Jacki Kellum Studios and Gallery is Located in Water Valley, Mississippi–in a Space that was an Opera House which was Built in the Late 19th Century, In  the manner of 19th Century Opera Houses, the studio’s main room is massive with at least 20 ft ceilings.

By 1915, the old Opera House had become the Elegant Hotel Trusty. The Depot of the Illinois Central was across the street from the Hotel, and the railroad turned the South Main portion of Water Valley into a bustling hub of commerce and energy.. In the following photo, notice the Hotel Trusty on the left on Cotton Day in 1905. Farmers had pulled their loads of cotton into the area on Main Street that was in front of the train depot–to have their cotton shipped to New Orleans which had an immense cotton exporting industry.

Notice the row of tall porches on the buildings along South Main. When I first saw the old buildings on South Main in Water Valley, I commented that the architecture was a mix between New Orleans and Old Dodge City–a sort of rough and tumble take on NOLA. It is important to remember that New Orleans began as a rough town constructed on wooden planks in the middle of an alligator-infested swamp. Many of New Orleans’ first citizens were prisoners and prostitutes. The fine French and Spanish structures came later. Like many Southerners, I am fond of the look of Louisiana’s port town, and I especially like that Jacki Kellum Studios is housed in one of those porched businesses.

Maintaining the feeling of the building’s hIstory is important to both Jacki Kellum Studio and the owner of the entire building–all 3 stories. The owner pipes period jazz down to the street and the sidewalks to salute the passersby. The same music plays from a vintage radio in the foyer.

Compared to other art spaces, Jacki Kellum Studios exudes elegance–teamed with the energy of  an art-making, an art-teaching, and an art-exhibiting space.

Because Jacki Kellum works in a variety of media, Jacki Kellum Studios houses a juxtaposition of several of Kellum’s Artistic Pursuits.

Jacki Kellum is a painter who works both in oils and watercolors. Her oils are bold and painterly.

Much of Kellum’s Watercolor Painting is Vibrant and Colorful.

Jacki Kellum is also an author and illustrator of picture books:

She wrote The Donkey’s Song, but the incredible Sydney Hanson illustrated it.

Kellum’s Illustrations are much wackier than Hanson’s sweet art:

Kellum has master’s degrees in both writing and art, and she has taught both art and writing for many years. While teaching art in schools, she was named National Teacher of the Year. Jacki Kellum Studios is both a place for Kellum to work and also where she teaches others to paint, draw, and write. She teaches both children and adults and has a special gallery to show and sell her students’ work.