EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts, The Columbus College of Art & Design, (Columbus, OH) 1989-92 & 1993-94
Major in Illustration / Minor Ad Design - Honors: Cum Laude, President’s List
Transient Student, Bowling Green State University, (Bowling Green, OH) 1992-93
Art Institute of Pittsburgh summer program, (Pittsburgh, PA) 1988
EXHIBITIONS/AWARDS
'24 Bryn Du Mansion, "Bryn Du Art Show" (Granville, OH)
'24 Bowling Green Arts Council, "Better Than Ever" (Bowling Green, OH)
'24 Artists Magazine, "40th Annual Art Competition", (Cincinnati, OH) • Second Place
'23 Bowling Green Arts Council, "2023 Community Art Show" (Bowling Green, OH)
'23 Swope Art Museum, "79th Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition" (Terre Haute, IN) • Award of Honor and Sarah Decker Ning Award of Honor
'23 Rhode Island Watercolor Society, "Follow the Light" (Pawtucket, RI)
'23 Artreprenuer.com, "Beautiful Botanical Art" (NYC, NY) • Winner
'23 German Village Society, "Fall Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH)
'23 Maumee Valley Country Day School Wolfe Gallery, "Escape in the Midwest" (Toledo, Ohio) • Solo
'23 The Arts Commission, "Momentum" (Toledo OH)
'23 Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum, "Salon des Refusés" (Hamilton, OH)
'23 Allied Artists of America, "110th Annual Online Exhibition" (NY,NY)
'23 AuSable Artisan Village, "2023 Great Northern Art Explosion" (Grayling, MI) • People's Choice
'23 Kentucky Watercolor Society, "Aqueous 2023" (Henderson, KY)
'23 Toledo Artists' Club, "Portraits, People & Pets Show" (Toledo, OH)
'23 Woodstock Art Gallery "Visual Elements 65: Annual Juried Exhibition" (Ontario, CA & Sylvania, OH)
'23 Ohio Watercolor Society, "Watercolor Ohio 2023 - 46th Annual Juried Exhibition" (Mansfield, OH)
'23 American Watercolor Society, "2023 Associate Members Online Exhibition" (online)
'23 Toledo Federation of Art Societies, “Juried Members' Exclusive Exhibition” (Toledo, OH)
'23 Gateway to the Arts Gallery, John Glenn Intl' Airport/Ohio Art League, "Ohio Parks and Preserves" (Columbus, OH)• Solo
'23 Artists Magazine, "AcrylicWorks 10: The Best of Acrylic" ( Blue Ash, OH) • Finalist
'23 Springfield Museum of Art, "Watercolor USA 2023" (Springfield, MO)
'23 Kentucky Watercolor Society, "AQUAVENTURE" (Lexington, KY)
'23 Daylight Artists Collective, "New Beginnings" (Westerville, OH)
'23 Gateway Arts Council, "Spring Fling" (Sidney, OH) • Honorable Mention & People's Choice
'23 Ohio Arts Council, "Ohio Artist Registry 2023 Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH)
'23 Bryn Du Mansion, "Bryn Du Art Show" (Granville, OH)
'22 www.artreprenuer.com "Life in the Midwest" • Winner, "Machine with Wheels" • Honorable Mention (NYC, NY)
'22 Swanton Chamber of Commerce, "Swanton Juried Fine Art Exhibit" (Swanton, OH) • 1st place, 2nd place and an Honorable Mention
'22 Toledo Artists Club, "People and Portraits Juried Show" (Toledo, OH) • Best of Show
'22 Kentucky Watercolor Society, "Aqueous 2022" (Lexington, KY)
'22 National Oil & Acrylic Painters' Society, "2022 Associate Members Show" (Montgomery, TX)
'22 Riffe Gallery, Ohio Watercolor Society "Watercolor Ohio 2022 - 45th Annual Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH) • V.O. Baker Award
'22 www.artreprenuer.com "Uncommon Portraits" (NYC, NY) • Honorable Mention
'22 Cox Fine Arts Center, "Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition" (Columbus, OH) • 2 Ohio Arts Council Special Purchase Awards
'22 Rosewood Arts Center, "28th Annual The View Juried Landscape Exhibition" (Kettering, OH)
'22 Engage Art, "Engage International Contest" (Charlotte, NC) • Semi-Finalist
'22 Coburn Gallery, "Time Will Tell National Juried Competition", (Ashland OH)
'22 Pennington Custom Art Service, Ohio Art League, "Spring Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH)
