Meet Our 50th Anniversary Lake Wales Arts Festival Judges.
Hadi Abbas, MFA
Since 1990, Abbas has been a professor within the University of Central Florida Art Department. He specializes in Ceramics and Sculpture. Professor Abbas teaches beginning and advanced ceramics. Prior to working at UCF, he taught at Wichita State University and worked as a production manager for Fredrick Pottery, in Louisville, Kentucky. He worked as a ceramic consultant to an art studio in Louisville, Kentucky, and has also conducted workshops and lectures in his field.
Abbas is well known for his extensive knowledge of glaze technology. He is an inventor of several prototype pieces of equipment related to his area of specialization. He was the recipient of Delano Magtgard Jr.’s Grant in Wichita, Kansas, and has exhibited his work on an national level.
Kelly Sturhahn, MFA
Kelly Sturhahn is an artist and professor currently residing in Florida. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Hunter College in New York City, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. An internationally recognized artist, Sturhahn's installations, drawings, and paintings have been widely featured in solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries. Highlights include recent solo exhibitions in Florida at Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, and in Miami at 6th Street Container (Miami’s “Best Alternative Art Gallery” according to Miami New Times), as well as solo projects in New York at Ann Street Gallery, Times Square Gallery, and Skylight Gallery. Her work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions at Cheryl Hazan Contemporary (NY), Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art (NY), Polk Museum of Art (FL), Boca Museum of Art (FL), The Space/Fardom Gallery (NY), Hudson Guild (NY), Garbageman Astronaut Space (OR), Skylight Gallery (NY), Artists Space (NY), and Jack the Pelican Presents (NY), among others; and has been represented at art fairs including Scope, and Grendel Miami, during Art Basel. Her artwork may be found in private and public collections internationally. Recently, Sturhahn was pleased to receive an Artist Honorarium from the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art (NY) for her sitespecific installation, Along the Hudson. Her work has been highlighted in various publications including Exploring Studio Materials: Teaching Creative Art Making to Children, published by Oxford University Press. Sturhahn was also a Visiting Artist and Lecturer at The Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, and an Artist-in-Residence and grant recipient at The Vermont Studio Center (VT), and at Salem Art Works (NY). Sturhahn is currently Director of Foundations and Associate Professor of Art at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
Sherry Ross, Student Art Show
Sherry Ross is an award-winning artist, working in a variety of media including watercolor, drawing, fibers, and photography. She is a veteran Art teacher. She resides in Bartow, with her husband, son, dog, cats, and a small herd of chickens.
Ms. Ross writes about her own work, "My favorite themes include translucence, reflection, and deliberate obfuscation of objects, the juxtaposition of anachronistic items, or the creation of ironic or absurd images. Ultimately, my work tends to be mixed media as I weave in and out of a variety of media and techniques.”