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MC Student Artist Measures Up to Professional Competition at Statewide Plein Air Painting Event
HCC GRADUATION--- Participating in the annual Bell Tower ceremony before the Hinds Community College Utica Campus graduation on May 10 were, from left, K’Cy Jones of Canton, Taniah Parker of Brandon, Mya Kennedy of Jackson and Atlantis Funches of Brandon. (Hinds Community College/Brad Smith)
An award-winning Mississippi College studio art major recently left the confines of the Gore Arts Complex to join seasoned artists in a statewide competition that saw her complete two remarkable landscape oil paintings in just seven hours.
Emma Knowles of Birmingham, Alabama, participated in the second-annual Plein Air Painting Competition at Flowood Nature Park on April 13. Cohosted by Pacesetter Gallery and Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the event included more than 40 artists who spread out across the park to create unique works inspired by what they observed.
The upcoming senior applied for and received the 2024 Pacesetter Gallery Plein Air Competition College Scholarship, which covered the fees for the competition.
“I did not know what to expect from the competition or myself,” Knowles said following the competition. “I have painted for deadlines before, but not on the spot. I had to approach the competition knowing that if all else failed, it would be a learning experience.
“I was amazed by the artists around me, but I knew I had to focus on what I was doing and not try to compare my progress with others. This made me feel more like I was in a competition with myself, taking all of my knowledge, skill, and previous experience to produce a piece better than the last.”
This was not her first foray into plein air painting – Knowles finished second in the Oil Division of the Plein Air Painting Competition in October 2023 at the Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland – but this year’s event proved more demanding.
During the 8 a.m.-3 p.m. competition time, she completed two paintings that were available for sale at the En Plein Air Show at Pacesetter Gallery in April. Recent flooding in the Jackson metropolitan area required event organizers to move the competition from the intended site of Le Fleurs Bluff State Park in Jackson to Flowood. Artists were allowed to create up to five pieces, but only one could be entered for judging.
“Our mission is to grow opportunities, and art sales, for artists and support them on their artistic journeys,” said Keri Davis, Pacesetter Gallery owner. “Emma Knowles has impressed me with her talent and dedication to her craft. She has been well-prepared and she is setting herself apart from her peers by creating art in public at the competitive level.
“I am looking forward to watching her career.”
A four-time recipient of the Art Department Endowment Scholarship, Knowles has already enjoyed considerable success during her undergraduate career at MC. In addition to participating in the Plein Air Painting competitions, she received the 2023 Studio Art Major of the Year Award, the 2023 Art Major of the Year Award, and the 2024 President’s Choice Award in the Compet-itive Showcase Under-graduate Scholarship.
Albert Smathers, MC professor of art, said Knowles is working with Emilie Alonzo Sanders, At the May 10 graduation ceremony on the Utica Campus, basketball player and student graduation speaker Tra’Shayla Wilson said coming to Hinds Community College’s was the right choice for her and her classmates.
“Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Fortunately for me and my classmates, we made the perfect one: Hinds Community College,” said student graduation speaker Tra’Shayla Wilson, 19, of Lake. “Hinds is our home away from home, and we are always encouraged to be ourselves and never to dim our light.
“Even on your worst day, there is always someone who wants to encourage you to be your best. Because here at Hinds, we are family, and that is what family is all about. True, we are not related, but I’ve always been told that family may take many shapes. Our experience at this college has been nothing short of spectacular,” said Wilson, who earned an associate degree and is transferring to Belhaven University where she will continue academic studies and her basketball career.
Hinds Com-munity College awarded 1,270 credentials to 972 graduates in four ceremonies held over three days, which means many graduates earned more than one credential. Among the graduates, 448 graduated with honors, including 260 cum laude, 3.2 - 3.59 GPA out of 4.0; 152 magna cum laude, 3.60 - 3.99 GPA and 36 summa cum laude, with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
The speakers for each ceremony were students receiving degrees who have shown leadership and excellence in their fields of study and were selected by their instructors and peers.
Nyelah Dobbey, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla., said the invocation and benediction. She earned an Associate of Applied Science in Business Management Technology and plans to transfer to Mississippi College to pursue her MBA.
The Golden Class featuring Utica graduates from 1974 were honored as part of the graduation ceremony held in the Boyd Gym on the Utica Campus.
HCC GRADUATION--- Participating in the annual Bell Tower ceremony before the Hinds Community College Utica Campus graduation on May 10 were, from left, K’Cy Jones of Canton, Taniah Parker of Brandon, Mya Kennedy of Jackson and Atlantis Funches of Brandon. (Hinds Community College/Brad Smith)