'22 Kenosha Public Museum, "Acrylic International Biennial Juried Exhibition" (Kenosha WI)
'22 University of Toledo Center for the Visual Arts, "TFAS 100+5: Juried Regional Exhibition" (Toledo OH)
'22 Mansfield Art Center, "77th Annual Juried May Show" (Mansfield OH)
'22 www.Artreprenuer.com "Ode to Florida" Open Call, (NYC, NY)• Winner
'22 Artists Magazine, "AcrylicWorks 9: The Best of Acrylic" ( Blue Ash, OH) • Honorable Mention
'22 Springfield Art Museum, "Watercolor USA 2022" (Springfield, MO)
'22 Findlay Art League/Hancock Historical Museum "Reflections" (Findlay, OH)
'22 Hatch Art, "Hatch 16" (Hamtramck, MI)
'22 Gateway Arts Council, "Spring Fling" (Sidney, OH) • 3rd Place
'22 Studios On High, "Hit The Hop Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH) • People's Choice
'22 Ohio Arts Council, "Ohio Artist Registry 2022 Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH)
'21 Findlay Art League, "Fall Show" (Findlay, OH)
'21 Valley Art Center, "50th Annual Juried Art Exhibition" (Chagrin, OH) • Honorable Mention
'21 Pentel, "Pentel Arts Spotlight Contest Urban sketch/Landscape" (Ontario, CA) • Winner
'21 Swanton Chamber, "7th Annual Swanton Juried Fine Art Exhibit", Valleywood Golf Club (Swanton, OH) • Second Place Acrylic, Third Place Watercolor
'21 Ohio Art League, "Fall Show", (Columbus, OH)* •Second Place
'21 Apple Tree Gallery, "29th Annual Piqua Fine Art Exhibition", (Piqua, OH) • Honorable Mention
'21 Diane Kidd Gallery - Tiffin University, "Blanchard Valley Plein Air Painters", (Tiffin, OH)
'21 Living Arts & Science Center, KWS Aqueous 2021 National Exhibition (Lexington, KY)
'21 Tiffin Art Guild "Exchange Show" (Tiffin, OH)
'21 The Gallery at Lakeland, Lakeland Community College, "OWS Watercolor Ohio 2021 - 44th Annual Juried Exhibition", (Kirtland, Ohio)
'21 Kregel Windmill Factory Museum, "The Power of Wind and Water Art Show," (Nebraska City, NE)*
'21 Bowling Green State University, "NowOH 2021" (Bowling Green, OH)
'21 Rhode Island Watercolor Society, National Show: "Spring Forward (Pawtucket, RI)*
'21 Findlay Art League, "Annual Members Show" (Findlay, OH) • Second Place
'21 Mansfield Art Center, "76 Annual May Show" (Mansfield, OH)
'21 TFAS100.org "In the Gardens", Schedel Gardens (Elmore, OH) • People's Choice Award
'21 Gateway Arts Council, "Spring Fling 2021" (Sidney, OH)* • Second Place
'21 Toledo Artists Club, "Imagine Our Parks" (Toledo, OH)* • Honorable Mention
'21 Ohio Art League, "2021 Spring Juried Exhibition" (Columbus, OH)*
'21 Springfield Museum of Art, "Watercolor USA 2021" (Springfield, MO)
'21 Bryn Du Mansion, "Bryn Du Art Show" (Granville, OH) • Bryn Du Art Show Award
'21 Findlay Art League, "Botanical Trails to Impressionism", dual (Findlay, OH)
'21 Kentucky Watercolor Society, "AquaVenture 2021" (Louisville, KY)*
'21 Cultural Arts Center, "Ekphrastic Fantastic*", (Columbus, OH)
'21 Owens Community College, "Big Read Exhibit: Hiding in Plain Sight . . . Poverty", Invitational (Toledo, OH)
'20 Ohio Art League, "Fall Juried Show", (Columbus, OH)
'20 "Autumn Open" and "Art of Every Day", www.artreprenuer.com (NYC, NY)• Honorable Mentions*
'20 "Fall Show", Findlay Art League (Findlay OH)
'20 "Spring into Fall Show", ArtSpace Lima (Lima OH)
'20 Toledo Federation of Art Societies, "TFAS 100+3: Juried Members’ Exhibit", 20 North Gallery, Toledo OH
'20 "2020 Piqua Fine Art Exhibition", Apple Tree Gallery (Piqua, OH) • 2nd Place
'20 "HomeWorks", Ohio Art League (Columbus, OH)*
'20 "75th Annual", Mansfield Art Center (Mansfield, OH)
'20 "2020 Virtual Spring Juried Exhibition", Ohio Art League (Columbus, OH)*
'20 "1st Annual International Juried Competition", Women in Watercolor (USA)*
'20 "65th Annual", Wassenberg Art Center (Van Wert, OH) • Sara Green Memorial Award*
’20 “Pause: Art in Waiting”, FAVA Gallery (Oberlin, OH)*
'20 “Ohio Watercolor Society's 43nd Annual Exhibition" Marathon Center for the Performing Arts (Findlay, OH)
