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In The Harris Gallery

A Celebration of Life created by Women Artists from Akron's Black Community

Weathervane is proud and privileged to showcase and celebrate the art work created by eight remarkable women from Akron's Black Community that will be on display during the run of "Aida".  Some of the artists are self-taught, some have degrees in art and some are pursuing graduate degrees. But everyone has created work that is meaningful, powerful, thought provoking and beautiful.

There are three sets of mother & daughter artists:  April Couch and her daughter, Alexandria Couch;  Louise Bane and her mother, Jacqueline Harris; and Stephanie Stewart and her daughter, Kyla Anne.  The contrasts in the works done by these family members are exciting to see.

In alphabetical order, here are the artists whose works are on display:

KYLA  ANNE (DECATUR), is a Paper Maker and Co-Owner with her mother, Stephanie Stewart of P31 Art & Design LLC.  She focuses on the visible and invisible beauty of different perspectives, with her passion for pyrography (wood burning) and her specialization in gouache ( a method of painting using opaque watercolors mixed with a preparation of gum), papermaking and watercolor.  "As a former dancer in contemporary dance, ballet,and jazz, I've learned the unique importance of feelings and language displayed through the fluidity in movement with a variety of textures.  A primary component of my paper making techniques includes the creation and manipulation of recycled papers and plant fibers.  The variety of texture and colors throughout my artwork communicates my story."

Kyla Anne's works have recently been juried into shows such as Akron's Black Artist Guild "Outlined in Black",  Summit Artspace, "Fresh 2023", and Women's Art League Annual Shows, to name a few. Kyla Anne has also had public art installations in the Waterloo Arts District in Cleveland and the City of Akron's Kerr Park. Her practice reflects the belief that the gift of creativity is within all, so it is her mission to get together, share it, nurture it and cultivate it.

LOUISE BANE  is a local business owner, artist and Miller South alum. She started her artistic journey with a love for sculpture. In the past several years she has used her sculptural skill and passion for baking to run a thriving custom cake business--Wheezie Cakes.  In addition, she and her mother, Jacqueline Harris, co-own and operate The East Avenue Market and Gallery.  Returning to her first love of fine art, Louise's recent body of work uses the senses to explore emotion.  She crosses mediums while expanding her artistic voice.

ALEXANDRIA COUCH  is a visual artist documenting figures in states of flux. Her work utilizes both traditional and found materials to facilitate states of dissonance between figures and their surroundings, provoking the apprehension of personal wayfinding.  

Alexandria Couch is from Akron, Ohio where she received her BFAs in Printmaking and Painting at The University of Akron's Mary Schiller Myers School of Art (2020).  She received her Printmaking and Painting MFA at Yale University (2023).  Alexandria is currently an Artist Fellow at the NXTHVN (NEXT HAVEN) Residency in New Haven CT. 

She was one of 7 finalists chosen from 800 applicants and the only female artist in the cohort.  She is the daughter of April Couch.

APRIL COUCH is an artist, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) and Owner of  Totally Tangled Creations. April graduated from Baldwin Wallace with a degree in  Business Administration and spent 17 years in banking at FirstMerit Bank before deciding to stay home to raise her three children.  After the children were in school, she started working as a substitute teacher. "If someone had told me even a year ago that I would someday be considered an artist, I would have thought it quite funny."  April is a self-taught Zentangle inspired artist, who then became a CZT. "A  Zentangle is a complicated drawing that is built one line at a time.  Simple tangles, or patterns, are combined in an unplanned way that grow and change in amazing and unbelievable ways.  My canvases are unique and different,  whether on paper, gourds, metal, stones or the beach. There are no creative limits or boundaries. Anything is possible one line at a time."

April started working on her art fulltime in 2014 and is passionate about mentoring and encouraging young people to pursue their artistic dreams. She has won many awards for her work.  She designed the 2017 First Night button and her first street mural for the Northside Market District Green Space.  April has done custom designs for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Akron Round Table, and is currently working on a mural for the Akron Zoo. In 2023 she won many awards, including: "Best in Show", Ohio Mart, Stan Hywet; "2nd Place", Hudson Art on the Green; "Judges' Choice" at the Cain Park Art Festival; "2nd Place, Functional Art" at the Akron Art Expo.

