal of becoming a doctor. Beyond the physical study of life, Jacobus finds deep enjoyment in crafting works that capture the brilliance and beauty of a human moment.

Katie Bernfeld is a freshman from Evansville, Indiana. In between studying toward a degree in journalism, she enjoys watching the lively family of squirrels on campus and finding the best cup of coffee on campus. She plans to earn a certificate in Indiana University’s Liberal Arts and Management Program and continue to build an education toward filmmaking, writing, and storytelling.

Phoebe Bradley is from Noblesville, Indiana, and graduated from Noblesville High School class of 2021. She was awarded the Aubrey Peters Scholarship at the end of her senior year for her craftsmanship of one of her pieces in her senior portfolio. After completing drawing, painting, photography, and art history courses at Noblesville High School, Phoebe continues her art career at Indiana University. She is majoring in fashion design and exploring minors in illustration and apparel merchandising. She’s excited to expand her creative and artistic skills and explore future opportunities at IU through the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design.

Camille Brinson is a freshman from Nashville, Tennessee, and is in the Hamilton Lugar School of International Studies. She is currently majoring in international studies and Korean. One of her favorite hobbies is photography and she especially enjoys shooting on film. She hopes to be able to continue to pursue film independently throughout her time at Indiana University.

Sym Cloyd (she/they) is a freshman at Indiana University. She is pursuing a major in English with a concentration in creative writing and a double minor in theatre/drama and gender studies. She has been writing for years and has received recognition for her poetry by the Indianapolis Public Library two years in a row, performed her poetry at numerous events, and was a featured student writer in the ‘Black Lit’ exhibit in the Cook Center. She serves as the library coordinator at the LGBTQ+ Culture Center where she does many programs and activities. She is also going to be published in Ryder Magazine in an April edition.

Madison Cox is a junior majoring in English with a creative writing concentration and a certificate in journalism at Indiana Univeristy. Originally from the swamplands of Mississippi, Madison can now most often be found in the Indiana Memorial Union, where she currently serves as director of the 113th Union Board’s Canvas Creative Arts committee.

Ritu Gangadhara is a junior at Indiana University on the premed track. She is from Columbus, Indiana, and is double majoring in neuroscience and psychology with minors in chemistry and history. In her free time, she enjoys creating art using ink, watercolor, oil, and other mediums. She especially enjoys portraiture and has had her work featured in anthologies and showcases. She is also interested in sustainable fashion, as she enjoys thrifting, sewing, and upcycling clothes. On campus, she is involved in MAPS (Minority Association of Premedical Students), IU Student Government, Hobby Hopping Art Club, HHart Core Committee, SUCCEED Student Advisory Council, and social psychology research.

Torrey Gleason is a second-year Graphic Design MFA student at Indiana University. She is from Cary, Illinois, and graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a Studio Art BFA. In her series of travel posters, inspired by art deco and art nouveau, she depicts “lost cities” of legendary or mythological importance from various global cultures and time periods. The work addresses the way narratives are created and altered over time, and how these changes are reflected in visual language and national identity.

Emma Harden was born in Columbus, Indiana, where she studied illustration and writing from a young age. While living in a community that was very dedicated to the arts, she worked on a myriad of art installations and public service projects, often in association with the town’s architecture. These surroundings, as well as her involvement in theater, directly influenced her writing which is primarily set in the genre of theater fiction. She has participated in numerous arts competitions, including the Purdue Writing Awards, where she won first place in the high school division. She is currently studying English in the Creative Writing concentration at Indiana University as a freshman. In her free time, she enjoys oil painting and dreaming up new stories to tell.

Susanna Herrman is originally from Bloomington, Indiana. She left after high school to live and work in Germany before studying philosophy at Georgetown. After graduating she worked briefly at National Portrait Gallery in D.C. and then for a photographer in California before moving back to Bloomington for her MFA in Graphic Design, which she wraps up in May of 2022. She enjoys using many mediums, including experimental photography, watercolor and oil painting, and colored pencil.

