VIP Profile: Elizabeth Rhodes
Story by Emily Robertson
While local artist Elizabeth Rhodes was growing up, she always remembered her mother encouraging her in art and her creativity. Coming from a family of creative people, Rhodes says her family believed no mess was too big, as long as she was being creative with it. That creative spirit never left Rhodes, and now she has made a profession out of her creativity, both selling her artwork and teaching others how to find their creative spark in their own lives. Along the way, she found a few creative surprises of her own.
Originally from Greensburg, Kentucky, Rhodes moved to Bowling Green and graduated from Bowling Green High School. She studied studio art at WKU and met her husband, Shawn, while at school. She went on to be a working artist while the couple raised their two sons—painting canvases and murals to supplement the family’s income—all while Shawn helped build boards for the artwork and did the bookkeeping for her business, while working full-time in healthcare.
Rhodes now specializes in watercolor and glass and resin artwork. She originally found glass and resin 10 years ago and became enamored with the medium.
“Once I found glass and resin artwork, I became obsessed with it,” Rhodes says. “As an art major, I’ve done all kinds of art, but I fell in love with the sparkly, crunchy glass texture and the dimension I can achieve with it. You can take something that is meant for one purpose, and then break it up, repurpose it, and create something completely new from something that was going to be discarded.”
Inevitably, with beautiful, vibrant artwork, Rhodes’ following grew, and so did her business. Along with her artwork, she offered local classes on how to make art for five years. Then, in 2019, she had a thought that she wanted to make her business more sustainable.
“I was traveling and doing classes, and I decided I would start offering my classes online,” Rhodes says. “The timing couldn’t have been more perfect with 2020 around the corner. It allowed people to have what I call a ‘Netflix for artists,’ where they can join me live to see me create a piece of art or they can watch it at their convenience—or multiple times—and they can utilize it however they want. They can make their own, they can sell it, or they can teach their own classes.”
Rhodes says she has a thriving membership group of 200 individuals from all over the world, and she offers subscriptions for both watercolor and glass and resin art. She does in-person retreats for members at different locations around the country and is currently in the planning stages for her next retreat.
“I feel like a lot of my members have taken the opportunity to really come into their own with their creativity,” Rhodes says. “This has given my members something to do that’s new and creative, and they can even sell their creations. Many of them have put themselves on the back burner, and now they are taking time for themselves. They say that this is the best thing they’ve ever done for themselves.”
Another way that Rhodes expresses her creativity is through gingerbread house decorating. It had always been a hobby that first started with her mother when she was young. As an adult, she would decorate a house once a year. That is, until Food Network came calling in 2022.
“I posted my gingerbread houses online, and The Food Network saw an old post I had made,” Rhodes says. “It just goes to show, if you have a small business, you need to post. I think people are afraid to put themselves out there, but you never know what can happen.”
Rhodes went on to be selected for the Holiday Baking Championship: Gingerbread Showdown, where she—assisted by local cookie artist Jenn Mackin—competed on the show and won the grand prize after creating a small-town Kentucky Christmas parade scene out of gingerbread.
“It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” Rhodes says. “When we got there, we found out that other teams were pastry chefs or made gingerbread professionally. Knowing that, we thought there was no chance for us to win, so we decided to just have fun. I think that might have been what made ours stand out. It truly validated my creativity and my ability to think on my feet.”
As Rhodes looks toward the future, she is excited for both her professional life and her family life. The Rhodes’ two sons, Peyton and Parker, are in school and studying for their future professions, and she loves being able to travel and see them with Shawn. She is also excited to continue to grow her membership, which is currently open and accepting new members.
“I love inspiring people,” Rhodes says. “The people in my group are so excited to make art. They are excited to show friends and neighbors what they’ve created. I’m not a teacher by trade, but it is amazing to see how excited they are when they learn something and accomplish something new.”
