This week we spoke with Ted Wathen about his work featured in the Coal 1979 exhibit at University of Louisville’s Photographic Archives. Wathen was one of the photographers hired by President Jimmy Carter’s Commission on Coal to document life in America’s coal fields.
When we visited the Meyzeek CFAC class students were working on creating a "4-up" pop-art style portrait— complete with patterned backgrounds and bold lines. Each background required students to create a composition using color theory. We are looking forward to seeing the end result at the exhibition this spring!
In third grade I was invited to take free after school art classes from LVA. I still remember one of the paintings I did of my family packing up the back of the station wagon for a trip. Sorry to say I don’t know what happened to the piece but it may be best as my memory has preserved it.
When did you first know that art was going to be a big part of your life?
In college I planned to go into medical illustration. To be honest, it wasn’t until college I realized art making could be a full-time gig. I took time before grad school to work at a frame shop and paint, and there was no looking back. I went on to receive a graduate degree from the New York Academy of Art, painting and drawing, versus pursuing a more practical degree of medical illustration.
What does LVA add to your life?
LVA has been a staple in that I circle back around at different times in my life to re-find the organization: from being taught art lessons as a child, to teaching children as an adult, to showing in the annual shows, to having my own children take classes, to the Open Doors programs and to Open Studio weekend. I commend the people that have kept the art spirit of LVA alive, vibrant, connecting, and giving over many years. Thank you!
How else are you involved in the community?
I have been a local artist for over 25 years, working as an artist in the community as a muralist, as a teacher at times, and as a believer and supporter of the regional visual arts.
Describe your perfect Sunday afternoon.
Out door time in sun- working in my yard, contemplating flowers and where in the yard they would be happier.
Who is your favorite local artist?
I need to get out to galleries and studios more because there are many great working artists in our community! And there is no central water cooler hang out! Looking back, I will always be grateful to Mary Louise Schrodt, who showed me how to bring those patches of yellow oil paint together into the petal of a rose. It was magic before my eyes to make form happen on canvas.
Where would you like to see Louisville 10 years from now?
I do wish the visual arts of Louisville received more community support. I would like Louisville to join the ranks of other cities that devote a certain percentage of new building dollars to art within and around the building site. It makes total economic sense as we make our city ever more inviting.
What neighborhood do you live in? What are some of your favorite things about it?
I live in Old Louisville and wouldn’t live anywhere else in Louisville! From the architecture to those within – all are unique, some in peculiar ways ;-) It makes for a fairly diverse community.
What three items would you bring to a desert island?
A pencil, since drawing is at the heart of art making for me, lentils, and my kitty cat Tux, who is forever entertaining and loving.
What advice would you give your past self if you could?
2015 has been a year of expansion and excitement for our organization. In our 106th year, we undertook a six-month redesign of our strategic plan. Staff and board members reviewed the organization’s long history, recognized its accomplishments, acknowledged areas of improvement, and began to prepare for our future. In July the process culminated in a Five Year Strategic Plan which serves as the blueprint for the organization’s future goals and objectives. As part of the Strategic Plan, Louisville Visual Art Association became Louisville Visual Art, and revamped its brand strategy and creative direction, complete with a new logo, website, and visual materials!
Blueprints and relocation did not interrupt LVA’s nationally recognized programming. We continue to connect with residents of Louisville Metro and southern Indiana, with over 1,000 students participating in LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes (CFAC), the only out-of-school-time (OST) in-depth visual art experience for visually talented students in the region. During the 2014-15 school year, CFAC offered 20,400 of OST instruction at 31 sites in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Enrollment has increased 30% in the last three years and continues to grow. Meanwhile, all graduating seniors were offered scholarships or financial aid. Thanks to the CFAC seniors’ successes in the spring, LVA launched The Academy: Louisville’s first pre-professional art program in the fall. The Academy ensures students are top choice candidates for universities and art schools around the country. CFAC and The Academy continue to compete for the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, for which it is a four-time finalist.
OPEN DOORS, LVA’s community outreach program, provides over 2,000 art experiences each year to under-served populations including at-risk youth, refugees, immigrants, senior citizens, and victims of domestic abuse as well as many others. These projects are permanently installed where they are created, generating a lasting impact on the community at large. This fiscal year LVA received 50% more requests than the program is capable of fulfilling with our current funding levels — a request your support could help fulfill.
