I’m an Artist Blog with Michele Dowdell.
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I’m an Artist with Kayla Acker-Carter
Kayla Acker-Carter has been dancing for as long as she can remember. From her first ballet class at age five to performing with the School of Washington Ballet as an adult, dance has been a constant thread in her life. Her journey includes magnet and PVA dance programs at Bates Middle School, four years with her high school dance company, and a minor in dance during college. Along the way, she performed with studios in Maryland and Colorado, where she also established herself in a local company. Most recently, she took the stage with The Washington Ballet’s adult program in June 2025.
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Christy Brooks is a theater educator, director, and visual artist with a career that spans more than 15 years. Her work bridges stage and studio, blending performance, design, and visual storytelling into experiences that bring communities together.
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Through large scale drawings and collages, I explore how trees and humans are connected to their environments through deep-rooted networks of care. I am fascinated by trees due to their tendency to live in communities and their ability to support one another through their root systems. As humans, we live similarly entangled lives, marked by our own unique histories of survival, connection, and care.
In this exhibition, I investigate how our relationships with others - both in loss and love - shape who we are and who we become. Though often subtle, many of these works are autobiographical, with trees acting as symbolic figures for myself, my family, and other individuals. The tree carvings, blossoming flowers, and fresh foliage represent a season of growth in my life. I invite you to view the interdependency of the trees as a model for how we can better support one another through cycles of challenge and change.
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Today we are exploring a creative connection between artists Camila Leão and Catherine Rupan Mapp. Camila is originally from São Paulo, Brazil while Catherine is originally from Miami Florida. Their paths first crossed at CAC’s Voices of Hispanic/Latinx Artists gallery reception in 2023, where their friendship and creative relationship began. Their paths would immediately cross once again during the Meet and Greet for BRUSH Mural Fest, where they were able to connect and talk about their practice, background, and journey. The two have been collaborating and supporting each other ever since then. Read more about their creative connection in this interview.
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National Hispanic Heritage Month acknowledges the contributions made by Hispanic and Latin American communities and honors their significance to society and their social, political, and cultural histories. It also recognizes their influence on the evolution of American legacy. The Voices of Hispanic and Latin American Artists Exhibition will feature artists who represent a diverse range of identities, experiences, histories, and backgrounds through the power of their creations.
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Lea Kouzios, a former stay-at-home mom turned business owner and veteran, hails from the Midwest, specifically Wisconsin. After joining the army in 2018 as an intelligence analyst, she was stationed in Georgia, where she met her husband. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she began crocheting in her spare time and gradually transformed it into a business as she transitioned out of the army and into stay-at-home mom life. Building a social media following of approximately 80,000 across various platforms boosted her confidence and paved the way for her venture into teaching.
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Featured artists include: Brit Alex, Nicole Alfon, Hannah Atallah, Ann Baun, Jovan Bethel, Sandra Blevins, Sara Caporaletti, Andrea Downs, Coriander Focus, Lillian Jacobson, Hailey Jordan, Barabara Dahlberg, Kathy Daywalt, Nina DeAngelo, Shanti Dixon Gramby, Kelly Hall, Diamond Jones, Elissa Jones, Jeniffer Lancaster, Sarah Laraine, Brianne Lesane, Charlotte Kuethe, Cindy Mehr, Karen Middleton, Diane Osburn, Linda Popp, Sara Prigodich, Gail Robertson, Beth Schwartz, Atalante Shay, Serenity Smith, Macy Toalepai, and Chenell Turner.
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An interdisciplinary visual artist duo spanning two generations (combined experience of over 40 years), are celebrated for their beautiful large-scale wall sculptural compositions created using thousands of ultrathin, shapeless strands of natural wool fibers, freestanding sculptures, wearable art and mixed media works that incorporate natural flowers and plants. Their studio is based in Maryland.
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Hailey Jordan is a biracial, queer, scientist-turned-designer, raised by travelers, who thrives in the in-between. Her work illustrates the vibrancy of Black, Queer adventure on the frontiers of liberation– her subjects often in the midst of dance, exploration, bliss, abundance. To design and live with joy is Hailey’s way of honoring her ancestors and carving space for the Black, Queer imagination in generations to come.
