2023 ALWCA LeaDERSHIP GROUP
ALWCA President & ALWCA Social Media - Kimberly Hart
Kimberly Hart is a multidisciplinary artist who makes visual stories from dreams and stories. She has been an ALWCA member for eight years. In addition, she has worked on the WCA communication committee for a year. Her work has been included in various exhibitions, including the Huntsville Museum of Art and the Wiregrass Biennial. Her work has been a part of numerous solo and group shows locally and nationally. She received a BA from the University of Alabama, Huntsville. She lives in Huntsville with her husband,
Kimberly Hart is a multidisciplinary artist who makes visual stories from dreams and stories. She has been an ALWCA member for eight years. In addition, she has worked on the WCA communication committee for a year. Her work has been included in various exhibitions, including the Huntsville Museum of Art and the Wiregrass Biennial. Her work has been a part of numerous solo and group shows locally and nationally. She received a BA from the University of Alabama, Huntsville. She lives in Huntsville with her husband,
ALWCA Vice President- Rachel Lackey
Rachel Lackey is a printmaker by profession interdisciplinary artist by nature. Her work ranges and often combines a variety of media, including printmaking, drawing, watercolor, photography, assemblage, and sculptural books. She received a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2008. In 2010, she founded the Green Pea Press community printmaking studio at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. She teaches workshops and runs Green Pea Press, a screen printing production shop and retail store. In 2019, she was awarded Creative Entrepreneur of the Year by The Catalyst Center for Business and Entrepreneurship.
Her work is in various university collections around the U.S. and has been shown regionally at PaperWorkers Local in Birmingham; Alabama Center for the Arts in Decatur; LOCALS Art Gallery in Sewanee, TN; and the Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery in Montgomery,
AL. Recent exhibitions include:
● A solo show at Lowe Mill ARTS &amp.
● Entertainment 2018-2019.
● A two-woman show at the Arts Huntsville Gallery in the Von Braun Civic Center
February-April 2019.
● An Alabama Women’s Caucus for Art group shows at Mountain Valley Arts Council in May 2019.
● The Solar Impressions International Juried Exhibition opened at the Southampton Arts Center in New York in November 2019.
Lackey is a member of Arts Huntsville, the Women’s Economic Development Council, and the Alabama Women’s Caucus for Art. A native of Huntsville, AL, her roots in the area run five generations deep.
Rachel Lackey is a printmaker by profession interdisciplinary artist by nature. Her work ranges and often combines a variety of media, including printmaking, drawing, watercolor, photography, assemblage, and sculptural books. She received a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2008. In 2010, she founded the Green Pea Press community printmaking studio at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. She teaches workshops and runs Green Pea Press, a screen printing production shop and retail store. In 2019, she was awarded Creative Entrepreneur of the Year by The Catalyst Center for Business and Entrepreneurship.
Her work is in various university collections around the U.S. and has been shown regionally at PaperWorkers Local in Birmingham; Alabama Center for the Arts in Decatur; LOCALS Art Gallery in Sewanee, TN; and the Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery in Montgomery,
AL. Recent exhibitions include:
● A solo show at Lowe Mill ARTS &amp.
● Entertainment 2018-2019.
● A two-woman show at the Arts Huntsville Gallery in the Von Braun Civic Center
February-April 2019.
● An Alabama Women’s Caucus for Art group shows at Mountain Valley Arts Council in May 2019.
● The Solar Impressions International Juried Exhibition opened at the Southampton Arts Center in New York in November 2019.
Lackey is a member of Arts Huntsville, the Women’s Economic Development Council, and the Alabama Women’s Caucus for Art. A native of Huntsville, AL, her roots in the area run five generations deep.
ALWCA Treasurer - Amanda Banks
Amanda Banks is a multidisciplinary artist local to Huntsville, AL. She graduated with honors from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2020 and currently serves as a Director of the Board of The National Women’s Caucus for Art. Her work combines artistic and scientific traditions to put everyday patterns into new contexts. Amanda has been a member of ALWCA since 2017 and has previously served as Treasurer, Vice President, and President.