We are expanding our mission of artist support each year. Artebella, LVA’s virtual gallery and marketing program, gives our artists an edge in an increasingly competitive market by reaching over 6,000 art enthusiasts daily. This program not only exposes the public to new art, but also connects artists with prospective buyers. Open Studio Weekendinvites the public directly into artist’s spaces and connects artists with new advocates and patrons. In 2015, LVA has partnered with Kroger to commission nine murals with $85,000 going directly back to local artists. These murals engage the community and foster a sense of neighborhood pride. Additionally, a weekly Artist Opportunitiesnewsletter, including calls for artists, workshops, and events continues and grows our commitment to artists support.
LVA is improving lives through art. Louisville’s art community isn’t just important to artists or art lovers – it matters to us all. We are on the frontline of Louisville’s art scene. Our efforts are directly shaping Louisville’s creative future and we are establishing ourselves as a hub to engage, inspire and improve our community and our city. Help us nurture our next generation of leaders to be creative problem solvers with a foundation in community engagement. Please send your tax-deductible contribution, today!
We had a great time working with Kosair Kids® through Kosair Charities and Fund for the Arts to bring a 8 week photography program as part of a full school year initiative with Home of the Innocents! Photographer Jenny Zeller took students through the history of photography— working with cyanotypes, polaroids, transfers, disposable cameras, as well as digital cameras! While exploring various photographic processes, students also learned the fundamentals of image making.
We are having a great time working with Kosair Kids® through Kosair Charities and Fund for the Arts to bring a 28 week program to the Visually Impaired Preschool Services! During this class visit Ehren Reed and Jackie Pallesen worked with students to create and decorate their own drum using beads and tactile stickers. The students absolutely loved it!
We visited William Duffy's CFAC class at Manual while they were working on creating self portrait etchings. The students had to think in reverse— laying down the highlights instead of shadow and line. Students used textures and patterns from around the room to fill in a dynamic background. We can't wait to see their finished projects at the exhibition this spring!
After moving to Louisville with an MFA, I was looking for opportunities to teach art in town. I was impressed with the longevity of the programs the LVA offers, and like taking part in that history of giving kids experience in art, but also with other kids they wouldn’t ordinarily meet. Jackie Pallesen reached out to my wife and me about it, and I’ve been teaching high school courses for CFAC ever since.
When did you first know that art was going to be a big part of your life?
I spent three years at a community college before I went to college, and the last semester I took an oil painting class — my first art class ever. I was 20 years old. Then I wasn’t sure what i wanted to do for college, so I moved to San Francisco and worked construction for a year. Then I realized I liked to work with my hands, so I wanted to go to school and study art, because it would be easy. But instead it was much more difficult and more fun than I imagined, and it remained a challenge all the way through grad school. Then I moved to Louisville to make my own art space and teach others how to get started on this crazy roller coaster.
What does LVA add to your life?
The thing I like most about LVA is that I get to interact with young, ambitious artists from all walks of life, and I get to see them interact with each other. Which is mostly beautiful, except for occasional rowdy political debates, which are okay, too.
How else are you involved in the community?
I’m really interested in Louisville’s history, so I try to go to museums and get out on the river as much as I can. I moved to Louisville to start Calliope Arts Printmaking Studio/Gallery, which provides opportunities for me to teach printmaking techniques like intaglio, relief, and monotype to local and regional artists. It’ll also bring in artwork exhibitions and visiting artists from around the country, to freshen things up a bit.
Describe your perfect Sunday afternoon.
Exploring the city - taking a bike ride, going kayaking and fishing on the river, exploring its shores for forgotten treasures and trash.
Who is your favorite local artist?
Joyce Ogden. I’m really attracted to the sculptural forms Joyce explores, the materials she uses, and the interactions that her pieces have with the public.
Where would you like to see Louisville 10 years from now?
I just hope that there are more interesting gallery and art spaces that are showing less traditional work - like pop-up installations with artists from around the country, artist-curated shows, and unusual materials and processes.
What neighborhood do you live in? What are some of your favorite things about it?
I live in Smoketown, where I also run my business, Calliope Arts. I like the diversity of the neighborhood, and like researching about the neighborhood's history. I spend a lot of time imagining what it was like 130 years ago, when my home and studio was built.
What three items would you bring to a desert island?
I would bring a hatchet, a jar of Nutella, and my metal detector.
What advice would you give your past self if you could?
Don’t worry so much about the academic aspects of art school - sometimes artists get too caught up in labels and definitions. Spend more time just making things.
We had such a great night kicking off Open Studio Weekend events last night at Art Under Construction! Head on over to check out the images and then get your wristband for the weekend, coming up November 14th & 15th.
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