Category: Artist

Homesickness can be a difficult feeling to cope with. For Katie Wampler, it would provide the catalyst for her foray into art. Growing up in Louisville and having a parent who worked for Brown-Forman, the Kentucky Derby had played a significant part of Katie’s childhood. For college, Katie went out of state to UVA, marking the first time she was out of state for Derby. After UVA, life took Katie to South Carolina to teach for two years, again forcing Katie to miss the Derby and time with her family.

By 2015, Katie’s homesickness was at an all-time high. While always interested in art, she never pursued it outside of one class in high school. Inspired by her longing for home and her love of the colorful jockey silks, Katie decided to pull out the art supplies she had on hand and paint the silks in watercolor. When she showed her work to others, they encouraged her to sell prints of her work on Etsy. Even though Katie would eventually leave South Carolina for Washington DC and grad school, she kept working on her art. While in DC, she took a summer class on acrylic painting. After four years in DC, Katie decided it was time to return to her old Kentucky home.

Much of Katie’s work highlights her Kentucky roots, with the Derby and bourbon serving as regular subjects. As a fan of Andy Warhol, you can see hints of his influence at play in Katie’s work. Finding inspiration from colors, patterns, textures, and nature, she also experiments with more abstract styles and the use of floral and botanical elements. To see more of Katie’s work, you can find her on Instagram at @katie_paints. You can also find her online store at fourmintleaves.com.

As much as we like to see ourselves as the architects of our own destinies, we can’t deny how much chance plays a huge role in determining our future. No one knows this better than Karl Otto. If you’ve stopped by our office, you’ve seen some of his work hanging on our wall. It exists thanks to the chance encounters Karl has had which helped him discover his aptitude for and interest in geometric designs.

Currently, Karl’s primary focus as a tattoo artist is black work, heavy layers of black ink used to create geometric and ornamental designs. While this style makes up the majority of his work, this wasn’t always the case. Seven years prior, he had been primarily doing American traditional tattoos; simple bold tattoos with small color palettes. By chance, he was approached by a friend and fellow tattoo artist with a request to do a tattoo of a mandala. Karl had never received such a request and had to learn how to design one. This one tattoo would change everything for Karl.

Once it was completed, he posted a picture of his work on social media, where it took off. Over the next few years, Karl gained a reputation for his mandalas. Eventually, it became the bulk of his requests. As Karl studied, traveled, and worked with other tattoo artists, he saw how much more he could do with geometric patterns inspired by Eastern art.

It was another chance request which would open another creative outlet for Karl. He was invited by the people in charge of the party cove at the Forecastle Festival. Being familiar with Karl’s work, they asked him to do one of his geometric designs on a boat; they would provide him with supplies. When he arrived, he received paint markers, which turned out to be the perfect tool to allow him to create his designs quickly on a large scale. He quickly fell in love with medium and now seeks every opportunity to engage with it. He’s made videos of him creating and has done live events as fundraisers for some local non-profits.

You can find more of Karl’s work on his Instagram @unflappable_karl and @unflappablekarl_designs.

You can find more of Karl’s work on his Instagram @unflappable_karl and @unflappablekarl_designs.

​Our teenage years are a time of self-discover; we figure out our strengths, interests, and passions. We often plan our futures, scrap them, and then plan again as we learn more about ourselves. Kevin Warth, an interdisciplinary artist here at Mellwood, was no exception. Initially, Kevin had charted a path which would ultimately take him to med school. At 16, he took his first photography class, which completely changed the trajectory of his life.

Through that class, he discovered part of himself he didn’t know existed before. He found a passion to create, a passion he knew he needed to follow in college. Halfway into his college years, Kevin identified what would be the focus of his art: identity, sexuality, and the body. He found that he enjoyed exploring these topics and drawing comparisons between lived experience and the cultural norms pushed by mass media, advertising in particular. In his photography, Kevin tries to find new ways to interpret the home and family while subverting the dominant social narratives.

During his time in college, Kevin took a fiber arts course to fulfill a requirement for his major. At the time, he had very little enthusiasm or interest in the medium. It wasn’t until after he had graduated and took on a studio here at Mellwood that he began to experiment with it. As he played with fiber art more, he found ways to incorporate his experience as a photographer, desire to subvert norms, and explore identity with this new medium. His embroidery portraiture examines the AIDS crisis, how it impacts the LGBTQ community today, and highlights those who passed away from HIV/AIDS complications.

To view more of Kevin’s work, you can visit his site at kevinwarth.com or his Instagram at @kevinmwarth.

During his time in college, Kevin took a fiber arts course to fulfill a requirement for his major. At the time, he had very little enthusiasm or interest in the medium. It wasn’t until after he had graduated and took on a studio here at Mellwood that he began to experiment with it. As he played with fiber art more, he found ways to incorporate his experience as a photographer, desire to subvert norms, and explore identity with this new medium. His embroidery portraiture examines the AIDS crisis, how it impacts the LGBTQ community today, and highlights those who passed away from HIV/AIDS complications.

To view more of Kevin’s work, you can visit his site at kevinwarth.com or his Instagram at @kevinmwarth.