Payton Klaer is a freshman at Indiana University. She is from Edwardsburg, Michigan, and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English (creative writing) along with a certificate in new media and interactive storytelling in the hopes of getting on the narrative team for video games. She loves to write and play narrative video games in her free time.

Aspen Lara is a junior studying informatics (digital art cognate) with minors in computer science and human-computer interaction. She was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, where she first began creating art and cultivating her love for drawing. Aspen is currently the Vice Web Designer of HHart and was very happy to be able to put some of her work in the 2022 HHart showcase and help plan the show itself. She has a passion for multimedia and design, which has heavily influenced the direction of her art, making it more geared towards utilizing digital tools to create artwork.

Hope Meierkort is a sophomore studio arts major studying photography at Indiana University. When not behind the camera, she explores her artistic voice through her mixed media projects, typography, connection to nature, and enjoyment of tea flavors with amusing names. She hopes to blend her creative passions into a rewarding career in the arts. Hope also enjoys writing as an introspective hobby. Her fixation on words developed at a young age and lives on in the hours she spends frantically searching for the perfect word for her poetry and creative nonfiction pieces. Through telling imagery and often existential language, she aims to capture the beautiful, abstract complexities of being human.

Sofia Melgarejo is a freshman at Indiana University pursuing a double major in management through the Kelley School of Business and cinema & media studies through the Media School. She grew up in Miami, Florida. and made the far move to Bloomington, Indiana, to attend IU! Sofia is a part of the IUDM Public Relations Committee and enjoys creative writing and drawing in her free time. After graduating IU, she intends to go to law school and become an entertainment lawyer.

Abigail Miller is a junior at Indiana University studying political science and law and public policy. Abigail is a part of the PACE (Political and Civic Engagement) program and is involved in College Democrats at IU, Women in Government, and College Democrats of Indiana. She is passionate about women’s rights, criminal justice reform, and voters’ rights. When she is not studying legislative policy, you can find her working for a political campaign or investing time in a government internship. Abigail plans to work in Congress after graduating in December of 2022 and hopes to run for federal office in the future.

Reese Myers is a junior double majoring in accounting and finance at Indiana University, originally from San Jose, California. He currently serves as the director of the Union Board Films & Entertainment committee. He’s glad a photograph he took in Lisbon when he was 12 still has some artistic merit.

Bruna Kalil Othero is a Brazilian writer, performer, teacher, and researcher. PhD student in Portuguese (Indiana University) and Master of Arts in Brazilian literature (UFMG - Brazil), she researched the erotic-pornographic literature of Hilda Hilst and is currently studying Brazilian national identity in contemporary literature in her dissertation. She is the author of poetry books Oswald pede a Tarsila que lave suas cuecas (2019, Ministry of Culture award), Oswald le pide a Tarsila que le lave los calzones (2021, translation by Paula Abramo and published in Mexico), Anticorpo (2017), Poétiquase (2015), and fiction artist-book Carne (2019), and she organized two essay anthologies about Brazilian women writers. Her unpublished book Tinha um Pedro no meio do caminho received an award by the Special Secretary of Culture in Brazil (2019).

Ivy Piedra is a sophomore at Indiana University currently majoring in philosophy with main interests in the arts and how the mind works and processes our surroundings. They were born in Marietta, Georgia, but later moved to Carmel, Indiana, and now live full-time in Bloomington. Writing has always been a strong outlet for them, and what they relied on in times of physical decline. Ivy is a Hispanic member of the LGBT and disabled communities. A passionate mental health, disability, and minority advocate, Ivy encourages those around them to find safe ways to release the heavier, pent-up emotions that those identities can carry.

Diptanshu Rao is a junior at Indiana University and serves as the current president of the 113th Indiana Memorial Union Board. He is from Mumbai, India, and pursuing two Bachelors of Science in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Japanese. While at IU, he is also involved in Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity, and the Investment Banking Workshop at Kelley.

