Vanessa Lacy grew up in rural Missouri and received her BFA from Missouri State University. She received her Masters in Education in 2009. Vanessa taught art in the Belton/Raymore school district, in suburban Kansas City, for nine years until she realized she could make a good living from her art alone.  Vanessa’s collectors include University of Kansas Hospital, CrossFirst Bank, Kansas City Missouri City Hall, Cerner Corporation, Bardavon Health Innovations, Kingsland Dempsey Law, and scores of private collectors across the Midwest.  She’s been a self-supporting artist since 2016 and has been juried into many prominent art festivals, including the Plaza Art Fair, the Brookside Art Annual, and the Prairie Village Art Fair. Her studio is in Kansas City’s Crossroads Art District on the second floor above the Leedy Voulkos Art Center. She shares her studio aptly named “Studio Above” with several other career artists and they open their space to the public every First Friday.