New Year, New Artists, New Works is now open at Moremen Gallery and features the work of Cierra Evans and Dennis Whitehouse, among others. This week we spoke with these two about their work.
Cierra Evans is a Louisville-based painter who graduated from Spalding University in January 2021 and has established an independent practice exhibiting locally and curating for Folx Gallery.
Born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, Evans’ body of work depicts scenes directly from her early life in the foothills of the Appalachian region. Her work uses humor to sift through the discourse around the stigmas and stereotypes surrounding the holler. Cierra uses personal stories to highlight the love and forgiveness that the region deserves.
Dennis Whitehouse is a painter and a teacher who taught in various Kentucky schools for more than 30 years, retiring from Ballard and JCPS in 2017. Dennis was also a long-time teacher in LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes.
Evans & Whitehouse both currently have work in New Year, New Artists, New Work at Moremen Gallery.
Kevin Ashford has taught for JCPS and with LVA's CFAC program for many years. He will be recognized as Visual Art Educator at the 2021 LVA Honors on March 11. This week he talks about his career. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com Thursday at 10:00 am to hear more about it.
After graduating from Kentucky State University with a BA in Art Education, Kevin Ashford attended and received his Master’s in Education from Spalding University after settling in Louisville, Kentucky. He has taught art at Crosby Middle School for twenty-one years and for (LVA) Louisville Visual Art for the last twelve years. Mr. Ashford is best known for his distinct hand-painted surrealistic floral paintings in watercolor. These works and others can be seen on his website, blessed-artist.com.
"Growing up as a black male, I was discouraged from pursing and developing my gift. I remember being told drawing would not put bread on the table." "I am blessed to be able to feed my family and share my love, my passion, my gift through teaching,” Kevin Ashford
Western Middle School Art Teacher Amanda Thompson talks about the challenges of visual art NTI, and artist/curator Ashley Cathey tells about the 3-D virtual reality version of her "Black Before I Was Born" exhibit that she is building. Tune in each Thursday to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com to hear Keith Waits talk with artists and teachers!
Amanda Thompson has a background in fine art, community outreach, and education. She currently holds a BFA in Mixed Media from the University of Kentucky and an MAT in art education and MS in human development from the University of Louisville. She is in her ninth year of teaching Art at Western Middle School for the Arts and Children’s Fine Art Classes with LVA . She has shown artwork, participated in art exhibits and programs throughout the US, Ireland, Italy, and China.
Ashley Cathey is a painter whose creative journey began with performing arts before she was eventually encouraged to develop her visual art talents, which, up until then had been purely for her own personal edification, by exhibiting in Chicago before returning to her native Louisville. She came to prominence when ArtsReach commissioned Cathey to create a series of portraits for their annual Keepers of the Dream celebration at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. In 2016 her work was featured on the cover of LEO Weekly as part of an extensive story on artists of color in Louisville. She recently curated the exhibit, Black Before I Was Born, still up at Roots 101.
Claire Mundy took classes with LVA for about eight years with Mr. Dean Mistler at Scribner Middle School and Indiana University Southeast.
She won a second place award and scholarship at the 2018 Ivy Tech Art Competition. Claire placed in 4H competitions for two years, and this year she also placed in several events with her Academic Bowl team. With all of this and making art, Claire also is very active in her church, volunteering each month with the food pantry and Community Meal, and having participated on several work mission trips.
In the fall of 2018 Claire will be attending the University of Montana, where she has received a Leadership, Achievement, & Service scholarship for $11,000. She will be majoring in Environmental Sciences and Wildlife Biology.
“LVA classes have not only helped me become a better artist, but they made me want to be better and to push myself. Art is a huge part of my life and LVA has been with me for most of my journey as an artist. I wouldn’t be where I was today without these classes.”
Claire's work is included in The Academy at LVA Exhibition, which will be on display May 9 - 16 at Louisville Visual Art, 1538 Lytle Street in the Portland neighborhood. Gallery Hours are Monday through Thursday, 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Payton Sprau was a student in the Academy at LVA for 4 years, taking Drawing 1 and 2, and Digital Art classes. She first became involved with LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes (CFAC) after being nominated in sixth grade.
Payton attended a small Christian based school that had no visual art curriculum, so her participation in CFAC was crucial for her. She was involved in several after-school sports: soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball, and she was in the senior production of Cinderella, but she was still motivated enough to find time for art classes. During high school, Payton was also a Senior Girl Scout and volunteer aide at the Shanituck Day Camp every summer.
"I was accepted into both Northern Kentucky University and Purdue Polytechnic. For both colleges, I’ve been offered an average of $7,000 because of my test scores and GPA, and for being a Kentucky resident."
“Because of the people I have met and learned from I can say with honesty and pride that I have become a more supportive person for younger artists to lean on and gather inspiration from. I have learned to be more accepting of everyone’s unique attributes and to acknowledge people with greater capabilities without feeling personally threatened. Wilma Bethel was an amazing teacher for the past 5 years. She made a connection with me and I learned to accept my flaws and constantly work to improve not only my art but also myself. I can say without a doubt that she has made a positive difference in my life.”
Payton's work is included in The Academy at LVA Exhibition, which will be on display May 9 - 16 at Louisville Visual Art, 1538 Lytle Street in the Portland neighborhood. Gallery Hours are Monday through Thursday, 12-4pm, or by appointment.