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Brandon Slewion is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and entrepreneur working between Toledo, Ohio and Washington D.C. Raised in the nation capital his relationship with politics, business, tourism, and inner city sports during his youth significantly affected his perspective of identity, competitive culture, and personal branding. Expanding the idea of public works and alternative education, he is redesigning the role of an artist as a role model
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We do nothing without intention.
Through vibrant hues, Black ritual, and spiritual imagery, we utilize storytelling and collage to conflate the ideas of reconstruction and resilience within the Black experience. Our work serves as testaments to healing by example, honoring the Black mother, spirit, and childlike wonder in the stories told in our scrolls and creations. There is a sense of joy and wonderment felt when viewers experience our work, our attraction to textures, shiny materials, and patterns enhances the story and interpersonal experience we share as twins and with our communities. Materials are broken down and rebuilt to reinforce the journey toward completion, emphasizing the colorful, multidimensional layers of the inner and outer worlds we inhabit as Black indigenous creators. We actively channel collective consciousness within our practice, traveling various dimensions and connecting 2D, 3D, and 4D elements to birth a new understanding of experience, one that is affirming, uplifting, and powerful. What we create isn't just work, nor is it art. It is the manifestation of hope and faith.
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I’m Lauren J. Turner, and I’m thrilled to have you join me on an artistic journey that’s all about sparking conversations around parenting and reshaping how we perceive it. Parenthood is truly magical, and my art celebrates those extraordinary moments while shedding light on the often-overlooked aspects of the Black parenting experience that the media tends to miss.
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Adewale Alli is a self-taught Nigerian visual artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. His work is a profound exploration of materiality intertwined with the eloquent language of color. Each piece he crafts is a chapter in his ongoing odyssey into the vast spectrum of being, capturing not only the splendor and intensity of existence but also delving into the enigmatic truths that elude our comprehension.
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Jeffrey S. Felten-Green (b. 1965, Connecticut, US)
Many of my ideas are satirical, playful, and at times, serious. My art is also about storytelling, and I often flip the standard narrative or story and highlight them in a more interesting way. My collections of African-inspired paintings, icons, political paintings, folk pieces, and parodies reflect my many and varied influences, muses, and things that are important to me.
Like when raising children, I see my role in creating art as one where I nurture and tend to the pieces and always give them my best. Then, I release them to the world to bring and share joy.
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James Whipple, also known as Jimi, has been married to Zettie Whipple for six years and resides in Brooklyn Park, Maryland. He shares his home with a cat named Edgar. While his full-time job may be uneventful, his personal interests are quite the opposite. Jimi has a passion for crafting and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, including sewing, painting, and recently, screen printing. He's been immersed in punk music and fashion for about 25 years and is a seasoned musician, playing bass (upright and electric) for 22 years. He also runs a small business called Punkrawkstuff.
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Benjamin Dysart is originally from Oxford, Ohio, a college town near Cincinnati. Benjamin earned a BFA in Studio Art from Miami University and an MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at MICA. Dysart’s professional work involves creating installations that utilize handmade objects to obscure and abstract projected video. “I am deeply interested in the power objects hold and their push and pull on the world around them,” says Dysart. Woodworking, particularly crafting cutting boards, boxes, and bowls, is a significant part of their creative practice, along with lathework, mainly focusing on bowls and lidded boxes.
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Tony Spencer is a Recording Artist, Poet, Model, Composer, and Storyteller. He is the founder of Enrapture Records and Enrapture Ministries, and has a B.A. and Masters degree from Sojourner/Douglass College. He was one of four Annapolitans to carry the Olympic Torch across Maryland during the 1996 International games. Tony and his family have been a fixture in the area for a long time, and have long been involved with goings on at Chesapeake Arts Center. Join us this November and December for an incredibly special solo exhibition of Tony’s work, both visual and narrative
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Congratulations to Executive Director Donna Anderson and VP/Artistic Director Nicole Caracia for winning “Annie
Awards” from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County at a ceremony at Maryland Hall on October 12, 2023.
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Stephanie Alphee is the driving force behind Alphee Arts. She's an educator, creator, and entrepreneur, harnessing her love for crafting and technology to inspire and assist fellow makers. With nearly a decade of experience, Stephanie has dedicated herself to introducing young minds to the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) through interactive experiences. Today, she leverages her extensive background in teaching and community involvement to empower a diverse range of makers, whether they're kids, do-it-yourself enthusiasts, or budding entrepreneurs, by involving them in the exciting manufacturing journey.
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