JACQUELINE HARRIS  is a multi-disciplinary artist,entrepreneur and proud matriarch of her family.  She has years of experience working with a broad range of mediums.  Jacqueline's body of work includes, but is not limited to textiles, upcycled sculpture and paper based works.  She is the Founder and Co-owner with her daughter, Louise Bane, of The East Avenue Market and Gallery.  When she isn't cooking or spending time with family, she runs the only Black female owned auto shop in Summit County!

ALTHEA JONES  is an interdisciplinary artist based in NE Ohio. Inspired by the human condition, she uses her work to explore personal authenticity and community. She believes in the concept of perfect imperfection and enjoys creating work from discarded items and lively strokes, scrapes and splashes of paint.

Althea developed her passion for art as a child and rekindled her love affair with. the creative world after leaving her corporate career.  She enjoys poetry, street photography, textiles and painting.  Since 2017, Althea has been searching for her authentic voice and developing her art practice.  She has enjoyed a grass roots approach to art, showing, selling and creating both traditional sized canvases and large format murals in restaurants, coffee shops, abandoned buildings and street corners in the US Northeast.

In 2022, Althea  enrolled in the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at The University of Akron where she is seeking a BFA. With the support of a village of educators and professionals, she is exploring a variety of art media and conceptual ideas.

Her current project "Skin Color" is a foray into social practice, where she is encouraging community members to appreciate and acknowledge their uniquely beautiful skin colors.

STEPHANIE STEWART  is a Northeast Ohio self-taught Christian artist and the owner of P31 Art & Design LLC.  "As an artist, I try to leave the world a little bit brighter as I go."  Her works often capture the strength and beauty of the Black American Woman and culture. Stephanie's artwork is known for the bright and vibrant colors illuminating from the canvas and craftily combined to create modern yet abstracts works of art.  "My preferred medium is acrylic put I also do pieces in watercolor and mixed media art as well.  I enjoy designing and creating uniquely made handbound artbooks and I love the color and the wide range of feelings that radiate from them".

Stephanie is an active member of the Akron Black Artist Guild and the Akron Women's Art League.  Many of her works of art and handmade products can be found in several small boutiques across NE Ohio as well as at her shop, P31 Art & Design LLC and studio at Summit Artspace. She has recently participated in the ABAG (Akron Black Artist Guild) "Outlined in Black Exhibition 2021", Women's Art League "Fall Art Show 2021", and Summit Artspace 2021 Artwalks. She has a loving and supportive husband and five children.

Through P31 Art & Design LLC, Stephanie is making it her primary goal to serve others with good works while continuing to be an active advocate of the Black Art community and aspiring to build networks of connections that can last a lifetime.

MURIEL TILLMAN. was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. She is a quilt artist and her colorful, often extravagant creations are combinations of textured fabrics embellished with elaborate beading and embroidery.  Fabric is the major medium with beads, crystals, and a myriad collection of decorative yarns and threads that make up the tools of her palette.

Her work reflects how she feels.  Muriel enjoys being inspired to create by her surroundings and her family.  She relishes the opportunity to stretch and grow with each new project.  Muriel is excited to try new techniques of embellishing cloth and introducing an old school craft to a new age audience.

Muriel comments about her work "Aida: She Chose Love" :  "This was a very emotional piece to make.  After reading 'Aida' as told by the great opera star, Leontyne Price, I really wanted to depict Aida and Radames' love to the fullest.  I began to work on the burial chamber that was to be Radames' final resting place and placed Aida in his arms.  There is no stronger love than this.  In keeping with the theme of love, I then created "P.D.A" which shows two young lovers embracing each other, looking forward to their future."

Most of the artwork in this exhibit is for sale. The artists have generously offered to donate a portion of the proceeds of any sales to Weathervane.  If you wish to make a purchase, please inquire at the Box Office.  Thank you for supporting the arts!

