Flat Out Under Pressure, 24 hour art making challenge, Metropolitan Arts Council, Greenville, SC (Upcoming June 2024)
Walt’s Waltz, Mental Health Moonshot Exhibit, Exhibition featuring work for and about mental health, Greenville Center for Creative Arts, Greenville, SC (Upcoming May-June 2024)
Life as I Know It, Harley Gallery, University of South Carolina, Upstate Campus, March-April 2024 (solo show)
Works on Paper- Make your Mark, Juried by printmaker Mami Yamamoto. Core Art Space, Lakewood, CO, March 2024).
Selections from Bullets and Bandaids (traveling show featuring stories and Illustrations documenting the lives and experiences of veterans), Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL. Upcoming January-March 2024.
Counterfeit 2024, Spartanburg Art Museum, Fundraiser exhibition. Invitational. Reproductions and playful interpretations of famous works. Spartanburg, SC, January-February 2024.
Life as I Know It, Spartanburg Art Museum, Vestibule Gallery, Spartanburg, SC, September-October, 2023.(solo teacher feature).
Connect, Curated by Tanya Johnson, An exhibition that focuses on the process of artistic creation, USC Upstate, Harley Gallery, Spartanburg, SC, September-October, 2023.
Flat Out Under Pressure, Metropolitan Arts Council, Greenville SC, June 2023
Destroy the Gap, Exhibition of design & art to eliminate the gap between what's possible and what's expected for disability representation. Organized by the Bowling Green State University School of Art for the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio. May 2023.
Small Changes, 34th Annual Decatur Fine Arts Exhibition, National juried show. Juried by Susan Bridges, the founder, owner, and director of Whitespace, a contemporary commercial art gallery Atlanta GA; Stephanie Smith, Atlanta-based artist, printmaker and educator; and Colleen Lawrence Ferketish, a book artist and librarian living in greater Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted by the Decatur Art Alliance and held at the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Decatur Library, Decatur, GA. May-June 2023.
Baldwin National 2023, Juried by Ben Ahlvers, artist and Director of Exhibitions at the Lawrence Arts Center, Exhibition held at the Holt-Russell Gallery, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS, March 2023.
Juried exhibit, Selections from Bullets and Bandaids, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, March- September 2023
Bullets and Bandaids, Stories and Illustrations documenting the lives and experiences of veterans. Group show touring six cities in the Southeast, including: Asheville, NC; Augusta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Columbia SC, and Savannah GA, 2023
Savannah Station, Savannah Ga, January 20th-21st, 2023
Charlotte Art League, Charlotte NC, January 27th-28th, 2023
One World Brewing, Asheville, NC, February 10th-11th, 2023
SC Society Hall, Charleston, SC, February 12th-13th, 2023
Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Augusta GA, February 22nd-23rd, 2023
2022
2022 National Multi-Media Juried Art Show, Juried by Jonathan Burger, Executive Director of the Craven Arts Council and Gallery in New Bern, NC, Exhibition held at Wilson Arts, Wilson, NC, October-November, 2022
A Sense of Place 2022, 40th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Juried by Erin Dunn, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, GA. Exhibition held at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, GA, September-October, 2022. (Juror’s Award Winner)
4th Annual Online Juried Exhibition, Hosted by The Idaherma Museum of Art Foundation, Princeton NJ, Online exhibition, July, 2022
Self Expression- The Artist’s Truth, National call with anonymous professional juror, Modern Visual Arts Gallery, Bethlehem, PA, June-July, 2022
Nature vs. Nurture, juried by artists Sheila Elias, Joshua Elias and Joyce Elias, The Art Center-Highland Park, Highland Park, IL June-July 2022.
Flat Out Under Pressure, Metropolitan Arts Council, Greenville SC, June 2022
Open Studios Retrospective Exhibit, Metropolitan Arts Council, Greenville, SC, April-May, 2022
Feminist Insight: Telling Her Story, Juried by Rose-Ann San Martino, professional artist, board member, and grant writer for Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville, NC, March-April, 2022 (First place award winner, winners juried by Soni Martin, Professor of Fine Art, Fayetteville University)
Autism After 21, Madison House Autism Foundation, Rockville, MD, April 2022
Artfields 2022, Juried exhibit and competition, Artfields, Lake City, SC, April 2022
A Tribute to Small Works, Juried exhibit, Modern Visual Arts Gallery, Bethlehem, PA, March 2022
2021
Reentry, Juried by Vicki Friedman (Executive Director of the Arts as Healing Foundation), Webster Arts Center, St. Louis, MO, September-November 2021
Master Copies/Interpretations, Juried by Jennifer Thompson (Curator for collections in the Philadelphia Museum of Art), The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Loveladies, NJ, July-August 2021
2021 Open Studios Retrospective, Virtual exhibit hosted by the Metropolitan Arts Council of South Carolina May 2021
INK, Juried exhibit, Fe Gallery, Sacramento, CA, January-February 2021
2020
Persistence II: A National Women’s Exhibition, Juried by Lori Pratico (founder of the Girl Noticed Community Mural Project), d’Art Center, Norfolk, VA, March- April 2020.
