This is the eighth year for the Open Walls Staff and Faculty Art Exhibit show, created as part of the Great Places to Work initiative. Thirty-three artists are participating, which is above average compared to recent years. Last year, there were 31 artists and in 2016, there were 30 participants.

Here is a cross section of what you can expect from this year’s show:

Patrick Glisson, from Environmental Health and Safety, is once again showing his knot ties. Glisson has participated in Open Walls every year since its beginning, calling his craft “therapy.” As a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, he is tasked with promoting his trade and his participation is one way to do so. Glisson will also host the North American Knot Tyers Convention downtown in October.

He got involved in the trade as a “survival technique,” he jokes – when he tasked with teaching his son’s Boy Scout troop how to tie knots. His son is now a senior in the Speed School of Engineering and has adopted his own preferred trade as a blade smith. Glisson’s younger son gravitated to origami, his daughter picked up sewing and needlework, and his wife is a prolific tailor.

This year, Glisson took a different approach with his artwork, tying knots around carabiners brought together by a single golden feather. The feather, he says, was inspired by the .��

Judy Hughes, from the Office of Communications and Marketing, jumped into basketry after witnessing a demonstration at a Bardstown Road Aglow event. Intrigued, she signed up for classes and fell in love – with the people, the teachers, the variety of materials. She has since completed hundreds of baskets.

“It’s nice to complete things and to have something to show for your work,” she said.

Andrew Marsh, assistant director of the Conn Center, is displaying a sculpture made of steel and found objects. The piece, titled “Apocalyptic Poppy,” was the first of his works to explore the “emergence from trauma,” he said.

“Over the last three decades of making, I have continued to utilize repurposed and discarded materials to render beauty from agony, and create the art of a survivor,” he said.��

Ann Windchy, associate professor of oral health and rehabilitation, has two paintings in the show – one of which is of The Thinker wearing a bright red tie.

“He belongs behind the desk of a UofL graduate,” she said.

Katy O’Toole, a development associate, has two large paintings, including one titled “Like A Fish Needs A Bicycle And A Hot Air Balloon,” inspired by Irina Dunn’s famous catch phrase popularized by Gloria Steinem.

“Watching Steinem speak at the Women’s March on Washington was one of the many moments of clarity in these past two years and I hope this whimsical tribute resonates with other feminists in turn,” O’Toole said.

CEHD professor Kate Snyder’s tiny cross-stich pieces offer a way to relax from faculty life, she says.

“I found that it was even more fun when I created the designs myself,” she said. “The nicest thing about tiny cross-stitch projects is that they wrap up a lot more quickly than long projects.”

Software developer Mark Strickland’s “Angels of Frankfort” photography piece uses a technique that incorporates a digital light stick.

“The subjects are photographed at night in downtown Frankfort using a digital camera and a flash. The lens of the camera is set at a high F-stop to not let in very much light and taken with a 10-second exposure. The flash illuminates the subject then the photographer steps behind the subject and activites the light stick while moving across the frame behind the subject,” Strickland explains. “Because of the very high F-stop lens setting, the image of the photographer is not captures but the digital image displayed by the light stick becomes the translucent wings.”

Maria Tinnell, a graphic designer in the Office of Communications and Marketing, submitted three coiled linen baskets inspired by spring flowers.

Mary Boyd, from Advancement, has knitted hats out of yak down and nylon, as well as baby alpaca.

Bethany Poston is showing a painting that she learned how to create by watching YouTube. “I just thought I’d try it,” she said.

Ruby Backert’s pinkerton quilt includes a number of hidden symbols, such as a yellow butterfly and a red bird. Hiding these objects was fun, she said.

This is just a small glimpse of the artwork that will be on display beginning June 11 through June 28. The show takes place in the Photographic Archives Gallery, Archives & Special Collections, in the East Wing, Lower Level of Ekstrom Library. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

An artists’ reception will be held June 19 from noon to 2 p.m.

