Painting: Robert Tharsing
Painter Robert Tharsing talks about how he became interested in abstract painting.
Murals: Andee Rudloff
Artist Andee Rudloff describes her process for painting a large-scale mural, from planning the work to transferring it to a building.
Printmaking: Derrick Riley
Derrick Riley talks about what inspires him, how he transferred his drawing skills to printmaking, and his approach to teaching.
Fiber: Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval takes viewers through the process of creating the Millennium Project hanging in the Singletary Center of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky.
Photography: Uwe Ommer
Photographer Uwe Ommer tells the story behind his international photography project.
Photography: Tom Myers
Tom Myers discusses how he has traveled the world photographing primarily animals and the challenges of wildlife photography.
Ceramics: Chris Strecker
Chris Strecker demonstrates how to throw a pot and discusses the ceramics-making process, from shaping the clay to glazing and firing the pot.
Glass: Stephen Rolfe Powell
Stephen Rolfe Powell demonstrates the process of glass blowing and talks about the physicality and team aspect of this art form.
Stained Glass: Dan Barnes
Dan Barnes talks about his evolution from creating more traditional stained glass pieces to exploring mixed media,
Metal Fabrication: Garry Bibbs
Garry Bibbs talks about his background, his role as a mentor of art studio students, and his influences and inspirations.
Forge: Iron Horse Forge
Chris Casey and Tony Higdon describe how they use ancient techniques to create one-of-a-kind functional pieces and sculpture.
Stone: Russell Dawson
Russell Dawson discusses how rocks have a special appeal to him as an artist and a stonemason.
Sand: Damon Farmer
In this profile, Damon Farmer displays his tools and reveals how he creates sculptures within the limitations of sand.
Puppetry: Squallis Puppeteers
Jess Myers, Carrie Christensen, and Nora Christensen, founders of Squallis Puppeteers, discuss the history of puppetry.
Painting: Helen La France
Kentucky artist Helen La France captures her memories of the rural South on canvas.
Wooden Animals: Minnie Adkins
Folk artist Minnie Adkins talks about how she came to carve the roosters and other animals she is known for, including a creature she originated, the “Roach Terminator”.
Beatin’ and a-Bangin’
William McClure and his son Randy make wooden shingles the old-fashioned way.
Baskets: Jennifer Heller
Jennifer Heller describes how she designs and creates fine baskets that are both functional and artistic.
Mehendi-Maker
Anupama Sahasrabudhe creates elaborately designed mehendi on women’s hands for weddings and other special events.
Warm and Cool Colors/Cut-Paper
Teaching artist Catherine Rubin explains warm and cool colors, demonstrates the effects colors have on one another, and shows artworks using warm and cool colors.
Accordian-Fold Books
Artist Thomas Freese shows examples of accordion-fold books, demonstrates how to make one and provides calligraphy tips.
Ancestor Masks
Maude Alexander shows how to make an ancestor mask—from the materials needed to the process involved.
Tessellations: What Is a Tessellation?
Artist Thomas Freese defines tessellation and shows examples.
Tessellating Stamps
Artist Thomas Freese shows how to make a tessellating stamp and use it to create an interlocking pattern.
Outdoor Installation
Truman Lowe, a contemporary sculptor, works with students to create a collaborative art project at Wickliffe Mounds.
Elements of Art
Elizabeth Jewell illustrates how artists use the elements of art—color, line, value, space, shape, form and texture—in their work.
Principles of Design
Host Elizabeth Jewell explores the principles of design—balance, proportion, emphasis, contrast, pattern, repetition, movement, rhythm, and unity—using artworks at the University of Kentucky Art Museum’s collection.
How to Respond to a Work of Art
Martin Rollins describes the four-part process of responding to visual art
The Artist’s Point of View 1
Kentucky artists Sheldon Tapley, Ann Tower, and Robert Tharsing, and Speed Art Museum curator Julien Robson talk about three works of art.
