For many, many years, the Bright Foundry was the primary metal arts foundry in Louisville. Even after founder Barney Bright’s death in 1997, the facility functioned under the stewardship of Barney’s son, Jep Bright until April 2016.

Artists: Matt Weir, Tamina Karem, and Scott Boyer — *Artists: Matt Weir, Tamina Karem, and Scott Boyer*

Matt Weir, Tamina Karem, & Scott Boyer all worked at Bright Foundry, and knowing Jep was thinking of shutting down, had talked to him about purchasing the equipment and opening a new Bronze metal casting foundry on property they intended to lease on Portland Avenue, just across the street from The Table restaurant. They followed through and have now moved the contents of Bright Foundry into that location at 1715 Portland Avenue. They are still sorting things out, but are already working on projects and some small casting contracts.

Barney Bright’s River Horse statue at 6th & Chestnut was, of course, cast at Bright, as was Ed Hamilton’s York statue on the Belvedere, Bob Lockhart’s Robert Bellarmine statue on the campus of Bellarmine University, and many other local sculptures. Over the years there seemed to be plenty of work, so the Falls Art Foundry team are confident about the opportunity for work once they are fully established. But the journey to that result will require a lot of work - and money.

*Building plans by Mose Putney Architect*

The building, with over 55,000 square feet of space, high ceilings, and land allowing for expansion, is ideally suited to the task, but it will require modifications that will run in the neighborhood of $350,000 before the three will have met all of their goals.

Currently, the location satisfies much of the needs for the functioning foundry, with some changes needed in the floor to accommodate furnaces, extension of some interior walls to the high ceilings, and a second double wide door, but the team also has ambitions to develop what Boyer describes as, “our ideal foundry,” (the new building is about 19,000 square feet larger than Bright Foundry). Plans include building an annex to house retail and educational spaces that would enable outreach to the community. “Our long-term vision is for a sculpting campus,” explains Karem.

*Artist, Tamina Karem with one of her recent pieces*

Between them, the trio can boast 40 plus years of experience working at Bright Foundry, and offer what Weir describes as, “a diversity of experience in materials and practices,” positioning them to be a full-service operation for artists in the area. “All foundries are collaborative efforts run by artists or, at least, craftspeople,” states Boyer, as he explains that the artists working to caste a bronze piece have a significant impact on the final result, often as much as 1/3 of the surface might change during the process. The observation underscores the importance of the relationship sculptors develop with a specific foundry. Bright Foundry enjoyed a strong reputation with artists, a reputation that Boyer, Karem, and Weir helped build and hope to carry over to Falls Art Foundry.

Artist, Matt Weir at work in Falls Art Foundry — *Artist, Matt Weir at work in Falls Art Foundry*

The technique of lost-wax casting is complicated. Weir breaks it down to nine stages, each of which contains several steps. Although all three have university educations, they learned the technique working at Bright. Because there is no academic foundry in Louisville right now, the opportunity to demonstrate the technique is important. It is older than one might assume, with the oldest known examples being the objects discovered in the “Cave of the Treasure “(Nahal Mishmar) hoard in southern Israel, and which belong to the Chalcolithic period (4500–3500 BC). Conservative estimates of age from carbon-14 dating date the items to c. 3700 BC, making them more than 5700 years old.

The Falls Art Foundry team currently rent the building with an option to purchase, and they seem nothing if not committed, so the smart money is on them following through and realizing their dream.

On June 2, it was announced that Louisville Visual Art would bestow the 2017 Barney Bright award of $1200 to Falls Art Foundry.

(Editor’s note: an interview on LVA’s PUBLIC, broadcast on WXOX-97.1 FM on 12.16.16, was used as a source for this article.)

This Feature article was written by Keith Waits.
In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, www.Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more. — *Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more.*

Drawing

Vignette: Barb McDevitt

Josh Jenkins · March 31, 2017

“Art enables us to finds ourselves. As an artist I try to interpret what I have seen in hope that others can see my vision.” — Barb McDevitt

"TAJI" by Barb McDevitt, 16x20in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW — *"TAJI" by Barb McDevitt, 16x20in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW*

Although she paints plein aire, Barb McDevitt also finds old architecture quite compelling. She sees the survival of venerable buildings from the past as inspirational, discovering the rich, earthy color of the brick, or the originally bright, albeit now somewhat dimmed colors of the signage and storefronts among the more modern buildings in the city.

“The TAJ was an old building bought back to life again,” says McDevitt. “I wanted to capture that rebirth. Conversely, The Phoenix Hill Tavern was a place of good times for many generations only to suffer a death by way of retirement. There is irony in the idea that a building with that name would not be born again from the ashes.”

