Our Teachers
BESSIE BAIN
Decorative Painting
Bessie Bain is a decorative painting artist, teaching pen & ink, watercolor, oil, and acrylic mediums and is a native of Woodford County. After 34 years with Texas Instruments she began to share her love for painting with others. She is a member of the National Society of Decorative Painters and a member of three affiliated chapters. Starting in a small oil class in 1973, she developed her love and talent for art. She has sought instruction from national acclaimed teachers. Bessie teaches weekly through the University of Kentucky Extension programs both locally, and in other counties. Her work has gained honors at the local County Fair and she has participated in exhibits at Lake Cumberland State Park. She currently sells her work at Market on Main.
ROGER BALLARD
Photography
Roger Ballard is a native Kentuckian whose Kentucky roots date back to the 1780’s. Roger and his wife have lived in Versailles since 2001. Photography has been a longtime hobby. He only recently has decided to share it with the public. In 2010 prints of Roger’s photographs began appearing in galleries, gift shops and restaurants in Central Kentucky. You can find them at Truly Bluegrass in Versailles, Damselfly and Madelein's in Midway, Completely Kentucky in Frankfort and both Melissa’s Cottage Café locations. You may have also seen his photography at “Art in the Park” or the “Midway Fall Festival”. Roger has a Bachelors and Masters in engineering from the University of Kentucky. When not taking photos, Roger is a structural engineer. Roger’s other passions include tennis and travel and of course his wife Virginia. See Roger’s work online at paulrogerballard.com and on Facebook.
ANNIE BRADY
Painting, collage, drawing
Annie Brady is a Georgetown artist who has been teaching classes since 2004 and holds many positions of leadership in arts organizations. She has a BFA in Fine Arts and operates Anniemals Studio in downtown Georgetown. She offers classes in her studio and at the ArtZone and does commission work, esp. animal portraits. Annie is a highly productive artist who is proficient in all of the visual arts as well as flower arranging. What draws her to teaching is that moment when she sees the fears melt away and confidence and enthusiasm flow into her students.
KEVIN CASE
Kevin Case is a Versailles native and Woodford County High School Alumni who is studying Guitar and Music Education at Eastern Kentucky University. He has studied under some of the best local guitarists in Central Kentucky including, David McLean (accomplished studio Guitarist), Andrew Leonard (former Guitar Professor University of Kentucky), Michael Fogler (Guitar Professor, Georgetown University), and Dr. Dennis Davis (Guitar Studies Eastern Kentucky University).
Kevin has performed many solo pieces for audiences at EKU. He attended the
2011 Mid-American Guitar Ensemble Festival in Chicago, IL and performed with William Kanengiser in the largest Guitar Orchestra to perform Shingo Fuji's "Concerto de Los Angeles," a work for solo guitar and guitar orchestra. To contact Kevin for private lessons, call 859-963-6785 or email Kevin_case7@mymail.eku.edu.
SHERIL DRUMMOND
Fiber Arts
When Sheril moved to Lexington 21 years ago, she reached out to the Newcomer’s Club as a way to meet people. Since she had sewn since early childhood, she joined a quilting group. She started learning traditional methods but quickly realized that she really wanted to do something different. She began experimenting and eventually started teaching. She is a well-known and respected teacher at Quilter’s Square in Lexington, KY, at the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society Get-Aways and various other venues.
Sheril is a member of KHQS, IQA and Quilter’s of the Bluegrass where she served as president for 2 years. Her work has been shown and juried into many shows including the American Quilt Society shows in Paducah, Lancaster, PA, Knoxville and Nashville, and the IQA Show in Houston, Road to California and the International Pacific Show. She has won Best of Show with one of her quilts. See examples of her work at shedrum.blogspot.com and scribbesone.blogspot.com.
NORMANDI ELLIS
Writing
Normandi Ellis is a certified applied poetry facilitator with the National Association of Poetry Therapists (NAPT) and the former president of the NAPT Foundation. She offers a wide variety of community workshops in the use of poetry and journal writing as a means of self-discovery. She is the author of 6 books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and her forthcoming work "Invoking the Scribes of Ancient Egypt" (Nov 2011, Bear & CO) offers a fresh look at memoir and travel writing through Egypt.
Her collected short stories include Sorrowful Mysteries, winner of the Bumbershoot Literary Prize and her short fiction, Fresh Fleshed Sisters, which was runner up for Kentucky Fiction Book of the Year in 2008. This spring Wind Publications releases her newest short stories collection, Going West, stories of a caretaking daughter of a parent with Alzheimer's.
