About Me

Parrish G. Monk, MBA Ed.D 

By Tamara T. Moyer,  Edited by Parrish Monk   

As part of my community service requirements for graduation, I was able to secure work with Dr. Parrish Monk, the founder and Executive Director of the Independent Northern Kentucky Artists and Artisans Education Program, 501c(3), (INKAA Education Program). For almost 7 months, I shadowed Dr. Monk at the Art House in Fort Thomas and then later worked for him at the Luxe Art Gallery in Covington, Kentucky, a unique temporary pop-up art shop and collaborative space that occupied one of the many empty spaces in downtown Covington. 

The Art House in Fort Thomas, sponsored by the INKAA Education Program, was a unique experience because it was an art gallery, artisan shop, non-profit art business incubator, public art space, and art collaborative all rolled into one, behaving more like an education business than an art gallery. This three-story art gallery, artisan shop, and community gathering place housed the works of emerging artists and artisans and developing small creative businesses from the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio areas, in the same space, next to well-known established artists, sculptors, potters, and small businesses. This was a true collaborative effort; its design was intentional. 

At the time, INKAA Education Program’s business model at the Art House was unique and novel, focusing on equitable inclusion and opportunities for its collaborative members. Including myself, INKAA Education Program helped birth the art careers and businesses of over 140 artists, artisans, and small businesses from the region. Dr. Monk (“just call me Parrish, please”) asked me to use what I learned about him, what he was doing and trying to do, and what I turned in as my final experiential reflection, to help introduce him to the world. Actually, he asked me to help write his art bio for a community service awards event in Florida, where he was being interviewed for his contributions to the community in which he now lives.  

The following came from my daily interactions with Parrish, my journaling, recorded interviews, and my final reflection paper for school:

Parrish Monk is a self-taught mixed media artist and artisan living and working in the Central Florida area. He once described himself as: 

“…a creative, a visionary, and a scavenger, with an inventor’s/scientist’s/ spiritualist’s brain that feels like it may be wired a little differently. Like other creatives, I can visualize what things can become. These ideas start flooding in organically, without my permission or forethought, while I am awake or asleep or even somewhere in between. Beyond a blank canvas, a blank piece of paper, or a lump of clay, my eyes, my mind’s eye, can stare into empty space or at a discarded piece of junk and visualize creating something that doesn’t yet exist. That excites me.   My work often embraces contradictions and the dualities present in real life. Not because I aim to be a complex, elusive, or duplicitous pretentious artist; it’s just my natural flow of where my creative energy goes. I work instinctively, merging and mixing unexpected materials—paint, sheet music, metal, thread, ink, plastic, wood, pigment—to challenge traditional boundaries of “fine art.” I believe in making the invisible visible: the hidden energy of people, politics, life, the subtle, yet persistent noise of life, the darkness, the layers of cultural hybridity. My studio is a lab, and my work is a kind of controlled explosion.”

For decades, his feet have walked on distinctly different pathways. In addition to being an artist, artisan, and entrepreneur, Parrish is also a business consultant, curriculum designer, and adult educator currently working as a full-time instructor for WGU’s School of Business. 

As an adult educator and faculty member in WGU’s School of Business, Parrish works diligently to help empower adult learners by helping to provide learners with equitable access to quality education and employment opportunities. Parrish is equally passionate about education and art, both fields of human endeavor that allow Parrish to help enrich the lives of others. Parrish has a fervent goal to help make the lives of others better in some form or fashion; that is who he has been since his early days in the U.S. Army as a combat medic until now. 

His “why” and “motivation”? In part, what he does and who he is, has been shaped by his troubles and disparate treatment in school, Parrish believes equitable access to a quality education means ensuring that all students have access to the resources and support they need to reach their full academic potential, regardless of their background, circumstances, or any other individual factors. Parrish is doing his part and is focused on removing barriers and providing individualized support to address specific needs, rather than treating all students the same. 

Parrish Monk currently lives in Sanford, Florida, with his wife and youngest of three sons (i.e., ages Adam 32, Adrian 31, and Kadin 20). As a father of three adult sons, Parrish primarily focuses his energy on taking care of his youngest son, Kadin, who is a neurodivergent adult on the Autism Spectrum. 

As a creative, Parrish owns Monk Made Consulting LLC., Parrish Monk Arts, and ManHandled Jewelry, where he provides original artworks, unique handmade jewelry, and graphic design services ranging from logo design to illustrations and printable digital assets, book and page layout design et cetera. 

Primarily known for his powerful, thought-provoking mixed media artwork, Parrish’s mixed media artwork often includes upcycled materials, old sheet music, specialized paints, and experimental painting techniques. Many of his paintings are often very heavily textured and look and behave more like 3D wall sculptures, but each piece has a significant meaning. There is an inherent vulnerability in Parrish’s art, which reveals his soul, passion, and beliefs. Parrish’s ability to tell a story in his work creates an opportunity for conversation and authentic human connection while giving the viewer a glimpse into raw, unfettered creativity. 

Parrish is humbled by the opportunity and the opportunities that he had to share his artwork with others.  Since first showing his art in 2011 at Mudlark Pottery Studio and Gallery in Warsaw, Kentucky, the Gallery Experience in Cincinnati, Ohio, and selling his artwork on the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio, as of July 2025, Parrish has sold over 713 pieces of original art across the globe. He hasn’t made any prints of his artwork yet; he believes in offering others the option to bring an original art piece into their lives. 

Parrish went from selling his artwork on a street corner in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2011 to having his artwork purchased by various TV shows (e.g., HBO’s Enlightened, Magnum PI, Hawaii Five-0, and Star) to owning several art galleries and gracing the cover of several published books. However, what Parrish appreciates the most is the opportunity that he is given to play a small part in adding some value to the lives and homes of others and helping others achieve success. 

A good portion of Parrish's artwork can be seen in his studio space (Studio #7) at Gallery on First in Sanford, Florida.