These prosaic images tie present and past together in simple, honest, terms, but visual motifs are always loaded with more than the surface meaning; memory, history, and the passing of an age are at all at work in these paintings because those aspects are important to McDevitt. In her own way, like many other artist, she is a local historian and preservationist.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, Graphic Arts, University of Louisvill
Gallery Representative: Jane Morgan Gallery, Framer’s Express (Louisville)
Website: http://barbamcdevitt.webs.com/

"Spring Floyds Fork" by Barb McDevitt, 14x11in, pastel (2015) $350 | BUY NOW — *"Spring Floyds Fork" by Barb McDevitt, 14x11in, pastel (2015) $350 | BUY NOW*

"Coffee Talk" by Barb McDevitt, 12x16in, pastel (2016) $500 | BUY NOW — *"Coffee Talk" by Barb McDevitt, 12x16in, pastel (2016) $500 | BUY NOW*

"The Death of the Phoenix" by Barb McDevitt, 20x16in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW — "*The Death of the Phoenix" by Barb McDevitt, 20x16in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW*

Ceramics

Feature: Tom Marsh Legacy

Josh Jenkins · March 10, 2017

“By practicing a potentially usable art and by insisting on its usability, and the commonness and local peculiarity of his materials, he points it toward the older, finer, healthier sort of artistic success: that such excellent workmanship, such beauty and distinction, might again become ordinary.“ — Wendell Berry on Tom Marsh*

If past is indeed prologue, then perhaps we live in the present only by the leave of our ancestors; formative influences, and most especially our teachers. Tom Marsh was a teaching artist in the Greater Louisville area for more than 25 years, first at Silver Creek High School in his native Indiana during the 1960’s, and then as the founder of the Ceramics program at the University of Louisville’s Hite Institute for Art, where he taught until his death, in 1991.

It is also said, by those who loved and admired him the most, that he was demanding. Surely this is a requisite quality for any worthwhile mentor, and, from all accounts, Marsh set expectations as high for his own work as he did for anyone else, and the program he developed for U of L was unorthodox, moving beyond traditional studio parameters. Certainly experience has taught us that innovation often translates for some as ‘difficult’.

Marsh was raised by missionaries, and studied painting with Mary Spencer Nay at the University of Louisville. A missionary trip took him to Mashiko, Japan, where he ended up staying for several years, studying pottery with Sakuma Totaro (1900-1976), and learning various strands of Buddhism, most notably Rinzai. Once he returned to the U.S. he eventually resettled in Borden, Indiana, living his later years in adherence to ethical and spiritual practices born of his time in Japan, building an aesthetically spare house in the secluded woods that featured multi-functional space - the bed was raised on pulleys to make room for working.

Works by Marsh Pottery, Install Image from UofL Faculty show (1984) . Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute. — *Works by Marsh Pottery,* *Install Image from UofL Faculty show (1984) . Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute.*

This holistic approach was indicative of what University of Louisville colleague and current faculty Jim Grubola calls the, “potter-philosopher” ideal that Marsh strived to embody. He brought it into his teaching, breaking out of the confines of the studio to instruct students in building outdoor kilns as a part of curriculum, a practice that brought many conflicts with both the Louisville Fire Department and University officials.

"Approaching" by Marsh Pottery, conjunction in situ (1992). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute. — "*Approaching" by Marsh Pottery,* *conjunction in situ (1992). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute.*

As for the work, Marsh’s ceramic pottery follows the Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty – “art,” in the strictly functional: large scale vessels for storage (because smaller pieces for daily use were commonly made from lacquer or wood), and tea pots. The full, earthen physicality might seem to contradict the western (mis) perception of delicacy as a defining characteristic of Japanese art; these are full, solid forms of visual and tactile weight. Their functionality never feels in question.

Another U of L associate, retired Print Faculty John Whitesell, describes how Marsh developed his techniques for the “expanded form jar,” in which the walls of the vessel are pushed to their limits and the outer surface begins to “crack”: “He would go beyond what you would imagine was possible… he would just keep working it, and working it.” The resulting complex, “fractured” surface texture became a trademark of Marsh’s work, a careful balance between structural integrity and creative aesthetic. However much the artist valued function, the rustic, earthy beauty of the work was always astonishing.

Whitesell also talks of “the anonymous potter,” which is a term that evolved when Marsh worked alongside his wife, Ginny Marsh. In the images of work shown here, from a 1984 sabbatical exhibit at U of L’s Schneider Galleries, all of the work is identified as simply Marsh Pottery, with no distinction given as to which Marsh created which piece. While there may be some who felt they could detect differences, Grubola, for one, could not be certain, because the nature of the vessels had gone in such an elemental direction: “Particularly towards the end,” says Grubola, “the work became more intuitive and less refined.”

