Theoplis Smith III
Theoplis Smith III, who is also known as "Phresh Laundry," is a primarily self-taught artist whose work comes from an innate need and desire to create. Smith's practice is incredibly unique both for its skill and its unlikely beginnings. As a young child, he found himself drawn toward the arts, and has slowly but surely pieced together an original form of painting with certain connections to popular culture forms of representation like comic books, and the quick sketches of caricature, paired with the long history of traditional portraiture. Smith has been refining his practice over the last couple of years. Smith’s art brings broad appeal, while staying fresh and keeping a varied approach to the formal aspects of their work.
Sayaka Ganz
Sayaka Ganz was born in Yokohama, Japan and grew up living in Japan, Brazil, and Hong Kong. She
received a BFA from Indiana University and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Using reclaimed metal and plastic objects, Sayaka’s recent sculptures depict animals in motion with
rich colors and energy. She describes her style as “3D impressionism”, creating an illusion of solid form
using plastic objects as brush strokes that become visible upon observation from close proximity.
Her recent exhibitions include: “Danze Della Natura” – solo exhibition at the Hermann Geiger Foundation in
Cecina, Italy, and “Metamorphosis” – temporary installation at the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska.
Her recent commissions include a series of marine life sculptures for the Monerey Bay Aquarium in
California and a permanent installation of an underwater scene featuring whales and turtles in the lobby of
Cimer Spa at the Paradise Resort in Incheon, Korea.
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Julie Wall
A few years after graduating from Art school, Julie opened her studio, Hedgehog Press. Now the HEDGE, after 7 years, she is going strong! Being born and raised in Fort Wayne, making a place for herself and her work here was very important. I love being outside and have a deep appreciation for our natural surroundings. I'm always inspired by nature and its ever-changing state which shows through in most of my work.
Jan Krist
Jan Krist was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Jan received her BFA from IPFW in 2015, with a focus on Ceramics. She currently works in clay, oil, and watercolor. Her work has been exhibited at Freshwater Gallery in Boyne City Michigan, The Trinity House Theatre in Livonia Michigan, Fort Wayne's Art Link, Wunderkammer Gallery, in Fort Wayne Indiana, among others.
Jan is also a nationally touring musician and critically acclaimed recording artist with 13 CDs to her credit! She has received 4 Detroit Music Awards, and has been a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition twice. Billboard Magazine, Dirty Linen, The Detroit News, The Chicago Sun Times, and other publications around the country have favorably reviewed her work. She currently resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana working on her art, music and teaching special needs adults ceramics and art.
Elena Smrniotis
Elena Smyrniotis is a multimedia artist whose work explores literary and historical utopian ideas. As an actively exhibiting artist, Elena has had solo exhibitions of her work and has frequently participated in national and international group shows.
Elena was given the Annual Walter R. Beardsley Award for her installation Horizons of Utopia at the Snite Museum of Art.
Elena’s global experiences include a fellowship at the Rome Global Gateway and cooperation with Rome Capitoline Museum, Hertziana Library and Geographical Society of Italy; teaching printmaking workshops at the Gems Metropolitan School
in Dubai, OAE; and partaking in a painting workshop at The Painting School of Montmiral in France. As a member of a global community Elena embraces her international involvements and her ability to speak different languages.
Currently, Elena Smyrniotis is teaching at the School of Creative Arts at University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, IN.
Alexandra Hall
Alexandra received a BA in Political Science, Slavic Languages and Literature from Indiana University in 2010. After graduating with honors and intending to continue on to graduate school, she detoured to painting. Hall's work reflects her playful personality, and her desire to bring positive energy into the world. Her large-scale acrylic paintings display a mixture of whimsical and surrealistic tones and can be found in private and public collections
throughout the United States. Since 2014 she has worked as a professional painter, muralist, and
illustrator. Hall is based in Fort Wayne, IN.
Hall encourages her audience to embrace their inner child and never forget to color outside of the lines!
Thomas Leffers
Thomas was born and raised in Fort Wayne, graduating from the University of Saint Francis in 2014 with a Bachelors of Art. His main skill and medium is oil painting focusing on abstraction and color theory. Starting out, he worked as a realistic painter, creating portraits similar to the traditional Renaissance artists; however, in his final year of college, he took the leap into abstraction and painting through the emotional conversion of everyday energy.
Alyssa Deck
Alyssa currently lives and works in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she received her BA in pre-art therapy from the University of Saint Francis. Her work touches on themes like the innate connection between human beings and the natural world. Interested in emotion and sensory experience, many of her pieces become “psychological landscapes” that invite the viewer to step inside.
Alyssa has begun to expand her practice to interactive and/or immersive installation spaces and murals over the past few years and she hopes to continue to grow in these areas before pursuing an MFA in the near future
Amber Kessler
Amber Kessler Freer is a queer creative living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She creates costumes, plays with flowers, writes poetry, and tells stories. Since moving to Fort Wayne from Chicago in 2017, she has jumped into creative endeavors with The Trap Door as a featured storyteller and with Italian Friend Art Ruckus as an artist in the collective. She has read her poetry in Chicago, Fort Wayne, and Bogota. Her costume designs have been seen on stage at Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana and a number of storefront theatre stages in Chicago.
Jeremy Stroup
Jeremy moved to Fort Wayne to further his studies at IPFW, where he realized his true passion in life was art. Ever
since he has been working on honing his craft and learning more about the subjects he depicts. Most recently he has been focusing on local plants and animals in his work. His interesting use of linework in his illustrations and art shows an emerging unique style clearly his own.
Kari Larson
Kari is a fine artist and designer in Fort Wayne IN. Her work consists of using natural elements such as oil and intaglio prints and pairing them alongside wearable art. She is deeply inspired to nature and fashion and wishes to enlighten people about our wonderful world and all the beautiful creatures in it while also expressing style and couture elements through original designs and illustrations.
She learned to sew at a young age, and attributes her seamstress ability from her family and perseverance to sew and create.
She believes one doesn’t have to attend a university to become an artist, however she did because the sheer fascination of learning about art and its history impacts her as an individual everyday. She is tremendously thankful to have been surrounded by an incredible group of professors and peers whom she still keeps in close contact with and helped her find her artistic voice. she would like to tell others to “Aspire to dream and don’t give up its not an easy road nothing in life is, but it's something worth taking a chance on.”
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Kari specializes in fine art creations such as animal/seascape and portrait painting, printmaking,creating custom wearable art, and alterations.
Kristina
Kristina took some classes at IPFW when she first became serious about pursuing a career in art. That is where she first started working with steel. She fell in love! The fact that she could create contemporary and organic forms out of such a strong material intrigued her. Her primary focus has been on the female form, whether it is the body itself or a feminine dress. Her steel creations convey the strength & power of women. She believes we can be strong, beautiful & elegant all at the same time. She also enjoys painting. In both mediums, she is inspired by found objects and nature. Her paintings incorporate organic elements that give them a dimensional effect. She definitely has her own unique style.
Kristina has displayed her work nationally and most recently exhibited at the SOHO Show in New York City. She was commissioned by Chicago Sculpture International in August 2019 where she did a stunning red dress sculpture.
She is also currently represented by the Garrett Museum of Art.
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