Art News

For PCAL alumni Ebony Marshman (’13), creativity isn’t just a skill, it’s a way of seeing the world. Now based in Washington, D.C., Marshman has built a life at the intersection of art and education. She is a Montessori educator, an artist, and the co-founder of a public, micro-Montessori school, where she works each day to nourish the imaginations of young learners. In addition to her classroom work, she is a painter who creates from her home studio, exploring themes of liberation, growth, and the human spirit.
“I am an artist and educator who believes imaginations must be nourished,” Marshman said. “What I love about being both an artist and a teacher is that creativity can be as liberating as you want it to be. What a freeing thing.”

Her journey toward that philosophy began at WKU, where she discovered the depth and direction of her artistic voice. “As an artist, and as a student artist, I learned to see what has not yet come to be,” she shared. “To quote Octavia Butler, I know I have the power to shape change. Whether that change is on a page or canvas, or within the communities I inhabit, that power is within me.”

While Marshman began her WKU experience majoring in Art Education, she quickly realized that the medium of painting spoke to her on a deeper level. It was during a studio course with Professor Yvonne Petkus that everything clicked.

“The most influential teacher I have ever had is Professor Yvonne Petkus,” she said. “When I enrolled in her painting course at 19, everything about painting just felt right. More than a dormant love of paint, I credit my true connection to the medium and practice to having had such an incredible teacher. What I learned in Yvonne’s courses, beyond technical skill, was how to look and see the world around me.”

That class would become a turning point. Marshman changed her major, intentionally pursuing a BFA in Visual Studies with a concentration in Studio Art and focus on Painting. What began as an exploratory decision became a life-changing commitment to both artistic and personal growth.

When she looks back on her time in PCAL, Marshman recalls how the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center became more than just a place of study; it became home. “When I was an undergrad at WKU, I lived in FAC,” she laughed. “My actual dorm was much further down the hill, but the studio became my true home.”

Reminiscing on the countless late nights on campus surrounded by paint, conversation, and community, Marshman was reminded of how the visiting artist talks and exhibitions hosted by the Department of Art & Design inspired her as a student and an artist. These galleries and talks even gave her the opportunity to meet one of her favorite painters.

“I loved the visiting artist talks and exhibitions hosted in the space. As a student, I was fascinated by artists who explored self-portraiture such as Frida Kahlo, Van Gogh, and Lucien Freud,” said Marshman. “But I also loved a contemporary Canadian painter, Heather Horton. One day, I reached out to her, maybe on Twitter, and asked her to come to WKU for a show and artist talk. I asked, and she actually came. Seeing her work in person and learning from her was incredible.”
For Marshman, those moments of connection between artists, educators, and learners define what makes PCAL special. When asked to give advice to current students, she didn’t hesitate: “Be disciplined and commit to practice. A commitment to practice is a commitment to yourself, your work, and your growth. It’s an investment, be your own investor.”

She continued, “As I tell my early childhood students, school is a place of practice. School is a place to practice your learning. As a student at PCAL, you will be exposed to many tools and opportunities to learn and refine your learning. Take advantage of this. Sharpen your tools. Learn from the artists around you and across departments. Do not rest in technical skill, elevate your craft and commitment to it through rigorous practice.”

From the studios of FAC to her Montessori classroom in D.C., Ebony Marshman carries forward the priceless lessons of PCAL: creativity, curiosity, and the courage to shape change.