Open Studio Weekend Spotlight: Debby Stratford

“Untitled” by Debby Stratford, printmaking, 16x30in, linoprint, $175.00

Debby Stratford is an artist and living in Louisville, KY. She spent many years teaching art to public school students in Louisville (as well as a stint with Louisville Visual Art in 1980s), and is now printing full-time.

The journey of any individual artist to find the medium that offers them the most satisfaction is not always easy. For some, once a brush is picked up, the search has ended, but for others, it can be trial and error over a period of years. Debby Stratford is a printmaker, but her first efforts frustrated her and she turned to clay for many years until she was reunited with linocut in graduate school at the University of Louisville.

“The cuts on the plate contain my tears of joy and sorrow as I have traveled through my life,” explains Stratford. “My subject matter is life as I see it, feel it, and remember it. My hope is that those looking will find a common ground with me.”

That relationship with medium and, in the case of printmakers, process, is a crucial aspect of the artist’s identity: “I work in the printmaking process because it affirms my place as an observer and participant in life. Through printmaking, I can turn an image around and get another view. It is like looking in a mirror to see who you are. My conception of an image happens on the sheet of linoleum. I draw directly on the linoleum block; revising my image as I cut into the linoleum using a one millimeter gouge. The gouge is like my pencil or brush. I develop my image as I create the print. Because life moves on, my style is constantly evolving, much like a painter. I don’t concentrate on developing a style and then repeating that look time after time.”

“Untitled” by Debby Stratford, printmaking, 16x30in, linoprint, $175.00

Stratford’s images have the feel of storybook illustrations from far back in time, framing snatches of narrative from tales full of darkness and foreboding. Her forests are dense, she uses formal framing devices, and animals appear in symbolic and metaphorical roles, characteristic not the sanitized fairy tales of today but more the traditional European stories in which authentic threat and peril taught children a healthy respect for fear.

Debby Stratford will be participating in the Louisville Visual Art/ University of Louisville Hite Art Institute 2019 Open Studio Weekend on November 2 & 3. She also is included in the Open Studio Weekend Juried Exhibit at The Cressman Center, which opens November 1, from 6:00-8:00pm.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BS Art Education, Edinboro University (Edinboro, Pennsylvania); MAT with Emphasis in Printmaking, University of Louisville, Kentucky
Website: debbystratfordartist.com

“Untitled” by Debby Stratford, printmaking, 16x30in, linoprint, $175.00

“Untitled” by Debby Stratford, printmaking, 16x30in, linoprint, $175.00

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, 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.

Open Studio Weekend Spotlight: Megan Bickel

“You’re Put in A Place Where Everyone Has The Same Delusion” by Megan Bickel, Acrylic on lycra with holographic inkjet print. 22x29in, 2019

Sometimes artists can speak quite well for themselves, with an Artist’s Statement of such depth and detail that it can be difficult to make any comment on the work in question without seeming at best redundant and at worst meaningless. Megan Bickel is a contemporary Renaissance woman, a multidisciplinary artist who writes and thinks with precision and clarity so that her very thoughtful words are arguably insightful enough to challenge the need for further observation. Of her work in her upcoming exhibit at Quappi Projects, Bickel writes on allusion and illusion:

“Being primarily literary, an allusion can be commonly articulated as an expression designed to call a subject to mind without mentioning it explicitly. It can appear as an indirect or passing reference. The author is allowed freedom in the expectation that the reader is aware of the reference made in the “allusion;" but as an object of literature, it provides safety or security for the reader in requesting the use of the readers’ imagination. Thus, the readers are limited to their own experience or consumption— they are safe to play in deception or truth, because they know the origin of the falsity provided by an allusion.

An illusion —of course—is a trick. Perhaps it appears as camouflage, or perhaps it appears in the process of convincing a viewer that they are witnessing something. It can also appear in the cultivating of a false belief, but however it appears the one in control of the creation of an illusion is the maker. An illusion can be as benign as an illusionistic still life, or as malignant as propaganda. No matter the moral positioning, the illusion is an object of convincing.” 

You can read the full statement on her website, but Bickel appropriately places a burden of interpretative responsibility on the viewer before she concludes:

“Though my approach to media differs from object to object, I would generalize that this body of work utilizes haptic curiosity as a means with which to encourage visual, ethical, or empathic critique of contemporary media images. This skill of inviting curiosity into our daily consumption of images may become an important skill as we approach a period in history where we have to understand and decode how our images may be deceiving us— and just as quickly as we learn to create those deceptions.”

All of which seems to pose the question of how much trust we can place in Bickel’s images. Her work does not accommodate passivity, and we might go further and question the worth of any art that doesn’t provoke us to think differently.