Amanda Banks is a multidisciplinary artist local to Huntsville, AL. She graduated with honors from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2020 and currently serves as a Director of the Board of The National Women’s Caucus for Art. Her work combines artistic and scientific traditions to put everyday patterns into new contexts. Amanda has been a member of ALWCA since 2017 and has previously served as Treasurer, Vice President, and President.
ALWCA Secretary - Elizabeth Reich
Elizabeth Reich is an unconventional watercolorist, solopreneur, and founder of LZBTH Creative Content (2017). LZBTH Creative is the umbrella for her watercolor art, surface pattern design, and freelance work for a local magazine—South Huntsville Neighbors, where she works as the Content Coordinator. She was transplanted from New England to Huntsville in 2000, and in 2005 graduated from UAH with an Art History Degree. Then a stint as the Office Manager for her husband's business. The journey back to art and creativity began. Elizabeth is inspired by the great outdoors and flower gardens in her art. She enjoys mixing
other mediums with watercolors to tell the stories of her discoveries in nature. She became a member of ALWCA in 2018. When she isn't working or creating, you can find Elizabeth with her family (including three senior cats), taking a walk in the great outdoors, or reading a good book.
Elizabeth Reich is an unconventional watercolorist, solopreneur, and founder of LZBTH Creative Content (2017). LZBTH Creative is the umbrella for her watercolor art, surface pattern design, and freelance work for a local magazine—South Huntsville Neighbors, where she works as the Content Coordinator. She was transplanted from New England to Huntsville in 2000, and in 2005 graduated from UAH with an Art History Degree. Then a stint as the Office Manager for her husband's business. The journey back to art and creativity began. Elizabeth is inspired by the great outdoors and flower gardens in her art. She enjoys mixing
other mediums with watercolors to tell the stories of her discoveries in nature. She became a member of ALWCA in 2018. When she isn't working or creating, you can find Elizabeth with her family (including three senior cats), taking a walk in the great outdoors, or reading a good book.
ALWCA Membership - Misty Granade
Misty Granade is an abstract mixed media fiber artist from Madison, Alabama. She has been obsessed with gluing things together since she got her first bottle of Elmer’s glue at five years old. Misty graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas with a BA in Commercial Art and Psychology. Mark Bradford, Robert Rauschenberg, Sarah Sze, Louise Nevelson, and Helen Frankenthaler are some of her biggest influences. Misty's work has been a part of numerous solo and group shows. Misty enjoys helping other artists explore their own paths. She writes about art and process on her blog. She has published articles in online and print magazines. She's taught art journaling classes both online and in person and been a community facilitator for an online art community. Misty is a proud member of the Alabama chapter of the national arts organization Women’s Caucus for Art.
Misty Granade is an abstract mixed media fiber artist from Madison, Alabama. She has been obsessed with gluing things together since she got her first bottle of Elmer’s glue at five years old. Misty graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas with a BA in Commercial Art and Psychology. Mark Bradford, Robert Rauschenberg, Sarah Sze, Louise Nevelson, and Helen Frankenthaler are some of her biggest influences. Misty's work has been a part of numerous solo and group shows. Misty enjoys helping other artists explore their own paths. She writes about art and process on her blog. She has published articles in online and print magazines. She's taught art journaling classes both online and in person and been a community facilitator for an online art community. Misty is a proud member of the Alabama chapter of the national arts organization Women’s Caucus for Art.
ALWCA Communication Chair Position - April M. Harris
April M. Harris is a multi-talented designer and artist passionate about nature. From her hometown of Prattville, Alabama, she graduated from Auburn University in Montgomery with a love of art. She has since grown into a career encompassing graphic design, illustration, podcasting, and social media management.
Throughout her career, she has been a leader in the design, creating stunning visuals for print and digital publications. She has worked as a senior graphic design consultant for prestigious companies such as IBM and TCS.
