ARIODANTE

       Bio—Kim Howes Zabbia

 

Kim Howes Zabbia, a lifelong resident of Ponchatoula, LA, is an author, artist and teacher.  With a B.A. in English and Journalism from SLU and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from LSU, Kim retired in 2007 from Ponchatoula High School with thirty-three years of teaching experience. 

 

An artist in her own right, Kim has spent much of her artistic career developing her “No Fear” philosophy. By opening her mind to allow the subject matter to evolve from within, Kim has created unique works of art and has had 23 solo exhibitions since 1990. Currently represented by Ariodante Gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans and The Loft Gallery in Marietta, GA, Kim had a 24-year Retrospective exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of Art, Oct. 17-Nov. 29, 2014.

 

Author of Painted Diaries: a Mother and Daughter’s Experience through Alzheimer’s (Fairview Press, 1996), Kim delivered forty lectures around the country, including the Byron D. Griffith Memorial Lecture at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and served on the Louisiana Governor’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease.

 

Named the 2006 Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year for the state of Louisiana, Kim’s vision of lifelong learning in the arts came to fruition when she opened The Art Station, an art school for adults, in downtown Ponchatoula in 2007.  Since its opening, The Art Station has taken in over 4,000 registrations for classes and received the Innovator of the Year Award from N.O. City Business magazine.

 

Chair of Ponchatoula’s Public Arts Commission for six years and a member of the Louisiana State Arts Council for two, Kim received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northshore Regional Endowment for the Arts in 2007 and an Art Education Endowment was begun in her name. In 2011, Kim was named Outstanding Retired Art Teacher in the state by the Louisiana Assoc. of Art Educators, completed four years on the Board of Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and is now the Chair of Louisiana’s first painted Quilt Trail that spans the five Northshore parishes.

 

Kim is married to Bob Zabbia, Ponchatoula’s mayor, and they have one daughter and son-in-law, Kate and JD Stuart, and three grands, Maggie, Alice-Anne and Sam.

 

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ARTIST STATEMENT – Kim Howes Zabbia

 

“When I work, the paint and I are in constant dialogue. I have my ideas; the paint has her own. Without this silent discourse, the concept cannot be resolved, so the painting waits to be completed at a later date whenever I decide to surrender. It takes strength on my part to let the paint win, not to judge or second-guess it, because I know that the paint will reveal my lifelong struggle between freedom and control and the depths of my subconscious which I would prefer to hide.”                                                                                                             

 

Kim Howes Zabbia

www.kimhoweszabbia.com       FB/Inst: kim howes zabbia artist

985-974-2079           211 North 7th Street             Ponchatoula, LA 70454