Intertwined Getaway x Continuum: Senior Art and Digital Media Capping

On April 19, the senior art and digital Media capping classes came together in the Steel Plant Gallery to present two themes combined in the Spring 2026 Capping Exhibition “Intertwined Getaway” x “Continuum.”

Professor Amy Finkel’s and Dr. Malgorzata Oakes’ students explored themes of journey, self-discovery and the ways that life embodies art. Human and natural elements were evident throughout the student works that scaled the walls, hung from the ceiling and filled the gallery floor. All of this work was designed to immerse visitors in the themes the artists explore, such as those experienced by Riley Penn ’26. 

“Our exhibition is the Intertwined Getaway, which is about the escapism that artists deal with when it comes to doing their own artwork and what correlates in terms of their own identity,” Penn said. “So we all interpreted that in our own ways, whether it was how we see our art, how we interact with our art, or how we interact with the environment around us.”

For her piece, Penn blended both physical and digital media. 

“I did most of my work in [Adobe] Photoshop and then put it on a canvas and painted on top of that so I could combine both mediums,” she explained. “I was thinking to myself, ‘If my inner world, my thoughts, could be portrayed in a language that’s visible to everyone.’”

Similar to Penn, Erin Donnelly’s ‘26 work was also featured as a branch of Intertwined Getaway. “My work is based on the idea of your own personal dreamscapes and your own personal daydream,” she said. “To me… we imagine this ‘grandeur nature’ theme with nice colors. So I tried to invest that in my own work.”

Using Adobe Illustrator, Donnelly was able to convey her getaway through an image of a fantastical forest with sunlight piercing through the leaves.

Other students took the liberty of following their own creative, exploring themes that resonated more personally with them, such as Brittany Tinklepaugh ‘26, whose work was featured in the Continuum collection. She focused on the ongoing exploitation of girls through the recent Epstein Files and used physical media to capture each expression and symbolism.

“It’s kind of gruesome… and I wanted to symbolize the feminine power,” she said. “That was my inspiration.”

“My professor wanted us to loosely involve the title, but she wanted us to feel like we could make the capping project our goal,” Tinklepaugh explained. “I guess my involvement in Continuum is the progression of my work style.”

Although the pieces have incredible presentations, the process was an intensive semester-long effort with some struggle.

“The biggest challenge was definitely trying to get my image across,” Donnelly said. “It took me three weeks to decide on what I actually wanted to draw. And I had at least 15 different sketches about what I wanted.”

“The process–the painting process itself was also very challenging because I’ve never painted kids before,” Tinklepaugh added. “It was kind of hard, but I feel like I tied it together very well.”

With the challenges came the reward of finally finishing, followed by a sense of relief and pride. Family, faculty, friends and guests were welcome to the exhibit and celebrate their peers’ accomplishments. To some, it was a time to reflect on the art, the theme and how it resonated. 

“A lot of it is very introspective,” Ashley Laub ‘27 said. “I think to me, the best part of art is when people are vulnerable. And I think a lot of people were willing to be vulnerable and expose a part of themselves. It’s a good thing.”

The gallery will remain open until May 10 for anyone to experience, reexperience and reflect.