*"Mark" by Tom Marsh. Photo Courtesy of Hite Art Institute.*

Students came to U of L to study with Marsh specifically tolearn the Japanese-based techniques and life philosophy he expounded. Laura Ross, Wayne Ferguson, Sarah Frederick, Fong Choo, Pam Korte, Bran Hazelet, and Gwen Heffner are but a few notable potters for whom Marsh was a mentor, and many of them still live, work and teach in the area.

All of the concentration suggests that Marsh never did anything halfway. One of his teaching tools were sophisticated, multi-media presentations that he also took all around the U.S. at a time when such things were not common. “For someone so dedicated to a simple agrarian lifestyle,” remembers Whitesell, ”Tom was well-versed in technology, and had multiple projections fading in and out… synched to a pre-recorded soundtrack. It was very impressive.”

"These pots and cups and bowls are not busy calling attention to themselves as 'art objects.' Their preferred habitat is a kitchen, not a museum. They invite use. They are not just viewed. Viewing, by itself, will misunderstand them--just as, by itself, it
will misunderstand the food." — Wendell Berry

Examples of Marsh pottery are in permanent collections of museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in Kamajura, Japan.

Name: Tom Marsh (1934 -1991)
Hometown: Sellersburg, Indiana

The Marsh's 30 cubic foot cross draft salt kiln (c.1979). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute. — *The Marsh's 30 cubic foot cross draft salt kiln (c.1979). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute.*

"Approaching Conjunction" by Marsh Pottery, stoneware (1984). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute. — "*Approaching Conjunction"* *by Marsh Pottery,* *stoneware* *(1984). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute.*

"Vase with Brass Rings" by Marsh Pottery, 14in H, coarse stoneware (1973). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute. — *"Vase with Brass Rings" by Marsh Pottery, 14in H, coarse stoneware* *(1973). Photograph courtesy of the Hite Art Institute.*

*From “Tom Marsh/Potter: Twenty Three Years of Clay”, published by University of Louisville, 1979.

Painting, Mixed Media, Photography, Ceramics

Feature: Building A Foundation At Art Sanctuary

Josh Jenkins · October 25, 2016

"Branching Out" by Britany Baker, 103x23in, charcoal on paper (2016) — *"Branching Out" by Britany Baker, 103x23in, charcoal on paper (2016)*

One of the aspects of the art community that tends to be under appreciated is how much artists, especially visual artists do for themselves; taking care of business independently, often with a scrappy, can-do attitude. It happens often out of necessity, because social infrastructure and municipal support for such projects can be hard to come by, even in a city that prides itself on generations of support for local artists, but it also has always been a part of the counter-culture identity embraced by many younger artists, one in which integrity is equated with struggle.

I’m not sure that Lisa Frye and Britany Baker had any such thoughts in mind when organizing Art Sanctuary, the artist’s studio space located at 1433 South Shelby Street in the Germantown neighborhood. The current President and Vice-President, respectively, are overflowing with war stories of the constant uphill battle to make the dream a reality. But I guess if it were easy to build a vision, everyone would be doing it.

Frye, a visual artist, founded Art Sanctuary in 2004. Her first efforts were pop-up exhibits, or ‘art soirees’, as they became know, at locations such as River Bend Winery, Felice Vineyard, Flame Run, Petrus Nightclub, Main Street Lounge, Mellwood Arts Center, and many more. “That was back when art shows in coffee shops wasn’t even a thing yet,” remembers Frye. An attempt to secure a permanent space led to collaborations with The Alley Theater when they were occupying various spaces at The Pointe on East Washington Street, but the uncertainties of that circumstance led Frye to believe that Art Sanctuary needed to follow its own path. “We applied for and were granted non-profit status in 2006, but we still found ourselves with no place to show on a regular basis.”

*Artist Victoria Klotz at work. Photo Sarah Katherine Davis*

It was in this period that Frye became involved with the Va Va Vixens, a neo-burlesque, vaudevillian style performance troupe who mount extravagant shows of music, dance, and acrobatics. Original founder Christiane Nicoulin moved on to other creative adventures and left Frye as Producer/Manager, writing and producing shows such as the upcoming yuletide holiday show, Va Va Festivus, at Headliners Music Hall, December 8 -10.