'20 University of Dayton, "Commission", Call for landscapes by the Dayton Society of Artists (Dayton, OH)
'20 National Watercolor Society, "50 Stars Exhibition" (San Pedro, CA)*
'20 Majestic Galleries, "24 Days of Surrealism: Contemporary Surrealism, Fantastic, and Visionary Art" (Nelsonville, OH)
'20 Engage Art "Engage Contest" (Charlotte, NC)
'20 National Watercolor Society, "2020 Annual Members Show" (San Pedro, CA)*
'20 400 West Rich, "Feminine Sublime" (Columbus, OH)
'19 Findlay Art League, “Fall Show” (Findlay, OH)
'19 Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce, "6th Annual Swanton Fine Art Exhibit" (Swanton OH)
'19 Cox Fine Arts Center, “2019 Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition” (Columbus, OH)
'19 Mansfield Art Center, "Ohio Watercolor Society's 42nd Annual Exhibition" - with inclusion in traveling show (Mansfield, OH)
'19 Riverside Art Center, " Annual Member's Show" (Wapakonta, OH)
'19 3060 Artworks Gallery, "Duel Featured Artists Month of June" (Columbus, OH)
’19 Mansfield Art Center, "74th Annual May Show” (Mansfield, OH)
’19 ArtSpace Lima, "64th Annual Spring Show” (Lima, OH)
’19 Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center Gallery (Lima, OH)
'19 Columbus Cultural Arts Center, "Operation Monarch" (Columbus, OH)
'19 Gateway Arts Center, "Spring Fling" (Sidney, OH)
'19 Wassenberg Art Center, "Soap Box" (Van Wert, OH)
’19 Piqua Arts Council, “Rockwell Reimagined” Piqua Public Library (Piqua, OH)
’19 Tiffin Art Guild, “Featured Creatures” (Tiffin, OH)
'18 Riverside Art Center, "50 Years of Space" (Wapakoneta, OH) • First Place
'18 Findlay Art League, "Fall Show", (Findlay, OH) • Best of Show
’18 Owens Community College, “Animals and Their Abodes” Solo show (Findlay, OH)
’18 Tangent Gallery/Hastings Ballroom, “11th Annual” (Detroit, MI)
'18 Findlay Art League, "Solo Show: 'Hands'" (Findlay, OH)
’18 Ohio Watercolor Society, "41th Annual Exhibition" (Pepper Pike, OH)
’18 Findlay Art League, “May Show”, (Findlay, OH) • Merit and Honorable mention
’18 Coburn Gallery, “Ode to Degas” Juried Exhibition (Ashland, OH)
’18 ArtSpace Lima, Spring Salon Juried Show (Lima, OH)
‘17 Findlay Art League, 14x14 and Under, (Findlay, OH) • People's Choice Award
’17 OOVAR Annual Juried Show (Columbus, OH)
‘17 Findlay Art League, "Fall Show" (Findlay, OH) • honorable mention
’17 Delphos ArtFest, (Delphos, OH) • Best of Show
’17 Piqua 25th Annual Art Exhibit (Piqua, OH)
‘17 Findlay Art League, "May show" (Findlay, OH) • Best of Show and, award of merit
OTHER
'24 Juror. 6th Annual Midwest Sculpture Initiative for the City of Fostoria Ohio
'23 Finalist. Lucas County Canine Care and Control Building Mural Project. The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo (Toledo, OH)
'22 Public Art. The Arts Commission, "Toledo Signal Box Wraps Project" (Toledo, OH)
'22 Artists' Talk. Toledo Public Libraries (Toledo, OH)
'22 Artists' Talk (online/recorded). Riffe Gallery/Ohio Art's Council (Columbus, OH)
'22 & '21 Finalist. The Courier "2021 Best of Findlay" (Findlay, OH)
'21 Finalist. Covid Honorarium Proposal. Blanchard Valley Health System (Findlay, OH)
'21 Workshop. University of Findlay (Findlay, OH)
'21 Curator. University of Tiffin “Blanchard Valley Plein Air Painters” (Tiffin, OH)
'20 Lyn Nye, Book Illustration for "Kinsley's Snowflake Dance" (Arcadia, OH)
'19 Public Art. First on the Moon. Signal Box Wrap (Wapakoneta, OH)
'17 Arcadia Local Schools, Lead Set Designer "Seussical" (Arcadia, OH)
PUBLICATIONS/PRINT
'23 Artists Magazine 40th Anniversary Issue, "Landscape 2nd place" p. 54 (Cincinnati, OH)
'23 Canvas Rebel, "Meet Jennifer Sowders" November 9, 2023 - online (Culver City, CA )
'23 Artists Magazine, "AcrylicWorks 10: The Best of Acrylic" p. 94( Blue Ash, OH)
'23 VoyageOhio Magazine, "Check Out Jennifer Sowders’s Story" February 9, 2023 - online (L.A., CA)