 

Marci Paolucci
Gallery Curator

Image for In the Harris Family Gallery
In The Harris Gallery

A Celebration of Life created by Women Artists from Akron's Black Community

Weathervane is proud and privileged to showcase and celebrate the art work created by eight remarkable women from Akron's Black Community that will be on display during the run of "Aida".  Some of the artists are self-taught, some have degrees in art and some are pursuing graduate degrees. But everyone has created work that is meaningful, powerful, thought provoking and beautiful.

There are three sets of mother & daughter artists:  April Couch and her daughter, Alexandria Couch;  Louise Bane and her mother, Jacqueline Harris; and Stephanie Stewart and her daughter, Kyla Anne.  The contrasts in the works done by these family members are exciting to see.

In alphabetical order, here are the artists whose works are on display:

KYLA  ANNE (DECATUR), is a Paper Maker and Co-Owner with her mother, Stephanie Stewart of P31 Art & Design LLC.  She focuses on the visible and invisible beauty of different perspectives, with her passion for pyrography (wood burning) and her specialization in gouache ( a method of painting using opaque watercolors mixed with a preparation of gum), papermaking and watercolor.  "As a former dancer in contemporary dance, ballet,and jazz, I've learned the unique importance of feelings and language displayed through the fluidity in movement with a variety of textures.  A primary component of my paper making techniques includes the creation and manipulation of recycled papers and plant fibers.  The variety of texture and colors throughout my artwork communicates my story."

Kyla Anne's works have recently been juried into shows such as Akron's Black Artist Guild "Outlined in Black",  Summit Artspace, "Fresh 2023", and Women's Art League Annual Shows, to name a few. Kyla Anne has also had public art installations in the Waterloo Arts District in Cleveland and the City of Akron's Kerr Park. Her practice reflects the belief that the gift of creativity is within all, so it is her mission to get together, share it, nurture it and cultivate it.

LOUISE BANE  is a local business owner, artist and Miller South alum. She started her artistic journey with a love for sculpture. In the past several years she has used her sculptural skill and passion for baking to run a thriving custom cake business--Wheezie Cakes.  In addition, she and her mother, Jacqueline Harris, co-own and operate The East Avenue Market and Gallery.  Returning to her first love of fine art, Louise's recent body of work uses the senses to explore emotion.  She crosses mediums while expanding her artistic voice.

ALEXANDRIA COUCH  is a visual artist documenting figures in states of flux. Her work utilizes both traditional and found materials to facilitate states of dissonance between figures and their surroundings, provoking the apprehension of personal wayfinding.  

Alexandria Couch is from Akron, Ohio where she received her BFAs in Printmaking and Painting at The University of Akron's Mary Schiller Myers School of Art (2020).  She received her Printmaking and Painting MFA at Yale University (2023).  Alexandria is currently an Artist Fellow at the NXTHVN (NEXT HAVEN) Residency in New Haven CT. 

She was one of 7 finalists chosen from 800 applicants and the only female artist in the cohort.  She is the daughter of April Couch.

APRIL COUCH is an artist, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) and Owner of  Totally Tangled Creations. April graduated from Baldwin Wallace with a degree in  Business Administration and spent 17 years in banking at FirstMerit Bank before deciding to stay home to raise her three children.  After the children were in school, she started working as a substitute teacher. "If someone had told me even a year ago that I would someday be considered an artist, I would have thought it quite funny."  April is a self-taught Zentangle inspired artist, who then became a CZT. "A  Zentangle is a complicated drawing that is built one line at a time.  Simple tangles, or patterns, are combined in an unplanned way that grow and change in amazing and unbelievable ways.  My canvases are unique and different,  whether on paper, gourds, metal, stones or the beach. There are no creative limits or boundaries. Anything is possible one line at a time."

April started working on her art fulltime in 2014 and is passionate about mentoring and encouraging young people to pursue their artistic dreams. She has won many awards for her work.  She designed the 2017 First Night button and her first street mural for the Northside Market District Green Space.  April has done custom designs for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Akron Round Table, and is currently working on a mural for the Akron Zoo. In 2023 she won many awards, including: "Best in Show", Ohio Mart, Stan Hywet; "2nd Place", Hudson Art on the Green; "Judges' Choice" at the Cain Park Art Festival; "2nd Place, Functional Art" at the Akron Art Expo.

