Artists Talk with LVA: March 16, 2023

LVA Honors is March 22 and this week we talk with two of the Honorees, Doug DeWeese (Visual Art Educator) & Ceirra Evans (Emerging Artist). Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com at 10 am each Thursday to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Douglas DeWeese was born and raised in Louisville and has taught art in that community for Jefferson County Public Schools for nearly 27 years.  Doug earned his Bachelor’s degree in Georgia, a Master of Art in Teaching the visual arts from the University of Louisville, and is a National Board Certified teacher.

He has been a part of the visual art faculty at duPont Manual High School for 21 years where he teaches painting, drawing, and printmaking classes.  He has been vital in modernizing and continuing high standards for the visual art magnet program and school, serving on the Admissions Committee, Instructional Leadership Team, Hiring Committee, and former sponsor of the National Art Honor Society at duPont Manual High School.  

Ceirra Evans is a Louisville-based painter depicting Appalachia and the working-class southern narrative. Ceirra’s work has been reviewed by Hyperallergic, The New Yorker, and other publications. Her work is exhibited in 21c Louisville and is held in multiple private collections.

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 depicts stories of generational poverty, trauma, rural queerness, and familial relationships. Ceirra’s work uses humor and illustration to sift through the discourse critiquing the region.

Artists Talk With LVA: January 27, 2022

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.

Artebella On The Radio: March 11

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 

Artebella On The Radio: October 15

Brian Hinds plays the title character and Jennifer Pennington Lady M in the new Kentucky Shakespeare drive-in production of Macbeth that runs through October 31. They are also both teachers so they came in to talk about the first live theatre with an audience since March and how teaching online or in a hybrid model is working right now. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on ARTXFM.com this and every Thursday at 10 am to hear Keith Waits speak with artists on LVA's Artebella on the Radio.

Originally from Maine, Brian Hinds spent ten years with The Children's Theatre of Maine where he served as an actor, instructor, and director. He was also a member of Mad Horse Theater Company. Since moving to Louisville Brian has worked as an outreach artist with Kentucky Shakespeare before joining the faculty at YPAS (Youth Performing Arts School). He is also a member of the Louisville Improvisors and has worked as an actor and director with several local companies, including Kentucky Shakespeare, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company and The Liminal Playhouse.

Jennifer Pennington is currently Manager of Student and Alumni Engagement at Commonwealth Theatre Center. She holds a BFA in Acting from University of Michigan and an MFA in Theatre from the University of Tennessee’s International Actor Training Academy. In Scotland she studied Voice/Speech with Kristin Linklater and Louis Colaianni. Jen, having transplanted from Los Angeles, has worked with companies all over the country including: South Coast Rep., P.S.Arts, EastLA Classic Theatre, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Michigan Theatre Festival, Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, Tennessee’s Clarence Brown Theatre, Arizona Shakespeare Festival and many local companies. Currently, Jen is an actor with The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, serves on the board for PAL Coalition (Federal Drug Free Communities Support Grant) and is a member of VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association.)

Artebella On The Radio: May 21, 2020

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.