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Brushing is the literary and arts journal of the Rollins College student body. Learn more about our conception and development in About This Journal.

Brushing publishes poetry, fiction, play excerpts, and any form of visual art. For additional details regarding submissions, please see our Journal policies as well as our Aims and Scope.

Those interested in participating in or contributing to Brushing should contact the editors at brushing@rollins.edu .

Current Volume: Volume 6 (2022) - Celebrating 50 Years of Brushing

Editor's Note

It is with great excitement that we present the Golden 50th Anniversary edition of Brushing Art & Literary Journal. Not only does this mark an incredible milestone for our publication, but for our Rollins community as well. From the very start of production, the amount of involvement and demonstrated interest in this year’s edition has shattered previous years, from those wanting to serve on the staff to those who submitted. We thank you, truly, for your investment in preserving such an important artifact of our liberal arts institution. Your support allows us to thrive as a distinctive and inspired space for student creativity.

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary, we have included a special “throwback” insert halfway through the journal. It features reprinted literary works from notable Rollins alumnae as well as a selection of cover designs from the past five decades. Words cannot express how honored we are to contribute to such an important legacy.

As you make your way through the journal, we encourage you to take the time to read the personal statements that accompany each story, poem, and work of art. Some are traditional biographies, while others read like memoirs. Regardless, this is a special opportunity to engage in a conversation with some of the creative minds of our Rollins community. Without them, Brushing would not exist.

Our hope is that you can find something in this journal that you connect with. Perhaps it will inspire you to produce something of your own. Brushing is committed to diverse creators and content, and we’d love to hear your story.

Before we send you off, we have to thank our dedicated staff of Readers and Copy editors, as well as our Art Editor, who all put in a tremendous amount of work to finely curate and polish the pieces included in this year’s publication. Thank you to our Head Designers, Jaianne and Dassika Gilkey, for bringing the 50th to life and elevating Brushing to a new aesthetic level. Lastly, thank you to Greg Golden and Victoria Brown for your expertise, guidance, and commitment to the success of Brushing.

Cheers to 50 years, and here's to many more!

All the best,

Siobhan Cooney & Sara Mehdinia

Co-Editors-in-Chief

Articles

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Editors' Note
Siobhan Cooney and Sara Mehdinia

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Designers' Note
Jaianne Gilkey and Dassika Gilkey

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The Golden Moment
Sarah Fosdick

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What You Remember
Alexandra De Felice

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Sapphire Eyes
Elizabeth Smith

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Chipped Nails
Corliss Cranwell

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Dance with Shadows
Caitlin Cherniak '18

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Beautiful Ghosts
Brendan Manning

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Afflatus
Jackson Willis

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My Father in the Woods
Barbara Hughes

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Snow Globe
Siobhan Cooney

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Manifest
Alysia N. Rivers Rodriguez

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Convite
Amanda Judd '95

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Garden in the East
Adrianna R. Arosemena

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Mountainscape
Emily Crain

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50th Anniversary Special: Brushing Through the Years
Siobhan Cooney, Sara Mehdinia, Chelsea Cutchens '13, and Kristen Arnett '12

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A Moment of Truth: For Bebe
Karlye Martorelli

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In the Palm of My Heart
Karlye Martorelli

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Hope
Nana Takano

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Something
Hannah Butcher

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Host Body
Sarah Bennefield

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Making Islands
Kara Wright

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Will This Bite?
Dassika Gilkey

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Rotten Pomegranates
Savannah Horrell

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The Real Girl
Sarah Fosdick

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The Difference
Chadwick Sterling '10

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Providential Eye
Jackson Willis

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Hurricane-Proof
Natalie George

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Credits
Siobhan Cooney, Sara Mehdinia, Jaianne Gilkey, and Dassika Gilkey

Editors

CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Siobhan Cooney
Sara Mehdinia
CO-DESIGNERS
Jaianne Gilkey
Dassika Gilkey
COPY EDITORS
Hannah Butcher
Aqsa Hasan
Taylor Ingrassia
Peyton Poitras
Fatima Sani
READERS
Sarah Bennefield
Seaneka Collie
Angel Colon
Alexandra De Felice
Lorenzo Naimoli
Isabel Polanco
ART EDITOR
Zach Taylor
ADVISORS
Greg Golden, Director of Student Media
Victoria Brown, Faculty Advisor

About this Issue:

Brushing Art and Literary Journal is a publication of Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida. This issue celebrates 50 years of the Journal, which was established by Rollins students in 1972.