54th Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show, Juried by Katherine Liontas-Warren (Professor of Art at Cameron University). Joseph A. Cain Memorial Art Gallery, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX, February 21-May 8, 2020
2019
Squared Away, Metropolitan Arts Council Gallery, Greenville, SC, November 2019
Look Before You Leap: The Work of Kara Bender and Kevin Isgett, Upstairs Artspace, Tryon, NC, February 2019 (two person show)
37th South Carolina Juried Arts Competition, Pickens County Museum, Pickens, SC, October 2019
USC Upstate Faculty Exhibition, Harley Gallery, Spartanburg, SC, October 2019
6th Annual Living Mark Exhibition, Juried exhibit, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR , July 2019
Flat Out Under Pressure, Metropolitan Arts Center Gallery, Greenville, SC, June 2019
62nd National Juried Art Show, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC, May 3rd- August 18, 2019
7th Annual Collegiate Invitational Art Exhibition, Headquarters Library Gallery, Spartanburg, SC, March 2019
Traditions: Compounded, Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC, February-May, 2019
2018
Blackout, Juried by Daniel Foster, Ashton Gallery, San Diego, CA, October-November, 2018
Suspend, Juried by Adams State University Art Department,Cloyde Snook Gallery,Alamosa, CO, October, 2018
Flat Out Under Pressure, Metropolitan Arts Center Gallery, Greenville, SC, June 2018
Guest Lecturer, The Art and Life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Cascades, Greenville, SC, January, 2024
Faculty panel, Embracing Neurodiversity, USC Upstate, August 2023
Guest Lecturer, The Dynamics of Futurism, Cascades, Greenville, SC, July 2023.
Presenting Artist, Artist Talks hosted by ArtFields, Lake City, SC, April 29, 2022
Guest Lecturer, Lectures on Art History: Vincent van Gogh, Cascades, Greenville, SC, August, 2021
Guest Lecturer, The Art and Life of Vincent van Gogh, Cascades, Greenville, SC, January, 2020
Demonstration, Open Studios, Greenville, SC, November 2019
Art Talk for Traditions: Compounded, Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC, February, 2019
Gallery Walk and Talk, Upstairs Artspace, Tryon, NC, February, 2019
Guest Lecturer, The Art and Life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Cascades, Greenville, SC, January, 2019
Demonstration, SAM Art School Open House, Spartanburg Art Museum, September, 2018
Demonstration, SAM Art School Open House, Spartanburg Art Museum, February, 2018
Demonstration, Open Studios, Greenville, SC, 2017
Demonstration/ Activity, Design orchestrator for Community Bulb build, Spartanburg Art Museum, July 2017
Demonstrations, Open Studios, Greenville, SC, 2016
Guest, Fox Carolina News, “Art, Heart, Hope: A Matter of Time”, Greenville, SC, 2015
Demonstration/Activity, Spartanburg Art Museum open house, Spartanburg, SC, 2015
Guest Speaker, Trustee Breakfast, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, 2012
Speaker, North Carolina Social Business Conference, Greensboro, NC, 2012
“Questioning the Canvas” WCU Graduate Research Symposium, Cullowhee, NC, 2012
“As It Stands”, Woodlands Gallery, Greenville, SC, 2011
Talk, Guest artist, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, 2010
Demonstration/Talk, “Artists in Action”, Upstate Visual Arts, Greenville, SC, 2008.
Demonstration/ Talk, “Art in the Park”, Greenville, SC, 2008.
Demonstration, Fluor Field, Greenville, SC, 2008.
