LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Inside Lianne Alcon’s art studio is where her ideas come to life.
“Since I was a little girl and I could hold a crayon I have been in love with art, I knew that’s what I wanted to do, it’s something that feeds my soul, it’s my therapy and it just makes me happy to do it,” Lianne Alcon said.
Alcon is currently working on a series of pop stars wearing her whimsical designs. So when she saw a call for artists for the Bourbon with Heart exhibit, she jumped at the chance to use her designs in a different way.
“I wanted to incorporate my whimsical style with different objects that represented Louisville, such as the fleur-de-lis in a bright red cardinal color,” Alcon said. “Also the equestrian culture here with the horses and the woman dressed up with the fancy hat as she was going to the derby.”
Alcon spent nearly 60 hours working on her barrel for Bourbon with Heart, Kentucky’s first and only arts-focused bourbon charity.
“Not only are these artists talented but they are all incredibly different and we want everyone who comes to the exhibit to see a piece of themselves whether it’s in the art or the artist’s story,” Morgan Hancock, founder of Bourbon with Heart, said.
20 barrels will be on display at the Frazier History Museum designed by artists. Each barrel will also be sponsored by a local company or bourbon brand.
The funds from the event will go to three local nonprofits — Blanket Louisville, Dream Center Academy, and I Would Rather Be Reading.
“Seeing these people come together, people who would never be in the room otherwise but they come together because of art and because of bourbon are two things that make Kentucky, Kentucky,” Hancock said. “It’s just incredible to see these people coming together and we need more of that.”
Alcon is grateful to be a part of the inaugural event, and loves knowing her work is helping others in need.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the artists barrel in person, getting to meet them and seeing wonderful outcomes we’re going to have from the community showing up,” Alcon said.
The Bourbon with Heart unveiling party of the Barrels of Heart will be Feb. 1at the Frazier History Museum from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Guests will have a chance to see the designed bourbon barrels for the first time and meet the artists.
The unveiling event is sold out but will be open to the public beginning Feb. 2 and run through April 1.