April M. Harris recently started her podcast, “Art Talk with April”, to support and celebrate the creative journeys of other artists. April wanted to create a platform where creatives could discuss their struggles, successes, and obstacles while developing their art.
April lives in Hoover, AL, with her husband of 10 years, her son, and her daughter. When she isn’t creating, she loves to sew, read and play with her kids.
Links:
www.inkedapril.com
www.Instagram.com/inkedapril
www.instagram.com/arttalk.with.april
April M. Harris is a multi-talented designer and artist passionate about nature. From her hometown of Prattville, Alabama, she graduated from Auburn University in Montgomery with a love of art. She has since grown into a career encompassing graphic design, illustration, podcasting, and social media management.
Throughout her career, she has been a leader in the design, creating stunning visuals for print and digital publications. She has worked as a senior graphic design consultant for prestigious companies such as IBM and TCS.
April M. Harris recently started her podcast, “Art Talk with April”, to support and celebrate the creative journeys of other artists. April wanted to create a platform where creatives could discuss their struggles, successes, and obstacles while developing their art.
April lives in Hoover, AL, with her husband of 10 years, her son, and her daughter. When she isn’t creating, she loves to sew, read and play with her kids.
Links:
www.inkedapril.com
www.Instagram.com/inkedapril
www.instagram.com/arttalk.with.april
ALWCA Birmingham Leadership Pod - Tara Stallworth Lee
Tara Stallworth Lee works across mediums, concentrating on analog photography,
paper making, and collage. In collaboration with her partner, Lou, she designs and builds frames using ethically sourced wood from the Birmingham area and south Alabama. Her latest works incorporate textiles, dying, and hand stitching. Expansion of human dignity and the significance of the natural world are important themes throughout her work.
In 1992, Tara received her BS in Psychology and Minor in Art from Birmingham-Southern College. For twenty years, she traveled to Washington, D.C., to teach specialty art classes to youth for The Smithsonian Associates summer camp program. Tara is an instructor with the Alabama Prison Arts and Education Program and is an artist-collaborator at Studio By The Tracks, a studio, and gallery for adult artists with autism. She is the 2021/22 recipient of the Alabama State Council on the Arts Gay Burke Fellowship in Photographic Arts. Lee works in Birmingham, Alabama, as an art educator and studio resident at Ground Floor Contemporary.
Tara Stallworth Lee works across mediums, concentrating on analog photography,
paper making, and collage. In collaboration with her partner, Lou, she designs and builds frames using ethically sourced wood from the Birmingham area and south Alabama. Her latest works incorporate textiles, dying, and hand stitching. Expansion of human dignity and the significance of the natural world are important themes throughout her work.
In 1992, Tara received her BS in Psychology and Minor in Art from Birmingham-Southern College. For twenty years, she traveled to Washington, D.C., to teach specialty art classes to youth for The Smithsonian Associates summer camp program. Tara is an instructor with the Alabama Prison Arts and Education Program and is an artist-collaborator at Studio By The Tracks, a studio, and gallery for adult artists with autism. She is the 2021/22 recipient of the Alabama State Council on the Arts Gay Burke Fellowship in Photographic Arts. Lee works in Birmingham, Alabama, as an art educator and studio resident at Ground Floor Contemporary.
ALWCA Birmingham Pod - Amber Orr
Amber Orr is an artist and educator from the Magic City of Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from the University of Montevallo, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Art in drawing and a minor in art history. Orr started her professional art career in 2013.
In her spare time, she is a teacher for the IPC Day School & UAB's Arts In Medicine. She has over 17 years of experience in childcare, including five years working with special needs children.
Orr enjoys interweaving her passions for art and education together. This
combination is often reflected in her bright and playful work. She approaches each piece with childlike energy and emotion. Her goal is always to trust and enjoy the process of creativity.
Amber Orr is an artist and educator from the Magic City of Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from the University of Montevallo, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Art in drawing and a minor in art history. Orr started her professional art career in 2013.
