BIO
April Deacon is a visual artist and art educator based in Wheelersburg, Ohio. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MA in Studio Art from Marshall University. Working primarily in painting, sculpture, and mixed media, her practice oscillates between celebrating and critiquing humanity by exploring the beauty, contradictions, and complexities of the human experience.
Her work has been exhibited nationally, with select exhibitions including Projecting Grace at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Ohio Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Riffe Gallery, Hear Our Voice: Art of the Women’s March in Asheville, North Carolina, Come Along with Me at the Riffe Gallery, New Neon at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, California, and Women of Appalachia at the Dairy Barn Arts Center. She is also a Joseph Editions Ohio Portfolio Artist.
In addition to her studio practice, April has dedicated more than two decades to teaching art at the secondary level. Currently at Portsmouth High School, she has twice been named Teacher of the Year. Her classroom philosophy centers on arts integration and community-based learning, often connecting students with visiting artists to create public art projects in Portsmouth, including large-scale relief murals and a human rights–themed sculpture garden.
Exhibitions
Women of Appalachia, Dairy Barn Art Center, Athens, OH 2025
Here, Appleton Gallery , Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, OH September 2024
Cream of the Crop, SOMACC, Portsmouth, OH June 2024
Ohio Biennial Juried Exhibition, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH January 2022
Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, OH July 2021
Projecting Grace, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA August 2020
Ohio Biennial Juried Exhibition, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH January 2018
Hear Our Voice, Art of the Women's March, Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC June 2017
Come Along with Me, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH curated by Richard Fletcher April 2017
Hear Our Voice, Art of the Women's March, Seattle Center for Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA February 2017
Teachers Exhibit, The University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, OH February 2017
Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, OH July 2016
Ohio Rising, Lancaster Festival, Lancaster, OH August 2015
Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, OH July 2014
New Neon, The Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA February 2014
Teachers Exhibit, The University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, OH November 2013
Once Upon A Time, The Pump House, Chillicothe, OH November 2013
Reincarnate, Gallery 2011, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH April 2013
course/discourse, Baltimore, MD curated by Rick Delaney December 2012
AC-3D, The Danforth Gallery, Livingston, MT July 2012
Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, OH July 2012
The Hillel Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH February 2012
Forgotten, Short North Tattoo, Columbus, OH December 2011
Eleven, Columbus, OH November 2011
Brothers Drake Meadery, Columbus, OH August 2011
Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, OH July 2010
Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, OH July 2008
Awakenings, M.A. Exhibition, Birke Art Gallery, Huntington, WV December 2007
Exhibition 280, Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV April 2007
Body Shots, Marshall University, Huntington, WV March 2007
B.F.A. Exhibition, Lynn Mayhew Gallery, Delaware, OH March 2001
Five Colleges of Ohio Art Exhibition, Wooster, OH 2001
Permanent Collections
Columbus Museum of Art “The Idiosyncrasies of Jimmy Mountcastle” 2013 Gift of Ron and Anne Pizzuti
Awards and Publications
Commendation from Senator Uecker, Human Rights Garden Project, Portsmouth High School 2017
Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Portsmouth High School 2017
People's Choice Award, Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum 2016
Best of Show, Cream of the Crop, The Southern Ohio Museum 2014
Make Your Mark, Lark Books, 2014
Ohio Portfolio Artist, Joseph Editions, Sponsored by Ron Pizzuti 2013
course/discourse by Rick Delaney 2012
Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Portsmouth High School 2011
Education
Master of Arts, Studio Art, Painting, Marshall University, Huntington, WV December 2007
Teaching Certification, Visual Arts K-12, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH July 2003
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH June 2002