Jenny Zeller

Jenny Zeller was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. Shortly upon graduating with a BA in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky, she moved to Key West where she grew both as an artist and as an individual. In addition to founding Off The Beaten Path Productions, which produced artistic events showcasing local artists in alternative spaces, she served as director of Archeo Gallery and the Haitian Art Company. In 2001, she was granted the Monroe County recipient of the prestigious South Florida Cultural Consortium Award for her documented images of Haiti, developed in the style of 19th century photographs. In 2006 was granted an artist residency at the Nantucket Island School of Art & Design by the Rodel Foundation. She has also been awarded Anne McKee Grants in 2000, 2005 and 2009. After 16 years of island living, she has returned to her hometown of Louisville in search of a life more affordable and less “career focused”, with time to fully pursue her creative interests. Rejuvenation is the word to best describe her reintroduction into an environment that is both familiar but fresh.

"The distillery tour at Makers Mark begins in the visitor’s center, a pre–Civil War distiller’s home that houses pieces from the Samuels’ collection of early-1800s furniture and other historical and craft items. I personally found kitchen of the visitor’s center to be the most visually stimulating room on the distillery grounds and knew almost immediately that I would begin my process with that mid century modern space. Early in the tour, one learns that Marge Samuels was responsible for the creative end of Makers Mark; by fashioning the logo still in use today as well as insisting the bottles should be dipped in red wax. Because I am currently combining encaustic wax with my photographic images, it was the obvious choice to enhance my piece with the red wax that is so synonymous with Makers Mark."

Wayne Stacy

Mr. Stacy is a former U.S. Military man, Licensed Master Electrician, and electrical contractor. He calls himself the "consummate vagabond", as the third generation child of a family dedicated to military service, he has traveled the world as a military dependent and in his own service to his country. In total he is one of Eight generations of his family to serve his country, all the way back to the Civil War, including his mother. While born in California, he was raised primarily between Kentucky, Texas, and abroad in Europe and Asia. He calls Frankfort, Kentucky his home, where he lives with his wife (also a military veteran), their five dogs, and two cats. He has two sons, a grandson, and two granddaughters. Both of his sons are following in the family heritage of military service, and are on active duty in the U.S. Military.

Mr. Stacy has always been an artisan. He has been a sketch artist, and painter since before he could walk. In 2002 Mr. Stacy was injured during and accident on a job; while enduring four surgeries on his hand, he could not draw or paint for nearly three years. Mr. Stacy was given his first serious camera on his birthday during that time by his wife, as a “therapeutic tool”. One of his first images was entered into the 2007 Kentucky State Parks, Summer photo essay contest and won, that next year the image was included in a coffee table book. He was invited to be a participating artist in the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games Art Festival, a 2010 US National Park Service Photo Study that included nine national parks across the United States, he was an applicant artist for the 2011 Al Smith Fellowship and Emerging Artist Award presented by the Kentucky Arts Council. A "Monster was unleashed" in Mr. Stacy, as his wife puts it, and he has never looked back. Little did she know she would be the catalyst for such an insatiable passion.

"The photograph is taken from the center of “Whiskey Creek” which runs through the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, KY. The frame is made from actual Oak Staves used in making Maker’s Mark Bourbon. The Mat is designed from the actual linen paper used to create the labels for Maker’s Mark Bourbon. I wanted to make the work as completely representative of Maker’s Mark as possible and use as many of the actual elements from Maker’s Mark that go into the bourbon as I could."

McKinley Moore

McKinley Moore left the hills of Eastern Kentucky for the metropolis of Danville, KY in 1999. It was there, during his time at Centre College, that Moore discovered glass. After spending several years under the tutelage of internationally renowned glass artist, Stephen Powell and receiving a BA in 2003, Moore has been employed as a resident artist and instructor in various studios throughout New Orleans, Chicago, and Kentucky. His fine art is known to incorporate found objects and non-traditional media; and is usually focused on non-traditional glass themes of environmentalism, politics, and religion. Nevertheless, his functional work demonstrates a keen understanding of the mechanics of glassblowing, and a balanced eye, offering a distinctive handmade quality to everyday objects. McKinley Moore is currently a resident artist and instructor at Louisville's Glassworks. His work has been exhibited in numerous regional museums and galleries, including the The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, The Lexington Art League, Louisville Visual Art Association and the Green Building Gallery. In addition to glass art, McKinley Moore is known for pursuing multiple creative endeavors, playing in Louisville band Natives, managing multiple bands and promoting concerts. (And being a Makers Mark ambassador.)