Ben Ring is a sophomore at Indina University, pursuing a B.S. in Biology on a medical track and a minor in Spanish. He is currently working towards his goal of become an emergency physician. He is from Carmel, Indiana, and has been a Hoosier all his life. Ben’s interests and hobbies include being an avid movie-goer, an amateur photographer, and a lover of all things nature and travel. Through his position with Union Board at IU, Ben is furthering his love for travel as director of the Out & About committee, specializing in providing off-campus programming to students.

Max Senter is a sophomore studying television, digital, and film production. They’re from Westfield, Indiana, and are a part of other organizations such as Queer Student Union and Independent Council which both have roots in local philanthropic work. They’re the guitarist for local band SYZYGY which is working on releasing music soon. In their free time, they like to work on anything creative, ranging from poetry to painting to making short films. They’re always looking for new projects to be a part of and love to express themselves through art.

Ava Slowey is a sophomore at Indiana University studying informatics with a cognate in molecular biology. She is also minoring in creative technologies in art and design. She enjoys drawing with ink and is currently learning how to use charcoal. Outside of art, she also enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She also likes to listen to music and pet puppies at the Humane Society. In the future, she hopes to incorporate her love of the arts with her interest in computing.

Lydia Stern is currently a senior at Indiana University and is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and majoring in art history while also minoring in music. Originally from Kewaskum, Wisconsin, Lydia hopes to escape the Midwest and travel abroad after graduation.

Abby Thomas, who writes under the name Abi Diaz, is a junior at Indiana University from Indianapolis. She is majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing and minoring in international studies. Her favorite poets are Langston Hughes, Sonia Sanchez, and Emily Dickinson. After graduation, she plans on attaining a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing or poetry.

Sydney Weber is a junior studying linguistics and Spanish. She is from both Clarkston and East Lansing, Michigan, and lives in west Texas when not at Indiana University. She enjoys travelling, hiking, and baking, and is heavily involved with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and HighRock Church. Sydney loves writing short stories and poetry, and her work has been presented in school-related publications/showcases since high school. She has received awards or honorable mentions from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, the Jack London Foundation, the Charles M. Crupi Memorial Poetry Contest, and AARP of Michigan. Sydney is also a Distinguished Pol-IU-Glot, having studied Spanish and German while in college.

Makkenzi Welds is a sophomore studying economics and Chinese in hopes of becoming a commercial pilot. She enjoys watching tv series such as Attack on Titan and Friends or The Nanny. One of her favourite pastimes is watching The Great British Baking Show and then FaceTiming her mum to talk about who is going home. She loves baking and cooking and plans to create a recipe portfolio outside of Pinterest one day. Her favourite thing to bake is chocolate chip cookies. Makkenzi hates the winter and much prefers warm weather. During the warmer months she enjoys taking walks and photographing the scenic routes. Her interest in aviation came from her love of travelling and culture. As a food and boba enthusiast, she hopes to travel the world someday to expand her knowledge on food and culture.

Fiona Young is a junior studying English (creative writing) at Indiana University. She is interested in experimenting with poetry, fiction, and prose, often with a focus on visceral experiences with a focus on the body and the emotional charges of life. She is originally from El Paso, Texas, and travels there often. When not writing, she enjoys hiking, going to concerts, and hanging out with her friends and four cats. She hopes to grow as a writer and pursue a creative career. She also strives to have her works, or even a novel, published one day.

For 25 years, Canvas has served as the Indiana Memorial Union Board’s flagship creative arts committee and a platform for student artists at Indiana University - Bloomington. Through diverse programming focused on creative perspectives, Canvas aims to educate, entertain, and foster an artistic community on campus.

The CANVAS Creative Arts Magazine is published annually by Union Board. Each published work is the property of the authors or artists and may not be reproduced without their permission. The views represented in CANVAS are not necessarily those of Canvas, Union Board, the Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana University, or the Board of Trustees.

For more information about Union Board and the Canvas Creative Arts Committee, visit unionboard.iu.edu, follow @iuunionboard on social media, or email canvas@indiana.edu to get involved and stay up to date with our events.

Submissions for the CANVAS Magazine are open year-round to all students attending Indiana University - Bloomington. To submit to future editions, please visit unionboard.iu.edu/canvas.