The Artist’s Point of View 2
This video excerpt features curator Brion Clinkingbeard and artists Sarah Frederick and Wayne Ferguson discussing their unique perspectives on art.
The Art of Craft: Rude Osolnik
In this interview, Rude Osolnik maintains that what makes a good craftsman is what makes a good artist: control of their material and techniques.
The Art Critic: How to Write About Art
Diane Heilenman visits an exhibit at the Louisville Visual Art Association and talks about how to look at and write about both an exhibit and a work of art.
The Student/Teacher Relationship
Artist and University of Kentucky art professor Arturo Sandoval discusses his approach to teaching and advising art students.
Realism: Landscape
Two contemporary painters of realistic landscapes describe the progression of their paintings.
Realism: Self-Portrait
Gaela Erwin talks about her interest in the genre of self-portrait.
Realism: Still Life
Painter Sheldon Tapley talks about his process, from preparing the masonite panel to the laying on of paint to the decision about what to paint.
Expressionism: Landscape
This exploration of the expressionistic style featured three contemporary artists.
Expressionism: Figurative Art
Artist Mark Priest talks about his influences as well as the importance of composition and how he likes “to put the viewer in the painting.”
Expressionism: Still Life
Artist Ann Tower was trained as an abstract painter. She says her work is “rooted in the realistic world, the observed world” and that she responds to a painting that makes the viewer take a different look at the...
Abstraction: Gerald Ferstman
Artist Gerald Ferstman says he plans his abstract paintings, but as he works, he becomes more spontaneous.
Abstraction: Nancy Cassell
Artist Nancy Cassell talks about the importance of landscape, nature, and place to her as well as the influence of the Surrealists and Abstract Expressionists.
Painting: Dionisio Ceballos
Painter and filmmaker Dionisio Ceballos discusses his work, the subject matter, palette he is drawn to, and the connections between his life’s spiritual and artistic journeys.
Kentuckians in Visual Arts
Kentucky visual arts professionals explain what they do and why. Use this feature with students to identify skills and training requirements and to inspire interest in the many careers associated with the visual arts as well as in arts...
Oil Pastels: Martin Rollins
Martin Rollins talks about the challenges and advantages of his chosen medium—oil pastels—and gives viewers a peak into his sketchbook.
Fine Books: Carolyn Whitesel
For artist Carolyn Whitesel, books are more than words on paper; they are works of art that showcase the book itself.
Printmaking: Stephanie Potter
Artist Stephanie Potter demonstrates how she creates relief prints, starting with an idea, then cutting an image into the wood or linoleum she has prepared, and, finally, printing the surface.
Quilts: Juanita Yeager
Juanita Yeager shows how she creates patterns and selects fabric for her original quilts.
Weaving/Photography: Dobree Adams
In this profile taped at her farm along the Kentucky River, artist Dobree Adams describes the age-old process she follows in creating her contemporary tapestries and rugs.
Metal Sculpture: Ed Hamilton
Louisville, Ky.-based sculptor Ed Hamilton reflects on the evolution of his work, from his Junkology series done in the late 1970s to the large monuments for which he has become known.
Wood Sculpture: LaVon Williams
LaVon Williams, a fifth generation wood carver, talks about the influences on his work, which include his family, the tradition of wood carving in the African American community, and jazz.
Ceramics: Wayne Ferguson
In this video segment, ceramic artist Wayne Ferguson explains how a teacher’s interest—and the clay that teacher gave him—helped him through his troubled teenage years and how his work helped him deal with a car accident that robbed him...
An Artist in the Family
This video segment takes young students into a little girl named Manuela’s home for a close look at her grandmother Miriam's paintings. They learn about painting techniques and find out about life in Columbia.
Chinese Art
Several artists present a variety of Chinese crafts—including paper cutting, painting, and kite making—to youngsters as part of a Chinese New Year’s Celebration at the Explorium, a children’s museum in Lexington, Kentucky.