JACQUELINE HARRIS  is a multi-disciplinary artist,entrepreneur and proud matriarch of her family.  She has years of experience working with a broad range of mediums.  Jacqueline's body of work includes, but is not limited to textiles, upcycled sculpture and paper based works.  She is the Founder and Co-owner with her daughter, Louise Bane, of The East Avenue Market and Gallery.  When she isn't cooking or spending time with family, she runs the only Black female owned auto shop in Summit County!

ALTHEA JONES  is an interdisciplinary artist based in NE Ohio. Inspired by the human condition, she uses her work to explore personal authenticity and community. She believes in the concept of perfect imperfection and enjoys creating work from discarded items and lively strokes, scrapes and splashes of paint.

Althea developed her passion for art as a child and rekindled her love affair with. the creative world after leaving her corporate career.  She enjoys poetry, street photography, textiles and painting.  Since 2017, Althea has been searching for her authentic voice and developing her art practice.  She has enjoyed a grass roots approach to art, showing, selling and creating both traditional sized canvases and large format murals in restaurants, coffee shops, abandoned buildings and street corners in the US Northeast.

In 2022, Althea  enrolled in the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at The University of Akron where she is seeking a BFA. With the support of a village of educators and professionals, she is exploring a variety of art media and conceptual ideas.

Her current project "Skin Color" is a foray into social practice, where she is encouraging community members to appreciate and acknowledge their uniquely beautiful skin colors.

STEPHANIE STEWART  is a Northeast Ohio self-taught Christian artist and the owner of P31 Art & Design LLC.  "As an artist, I try to leave the world a little bit brighter as I go."  Her works often capture the strength and beauty of the Black American Woman and culture. Stephanie's artwork is known for the bright and vibrant colors illuminating from the canvas and craftily combined to create modern yet abstracts works of art.  "My preferred medium is acrylic put I also do pieces in watercolor and mixed media art as well.  I enjoy designing and creating uniquely made handbound artbooks and I love the color and the wide range of feelings that radiate from them".

Stephanie is an active member of the Akron Black Artist Guild and the Akron Women's Art League.  Many of her works of art and handmade products can be found in several small boutiques across NE Ohio as well as at her shop, P31 Art & Design LLC and studio at Summit Artspace. She has recently participated in the ABAG (Akron Black Artist Guild) "Outlined in Black Exhibition 2021", Women's Art League "Fall Art Show 2021", and Summit Artspace 2021 Artwalks. She has a loving and supportive husband and five children.

Through P31 Art & Design LLC, Stephanie is making it her primary goal to serve others with good works while continuing to be an active advocate of the Black Art community and aspiring to build networks of connections that can last a lifetime.

MURIEL TILLMAN. was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. She is a quilt artist and her colorful, often extravagant creations are combinations of textured fabrics embellished with elaborate beading and embroidery.  Fabric is the major medium with beads, crystals, and a myriad collection of decorative yarns and threads that make up the tools of her palette.

Her work reflects how she feels.  Muriel enjoys being inspired to create by her surroundings and her family.  She relishes the opportunity to stretch and grow with each new project.  Muriel is excited to try new techniques of embellishing cloth and introducing an old school craft to a new age audience.

Muriel comments about her work "Aida: She Chose Love" :  "This was a very emotional piece to make.  After reading 'Aida' as told by the great opera star, Leontyne Price, I really wanted to depict Aida and Radames' love to the fullest.  I began to work on the burial chamber that was to be Radames' final resting place and placed Aida in his arms.  There is no stronger love than this.  In keeping with the theme of love, I then created "P.D.A" which shows two young lovers embracing each other, looking forward to their future."

Most of the artwork in this exhibit is for sale. The artists have generously offered to donate a portion of the proceeds of any sales to Weathervane.  If you wish to make a purchase, please inquire at the Box Office.  Thank you for supporting the arts!

 

Marci Paolucci
Gallery Curator