Were you aware that the employee from physical plant who fixed your heater last week can also create glass pieces? And that the communications specialist you just met with can also weave a basket out of reed and seagrass?

Did you know your dean has quite the eye for photography?

While most of us are focused on making UofL great by day, some employees also have artistic talents they hone outside of the office. As part of the 6^th annual Open Walls art exhibit, 30 faculty and staff from across campus will display their talents. The show starts June 13 with an opening reception from noon-2 p.m. in Ekstrom Library’s Photographic Archives Gallery.

Open Walls started as an initiative of the Great Places to Work Committee as an opportunity for employees to show their creative side. Participation has grown steadily each year and this year will feature one more artist than last year.

The artists are from all corners of the university including, for the first time this year, a dean. College of Arts & Sciences Dean Kimberly Kempf-Leonard’s photograph captures her perspective during a hike at her family summer vacation home in Wyoming.

“I spend a lot of time hiking in the mountains with my camera around my neck. The photograph I have on display is from a special family birthday celebration in Yellowstone. I took the photo on a very early morning hike of this tree I thought looked particularly majestic with the steamy clouds from a geyser floating behind it,” she said.

Dean Kempf-Leonard has been taking photographs for fun for a long time. She loves shooting nature and family, mostly when she’s in Wyoming at her home in the Big Horn mountains, near Sheridan.

Chuck Sites is another artist featured in the show. The Systems Analyst from the Speed IT Group has two pieces on display, including an oil painting on canvas titled, “Inspired by Spring.” The title, he said, was motivated by the question, “What is art?”

“Art has such a broad meaning, but when we say ‘the art of X,’ the X has inspired creativity at its core regardless of what X is. For example, ‘the art of war;’ does war have beauty? ‘The art of cooking;’ cooking has something, but does it inspire? When you ponder all the possibilities, the best answer is art is a toy for the mind,” Sites said.

Holly Hogue, an administrative specialist in the College of A&S Research Office, has participated in Open Walls for the past three years. This year, she has submitted two pieces, including a canvas rug.

“The canvas rug I made while I was visiting my mom in Key West. She is an artist and gives my husband lessons whenever we visit. The rug sounded like fun so I took the lesson too. Count me in if it sounds like fun,” Hogue said. “The rug started out as a large Zentangle until I got carried away with the flowers. It is colorful and bright, which is totally me.”

Cheryl Monroe, with IT, is displaying two mermaid dolls which have won her awards at the Kentucky State Fair.

“I’ve been making dolls since I was little. My dad always said I had it in me. I used to cut up his socks to make them,” she said. “Normally I make people, but I did mermaids this year because my granddaughter loves them.”

Lana Metzler submitted a photo of Disney World’s Main Street for the show. The piece is especially personal for the HSC Shared Services employee.

“In January at age 42, I ran my first full marathon at Disney World. I never thought I could do it. We stayed for the fireworks in the evening and I captured some ‘magic’ on Main Street. I look back at this photo and remind myself that I am a marathoner and that magic truly does happen here,” she said.

Patrick Glisson, from Environmental Health and Safety, will display a collection of spheres created via knot-tying, a talent he developed out of necessity — he was tasked with teaching his son’s Cub Scout Troop how to tie knots. He’s been doing so ever since (his son is now an Eagle Scout and in his first year at Speed School).

“I like to say I got into tying knots out of self-defense. I’ve been actively doing it now for 11 years,” he said. “I now tie knots to keep me sane.”

William Burton, from the HVAC Shop in Physical Plant, brought his day job to life in a drawing he submitted titled “Firemain.”

“I am a pipefitter by trade and I love seeing art involving pipes, fittings and such,” he said. “I thought I would do one of my own.”

This is just a sampling of art that will be on display starting June 13 in the Ekstrom Library’s Photographic Archives Gallery, East Wing, Lower Level. The artwork will be on display from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.��through June 30.