Senior art student Greg Schultz had a series of intaglio glass prints on display in the Brindle Gallery at the Huber Art Center. Schultz‘s work was also featured as a part of the senior capstone exhibition. The series features delicate prints, reflecting a journey that is as much personal as it is artistic.
Schultz came to art almost by accident. Growing up in Loudoun County, Virginia, academics were not their strong suit, so art classes became a constant. It was not until the pandemic, when a planned first job fell through and their mom pushed them to figure out a next step, that Schultz found their way to Shippensburg University.
Their original medium was sculpture, but a considerate roommate decision led them to swap cardboard and plaster for something less messy: glass plate intaglio printing.
“I decided to be nice and not fill our apartment with cardboard plastering stuff,” Schultz said.
The process is painstaking and precise. Schultz etches their designs into glass plates, inks the plates and carefully presses them onto dampened paper.
The senior series began as something darker. Schultz’s original concept centered on their experience with depression. But after conversations with adjunct Professor Kathryn Keely during senior seminar, the focus shifted.
An image printed by Schultz apart of his series of artwork.
“Sometimes when someone keeps screaming, people just want to go away,” Schultz recalled Keely saying. From there, they pivoted toward the things that bring them comfort on their hardest days —their cat Peaches, a dog, a dinosaur. Subjects that feel personal, grounded and unexpected.
“Art is in the eye of the beholder,” Schultz said when talking about what they hope viewers take away. “There’s a core comfort, but it’s different for each viewer. I don’t want to force anyone to say anything about my art.”
One of the biggest influences on Schultz’s artistic development has been Professor Steve Dolbin, who recently retired from SU. Dolbin, known for his “my way or the highway” teaching style, pushed Schultz to take creative risks and learn when to push back.
“Dolbin will be like, ‘no, that art piece is stupid,’ and you just have to say, ‘I’m gonna do it anyway,’” Schultz said. “And then you do it anyway.”
Despite the tough love, Schultz credits Dolbin with teaching them one of their most valuable lessons — learning to accept criticism without letting it derail their vision.
The road to the senior show was not without challenges. Schultz described a significant shakeup in the art department, as a faculty turnover left printmaking students without a dedicated professor heading into their final year.
Outside of the studio, Schultz works as a stage intern at Luhrs Performing Arts Center, helped found the campus magic club and is an avid Warhammer miniature painter, a hobby they credit with sharpening the same eye for tiny detail that makes their print work.
After graduation, Schultz plans to stay at SU for a graduate degree in organizational development and leadership, with an eye toward eventually becoming a production manager at a performing arts venue.
For Schultz, the past four years have been as much about finding themself as finding their style. They have learned important lessons along the way.
“I just want people to know, the worst they could say is no,” Schultz said. “So just ask.”
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