Kaitlyn Linneman has always taken art seriously. Herself? Not so much.
Consider this: She and a classmate developed their own lines of personalized merch, complete with her very own “Proud Linnemaniac” fan buttons.
She also repeatedly sketched a doodle of a dog in a tie on her classroom’s white board. Despite the professor erasing it, the doodle always returned to deliver her classmates positive messages like “happy spring break!” or “I heart sculpture.”
And when she created “Group Project” – a hand-carved wooden school desk she mounted to the wall of Westby Hall, with markers attached to encourage passersby to write all over it. For Linneman, the desk fills the void of never writing on her own desk in middle school or high school.
“It’s like you’re misbehaving, but you’re allowed to do it,” she says.
Now, Linneman is sculpting her future as a professional working artist. As she prepares to graduate with her BFA in Studio Art from the College of the Arts on May 15, that sense of play, rebellion and wit comes through in all of her work.
Linneman’s creative roots date back to childhood. She recalls attending local theatre and concerts in Philadelphia with her parents and older sister, playing the flute in elementary school and joining the marching band at her alma mater, Cherry Hill High School West. Linneman says her family is supportive in all aspects, especially when their youngest announced she wanted to study art. They fostered that spark in her, encouraging her love of film photography, developing her own photos and volunteering with Art Goes to School, a non-profit organization that brings art appreciation classes to elementary schools in the Delaware Valley.
Artistic growth
With affinity for the arts and support from her family, Linneman earned her associate’s degree in education from Rowan College of Burlington County before transferring to the university as an art education major.
She was awarded the Department of Arts’ coveted Seward Johnson Artist Development Scholarship and spent her second spring semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy. While classmates from the program spent their weekends jetting off to Morocco and Paris, she spent her time in the studios at the Santa Reparata International School of Art.
“That scholarship changed everything for me,” said Linneman. “It made me feel like I can be an artist and I would be happy focusing on my art.”
Returning to campus with a new perspective, Linneman changed direction, deciding to pursue a BFA in studio art. She quickly got into a daily rhythm in Westby Hall and fell in love with the collaboration and experimentation in her studio classes.
She also got involved – really involved – in anything that piqued her interest. She joined the Gallery Publication’s photo team, served on the executive board for Rowan’s National Art Education Association and continued her volunteer work for Art Goes to School.
Work that matters
After meeting during a workshop at the spring symposium of interdisciplinary arts, Linneman approached Morgan Yacoe, director of the George Family Center for Healing Arts at Rowan. The center’s commitment to transforming health and wellness through the arts resonated with her. Linneman wanted in.
With endorsement from faculty, Yacoe hired Linneman as her personal studio assistant. The two worked on a National Institute of Health grant-funded project creating surgical training models for residents and medical students to practice incisions and suturing. Linneman worked alongside Yacoe through complicated sculpting, mold making and casting, completing seven unique and total reusable models. She helped work through the technical problem solving and creative aspects.
“She showed incredible innovation. She really jumped right in and was very on it,” said Yacoe. “It’s rare to find someone so dependable and creative. It’s clear she is passionate about art and how it impacts health. She really, really cares.”
Linneman then served the center as project coordinator for Creative Aging, a grant through the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging that provides free art classes and workshops to the 55+ community. She also supported the ArtWise Rx program, which “prescribes” students and community members free local arts and culture experiences to benefit mental health and well-being.
From there, Linneman became the coordinator for the center’s first Arts in Health Conference at Rowan. Later this month, the conference will bring people in arts and health from across New Jersey together to strengthen relationships and exchange ideas.
Carving her own way
Self-assured when it comes to her art – “I know what I like and I know that I like it, but don’t even think about asking me where we should go for lunch or something,” she jokes – Linneman’s intuitiveness and curiosity led her to focus on sculpture. Once intimidated by the fear of making mistakes, she has learned to work with imperfections, even finding hours spent carving “therapeutic.”
Sculpture coordinator and assistant professor Sam Horowitz is most impressed by Linneman’s ability to experiment and follow through, even when things don’t go as expected.
“She is one of those special students who approaches each project with a finished goal in mind, but a personal growth goal, too,” he says, adding her willingness to take risks is an important skill you can’t really teach.
For “Reverie” her senior BFA showcase in Westby’s student gallery, Linneman explored childlike wonder and embraced curiosity and imagination through her sculptures and drawings. The piece that cemented the concept for her show? The desk.
“She created a canvas for others to work on…something collaborative that grows and changes. Giving control away like that is really hard to do as an artist,” Horowitz says. “It’s the most conceptual and exploratory piece she’s made.”
Section of Linneman’s “Reverie” show in Westby Student Gallery, April 2026
Emboldened by her playful rebellion, experimentation, collaboration and artistic risk-taking, Linneman is focused on making art that brings people together…her way.
“I just want to live in a studio all day and make stuff that makes me happy and communicates something about me to the world,” said Linneman of her dream job, becoming an exhibiting artist.
Every spring, Rowan University highlights one graduating student from each school and college. Read more stories about this year’s featured graduates.