In her spare time, she is a teacher for the IPC Day School & UAB's Arts In Medicine. She has over 17 years of experience in childcare, including five years working with special needs children.
Orr enjoys interweaving her passions for art and education together. This
combination is often reflected in her bright and playful work. She approaches each piece with childlike energy and emotion. Her goal is always to trust and enjoy the process of creativity.
ALWCA Birmingham Pod - Sarah Adkins-Jablonsky
Sarah Adkins-Jablonsky uses bacterial cultures and science illustrations as a playground for aesthetic and scientific exploration. During her Ph.D., funded by the National Science Foundation, she studied how agar art, or paintings using bacteria, can be used as a microbiology teaching tool.
Outside of the classroom, Adkins-Jablonsky’s work has been given numerous awards and has recently been exhibited in Birmingham, AL (2021); Greensboro, Selma, and Columbiana, AL (2020); and Madison, WI (2019).
Sarah Adkins-Jablonsky uses bacterial cultures and science illustrations as a playground for aesthetic and scientific exploration. During her Ph.D., funded by the National Science Foundation, she studied how agar art, or paintings using bacteria, can be used as a microbiology teaching tool.
Outside of the classroom, Adkins-Jablonsky’s work has been given numerous awards and has recently been exhibited in Birmingham, AL (2021); Greensboro, Selma, and Columbiana, AL (2020); and Madison, WI (2019).
ALWCA Exhibition Committee Chair- Aaryn Lee
Aaryn Lee is an interdisciplinary artist in drawing/mark making, mixed media, printmaking, installation, projection, time-based media, and performance. Her work was organic in structure, repetitive in nature, somber in mood, and touched with the muted, gray tones from her hometown of Portland, Oregon. The themes investigated in the work were memory, ritual, body dysmorphia, and the female body.
Aaryn was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, raised in the Pacific Northwest, and currently lives and works in Huntsville, Alabama. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Art: Art History with a Studio. Concentration in Printmaking, Cum Laude, in 2012 from Portland State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art in 2022 from Lesley Art + Design, where she received the Stauch-Mosse Merit Scholarship. Aaryn has shown at the Gadsden Museum of Art (solo exhibition), The University of Alabama in Huntsville (solo and group), The Lunder Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment; and Gallery 1:11 in Huntsville, Gallery 360 in Vancouver, Washington, and Chatterbox in Beaverton, Oregon
(solo).
Aaryn has a public art studio at Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment, the south's largest privately owned arts facility. In addition to her studio practice, Aaryn is an art educator. She is an adjunct professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, where she teaches drawing foundations, and at The University of North Alabama in Florence, where she teaches three- dimensional design. Additionally, Aaryn founded No'Ala Crit, a constructive and empowering critique group for emerging and established artists in North Alabama.
Aaryn Lee is an interdisciplinary artist in drawing/mark making, mixed media, printmaking, installation, projection, time-based media, and performance. Her work was organic in structure, repetitive in nature, somber in mood, and touched with the muted, gray tones from her hometown of Portland, Oregon. The themes investigated in the work were memory, ritual, body dysmorphia, and the female body.
Aaryn was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, raised in the Pacific Northwest, and currently lives and works in Huntsville, Alabama. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Art: Art History with a Studio. Concentration in Printmaking, Cum Laude, in 2012 from Portland State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art in 2022 from Lesley Art + Design, where she received the Stauch-Mosse Merit Scholarship. Aaryn has shown at the Gadsden Museum of Art (solo exhibition), The University of Alabama in Huntsville (solo and group), The Lunder Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment; and Gallery 1:11 in Huntsville, Gallery 360 in Vancouver, Washington, and Chatterbox in Beaverton, Oregon
(solo).
Aaryn has a public art studio at Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment, the south's largest privately owned arts facility. In addition to her studio practice, Aaryn is an art educator. She is an adjunct professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, where she teaches drawing foundations, and at The University of North Alabama in Florence, where she teaches three- dimensional design. Additionally, Aaryn founded No'Ala Crit, a constructive and empowering critique group for emerging and established artists in North Alabama.
