Kay Sasser Jacoby

Kay was born in the small southeastern town of Ozark, Alabama and while she describes herself as a “curious soul,” she’s lived in Alabama her entire life. She and her husband, Ray, have lived in Montgomery since 2007. She graduated with advertising and art degrees from the University of Alabama and has held various art-related positions in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and Montgomery.

She has dabbled in tourism—with a particular love for the Black Belt. She laughingly says she’s always “searching for Kayberry”—her own imaginary little town with a play on Andy Griffith’s Mayberry and her own name. She finally realized Kayberry is her everyday joy-of-living existence. She paints in an “intuitive style,” never really knowing what’s going to emerge when she sets out to create. After retiring from the State Arts Council in 2021, she declared, “I just want to paint!”

And so she is. And loving it.