*Frankie Steele at work. Photo by Brian Bohannon.*

Enter photographer Frankie Steele, who was looking for a building to develop as a “maker space.” It’s a phrase that has gained currency in the intervening years, but Steele had managed Ice Box Co-Labs, an earlier co-working space on Main Street, long before the trend picked up steam in Louisville. He met Dennis Becker, who in 2008 had purchased the wedge-shaped building at 1433 South Shelby Street to use as a warehouse for his business, Voit Electric. Steele made a formal presentation to Becker outlining his vision for the building, and began work on the first spaces – studios for he and his wife, Baker, independently. The need for a non-profit organization to structure fundraising seemed important, and Baker reached out to her friend Lisa Frye about Art Sanctuary, which had no brick and mortar location. A union was born, and Steele and Baker joined the AS board in 2012. Scott Slusher joined shortly thereafter, and the first formal lease was signed as Art Sanctuary.

*Artists Lisa Frye and Britany Baker. Photo by Frankie Steele.*

It is where Art Sanctuary now makes its home. The 26,000 square foot space seemed well suited to the two-fold mission to house individual artist’s studios and rehearsal/performance space. It came equipped mostly with potential, and multiple loading doors into a wide, high-ceilinged space and a second floor. The group started with just a few spaces, but it wasn’t long before landlord Becker opened up more space for them, until, in stages, they had a lease on the entire building. “Dennis has been terrific,” remarks Frye. “It really feels like he is on our side, and wants us to succeed.”

Baker estimates that Steele has personally been responsible for about 90% of the work that has been accomplished: “He envisioned the space as what it has become, built the stage, installed the fire-rated doors, designed and built the rolling gallery walls. He fixed everything that needed fixing, found deals on what we were missing, did all the heavy lifting - literally.” Frye concurs wholeheartedly: “Without Frankie, we would not be a fraction of what we are today.” Now the board numbers seven, with approximately sixty visual and performing artists involved.

The current entrance is from McHenry Street, on the southeast side, and this half of the building is devoted to visual art, with a spare gallery space and photography studio for rent by the hour on the first floor, and individual studio spaces upstairs. Many of the occupants are painters: Rita Cameron, Sabra Crockett, Victoria Klotz, Brittni Pullen, Kelly Rains, Shahn Rigsby, Nancy Ann Sturdevant, and Charlotte Pollock to name a few, mixed media artists Michael Braaksma, and Kate Mattingly, ceramicist Sarabeth Post, photographers Frankie Steele and Tony Dixon, can also be found there, and even one playwright and free-lance journalist who also works the arts and culture beat, Eli Keel.

"March 30, 2016 1pm" by Charlotte Pollock, 16x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $350 | BUY NOW — *"March 30, 2016 1pm" by Charlotte Pollock, 16x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $350 | BUY NOW*

On the Shelby Street side, a high and wide space that aches to be performed in stands idle while various permit issues wait to be resolved. The entry doors open into a suitable little box office nook, which spills into an ample lobby where Frye and Baker see a permanent gallery space. Beyond that stands an ample proscenium stage and floor that could likely accommodate several hundred seats. It will someday make a perfect home for Va Va Vixens, but for now it settles for prep space for multi-media artists like Ryan Daly, who is working on the upcoming Louisville Ballet production of Swan Lake.

How long it will take to fully realize Art Sanctuary’s potential in this facility is difficult to estimate. One of the challenges in adapting such an old building with so much history, and repurposing it for multiple uses, is that the past is revealed layer by layer, excavating a crazy-quilt legacy of zoning and renovations that did, or didn’t follow, regulations. “I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far,” exclaims Frye. Baker is slightly more philosophical about this moment for Art Sanctuary: “ It also feels healthy. It's like how you can intentionally stress a plant, by picking off the earliest buds or breaking branches to encourage a stronger, more stable foundation, then it flowers more beautifully than you ever thought it would.”

Art Sanctuary will once again be participating in Open Studio Weekend, November 5 and 6, sponsored by Louisville Visual Art and the University of Louisville’s Hite Institute. Participating Artists will include Britany Baker, Michael Braaksma, Rita Cameron, Sabra Crockett, Jada Lynn Dixon, Victoria Klotz, Samantha Ludwig, Kate Mattingly, Brittni Pullen, Shahn Rigsby, Frankie Steele, & Joseph Welsh. Three artists who have moved in since the original deadline for the event will also be working in their studios during those times. They are Nancy Ann Sturdevant, Charlotte Pollock, and Sarabeth Post.

"Through A Veil" by SaraBeth Post, 9x5.25in, lathe carved blown glass (2016), $500 | BUY NOW — *"Through A Veil" by SaraBeth Post, 9x5.25in, lathe carved blown glass (2016), $500 | BUY NOW*

This Feature article was written by Keith Waits.
In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, www.Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more.