She is the author of 6 published books, her work has appeared in over 50 national publications, and her work has been supported by grants, fellowships and awards from the Kentucky Arts Council, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the YMCA Writers Guild. She currently teaches online writing workshops through the year-long This Year I Write program, and offers weekly or Saturday writing intensives at PenHouse Retreat Center, which she and her husband, David Hurt, own and operate in Frankfort. Visit her website at normandiellis.com. Normandi can be contacted at ellisisis@gmail.com or by calling 502-352-7503.
DEBORAH MOORE KNITTEL
Writing, Mixed Media Paper Arts
Deborah Moore Knittel received her BA in Ed with a major in English and minors in speech and theater from Akron University and her MA in English from Kent State University, both in Ohio. She has taught English, language arts and journalism in middle school and high school and provided in-service teacher training in Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Kentucky. She was the arts reviewer for Nougat Magazine in Lexington. Deborah chose a degree in English Education rather than art-a tough choice for her, as visual art had been a big part of her education since early childhood. Deborah began her drawing instruction under her father, an accomplished artist, before she began 1st grade. Training in the visual arts continued in summer art camps, school classes and, later, as an adult in seminars offered wherever her family was living at the time. She has shown and sold her collages and art quilts regionally. Deborah was the docent volunteer at The Lexington Art League for 5 years, which allowed her to stay close to contemporary developments in the art world and to continue to study and write about art, combining two passions. She has served as the Programming Director of The Art Village since its opening. Deborah teaches a number of paper-media classes including altered books and several collage techniques. Deborah can be contacted at dknittel@windstream.net.
CHRISTINE KUHN
Flourish Studios is where Lexington, Kentucky artist Christine Kuhn creates and promotes her artwork and art workshops. Christine is a professional artist, the creator of the P.E.M.A. painting method, an educator and an activist specializing in the use of art as a means of personal growth and self-understanding and as a powerful tool for community building and empowerment. Christine has won grants from the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women and has gallery representation in Louisville and Berea, KY, Cincinnati, OH and Dallas, TX. Every other month during Lexington's gallery hop, Christine presents new artwork at Flourish Studios. So, drop on by and flourish! Christine can be contacted at dontforgettoflourish@gmail.com or at her studio 859-940-2841.
KAREN EUGENIA MITCHELL LABACH
Painting, Drawing
Karen LaBach took her degree from the University of Mississippi in Fine Arts and English into the world of commercial art where she stayed for 25 years. In 1987 she earned a graduate degree in English with courses in marketing and advertising and then returned to the business world. Since 1990 Karen has concentrated on painting, ceramics and sculpture. She participates in numerous juried and open shows and donates work to charitable causes, raising money for art, history, preservation and animal related causes. Karen has clients all over the US and in England and Japan. Karen has studios in Georgetown, KY, and Cincinnati, OH. She teaches adult and children’s art classes and is on the board of the American Association of Equine ART and volunteers at the Lexington History Museum. Karen’s website is MagiconMain.com.
MARY LAMB NEHRING
Fiber arts, fabric dying, art quilt surface design, knitting, felting
Mary’s training commenced decades ago at the University of Missouri. Since then, several techniques within the Fiber Arts have captured her attention, from needlepoint to smocking, and fabric restoration to spinning and weaving. In 1989, quilting intrigued her and her artistic creativity has been almost exclusively in that process ever since. An interest in creating personal designs on fabric that were not commercially available led her to start her own business, Colors-To-Dye-For, a hand-dyed fabric company. Now, her work is almost solely focused on original hand created fabrics.
In 1998, Mary returned to school to finish her undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky. She graduated with honors with a BFA in studio art, focusing on textiles. Her preference is to create one-of-a-kind, studio art quilts and art-to-wear. She thoroughly enjoys the tactile experience afforded by working with all types of fabrics. The constant challenge that motivates her is to find new ways to employ fabrics and textures.
Mary’s fiber works have been exhibited in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. She is a juried artist in the 2011 Francisco’s Farm Art Fair in Midway. She has been teaching children and adults for several years at the Living Arts and Science Center and other locations.
DEB PEKNY
Bookcrafting
Deb is a retired Speech-Language Pathologist/Special Education Teacher who moved here to Kentucky from Florida in April 2010. She has been handcrafting books using "recycled materials" for many years and cites the "unbelievable amount of 'good stuff' that teachers throw away" as her main source for the materials she uses. She is self-taught and has made over 200 handcrafted books. In addition to bookcrafting, Deb enjoys painting with watercolors, throwing pots and woodworking (turning, carving). Truly Bluegrass in Versailles carries her work for sale. She loves teaching because it empowers an individual to discover their talents and skills. She LOVES living in Kentucky!
