The Forms and Faces of our Local Artists

By Grace Thurman

Known as one of the greatest art events in Kentucky, The World’s Greatest Studio Tour and Art Sale was held on the first weekend of November and organized by the Kentucky Museum. Visitors are able to meet multiple talented local artists and take in the sight of their pottery, paintings, ceramics, woodwork, and textile art that they’ve been working on throughout their careers.

Founded back in 1996, the event was established by Marsha Heidbrink, who had formerly taught visual arts at Bowling Green’s Capitol Art galleries and at WKU, sharing her love of all things creative with Kentucky visitors. Even though Marsha passed through her battle with cancer in 2011, her impact on the Bowling Green art community lives on through The World’s Greatest Studio Tour. One of those artists, Terry Wilson, a part of this community and former WKU professor of 47 years, now participates in the art sale using his watercolor paintings heavenly inspired by the nature of Bowling Green.  

“The more I painted, the more I let go,” Wilson says while explaining his unique process of his watercolor paintings. According to Wilson, he paints, blends the colors together, and then gathers inspiration from there, creating an aspect of nature that can be seen from multiple perspectives. Only having begun his career eight years ago, Wilson has won four awards from the US Bank Celebration of the Arts contest held at the Kentucky Museum where his winning works are now displayed. More of his artwork, including his award-winning pieces can now be found on his Instagram account and within the Pushin Building Artists’ Studio located at 400 E. Main Avenue. 

Taking in more local art pieces within the studio, visitors discover the Mezz ClayWorks studio, which is located in a storage room that once belonged to the Pushin Building Artists’ Studio. Here I met Erika Brady, who is a four-year ceramist and retired professor at WKU, and creates many ceramics such as dishes, pots, sculptures, and even carvings within a clay-like stone all done by Brady and the help of a good friend, Bob Brigle. Creating pottery for forty years now, Brigle also works within the Mezz ClayWorks studio and creates pots, dishes, and sculptors with realistic face work and his own eccentric twist. The smooth oval stones, carved with letters from an old Norse alphabet, are now displayed as one of Erika’s recent works and are based on folklore, a subject Brady had taught at WKU. After the death of her husband and the closure of pottery studio Truefables, she was given 25 blocks of clay at her doorstep and used her knowledge of past pottery lessons to create mythological figures, such as gods and goddesses. 

“Pottery was my therapy…” Brady says, as she explains her newfound love for ceramics, “Pottery came to me as automatically as writing.” 

Exploring the Downtown area, I visit the Nightingale studio where meditation, yoga, and Elizabeth Hoffman’s art is displayed. Made up of whimsical illustrations greatly inspired by her farm life as a child, Hoffman’s bright and colorful stories are filled with deep and heartfelt messages everyone needs to hear. Her latest book displayed at the art sale, Here I’m Happy, is out now and can be found on her website and the Nightingale studio along with many other prints and items.  

Overall, Kentucky’s World Greatest Studio and Art Sale was a great experience and the local artists of Bowling Green, who had eagerly waited for this event and art opportunity, found the art sale to be greatly successful to their own businesses and careers. Now in its twenty-seventh year, the art sale is expanding Bowling Green’s local art community and is strengthening Kentucky’s mission to add creative influence to its Downtown area.