ALWCA Exhibitions - Sylvia Bowyer
Education: MFA 1989 California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA BFA 1980 Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC. Sylvia Bowyer lives in Huntsville, Alabama, and makes visual objects. Over the years, she has worked as a painting contractor, construction coordinator, museum preparator, and museum facilities assistant.
Education: MFA 1989 California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA BFA 1980 Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC. Sylvia Bowyer lives in Huntsville, Alabama, and makes visual objects. Over the years, she has worked as a painting contractor, construction coordinator, museum preparator, and museum facilities assistant.
ALWCA Exhibitions - Anna Sue Courtney
As a kid, Anna Sue Courtney was an ‘instigator’––her mother’s epithet. Inspired, Anna Sue acquired a daring, multidisciplinary artistic power, propelling herself into a decades-long identity as her community’s “arts-instigator.”
She attended East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Visual and Performing Arts. From her very first studios and residencies emerged a nontraditional educational skillset, inventing elementary school art curriculum teachers sought her, personally, to impart. Her career settled into Alabama with the genesis of Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment’s first
artistic collective, Flying Monkey Arts. As Anna Sue says, “instigating is making something happen that wasn’t there before.” Before permanent Lowe Mill galleries, Flying Monkey put up spontaneous multimedia installations. Anna Sue is now known for lending herself to pop-up exhibitions, their spontaneous nature encouraged by her ideas. “Most of my situations are unconventional,” she says.
Anna Sue supports her community while maintaining her studio at the intersection of puppetry and installation. Squeaking Tribe Puppets is one of Lowe Mill’s longest-running studios, another world nestled on the second floor of the building. Anna Sue is also a long-standing member of major puppetry programs Puppeteers of America and UNIMA-USA and the renowned Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. She teaches at the Huntsville Museum of Art and runs unique workshops elsewhere in Alabama.
Though Anna Sue prefers the “ultra-interactivity” of pre-COVID exhibitions and performances, she is professionally onboard with the ALWCA at just the right time. Anna Sue has volunteered for the ALWCA for around three years, including exhibition design for last September’s 80/20 exhibit. She strives to create just the right environment–“the correct lighting, flow, and first impression” –for many more ALWCA exhibitions.
As a kid, Anna Sue Courtney was an ‘instigator’––her mother’s epithet. Inspired, Anna Sue acquired a daring, multidisciplinary artistic power, propelling herself into a decades-long identity as her community’s “arts-instigator.”
She attended East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Visual and Performing Arts. From her very first studios and residencies emerged a nontraditional educational skillset, inventing elementary school art curriculum teachers sought her, personally, to impart. Her career settled into Alabama with the genesis of Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment’s first
artistic collective, Flying Monkey Arts. As Anna Sue says, “instigating is making something happen that wasn’t there before.” Before permanent Lowe Mill galleries, Flying Monkey put up spontaneous multimedia installations. Anna Sue is now known for lending herself to pop-up exhibitions, their spontaneous nature encouraged by her ideas. “Most of my situations are unconventional,” she says.
Anna Sue supports her community while maintaining her studio at the intersection of puppetry and installation. Squeaking Tribe Puppets is one of Lowe Mill’s longest-running studios, another world nestled on the second floor of the building. Anna Sue is also a long-standing member of major puppetry programs Puppeteers of America and UNIMA-USA and the renowned Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. She teaches at the Huntsville Museum of Art and runs unique workshops elsewhere in Alabama.
Though Anna Sue prefers the “ultra-interactivity” of pre-COVID exhibitions and performances, she is professionally onboard with the ALWCA at just the right time. Anna Sue has volunteered for the ALWCA for around three years, including exhibition design for last September’s 80/20 exhibit. She strives to create just the right environment–“the correct lighting, flow, and first impression” –for many more ALWCA exhibitions.
