By Hollie Deese Growing up in Ashland, Kentucky, artist John Paul Kesling spent a lot of time outdoors with his three brothers on the banks of the Ohio River. His musician single father got custody of all of them when Kesling, the youngest, was 18 months old. He was drawn to art at a young age, often helping friends
By Hollie Deese Photography by Jenna Henderson Ashley Trabue has something to say as an artist, and while it might be uncomfortable for some, her goal is to ultimately make people feel more comfortable in their own bodies and with their own emotions through her art. Raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Trabue began coming to Nashville to see live music
By Hollie DeesePhotography by Richard SuterIt’s hard to find a medium that artist Keith Tucker doesn’t work in when creating his paintings, murals, sculptures, illustrations or occasionally even furniture. The honorary Kentucky Colonel — a distinction he earned in 2005 in recognition of a sculpture he created of Abraham Lincoln for the opening of the Gaylord Hotel in Washington, D.C.
By Hollie Deese Photography by William DeShazer Ten years ago Anthony Fazio’s life was almost unbelievably different than it is today. A firefighter from New Jersey, he was more accustomed to going into burning buildings than buying art supplies. But a shoulder injury on the job forced him to reevaluate everything. “I had a few surgeries and had nerve
Making minuscule memories By Hollie Deese Portrait by Semi Song Growing up in Nashville, Jessica Saylor was always influenced by the homes and buildings around her, never realizing she would one day preserve memories of many of them in minuscule packages. Saylor’s senior superlative when graduating St. Cecilia Academy was “Most likely to paint a masterpiece.” As a student
By Hollie Deese Nashville native Omari Booker didn’t really begin to tap into his artistic side until he was a senior at Montgomery Bell Academy. His art teacher then, Jim Womack, was a real inspiration — and is still a mentor — but Booker never looked at it then as a path of viable employment. So he went to
Special dinnerware made for intimate, everyday meals By Hollie Deese Being an artist runs in Morgan Williamson’s blood. Growing up, she watched her mother build a business doing faux finishing and murals in homes in Texas, and as a girl Williamson would work right alongside her, soaking in what it meant to be an entrepreneur artist. “She was a