“There Was No Template for His Perceptions” by Megan Bickel, Acrylic on lycra with holographic inkjet print. 44x60in, 2019

Bickel is the embodiment of the restlessness of contemporary artists who are proactive in creating opportunities for themselves and others. In 2016 she co-created Five-Dots, a visual arts blog that covers the Midwest Region, and in 2017 she founded houseguest Gallery in Louisville, an example of the growing trend for non-traditional exhibition spaces. She most recently showed work in PLAY THAT ONE BACK, JOHNNY, Megan Bickel and Louis A. Edwards, Erie Art Gallery. Erie, Pennsylvania.

Bickel is an MFA candidate at the University of Louisville and will be participating in the Louisville Visual Art/ Hite Art Institute Open Studio Weekend November 2 and 3. She also is included in the Open Studio Weekend Juried Exhibit opening at U of L’s Cressman Center on November 1, 6-8pm.

Her new one-person show, We Are inside the Fire, runs November 15 through December 20 at Quappi Projects, 827 West Market Street in the NuLu neighborhood.

Education: University of Louisville, Master of Fine Arts Candidate, 2021
Art Academy of Cincinnati, BFA, Painting, Magna Cum Laude, 2012.
Website: www.meganbickel.com

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“TOO FLAT APARTMENT” by Megan Bickel,. Acrylic on lycra with holographic inkjet print. 3x4ft, 2018

“To My UFO Friend” by Megan Bickel, Acrylic on lycra with holographic inkjet print. 44x60in, 2019

“Aesthetic Think Tanks” by Megan Bickel, Acrylic on lycra with holographic inkjet print. 29x36in, 2019

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, 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.

Vignette: Neal Johnson

“Straumsvik” by Neal Johnson, Photograph, 20x24in, 2018, Archival pigment inkjet print available as a print ($100) or framed ($200). Edition of 3.

Neal Johnson’s fascination with the relationship between natural and man-made forms travels outside of the United States in his current exhibit, Landforms. The theme has preoccupied the mind of many artists in the Post-Industrial Age, but Johnson’s work underscores that, in spite of the notion that technology is shrinking the world into a “Global Village” it remains vast enough that we are unlikely to exhaust this theme anytime soon. 

Johnson explains in his Artist’s Statement for the exhibit: “As one of the youngest landmasses on the planet, the small, north Atlantic country of Iceland is a land of geological wonder and awe. Iceland is situated in one of the most dynamic volcanic regions in the world due to its proximity to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Here, the collision of tectonic plates forces heat and magma close to earth’s surface, resulting in tremendous geothermal resources. It’s with these natural resources that Iceland has been able to generate inexpensive, renewable and sustainable energy solutions. This carbon-free energy extraction is critical to preserving and protecting Iceland’s fragile landforms and ecosystem ----maintaining the integrity of the fragile landscape.” 

“Red Sands” by Neal Johnson, Photograph, 20x24in, 2018, Archival pigment inkjet print available. Edition of 3.

“Landforms is an examination of Iceland’s geothermal extraction infrastructure and its relation to the natural landscape. The way in which the structures have been designed, whether intentionally or coincidentally, have a mass and a volume and an aesthetic that echo the natural landforms around them. These photographs explore how natural and manmade landforms coexist in this unique environment while still an maintaining an egalitarian relationship.”   

It would be not be difficult to draw conclusions from these images about the cultural contrasts in the architecture characteristic of more industrialized societies. For how long have large cities been erecting oversize constructions that push back or even overwhelm nature instead of reflecting it? If humanity finds itself in a state of unease in the 21st century, how much of the explanation lies in an intentional rejection of such harmony and a willful disconnection from the natural world in our daily lives?

Johnson has been photographing Iceland for the past two years, using a 6”x 7” medium format camera to achieve optimal clarity and resolution for this process. His exhibit at PART Studio in Louisville, Kentucky is part of the 2019 Louisville Photo Biennial and there will be a closing reception on Friday, November 1, 6:00-9:00pm.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: Associates Degree in Graphic Design, Sullivan University, 2002
Website: Nealparkerjohnson.com
Instagram: @neal_parker

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“Akranes” by Neal johnson, Photograph, 30x40in, 2018, Archival pigment inkjet print available as a print ($200) or framed ($400). Edition of 3.

“Orka” by Neal Johnson, Photograph, 20x24in, 2018, Archival pigment inkjet print available as a print ($100) or framed ($200). Edition of 3.

“West Fjords” by Neal Johnson, Photograph, 30x40in, 2018, Archival pigment inkjet print available as a print ($200) or framed ($400). Edition of 3.

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, 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.