'22 Artists Network, "Working With Passion and Playfulness" www.artistsnetwork.com
'22 The Courier, "Art for all at Walk", Nov. 5 (Findlay, OH)
'22 Of Rust and Glass, "No. 10 Fall - October", Cover and featured artist (Toledo, OH)
'22 The Courier, "Fostoria artist earns 'honorable mention'", B4 (Findlay, OH)
'22 The Advertiser-Tribune•Review Times, "Local Fostoria artist awarded", A1, A3 (Tiffin, Fostoria, OH)
'22 Special toThe Columbus Dispatch, "Visual arts: 8 works in the Ohio State Fair Fine Art Exhibition you shouldn't miss", Nancy Gilson, 7/30/2022 (Columbus, OH)
'22, July/Aug. 2022 OSU Fair Fine Arts Catalogue, artwork feature (Columbus, OH)
'22 Artists Magazine, "AcrylicWorks 9: The Best of Acrylic" ( Blue Ash, OH) Pg.30
'22 American Watercolor "Ambassador of the Week" www.americanwatercolor.net (Boca Raton, FL)
'22 www.Artreprenuer.com "Orange Book: Artrepreneur's Annual Book Of Pro", (NYC, NY)
'21 Review Times, "Fostoria-area artist Wins art award", 1A (10/20 Fostoria, OH) • The Advertiser-Tribune, "Fostoria-area artist Wins art award", 1A 10/20 Tiffin, OH)
'21 Point & Shoreland Journal, "Point ArtWalk showcases Jennifer Sowders” Vol. 47 Number 29 July
'20 Article/interview published in 3 local newspapers: • Review Times, "Local artist joins Ohio Watercolor Society", A1(10/27 Fostoria, OH) • The Courier, "Ohio Watercolor Society honors local artist", Walks of Life, Saturday Edition(10/31 Findlay, OH) • The Advertiser-Tribune, "Local artist joins Ohio Watercolor Society", A3(10/26 Tiffin, OH)
'20 10/11 Mentioned and artwork shown WTOL 11 News, Toledo OH
'20 Article/interview published in 3 local newspapers: • Review Times, "Local shop owner writes children's book", A1(10/7 Fostoria, OH) • The Courier, "Woman's book a love letter to granddaughter", A3(10/10 Findlay, OH) • The Advertiser-Tribune, "Local shop owner writes children's book", A1(10/10 Tiffin, OH)
'20 9/8 www.americanwatercolor.net by Kelly Kane, Must-See Art Show "50 Watercolor Stars", Artwork featured
'20 "Dentist, artist collaborate to give Fostoria a smile", Review Times (8-4-2020 Fostoria, OH) and The Advertiser-Tribune (8-5-20202 Tiffin, OH)
'20 6/10 The Wapakoneta Daily News, "First on the Moon unveils art project", A1, interview/picture
'20 5/9 The Courier, "A heart for local art", B1, Artwork shown
'20 Of Rust and Glass, "No. 1 Renaissance - January", Cover art, Toledo OH
'20 1/14 Mentioned and artwork shown WTOL 11 News, Toledo OH
'19 8/5 Columbus Underground, "10 Columbus Art Galleries off the Beaten Path", Artwork shown
'19 July/Aug. 2019 OSU Fair Fine Arts Catalogue, p. 2 Artwork shown
'19 5/18 Findlay Courier & the Fostoria Review Times, Photographed, "Get Out and Grab a Paintbrush"
'19 03/27 Review Times, "Local Artist Shows the Other Side of Drug Abuse"
'18 11/26 Review Times, “Arts council board member has artwork on display at Owens”
'18 6/25 Review Times, "Local artist brings life to canvas, paper"
'17 Art of my Beloved. Interview “Get Schocked” T.V. pilot
’05 12/29 The Columbus Dispatch “Ohio’s Harvest” article
’02 Aids Memorial Quilt/The Names Project Foundation “December”
REPRESENTATION
Toledo Museum of Art, Collector's Corner, Toledo, Ohio
AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
Bowling Green Arts Council 2023
Anthony Wayne Area Arts Commission 2020 to current
Toledo Federation of Art Societies 2020 to current
Kentucky Watercolor Society Signature 2020 to current
National Watercolor Society Associate 2019 to current
American Watercolor Society Associate 2020 to current
National Oil & Acrylic Painter's Society Associate 2022 to current
American Impressionist Society Associate 2023
Fostoria Community Arts Council Board-member 2018 to 2022 term
Ohio Watercolor Society Signature 2018 to current
Ohio Watercolor Society Trustee 2021 to current
Ohio Art League, 2004-2006, 2018 to current