Edith D. Wadkins is a theatrical artist, fine artist, and children’s book illustrator. She rarely spends a day without negotiating one art medium or another in her home studio. She’s a successful theatrical designer and scenic painter with over 20 years of experience and hundreds of shows to her credit. She has worked on plays, musicals, and other performances in almost every Central Ohio professional theatre and in many of its educational institutions and other venues.

She’s also an avid Plein Air painter with a passion and curiosity for fine art. She has participated in workshops with pastel portrait artist Sandy Reddig. She spent two years at Cooley Studios studying under Michael Cooley, where she learned to draw and paint in the academic tradition. She has received many awards, including a Best in Show Ribbon at the Ohio State Fair for Creative Arts (2011) and a Best in Show Ribbon at Grove City’s Arts in the Alley (2019).

Edith and her husband Andy are wildlife fanatics and birders, and for many years, Edith has participated in and supported the annual Federal Duck Stamp competition and the Ohio Wetlands Stamp competition. She edited a wildlife coloring book, “Rare Creatures in Your Backyard” for Grove City Arts Council, where she was a board member for six years.

Edith illustrated the 2016 children’s book, Rooster Tale by Linda Lee Greene. Her work was featured in a solo exhibition at Salt Kettle Gallery in Salineville, Ohio. Westerville Parks & Recreation hosted another public solo exhibition of her work in 2019 at Westerville Community Center. After the advent of COVID-19, she launched The Artist Table, a vlog series in partnership with Westerville Parks & Recreation, comprising 10 vlogs, each teaching a painting or drawing technique. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Technology from Otterbein University.

This past spring her article was featured in an article in Columbus Underground by Elizabeth Saltzgiver.

Most recently she was part of the Studios on High new artist show “Hit the Hop” and was featured in an article in Columbus Alive written by Joel Oliphant.

Originally from the rural foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, she now resides in Grove City, Ohio with her husband and their very spoiled cat.