Vignette: Jada Lynn Dixon

“Clothesline Spirit” by Jada Lynn Dixon, Mixed Media, 26x12in, 2019, $300

It may oversimplify to consider that so much of what adult artists search for is a rediscovery of the simple, pure artistic expression of childhood; to clear away the responsibilities of family, employment, debt and other impediments of adulthood. In her most recent Artist’s Statement Jada Lynn Dixon connects her practice to her childhood experiences with great deliberation:

“I have a longstanding fascination with the idea of  ‘Safe Spaces.’ There are many different definitions for this title, frequently personal, and can shield an individual from an emotional trigger. Other people may consider it a public space to receive help. As for myself, my grandmother and her creativity defined my version of a ‘Safe Space.’ I grew up in a very volatile environment, but fortunately had a devoted mother who tried her best to compensate. My Granny was a source of comfort. She was not an artist in the traditional sense, but crafted a series of pillow forts, clothesline tents, and shoebox dollhouses that occupied me for hours. These spaces kept me safe from anger, sadness, and uncertainty. I would watch eagerly as Granny took a simple cardboard shoebox and turned the bottom into a dollhouse with furniture created from the lid. I’d escape with it to a tent made from sheets on her clothesline, and exist safe in a created world for hours.”

“Little Sanctuary” by Jada Lynn Dixon, Mixed Media, 16x12in, 2018, $150

“Today my adult self enjoys ‘Safe Spaces’ in my artwork. I use wooden boxes, large canvases, cast resin pieces, clay, and found objects instead of shoeboxes and sheets to make meditative areas. My recent work incorporates a peaceful palette of pale blues, yellows and greens. Natural elements appear reclusively in many of my pieces, such as leaves, small branches, moss, and crystals. These reference the settings I enjoyed with my shoebox dollhouse, and it’s adornments. I work in a space created long ago, an emotional area originated by my grandmother, and perpetuated by materials and symbols that I associate with safety and happiness. It is my hope and intention that my viewers will find a moment of comfort and sanctuary in my pieces.“   

Selected Exhibitions:

2018 Safe Spaces Dual Exhibit – Art Sanctuary, Louisville, KY
2018 Lexington Art League: PRHBTN 2018 – The Loudoun House, Lexington, KY
2018 Art at the Old Capitol (Juried) Featured Gallery Artist – Corydon, IN
2018 Cosmic Revelation LAG Annual Exhibit – KORE Gallery, Louisville, KY
2017 Funny Little Things Solo Art Exhibit - Day’s Espresso, Louisville, KY 2017 Art at the Old Capitol (Juried) Featured Gallery Artist – Corydon, IN
2016 Scars Group Exhibit – Tim Faulkner Gallery, Louisville, KY
2016 Trees Are Poems Group Invitational Exhibit - Cook Studio and Gallery, Louisville, KY 

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: Currently attending Kentucky College of Art + Design (KyCAD) for a BFA in Studio Art
Instagram: @jynnart

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“Cloud Birds” by Jada Lynn Dixon, Mixed Media, 26x12in, 2019, $350

“Luna Memory” by Jada Lynn Dixon, Mixed Media, 12x8in, 2018, $125

“Back Yard Spirit” by Jada Lynn Dixon, Mixed Media, 30x16in, 2019, $300

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, 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.

Vignette: Monica Barnett

“Thoroughbred Stallion” by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 40x30in, 2019, $975

In Kentucky, you will find horses as a subject in the work of many artists. It seems particularly inevitable for painters. Perhaps it is the power and speed, or the movement even in more relaxed moments, that draws them. For Monica Barnett, it seems to be all of these things.

“I have been an artist my entire life, and while I have focused on animals in my drawings and paintings, my work is centered on horses.”

In one image we have an anatomical study suitable for a veterinary text, and in another, the equine forms are highly stylized as figures on a spectral carousel, uneasily situated in an undetermined fantasy space that elicits the opposite of the expected reaction to a child on a carnival ride. The subjective use of color even lends the human child in the image a slightly sinister aspect. 

“Carousel Ride” by Monica Barnett, Acrylic on wood, 48x48in, 2019, $3000

Barnett was for many years a Part-time Staff Artist at The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, where she created drawings, maps, and charts for daily news articles and was a page designer for all feature sections, The Saturday Scene, and the Sunday Magazine.

In March of 2019 Barnett was in the Huber Farm Winery Art and Wine "Stella di Luce" Show; in May she was in the Mother's Day Spring Art Show at Mellwood Art & Entertainment Center; and early March through late May she had a drawing in a juried show in Lexington at the Living Arts and Sciences Center.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: Berea College, B.A., 1986, drawing and sculpture.
Website: monicawbarnett.wordpress.com

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“Mare and Foal” by Monica Barnett, Acrylic on wood, 48x24in, 2019, $975.

“Cougar Outlook” by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 24x30in, 2019, $500

“Cougar Outlook” (detail) by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 24x30in, 2019, $500

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, 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.