Dream Catcher
Susan Mullins Kwaronhia:wi, a Mohawk from the Kahnawake reserve in Canada shows her grandchildren how to create a dreamcatcher.
African Masks
Artist Maude Alexander shows some of the African masks in her collection and talks about how African masks are more than aesthetic artifacts.
A Prayer on the Doorstep
In this segment Nirmala Sathaye and Suhasini V. Bapkar, who live in Kentucky, show how they use a mixture of rice flour and sand or salt to continue an honored custom from their homeland by creating a rangoli.
Shaving Grace
Using the best chair-making traditions, Berea, Kentucky, craftsman Brian Boggs creates works of art that can be sat on. This segment explores the painstaking process Boggs uses to make his chairs—from locating and cutting the wood to designing and...
Recycled Threads
An avid recycler, Pauline Proffitt of Paint Lick, Kentucky, turns rags to riches as she transforms old clothes into rugs and quilts.
Truman Lowe: Contemporary Native American Artist | Native American Culture
Truman Lowe is a contemporary sculptor working primarily in wood that he often scavenges from the landscape. This segment is from the KET documentary From the Shadows of the River, which chronicles Lowe’s visit to Wickliffe Mounds, the site...
Truman Lowe at Wickliffe Mounds | Native American Culture
In this video segment, contemporary Native American artist Truman Lowe discusses his visit to an ancient Native American community in Western Kentucky, Wickliffe Mounds, and how it influenced his work. The segment also includes a tour of art works...
Poor Man’s Africa
This segment focuses on Ellis Wilson’s travels to Haiti in the 1950s and their effect on his work.
Visual Arts Glossary
Brush up on your visual arts terms and definitions with this glossary.
Ellis Wilson—So Much to Paint
Ellis Wilson—So Much To Paint salutes the life and art of a neglected Kentucky-born painter whose work paved the way for later African-American artists and established the everyday lives of black people as a legitimate subject for art.
World of Our Own: Kentucky Folkways
The richness and diversity of Kentucky’s cultural heritage through programs about rural and urban Kentucky features Kentuckians from different communities and walks of life who represent aspects of traditional culture in their work, play, art, and religious lives.
Dreamcatcher – Idea File
Students learn about the tradition of the dreamcatcher among the Ojibwe and Mohawk. Students create their own dreamcatchers using three-dimensional pieces.
Paper and Chinese Art – Idea File
Students explore Chinese culture through paper cutting and kite making. Students create models of kites and paper cuts using symmetry.
Place in Art – Idea File
Students examine the influence of culture on one artist’s work and collect pictures and articles representative of their own cultures to create a collage.
Defining Art – Idea File
Students consider what makes something art.
Landscape Assemblage – Idea File
Students analyze La Dent de Jaman (The Artist’s House), a painting by Gustave Courbet, and consider how they can change the two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional sculpture. The class collaborates on a three-dimensional landscape based on Courbet’s painting.
Art Reflects Life – Idea File
Students explore how art reflects life by making a collage about what is important to them in their lives.
Playing Card Sculptures – Idea File
Students analyze an abstract sculpture and then create their own out of playing cards.
Quilts: Traditions and Trends – Idea File
Students examine and compare the work of two quilters. After viewing various creations, students consider the various styles of quilting and create their own quilt pattern using construction paper shapes.
Sand Casting – Idea File
Students create a low-relief sculpture using the sand-casting technique.
Texture Trove – Idea File
Students learn how an Impressionist painter used texture in her work, then imitate the painter’s technique, using different materials and tools, to create texture in their own artworks.
Visualizing Vocabulary – Idea File
Students create and display posters defining and illustrating essential arts vocabulary (from the Kentucky Core Content).
Water: From the Shadows of the River – Idea File
Students examine the influence of water in the Mississippian cultures and relate the scientific properties of water to the principles of design in visual arts.