ALWCA Exhibitions - Samantha Tallichet
While growing up in the stargazing and science-centric city of Huntsville, Alabama, my passions always remained firmly within exploring humanities. From a young age, visiting museums to learn about different cultures and art history allowed me to develop an artistic perspective toward the world around me. I was drawn to narrative and traditional works of art because of the classical painting techniques and subject matter. This early interest in visual storytelling, painting, and art history inspired my undergraduate studies and career goals. In 2017, I began my professional journey at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where I graduated in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a minor in Art History. After graduating, I began working at the Huntsville Museum of Art as an assistant in the
Curatorial and Education departments. In November of 2022, I opened a studio on the third floor of Lowe Mill Arts Entertainment as a creative space to work on my paintings and drawings. It is amazing to be a part of the local art community as it grows in Alabama.
While growing up in the stargazing and science-centric city of Huntsville, Alabama, my passions always remained firmly within exploring humanities. From a young age, visiting museums to learn about different cultures and art history allowed me to develop an artistic perspective toward the world around me. I was drawn to narrative and traditional works of art because of the classical painting techniques and subject matter. This early interest in visual storytelling, painting, and art history inspired my undergraduate studies and career goals. In 2017, I began my professional journey at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where I graduated in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a minor in Art History. After graduating, I began working at the Huntsville Museum of Art as an assistant in the
Curatorial and Education departments. In November of 2022, I opened a studio on the third floor of Lowe Mill Arts Entertainment as a creative space to work on my paintings and drawings. It is amazing to be a part of the local art community as it grows in Alabama.
ALWCA Exhibitions - Teri Hartmann
She is a ceramic artist who creates studies of primordial connection through her work. Natural forms, such as rocks, trees, and animals, inspire her stoneware sculptures. She uses various techniques, such as hand-building, wheel-throwing, and glazing, to create her sculptures. Her work is often abstract, but it always conveys a sense of movement and energy.
Hartmann works from a studio at Lowe Mill in Huntsville, Alabama. Lowe Mill is a former textile mill converted into an artist's community, and it is home to over 200 artists and makers and a vibrant and creative space.
She is a ceramic artist who creates studies of primordial connection through her work. Natural forms, such as rocks, trees, and animals, inspire her stoneware sculptures. She uses various techniques, such as hand-building, wheel-throwing, and glazing, to create her sculptures. Her work is often abstract, but it always conveys a sense of movement and energy.
Hartmann works from a studio at Lowe Mill in Huntsville, Alabama. Lowe Mill is a former textile mill converted into an artist's community, and it is home to over 200 artists and makers and a vibrant and creative space.
.ALWCA Website Admin - Cynthia Wagner
Cynthia Wagner is a multidisciplinary artist interested in the complex internal landscapes of the human experience and the objects that hold human stories in their physical forms. Her work blends several artistic practices, including painting, collage, sculpture, and photography. Wagner earned a BFA in Painting from the Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University Indianapolis. Her work has been exhibited across the Southeast, most recently a solo exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art. Her work has been featured at the Montgomery Museum of Art; Huntsville Museum of Art, Wiregrass Museum of Art; the LaGrange Museum of Art; Art Fields, Lake City, North Carolina; Johnson Center for the Arts; and the A.I.R Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. This last year, she fulfilled two public art commissions in Huntsville, Alabama. Wagner, born and raised in Colorado, lives in Huntsville, Alabama
Cynthia Wagner is a multidisciplinary artist interested in the complex internal landscapes of the human experience and the objects that hold human stories in their physical forms. Her work blends several artistic practices, including painting, collage, sculpture, and photography. Wagner earned a BFA in Painting from the Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University Indianapolis. Her work has been exhibited across the Southeast, most recently a solo exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art. Her work has been featured at the Montgomery Museum of Art; Huntsville Museum of Art, Wiregrass Museum of Art; the LaGrange Museum of Art; Art Fields, Lake City, North Carolina; Johnson Center for the Arts; and the A.I.R Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. This last year, she fulfilled two public art commissions in Huntsville, Alabama. Wagner, born and raised in Colorado, lives in Huntsville, Alabama