¶¶Òõpro

Reception: May 10th from 2-4 pm

ABOUT

Andrew Brister

Andrew Brister is an artist, musician, and student currently pursuing a BFA in Fine Arts at ¶¶Òõpro University. Originally from Winona, Mississippi, he has remained closely connected to the creative communities of the South while developing his practice. He has engaged in the arts by participating in an artist residency in Starkville, Mississippi, where he expanded his studio work and collaborative experience. In addition to his visual art, he regularly performs music throughout the southern United States, sharing original songs shaped by personal experience. His traditional artwork centers on inner nostalgic feelings, often reflecting on memory, growth, and identity. He draws inspiration from the bold design language and dynamic movement found in action comics and manga, blending expressive figures with thoughtful composition. His music is influenced by his interactions with others, the visceral reaction to sound, and the shared nature of human experience, aiming to create honest and relatable moments for listeners. 

Elizabeth Clarke

Elizabeth Clarke is a multi-disciplinary artist from Jackson, Mississippi. She is currently pursuing a BFA with a concentration in ceramics at ¶¶Òõpro University. Her work features animals and floral motifs on the surface of handmade pottery through a technique known as Sgraffito. Her sgraffito work is reminiscent of woodblock prints, as she is influenced by her background in printmaking. Additionally, she draws inspiration from the Arts and Crafts Movement and its beliefs that all art is equal, work should be enjoyable and engage the imagination, and that the design and quality of products the public consumes should be improved. She makes functional yet ornamental pieces, worthy of display and capable of everyday use. 

Elijah Corlett 

Elijah is a multi-disciplinary artist from Gulfport, Mississippi. With his art practice originating from strictly drawing, his work focuses on the use of form to establish, visualize, and expand on the relationships of similar concepts while blurring the line that divides them. Across the board, his style knows little consistency- while some specific details appear in multiple works, he seeks to create something new and different with each project he assigns himself. Through the use of metal, wood, and (sometimes) cardboard, his work provides commentary on weapon aesthetics, with additional elements taken from human anatomy, video games, and various works of fiction. Elijah’s work has previously been on display in MSU’s 53rd and 52nd Juried Student Show, and he has work stored in the printmaking archive of MSU

Kurdarius Keyes

Kurdarius Keyes (he/him/his) was born in Laurel, MS, in 2000. Primarily a multimedia printmaker and illustrator, Keyes works as an exhibiting and vending artist in Starkville, Ms. Working secondarily as a creative writer, he seeks to integrate narrative concepts with visual arts, heavily utilizing Art Nouveau as a foundational armature. Honorably mentioned by the Academy of American Poets, Keyes also has visual works internationally published in multiple editions of The Hand Magazine. Stateside and overseas, Keyes has been commissioned for small and large-scale murals. Currently, he is producing works for his senior year thesis in preparation for his BFA in printmaking

Moriah Roland

Moriah Roland (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Inspired by her cultural background as a Black American as well as her hometown and its surroundings, she found herself drawn to flora/fauna in a city that was determined to pave it over. Thus, through her work she threads the line between the organic and inorganic by making heavily stylized surrealist pieces that often reference nature and the human body and that relationship. Her work aims to speak on her personal experiences in the hopes of creating a space for broader conversations in reference to cultural alienation, liminal spaces, and our relationship as a whole to nature.

Thomas Jones

Thomas Jones is a 24-year-old painter and illustrator born in Memphis, TN, and raised in Kosciusko, MS. Thomas will graduate with a BFA in Painting from MSU in May 2026. He is inspired by the myths, mythologies, and folktales of the past, and he integrates those motifs and fantastical backgrounds with modern elements and inspiration to create a grand story. Religious symbolism and iconography, as well as superheroes and comic-like illustrations, have become central elements and tools in his worldbuilding process. Stories and personal beliefs fuel Jones’ creative outlets and drive him to create new, thoughtful worlds. His art revolves around a bold, graphic mix of abstraction and representation, and his use of bright colors and rough mark-making creates an authentic, notable style. Thomas utilizes all of these elements to create a unique world and experience for viewers.

Mia Coggin

Mia Coggin is a 24-year-old with a drawing emphasis from North Mississippi. With her emphasis on drawing, she usually sticks to a black-and-white color palette, using primarily black wet ink and pens. Her work is usually centered around body horror, using the human body as a way to talk about vulnerability, identity, and a focus on physical transformation. To convey this message through style, she often uses stippling as a primary drawing technique, covering larger areas in solid black to add contrast to the softness of the rest of the image. Also adding areas of
paint and photography collaged into her most recent works as well. She has experimented with other art forms, including painting and printmaking, in recent years, being featured in The Hand Magazine (2026) and receiving a 3rd-place award at the 2022 MCCAIA State Student Art Competition hosted by Jones College in Ellisville.

Sharda Jackson

Sharda Jackson is a multi-media sculpture artist and professional bridal and event makeup artist from Crawford, Mississippi. She admires the splendor of natural and industrial beauty in forms  that twinkle, tower, and adorn. Through years of preparing individuals for rites of passage like weddings, celebrations, and moments of public devotion, she has developed a heightened awareness of beauty as both labor and offering. In her practice, adornment becomes an act of care, patience, and intention, mirroring the slow, deliberate processes of sculpture-making. Her materials often reference natural silhouettes, drawing visual language from sacred artifact and earth. Her ultimate goal is to honor God with an outward expression of gratitude for the beautiful. 

Hensley Meilstrup

Hensley Meilstrup is a twenty-two-year-old fine artist from Kennesaw, Georgia, who focuses on drawing and also loves exploring and refining techniques in other art forms, she also enjoys working as a freelance photographer specialising in portraiture. She enjoys working in a surrealistic style while exploring it across various media, including pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, graphite, and pen. Throughout her eight years in the art field, she has received awards and scholarships, including the Van Bristow Memorial Endowed Art Scholarship and the Watkins College of Art Endowed Scholarship. On the photography side of her artistic career, she has photographed for concerts and sporting events, taken graduate and anniversary photos, and curated a fashion series inspired by the seven deadly sins. Her current works consist of multiple surrealist pieces, some commissioned album covers for the band Make It To May, and an in-progress multimedia series inspired by self-expression in tattooing. Hensley is currently finishing up her Bachelor's in Fine Arts with a Concentration in Drawing at ¶¶Òõpro University.