Weaving and Photography – Idea File
Students examine the work of Dobree Adams in weaving and photography. Through application of the elements of art and principles of design, students create original work inspired by photography.
Art and Literature During the Harlem Renaissance – Idea File
Students create a poster presenting Ellis Wilson’s work with literature of the Harlem Renaissance that communicates similar meaning.
Discovering Oneself – Idea File
Students learn about self-portraits and then make self-portraits based on journal descriptions.
Drawing Drama – Idea File
Students evaluate a narrative painting and then create artwork based on an aspect of a story.
Painting a Still Life – Lesson Plan
Students paint a still life, paying special attention to the elements of color and value and the principles of pattern and emphasis.
Creating Narrative Artwork – Lesson Plan
Students will make “antique” panels for the classroom door. Assembled together, the door will represent interests and strengths of class members.
Symmetrical Portrait – Lesson Plan
Students create portraits that demonstrate symmetry and the use of warm and cool colors.
Exploring Color – Lesson Plan
Students construct cut-paper pieces to explore the properties of color.
Creating a Figure Painting – Lesson Plan
Students learn about Kentucky-born painter Ellis Wilson and create a painting in his style.
Making a Color/Shape Collage – Lesson Plan
Students create collages to explore the use of warm/cool colors, value, shade/tint, mood, balance, pattern, complementary colors, and overlapping colors and shapes.
The Art and Science of Glass – Lesson Plan
Students explore properties of glass and observe the creative process of creating art glass.
Rangoli: Making Art for a Purpose – Lesson Plan
Students create rangoli designs and analyze their work using principles of design.
Greek Functional Art – Lesson Plan
Students explore Greek functional art and create a design for a Greek-style krater.
Emotion in 3D Abstract Art – Lesson Plan
Using Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure: Angles for inspiration, students create an expressive abstract sculpture using the subtractive process for sculpting.
Making a Collage in the Style of Matisse – Lesson Plan
Students create warm- and cool-color animal collages in the style of Matisse.
Experimenting with Media and Materials – Lesson Plan
Students experiment with medium and paper to better understand the creative process.
Writing About Ellis Wilson – Lesson Plan
Students examine the subject matter of Ellis Wilson’s paintings and write articles about what his work communicates about life and culture.
The Challenge of Painting Realistically – Lesson Plan
Students experiment to better understand the challenges of drawing and painting in a realistic style.
Abstract Papier-Mâché Sculpture – Lesson Plan
Students create an abstract sculpture in the style of Henry Moore after examining one of his works.
Spectrum of Art Part 1: Making Art
The Spectrum of Art showcases the diversity of media, genres, materials, processes, ideas, and purposes found within the visual arts, showing students how artists develop their ideas and decide on specific media and techniques. In Part 1, “Making Art,”...
Spectrum of Art Part 2: Subject Matter and Genres
In this section of the Spectrum of Art, segments selected from KET’s three-part series Looking at Painting explore the techniques and ideas of Kentucky painters.
Spectrum of Art Part 3: 2D Media/Processes
Meet six Kentucky artists working principally in two-dimensional art—from painting and printmaking to textiles and photography—in this third part of the Spectrum of Art.
Spectrum of Art Part 4: 3D Media/Processes
In Part 4 of the Spectrum of Art, students see how artists working in three dimensions use clay, glass, metal, stone, and sand to create original works of art.
Spectrum of Art Part 5: Folk/Traditional Arts
This section of the Spectrum of Art explores the traditional art forms of native Kentuckians, as well as those who have moved to Kentucky and brought their traditions with them.
Responding to Visual Art
Through demonstrations and analyses of artworks by educators, artists, and critics, Responding to Visual Art provides students with the tools they need to describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate works of art.
A State Divided: Exploring the Civil War Through Images
A State Divided: Exploring the Civil War Through Images includes 75 images related to the Civil War in Kentucky, ranging from medals and photographs to portraits and weapons. The goal is provide images of artworks, artifacts, photographs, and source...