LITERARY artists

Alex Emerson is a beloved member of the faculty at Lower Columbia College. "My life is entirely too huge to condense. Maybe, to simplify, I am a Girl Scout. Forever." 

​Alex Makaela Rushmer is a former Running Start student currently pursuing further education at LCC in the arts. Her goal, with all forms of art, is to bring awareness to mental health and battle against the societal stigma surrounding it. Eventually, she would like to get her Bachelor's of Fine Arts, possibly with a Minor in Psychology. She maintains a successful art account on Instagram called @alexmakaela.

Alkaid Tsuki is a former student of Lower Columbia College. She aims to become an editor.

Bethany Fischer is a recent LCC graduate, and she has lived in Kelso since she was 15. She has been to different countries up and down the west coast, and a few places on the east coast. She still has not found a place as pretty as the Pacific Northwest.

Carolyn Caines is a third-generation resident of the Longview/Kelso area and a retired teacher. She has long been a writer, having written nearly 5,000 poems, published nine books, and sold hundreds of poems to various magazines and journals. A weekly email, Poems For You, has gone out for twenty years. And still, she can't quit writing!

Charolette Conklin loves Salal! She has had short stories and poetry published in The Salal Review, The Rambunctious Review, and the Wordfest anthology, That Holiday Feeling.

Cheryl Coast is a Longview native who took a few Lower Columbia College courses more than 30 years ago. She has since read that continued mental challenge and physical activity may keep aging brains healthier longer, so now, in her senior years, she is putting that theory to the test. She recently took Creative Writing 231 and remains on the lookout for other LCC classes that may capture her interest and imagination.

Christopher “Chris” Tower’s first comic book was about Batman. He likes to put the FUN in FUNKY in teaching courses on writing at various schools around the country, including Lower Columbia College, which he is now proud to call home. Chris has a Master’s in Literature and a Master’s of Fine Arts in fiction. He plays Ultimate Frisbee, likes sushi and fruit pie, and wishes more people would pronounce “caramel” correctly. After living in Michigan until 2017, Chris now lives in Woodland with two amazing dogs and an equally amazing wife.

David Bjorling's family first visited the Lower Columbia Region of Washington in the Summer of 2017. They fell in love with the area and have been members of the community since July 2018. He is currently attending a class at Lower Columbia College in creative writing.

Elizabeth Brown is a second year student at Lower Columbia College. She is a Running Start student currently pursuing her General Transfer to an undecided university. The written word is her native tongue; she takes great joy in expressing it through stories and prose and sharing it with others who also appreciate the value and power of words.

Halley Ware has lived in Kelso, Washington, her entire life. She graduated from Lower Columbia College in 2018 with her Associates in Arts, and is now pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in English and Creative Writing Minor at Washington State University, Vancouver.

Hari Myers was local to the Columbia Valley region and considered by many as a local folk artist for both his writing and carving. He loved using poetry and stories to play with words and meaning. One of his last works, Misty Vapes, was completed prior to his passing in March of 2019, and his family wished to submit it for consideration. His family wishes that his works will continue to be enjoyed and perhaps even inspire other artists.

Hiedi M. Bauer’s work has been published in The Humanities Review, Crosscurrents, The Moment, Riggwelter, and The Salal Review. She teaches American literature, contemporary poetry, and composition at Lower Columbia College. When not writing, she hikes the PCT, endures hot yoga and the solitude of an empty nest, and climbs on mostly dormant Northwest volcanoes. While she has broken her toe while boxing and broken her arm while kicking, she has neither fallen off a cliff nor drowned.

Jessica Myers, a local resident, has submitted and been previously published in The Salal Review alongside her father, Hari Myers. Growing up in Kalama, she took to reading and writing at a young age with a passion for the literary arts. This last year has been a tough one, with the loss of people very close to her, but she wanted to share some of her thoughts of those special people and hopefully let others get to know them just a little through her words.

Joseph Green retired from teaching at Lower Columbia College in 2010. His most recent collection of poems is What Water Does at a Time Like This (MoonPath Press, 2015).

Klint Hull is an instructor of English composition, literature, film, and creative writing at Lower Columbia College. He enjoys writing poetry, science fiction, and the occasional starts to novels that he never finishes.

Sarah L. Summerhill lives in Southwest Washington and attends Washington State University in Vancouver. She helps run a club which promotes creative writing opportunities in the greater Southwest Washington area including: Kelso, Longview, and Vancouver.

Syavash is a bilingual writer who lives and works in the Lower Columbia region. For him, writing is not a profession, just a responsibility of high importance he feels towards people. To him, his writings are like the air he breathes. He considers his writings his flesh and blood, and a very personal diary: “Getting the writings published is not important, to have them understood and to make a difference is the goal."

Tiffany Dickinson writes in multiple genres and has won awards for her short stories and poetry. She is a contributing writer to the Columbia River Reader and a student at the Institute of Children's Literature. She is currently working on her first novel. Many of the ideas for her stories are born as she walks the paths around Lake Sacajawea.

