Salina Bowe photo: Forever Endeavor artwork will be on display until April 28 in the Cummings Art Gallery.
Forever Endeavor art exhibition marks what has taken graduating seniors four years of creativity and hard work to complete, and allows these artists to display their talents for the public and the campus community to enjoy.

The gallery held a public opening on Saturday, April 6, in which a large crowd gathered to view the unique works of art.

The annual gallery showcases the talents of nine seniors, and the use of various media in various sizes.

As senior art majors, students took a senior thesis course during the winter term. These students include Katelyn Cecchetti, Carli Hatfield, Kathryn LeVan, Durim Loshaj, Hilda Navarro, Karma Smith, Kaylyn Stack, Jeffrey Thiede and Paulina Weilandt.

The class met once a week with their professors to discuss what they had been working on, as well as to bounce ideas off of each other and critique each other’s works.

The show expresses a use of various media such as oils, pastels, oil pastels, acrylics, charcoals, photography, graphics and gelatin prints.

Art education major Katelyn Cecchetti used oil paints on canvas to create four correlating pieces of art to exemplify the common toys that help to enhance creativity in the minds of children.

“It was mandatory that every class we had made some sort of progress, so we were able to talk about what worked and what did not work to ensure it was the best it could be,” Cecchetti said.

Sophomore James Conley attended in support of fellow art majors. He was not the only person amazed by the gallery as a whole.

“The best thing about the gallery show is the wide variety of talent that the students have displayed,” said Conley. “It shows well for the talent that Mercyhurst has on campus.”

The showcase comes together with the collaboration of the senior artists and the Director of the Cummings Art Gallery, Heather Dana.

The students met with Dana prior to the show and worked together to find the best location in the gallery to display their works.

“I am very pleased with this show because the students have expressed a lot of color within their works,” said Dana. “It is a really strong show and it was a pleasure working with the students.”

Other visitors included friends and family of the artists.

Art therapy major Paulina Wielandt used a medium of United States maps and old dress patterns, with the use of acrylics to find different whimsical animals within the lines.

Artists always try to find a way to include their personality within their works to make it especially unique. Wielandt’s aunts, Molly Prahler and Tricia Barney, both agreed that their niece has a way of showing her personality.

“Paulina is extremely passionate about what she does, and her lovable personality really shows in her artwork,” said Prahler.

The entire show was a success, and students are encouraged to stop in to view the gallery.

The exhibition is open in the Cummings Art Gallery through April 28, with daily hours of Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, 2-5 p.m.

For more information, contact Heather Dana at (814) 824-2092 or hdana@mercyhurst.edu.