2026 | Young Artists | Volume Three

WINTER

2026 | Volume Three

Young Writers Feature

A colorful impressionist painting of a young girl with blonde hair, wearing a pink polka dot dress, holding a pink flower, standing in a vibrant field of flowers under a dark sky.

Where the Wild Things Are

Audra Elm

ignorance is bliss

Naomi Karina | Poetry

“today, i try to mold the earth to my hands, to make it / soft and easy. the grass pokes my feet and the bees bite / my legs, still alive under the buzz of cicadas.”

A person with curly hair is lying on the ground, writing in a notebook surrounded by colorful grass and trees. The person is wearing a shirt with a striped pattern.

Read at 8:15am

Pia Oronce

Sharing Tamales

Aurelia O’Brien | Fiction

“She smiles at me, and all of the crooked teeth I inherited from her show, and I almost wish that I could like those boys just to make her happy.

A young child with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin is sitting on the floor wearing a white shirt with red and orange floral patterns. Near the child, there is a German Shepherd dog with a black and tan coat, looking directly at the camera. In the background, there is a piece of dark furniture, possibly a dresser or cabinet. The child appears to be reaching or holding something in their hand.

Girl’s Best Friend

Pia Oronce

Climate Change

Hunter Fulp | Poetry

“And the straight path, hot as a firecracker, / Only shows one molted solution.”

Eulogy to the Trust of the World After We Are Gone

A colorful watercolor painting of a cityscape with high-rise buildings against a vibrant sunset sky, featuring blue, yellow, and purple hues.

Untitled

Cesar Ramirez-Pulido

Eulogy to the Trust of the
World After We Are Gone

Ainsley Payne | Poetry

“she will breathe / a sigh of relief and cover the child she loved despite / our ruin”

A digital illustration depicting two women embracing in an emotional moment, with one woman crying and the other comforting her.

Butterfly Kisses

Pia Oronce

Through the River

Lila Hayes | Fiction

“That was how it felt that day, anyways, like we were the only people on the river, like it was ours in a way that nobody else could understand.”

A woman with brown hair and a pink shirt looking into an open refrigerator, which contains various food items including a carton of eggs, a bottle of milk, and bottles of condiments.

Frozen Food

Charlotte Whitley

left to bears

Ophelia Baker | Poetry

“woolen / socks, drawer / left open / so you can come and / go whenever you want.”

Close-up of intricate, colorful tile and mosaic art with Arabic script, patterns, and geometric designs in shades of blue, black, white, and gold.

Axis Mundi

Josie Meloeny

I Envy You, Marsh

Sophia Mandrier | Poetry

“So it comes in floods? / that feeling, unwavering.”

Abstract painting of a woman with blue eyes and pinkish hair, surrounded by colorful and swirling background with hints of green, pink, and purple.

Counting Sheep

Audra Elm

Friend of the Tide

Chloe Johnson | Fiction

“Carolina Marsh is the graveyard of the Atlantic.”

A painting of a woman lying on her side, with her legs bent and one arm resting on her head, surrounded by scattered black beans or peas, on a wooden surface. A raggedy piece of cloth and a spool of thread are also visible.

Suck It Up

Charlotte Whitley

Lemon Tree

Ophelia Baker | Poetry

“Next year maybe / there will be a whole tree between my ribs.”

Faded Memories

A woman sitting on a red couch using a smartphone, with two children, a girl in yellow and a girl in purple, standing nearby. In the background, there is a table with a pink blanket and floral cushions, and a woman with glasses and a maroon sweater near a window.

Issue cover by Pia Oronce

Why is this piece your Trace Fossil?

“Faded Memories is similar in idea to my other piece Read at 8:15am. I got inspired by old memories I’ve had with friends, but I wanted to focus on the feeling of that memory, not necessarily the person. To me, we recognize the person in the memory as who they were in that moment. If I were to think of them now, I wouldn’t know who they are— only the idea of them I made in my head. This piece reflects how I think about identity and change. I am aware that people evolve, and sometimes what we miss is not the person themselves but the version of them we once knew. Through this work, I explore how memory shapes perception and how I tend to hold onto emotions even as circumstances shift.”

Pia Oronce is a senior visual arts student at Charleston County School Of The Arts. She has won multiple awards in Scholastic Art and Writing, Coastal Carolina Fair, and South Carolina Junior Federal Duck stamp. For AP Drawing in her junior year she explored the different themes of platonic love and received a 5 on her AP Drawing Portfolio. Her current theme for her senior thesis revolves around grief and how it can be a healing and self-love experience.