VISUAL artists

Aaron Andersen is a longtime resident and local photographer who has spent years focusing his art directly around the Cowlitz and Lower Columbia region. His focus with his art is to deeply capture and express emotion but also to preserve life around us. He specializes in photojournalism and candid photography and that has turned into a career with the Washington State Legislature.

Angelique Modin has attended Lower Columbia College since Fall of 2019. She is majoring in Fine Arts and Design and plans to transfer to a four year university. Angelique is also a commission-based artist and enjoys drawing realistic pictures of people and animals. 

Chalayn Noelle Nagunst is a Pacific Northwest lady who wants to spend her days with all her interests: family, friends, art, exercise, and nature. But she often gets distracted by other things, like work, and videos of cute dogs on the Internet. She's pretty nice though, so feel free to say "hello" on Instagram (@chalayn), Facebook (Chalayn Noelle - Art), or her website www.chalayn.com.

Hunter Hadlock is a 21-year-old student at LCC, and “a fine enough scholar at that.” He claims, “Film is my life, though words form the skeleton for those visual beasts that aid my life with meaning. Horror, music, existential dread, avant-garde experiments, Godzilla, critical evaluations on modern life, and trash are my jam. My street smarts are limited compared to my presentation in written form, but I can coast by in public. Writing fiction has taken a while to be good at, and someone like me has to start somewhere. Film reviews at https://letterboxd.com/louferrigno/, if you're into that sort of thing.”

Jaimie Barchus was born in Nevada in 1984. Jaimie developed a passion for art and wildlife at a very young age. At the age of 21, Jaimie relocated to Washington state where she still resides today. For Jaimie, art is her way of communicating the beauty she sees in the world. Jaimie finds inspiration all around her and finds herself amazed by all the intricacies of this world. The amount of beauty and ambiguity she finds in wildlife drives the passion she puts in her work.

Jeneaka Spencer is a student at LCC and is in the process of completing her degree in education. She has loved art since she was young and began her passion with drawing by using pen, charcoal, and began to use paint as she got older. Art is following Jeneaka's passion in education and hopes to become an art teacher.

Jennie J. Castle (b.1983) is an artist living in Longview, WA. She currently works at Lower Columbia College as the Gallery and Programs Director of the Rose Center for the Arts.

Kat Wendler is a student at Lower Columbia College. She loves having the opportunity to learn more about art, which is her greatest passion. When she comes home every day, she shares what she learned with her Mom. Kat says that her mom has inspired her to pursue her dreams and to improve her work. She feels that she owes whatever talent she may have to her mom.

Katrina Shaw is a first year running start student at Lower Columbia College, and though her major is currently in music, she loves creating art. From sketching to sculpting, what she loves most about art is how much joy it brings, not only to the creator who spent so much time on it, but to those who look upon it as well.

Lori Holliday has been a Kelso resident for 20+ years. She appreciates the diversity of nature in this area... mountains, rivers, and beaches. Nature inspires her silk art.

Molly Mahoney is a 19-year-old artist who has lived in the Lower Columbia region her whole life. She has a deep love for the region's community and climate, and hopes to remain in the PNW for as long as possible to enjoy the rain and spend time with her friends and family.

Olivia M. Smith has always had a love for art and receives guidance from her art teacher Mr. Kohlmeier. With the help from Mr. Kohlmeier and others, she was able to push herself outside her comfort zone and publish her art publicly. 

Rosie Graff is a running start student from Kelso. She is the Executive Director of student government at LCC.

Sarah Rachel Westlund was born in Longview, Washington, and has lived in the Pacific Northwest her entire life. She graduated from Lower Columbia College in 2018, and plans to pursue a career in art. To see more of Sarah’s art, please visit sarahrachel.net.

Savanah Johnston is currently a student at LCC and has struggled to find the right major but luckily found their passion in art. Savanah now majors in art and finds happiness with this decision.

Spring James is a painter who lives and works in Cowlitz County, Washington. A native Washingtonian, her paintings in watercolor, acrylic, and oil pay homage to the Pacific Northwest. She sums up her semi abstract style - “It’s realism... I just have rain in my eyes.” Follow Spring on Instagram @springjamesart

Susan Stacy grew up in Kelso and graduated from Kelso High School in 1968. She later moved to Arizona and became the second woman to attain a Dispensing Optician's License. Her love for art took her into custom designed eyewear. Her work has been featured in "People Magazine" and on "Good Morning America". Marriage and children came along and she helped implement an art program for Strandwood Elementary School. She moved back to the Pacific Northwest to be close to family and is now enrolled at LCC in order to grow as an artist.

Trista Miller lives in Longview, Washington and currently attends Lower Columbia College. She loves living in the Pacific Northwest and finds herself endlessly inspired by the beautiful forests, mountains, and rivers that surround the area.