Please contact josh@louisvillevisualart.org for further information on advertising through Artebella. — *Please contact* *josh@louisvillevisualart.org* *for further information on advertising through Artebella.*

Painting, Public Art

Feature: Murals Reflect A Spirit Of Collaboration

Josh Jenkins · September 20, 2016

Karl Otta at work on his mural at MAPPED OUT. — *Karl Otta* *at work on his mural at MAPPED OUT.*

All artists begin with a blank space - a page, a canvas, a block of stone. A wall is, in theory, no different: an open invitation to fill a space with creative design and expression. Yet perhaps it takes a little more vision to imagine filling the side of a building with something that is not a billboard. Instead of presenting the public with a commercial advertisement, why not something that captures the flavor of the neighborhood and inspires community engagement?

*Braylyn Resko Stewart puts the finishing touches on his MAPPED OUT mural.*

Murals exist around Louisville; created by individual artists and often sponsored by community organizations and neighborhood groups, but these efforts, however laudable, are, by and large, disparate projects occurring without synchronicity. They are positive in their impact and done with the best of intentions, but what if these earnest initiatives could be expanded, and given infrastructure to support the desire?

In answer to those questions, Louisville Visual Art (LVA), in partnership with the Center for Neighborhoods, has launched MAP (Mural Art Program) a long-term, sustainable public art program that engages local businesses, professional artists, Louisville Metro, and the greater Louisville community in the creation of large-scale murals to celebrate our city's unique identity and enhance civic pride.

The collaboration was functionally born out of a mural project in Hikes Point in which CFN had engaged with artist Liz Richter to plan and execute a design on a lengthy expanse of wall on the Big Lots building at 3938 Taylorsville Road. In developing her proposal, Richter reached out to LVA’s Director of Education and Outreach, Jackie Pallesen. “That was in late Fall 2015,” remembers Pallesen. “Liz knew community outreach would be important. And she knew we had a lot of experience with that.”

Liz Richter details her Hikes Point Mural and the process behind the project.

That element of Richter’s proposal resonated strongly with CFN Director Tom Stephens, and after she was selected, the communication continued with LVA after both organizations found themselves crossing paths on the hunt for funding. Although CFN had an initiative for public art, P.A.I.N.T. (Producing Art In Neighborhoods Together), it still saw the use and value of collaborating with LVA. “We could have perhaps figured out the answers to some of he questions ourselves, but why not go to the experts instead?” explains Stephens.

*Liz Richter working on the public mural at MAPPED OUT.*

Such a comment points to the shared elements of each organization’s mission, the need to empower diverse community voices while enhancing Louisville's public spaces through the visual arts, and how natural it is to pool resources to better accomplish that goal. Partnerships such as this are essential and becoming more and more common because they make sense.

The Hikes Point project came about not long after the LVA education team’s research and development for MAP, which had included visiting neighboring cities and meeting with their counterparts in other organizations such as LexArts in Lexington and ArtsWave in Cincinnati.

Synchronicity was also a factor in providing a first, official salvo in launching MAP, when Ashley Trommler of strADegy Advertising approached LVA with an original design for a mural, called “Flourish.” Trommler had been touring the city looking for just the right location for her inspirational message when she spied a large wall on LVA’s Portland location that felt perfect.

*Mural designed by Ashley Trommler and executed by Ashley Brossart & Alyx McClain. Located at Louisville Visual building in Portland (Louisville, KY).*

The newly installed "Flourish" mural was painted by Louisville artists Ashley Brossart and Alyx McClain, and unveiled on July 28. "Flourish embodies the spirit of collaboration between LVA, Center for Neighborhoods and Louisville Metro. Having this mural on our building signifies our commitment to making Portland a creative hub for our city. MAP will create opportunities for local artists and business owners to enhance community engagement and development," said LVA Executive Director Lindy Casebier.

Mo McKnight Howe, owner of Revelry Boutique Gallery and Board Member for LVA and the Fund for the Arts, worked with LVA’s education team on developing MAP, and organized a kick-off fundraiser at the Garage Bar on August 19 that featured live painting by artists, Karl Otto, Pat Stephenson, Alyx McClain, Ashley Brossart, Braylyn Resko Stewart, Vinnie Kochert, and Liz Richter, with the 8’ x 8’ panels being auctioned on-line during the event. Says How, “Art has a great affect in transitioning neighborhoods. Louisville needs more murals and MAP is the answer to this need.”

*Vinnie Kochert at work on his mural at MAPPED OUT.*

*Artists at work on the mural at MAPPED OUT.*