Public Works
Bender’s Big ‘Burg Bulb, Light up Spartanburg bulb, design for community build bulb, 6' outdoor sculpture, 2017
A Sunny Day at the Market, 50' Mural, Welcome Elementary School, Greenville, SC, donated 2013
In Memory of Henry Staton, Painting, American Legion Post 3, Greenville, SC, donated 2010
Commercial Works
Bell Tower Law, logo and marketing packet, Greenville, SC, 2020
Slo-Pony album cover, Workhorse, Produced by Kitching Studio, Guangzhou, China, 2018
Sow True Seed, Packet cover illustration, Leek and Parsnip, 2015
Bibliography
BG Independant News May 11, 2023, Written by David Dupont, “Destroy the Gap’ art exhibit at BGSU expresses the lived experiences of people with disabilities, Online at:
The Transformative Power of Art Journal, On War and Peace, peer reviewed journal, pages 93-98, Summer 2022. https://www.transformativepowerofartjournal.com/publications/volume1issue1-ywnb7
ArtFields 2022 The Exhibition, Exhibition Catalog, page 10 and page 103, 2022
Art in the Time of Corona, Included in the permanent catalog of the LACMA Balch Art Research Library, 2021
6th Annual Living Mark Exhibition, Verum Ultimum exhibit catalog, 2019, p. 3
Blackout, Ashton Gallery exhibit catalog, 2018
Swann, Samantha. “Missing Artbulb Relocated.” Herald-Journal, 25 Aug. 2018, pp. C1–C3.
The Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library online database, June 2018
Lighten Up Spartanburg Public Art Project Minibook, Spartanburg Art Museum, 2017
TALK Magazine, Featured artist, pg. 121, November 2017
FL3TCH3R: Social and Politically Engaged Art, Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University, gallery catalog, 2016
Art Advocacy Speaks, Art for Social Change, exhibition catalog, pg 14-15, 2016
Artist for Artists Project, 2014 Winners' Catalog, page 78-79 and page 84, 2014
Standard Deviations, ProQuest Publishing, 1536579, 2013
Grants and scholarships
Individual Artist Grant for the creation of Bright Colors for Bad Days, funded in part by the Metropolitan Arts Council which receives support from the City of Greenville, BMW Manufacturing Company, Michelin North America, Inc., SEW Eurodrive and the South Carolina Arts Commission, August 2022
Graduate research grant for the study of innovative lino cut and printmaking techniques, Western Carolina University, 2013
Out-of-state educational scholarship Western Carolina University, 2013
Graduate research grant for the study of "reverse painting" techniques, Western Carolina University, 2012
Out-of-state educational scholarship Western Carolina University, 2012
Graduate research grant for the study of shaped canvases and three-dimensional painting techniques, Western Carolina University, 2011
Out-of-state educational scholarship Western Carolina University, 2011
Out-of-state educational scholarship Western Carolina University, 2010
Individual artist's grant, University of North Carolina at Asheville, 2007
Organizational Involvement
Member of the AANE Artist Collaborative, 2021-Present
Greenville Technical College, Artist Advisory Board Committee, 2014, 2018
Founding member of the “Contemporary United Network of Talent”, women’s art collective, Greenville, SC, 2010-2013
Founding member of: “The Professional Artist’s Association”, Greenville, SC, 2008-2010
Education
Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, M.F.A in visual arts, 2013
Department of Fine and Performing Arts, University of North Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, B.F.A. in painting and mixed media, 2008.
Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Greenville Technical College, Greer, South Carolina, A.A. in graphic design 2004.
Teaching Awards and Recognition
Student nominated for 2024 Excellence in Teaching and Advising award, USC Upstate, (not eligible for final consideration since it was awarded to me within the past 5 years [2022]).
Excellence in Teaching and Advising award winner for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, USC Upstate, Spartanburg, SC, 2022
Received the Bill Drake Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, USC Upstate, Spartanburg, SC for the 2021-2022 school year
Named an Agoge Freshman Advocate, USC Upstate, Spartanburg SC, 2017
Teaching Experience
2016-Present, University of South Carolina, Upstate campus, Spartanburg, SC, Instructor of 20th Century Art History, Two-Dimensional Design, Color and Composition, Drawing, Drawing II, Illustration, Art Appreciation, Art History from Pre-History to the Renaissance, and Art History from the Renaissance to the Present.
2013- Present, Greenville Technical College, Greenville, SC. Instructor for Two-Dimensional Design, Art Appreciation
2014- Present, Spartanburg Arts Museum, Spartanburg, SC. Drawing and Advanced Drawing Instructor for children, teen and adult classes
2013- Present, Cascades Retirement Home, Greenville, SC. Painting instructor, Independent contractor, bi-monthly art history and activity presenter
2011-2013- Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC. Teacher-of-record, Drawing
2010-2012- Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC. Teacher-of-record, Two-Dimensional Design