TCC’s Annual Student Art Exhibition accumulated the best artworks, which are sure to blow someone’s mind. The show ran for about a week at the Center for Creativity Event Hall in April 2025.
Two remarkable artists, Sally C. Garner and Jason Rafferty, judged and selected the students’ works for the exhibit. According to the content of the brochure published for the show, “Sally C. Garner is a fiber sculptor currently exploring the various opposing forces between nature and humanity through site-specific installation, experimental basketry, traditional weaving, and papermaking.”
Garner obtained an MFA in textiles from Georgia State University and a BFA in sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
“Jason Rafferty is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Tulsa,” the brochure provided at the show said. “He is an applied assistant professor of 2D Visual Art at the University of Tulsa.”
Rafferty graduated from the University of Georgia with an MFA from the Lamar Dodd School of Art. He also holds a BFA degree in drawing and painting from UNC Asheville.
The jurors gave the “Best in Show” award to Annalise Ivey for her collage, “The Fool.” The artwork consists of several pieces of cardboard, and a canvas joined together with an image of a bleeding “butterflies’ nest.” There is a print of a human hand in the upper right-hand corner of the collage.
“My work was “inspired” by an artist from London, Damian Hirst, who kills butterflies and other animals for art,” said Ivey. “I expressed my anger about his actions in my collage.”
Ivey hand-printed and cut out about 2,500 paper butterflies to incorporate them into her artwork to express her opposition to using animals and insects for art.
A simple Google search pulls out information that Damien Hirst is “reportedly the United Kingdom’s richest living artist, with his wealth estimated at $384 million in the 2020 ‘The (Sunday) Times’ Rich List.”
Untitled ink on panel drawing by Jacob Phibbs became the second-place Juror’s Choice for the Annual Student Art Exhibition. The impressive black and white drawing is a triptych where miners are trapped in the underground mine.
On the left panel, miners fight: a viewer can see a worker without a shirt on trying to choke a man. In the middle scene, miners consume alcohol; one man fell on the ground, being drunk. A crucifixion image is a vanishing point in the center of the picture. On the right panel, two miners hug each other as a reconciliation.
“My inspiration for the visuals came from Italian Renaissance, Biblical art, and the 1920s American old workforce images,” said Phibbs.
“I portrayed people who are underrepresented and do not have a voice in my drawing,” he added.
The third-place Juror’s Choice was an installation, “Mending,” by Em Thomas. A several-yard-long yellow knitted scarf was placed on metal bars. The scarf looks old; brown yarn is used to patch holes; and a batch of yellow yarn hangs down to the floor. “Mending” is a story about something that is not possible to repair or restore, told through the 3D composition of the fiber arts.
Charcoal on paper drawing, “Lovers,” by Samara Bell, presented at the exhibition, depicts an intimate moment between a young man and a woman. They look into each other’s eyes. Their faces shine with trust and love. The drawing surprises the viewer with its large size and deep contrast between light and dark.
“I’m Smiling See,” a cardboard and colored paper sculpture by Abby McLean, portrays a gigantic woman’s head. The artwork confronts society’s stereotype that a person is supposed to smile no matter what. Despite its enormous size and rough texture, the sculpture can show the subtle and youthful woman’s face. Indeed, it displays an inner smile, which is more important, after all.