Spawning Pool is a literary arts chapbook published at Shippensburg University by a small, dedicated team of undergraduate students. It is composed of art pieces submitted by undergraduate students at the university.
Spawning Pool accepts rolling submissions throughout the year, and we publish our chapbook every spring semester.
Spawning Pool is a publication of The Reflector, which also accepts submissions yearround, and is compiled each fall semester.
Contact us:
Submissions and Inquiries: reflect@ship.edu
Spawning Pool Art Chapbook, Spring 2026
Text in: Georgia
Cover Art: Ellie George
Printed by Shippensburg University
Layout by Bailey Riley-Chatfield
Art Editors
Bailey Riley-Chatfield
Gretchen Lambie
Art Committee Members
Ava Hawes
Elias Johnson
Brooke Miller
Emily Shah
Letter From the Editors
Throughout the process of compiling this book, we have seen amazing pieces of work by Shippensburg University’s undergraduate students. From photography to illustrations to paintings, we have seen the talent the Shippensburg students hold. We feel so proud of this year’s book and are excited to put this compilation back into the hands of students to show what their peers can do.
We hope that while flipping through these pieces, you can see the duality of not only the artwork these students showcase, but their own duality, as well. It is through art that we can show some of the deepest and most vulnerable parts of ourselves and it is important to take time to appreciate these aspects of our own humanity.
We would like to thank our E-board for their continuous support throughout this year. As well as each other, for the support and rapport we have developed throughout this year of working together. We hope you enjoy this book as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Thank you,
Bailey Riley-Chatfield & Gretchen Lambie
A
Chasm Between Brick Logan Keeport
Static Motion
Logan Keeport
Apex Logan Keeport
The following images are from Alayna Phillips’ collection Sun on the Snow. Phillips wanted to capture the evening sun over the snow.
“Winter is often associated with being dull and grey, so I wanted to focus the warmth and color the sunlight brings. I explored the way the sun softens the harsh winter environment. I aimed to document the comfort the sun gives us, even during the harsh winter months.”
-Alayna Phillips
Sun on the Snow
Alayna Phillips
Sun on the Snow
Alayna Phillips
Sun on the Snow
Alayna Phillips
The following illustration was created by Ellie George. Her artist statement about her piece is as follows:
"This piece is about the strain of who we are and who we pretend to be. The bathroom scene emphasizes the intimacy and privacy of the habits that we attempt to hide. The title references a Bible verse: 1 Samuel 16:7, that man sees outward appearances, but God looks at the heart. The ritual of doing makeup in this piece represents putting on a face to disguise and to fool "man" of our destructive habits and sins. The exaggerated features of the reflection represent the damage of these habits, and the direct eye contact suggests that God can't be fooled; he sees us for what we are."
-Ellie George
1S16seven
Ellie George
In the following illustration, using primarily charcoal, Elias Johnson had this to say about this piece:
“This piece was heavily conceptualized with the idea of trying to be someone, whilst also dealing with feelings you cannot escape. The goal in life is to be the best version of yourself, though everyone carries the weight of something. We put on this mask to confront reality, but it's difficult to escape negative feelings. Eventually, a slip up leads to those two personalities colliding. I chose to show two faces colliding in an uncomfortable way to help emphasize the heaviness of the situation. Using charcoal as the primary medium further helps to express the extreme contrast between the two personalities.”
-Elias Johnson
Twitching Between Selves
Elias Johnson
In the following piece, Hannah Campbell uses digital art to create Masking, saying:
“Masking is about the quiet effort it takes to look “fine.” The pink face smiles the way it’s supposed to, while the blue self—tired, redeyed, and honest—pulls it apart. Even then, the truth doesn’t come easily. The hands that reveal the mask also cover the mouth, because some things are harder to say than to hide. The wristband, reading “in memory of Cian,” is the simplest and truest part of the piece. It explains everything without really explaining anything at all; the purple showing the overlap of the joy turned to sorrow. Sometimes grief doesn’t make you fall apart in public. Sometimes it just asks you to keep going—and to get very good at pretending you already have.”
-Hannah Campbell
Masking
Hannah Campbell
In Hannah Campbell’s following piece, also utilizing digital mediums, she says:
“This piece considers time as both a system and a sentence—something we measure, organize, and depend on, even as it quietly traps us within it. The clocks overlaying the scene suggest an inventory of moments, each one counted, categorized, and inevitably spent. The figure reaches outward, as if to halt the process—to pause the collapse, the change, the ongoing tally. It’s a deeply human gesture: the belief that time might stop if only we asked firmly enough.
But time doesn’t stop. It keeps everything moving, including the things we would rather hold still. Without it, nothing progresses; with it, nothing stays.
So, we live inside the contradiction—needing the very thing that ensures we cannot keep anything forever, still trying, now and then, to hold up a hand and argue with eternity.”
-Hannah Campbell
As If We Could Stop Time Without Shattering Eternity
Hannah Campbell
The following is Lauren Pool’s Blending Into You created using acrylic on wood. She stated:
“I wanted to create something that emphasized the meaning of colors. The blue represents stability and calmness, while the yellow is meant to represent anxiety and energy. When blue and yellow meet, they create stability and growth represented in green.”
-Lauren Pool
Blending Into You
Lauren Pool
The following was painted by Elizabeth Lonkart using acrylic paints. She said:
“This painting was inspired by a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. It was created using acrylic paint. It represents the duality of a cemetery. There is life in the surrounding nature, but death in the graves.”
-Elizabeth Lonkart
Cemetery
Elizabeth Lonkart
Ellie George created the following piece using colored pencils and says this about her work:
“Self Inflicted Growth is about the idea of cutting things out of your life for personal growth, but how that process can be destructive rather than healing. The plant is growing from the hand, but the hand is cutting the plant to represent that the pruning is self inflicted. The hand is also cutting healthily parts of the plant to represent impulsive decisions. The piece is not about healthy change but how impulsivity from trying to “fix” yourself can lead to more harm than good.”
-Ellie George
Self Inflicted Growth
Ellie George
Ellie George created Final Impressions using oil pastels as her medium. She said:
“Final Impressions is a still life influenced by the Vanitas and Memento Mori movements. The objects are associated with writing letters and communication, while the skull represents death. The point of this piece is to represent saying what needs to be said before it’s too late.”
-Ellie George
Final Impressions
Ellie George
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend a thank you to everyone who made this Spawning Pool possible.
Thank you to each and every artist who took the time to create beautiful and thoughtful pieces for this journal.
We would also like to thank our executive board Katelyn Mader, Emily Brewer, Tomi May, and Annikka Stangil for their leadership.
Thank you to all of our committee members who submitted and ranked this year. We appreciate all of you.
Additionally, we would like to extend our thanks to Kim Hess for all her help throughout the publication and printing process.
Lastly, thank you to our advisor, Dr. Santalucia, for all her support throughout this year, as well.