JENNIFER REIS
Fiber Arts
Jennifer A. Reis, currently faculty at Morehead State University, received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Studio Art and Museum Studies from Columbus College of Art and Design, Syracuse University and Morehead State University, as well as numerous fellowships and awards for her textile artwork. Her work has been shown at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Carnegie Center for Art & History, National Quilt Museum, and the Dairy Barn Arts Center, and has been promoted in Art in America, ArtForum and FiberArts magazines. Additionally, she is featured artist in Creative Quilting with Beads, a Lark Crafts publication. She conducts workshops and lectures on embellished textiles at arts and educational organizations including the Society for Contemporary Craft, Craft Alliance, Kentucky Foundation for Women, and as an artist in residence in public school systems. Her work is represented by the Craft Alliance in St. Louis and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. You can see her work on her website: jenniferareis.com.
KAREN RIGGINS
Quilting and Fiber Arts
Karen Riggins has been quilting and working with fibers since 1978. Over the years her work has evolved from traditional to original designs that now involve many layers of techniques. Karen now hand paints and hand dyes many of the fabrics used in her quilts and garments. She employs free motion quilting, hand beading, hand and machine embroidery, needle punching and other types of embellishment.
Karen is a juried member in fiber arts and beading of the Sheltowee Artisans in SE KY. She is a certified teacher and has taught basic and advanced quilt-making, surface beading and art quilt design classes throughout the state and beyond, including the AQS Show in Paducah, KY, and at the National Quilt Association Shows in Tennessee and California. Karen and her husband live on a small farm in Nonesuch in southern Woodford County, KY, where she finds much inspiration from her gardens and the natural world around her.
See more of Karen’s work on her website/blog.
DERRICK RILEY
Drawing and Printmaking
Derrick Riley was born in Chattanooga TN. and now lives in Lexington, Ky. He received his BFA in Drawing from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and received his MFA in Printmaking at the University of Kentucky. He works predominantly in woodcut and has been shown in numerous national and international shows, including two shows at the Contemporary Museum of Art in St. Louis. His work is in many private and public collections including Rutgers University, Boston College, and the College of Notre Dame. In 2003-04 Riley was the subject of an art documentary filmed by Kentucky Educational Television, which received several national and international Emmy Awards. In 2004-06 Riley worked as a Master Printer for Tom Huck and Evil Prints LLC. in St. Louis. His work deals mainly with society and its problems with a combination of humor and pop culture. Riley has taught advanced printmaking, beginning and advanced drawing, and art professions at the University of Kentucky as well as being the printmaking professor at Asbury College. Riley also owns and operates his printshop, dRock Press, in Lexington Kentucky.
TOBI TATE
Mixed Media and Paper Arts
Tobi Tate lives the artful life in Frankfort where she is known as a highly energetic and prolific artist. Although her interests are far ranging, including acrylic painting, she focuses her creativity primarily on mixed media and the paper arts, including altered arts, artist trading cards, scrapbooking and card making. For the past 10 years she was the principal teacher at Memories A La Mode in Frankfort and now teaches a variety of classes at the new Michael’s Art & Craft store in Frankfort. Tobi is known for her high levels of energy and enthusiasm and her commitment to a successful experience for her students.
WILLIAM TIPPIE
Watercolor, Oil and Acrylic Painting
Although a native of Jacksonville, Ohio, William Tippie is well known as a Kentucky artist. Since coming to the commonwealth in 1971, he has been active in the arts. Working in pen and ink, watercolor, and oil he has won many awards in competition throughout the state. His paintings have been featured on the cover of KENTUCKY IMAGES MAGAZINE and KENTUCKY KINFOLK, a genealogical quarterly. Some other credits include: judge for numerous county fairs; co-host of the Madison County Artisans Series, which aired on WEKU television; Art Instructor for the Jessamine County School system and founder of the Madison County Artisans and May Affair Arts and Crafts Show. William is currently teaching watercolor and oil painting at his home studio in Lexington, KY where he resides with his wife Gwen. William's art may be seen at the following galleries: Damselfly Studio Midway, KY, Paul Sawyier Art Gallery, Frankfort, KY, Artique (both locations) Lexington, KY. Visit his websites at tippieart.com/smugmug and on zazzle.com.