"I assumed the work in this show would be about all of the different ways that Maker's Mark is great. I wanted to do something different, so this piece is about the heart wrenching pain that it can bring to your life. It is about the sadness that comes with every bottle...

... at the end when it is empty."

Liz Zeller

Liz has been creating art since she was a small child, & has spent over 17 years developing as an artist. She studied both sculpture & painting at Bellarmine University, which has led to her constructing two-dimensional work with sculptural overturns. Her art is created and inspired from objects people would normally disregard or throw away, making the ordinary extraordinary.

“I wanted to create a mixed media piece that not only incorporates the atmosphere in which Maker’s Mark is typically consumed, but also literally uses the materials of Maker’s Mark to create the art. Items that I incorporated into my piece include labels, wax & barrel staves.”

Jae Grady

35 year-old artist and musician Jae Grady was born in Chicago and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His style is a hybrid of urban, street art influence and Kentucky folk art. An admitted fan of absurdity, Grady enjoys exploring human relationships through stylized images of nature and cartoon-like animals. Grady currently resides in the Germantown neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky.


“My piece is called 'On Star Hill' and was conceived from my curiosity about the origin of the star in the famous Maker's Mark seal. After researching I found that the star stood for Star Hill, where Maker's Mark Distillery sits. I then thought of how beautiful that area of Kentucky is during the fall, and wanted to capture the colors and the motion of the wonderful foliage we have. The oil pen drawing is done on layered glass and plexi-glass to add depth and presence, while the incorporation of the bourbon barrel stopper features the star icon (and a slight hint of bourbon barrel scent). My hope is that the viewer gets a feel for the colors and smells of an autumn visit to the Maker's Mark Distillery.”

Joen Pallesen

Joen Pallesen (b. 1979) grew up in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1999 he finished his education of screen-printing at København Tekniske Skole. He has practiced and created graffiti art since 1994 and in 1997 created an assemblage of other graffiti artist under the name Open Your Mind, or better known as OYM. He has been a contributing member of the artist collective, Copenhagen Cruise since it’s beginning in 2002. He has exhibited his work at Øksnehallen in 2003, Støberiet from 2005-2007 for their monthly event, Rytmisk Legestue with fellow artist Mikel Kvisgaard. Over the course of the past decade he has been commissioned to paint several murals and facilitate art events for the city of Copenhagen. In May of 2011 he has recently moved to Louisville with his family and has had the opportunity to create artwork for events held by the Louisville Visual Art Association, Salvo Collective and Center for Neighborhoods.

Amy Lemaire

Amy Lemaire is an artist and educator based in Louisville, KY. She received a BFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000, and an MFA from Pratt Institute in 2011, also with a focus on painting. In addition to her paintings and performative artworks, Amy has been working with glass since 1997, and specializes in flameworking, with an emphasis on soft glass sculpture, beadmaking, and botanical replication. She exhibits her work nationally. Additional information can be found at www.amylemaire.com.

Lemaire’s recent series of works contemplate wearable sculptures as political art. Historically, necklaces, headdresses, bracelets and other jewelry pieces have been worn to communicate status and rank, and to make a visual statement to others particularly regarding political and social affiliations. Displayed on the body, touching the flesh, a piece of jewelry is also intensely personal, reflecting the wearers individual style . It is through this duality of public/personal that a connection is made to political art.

BH Choker, by Amy Lemaire, was constructed from oak plugs which are used to seal bourbon barrels during the aging process. Once the bourbon is extracted from the barrel, the plugs are discarded. By salvaging, carving and refining these oak pieces, and combining the reworked pieces with flameworked glass, the plugs are transformed into a wearable, sculpted necklace which carry the history of the materials through the gravity of the wood and glass.