Picture perfect
She wears many hats, but photography fits her best
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AUSTINTOWN -- Lisa Frederick has always been focused on her painting, drawing and photography.
She said she discovered her love of creating things as a child, noting she has always been imaginative and artistic.
"I've been drawing and painting forever. I loved drawing and ceramics. I like to create anything," she said.
Frederick was born in Austintown in 1966 and graduated from Austintown Fitch High School in 1984. In 1998, she graduated magna cum laude from Youngstown State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in art education. Two years later, she earned her master's degree in art education at YSU.
Frederick's career started at Salem City Schools, where she taught from 1988 to 2021, when she retired. She taught all different grade levels.
"I was an elementary visual arts teacher to middle schoolers and junior high school students," she said.
She also taught art, photography and multimedia classes at the high school level, saying she could not pinpoint her favorite grade to teach because she loved teaching at all grade levels.
Finding her niche
Since her retirement in 2021, she has been concentrating on photography. Frederick's teaching has extended to the Butler Institute of American Art, where she has taught since 2022. She teaches photography to adults at the museum.
"It's nice to teach adults. They are here because they want to be here and learn," Frederick said.
Her interest in photography began in high school with her first camera, a 35 mm Pentax. There, she took her first photography course and learned how to develop 35 mm film.
She started teaching traditional film photography until 2010, which is when she transitioned to digital photography. She called photography, "my niche," saying she loves all the arts and enjoyed teaching the art education classes, but photography is her calling.
Frederick said at Butler, she teaches photography, advanced photography and Introduction to Photoshop, which she enjoys using in her own photography.
"It is so nice to see what you can do to accent parts of a picture," she said.
Frederick teaches Introduction to Photoshop when the "participants need to have prior knowledge (of photography) and know how to use their computer."
Frederick said she enjoys working with artificial intelligence (AI) in photography, but with anything new, it takes some practice to use it well.
"I can click on an aspect in a photo with Photoshop and enhance it or I can click to have AI do it," she said.
She explained that by doing it herself, she has more control of what is done, but when she uses AI, "AI fixes it." Usually AI does a good job, but Frederick admits that sometimes, it "isn't quite right."
"AI is the future. AI is here to stay, and its use will only increase," Frederick said.
The danger, she pointed out, is that "by creating something yourself, you not only have the idea and the creativity, but you learn the skills of the art. But with AI, you still have the idea and the creativity, but you no longer have to learn the skills. AI takes care of that."
Frederick's resume is a testament to her varied artistic, organizational and physical abilities. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the YMCA Postscript Exhibition 2026 Jurors Award. In 2024, she was one of 40 women photographers from Northeast Ohio in the Cleveland Photo Fest Women's Show, which was a juried exhibition. Her works have been selected for exhibits in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Oregon and California.
Locally, Frederick is a creator of some of the Butler Museum's exhibits, including "Sacred Landmarks," a photographic exhibit portraying the varied religious buildings in the Youngstown area. This original exhibit was hung at the Butler from January through April and she said she hopes to have her next "Sacred Landmark" ready for viewing soon.
Other interests
But there is more to Frederick than just her creative side. When Frederick's children were in high school in Austintown, they did not have a swim team. Through the efforts of herself and other parents, who, like Frederick's children, had been involved in competitive swimming prior to high school, a swim team began in Austintown. There, Frederick coached varsity swimming and diving.
"I was involved not just with the sport itself, but also the fundraising, the budgeting and scheduling of events," she said.
Frederick also is an avid cyclist. In her capacity as a coach and participant for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, now known as Blood Cancer United, she had a special bicycle built for her. She participated in several strenuous rides, mostly out west in the mountains. To adapt to cycling in higher elevations, Frederick said she and her team trained in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Cleveland. The actual rides took place in Utah, New Mexico and Asheville, North Carolina, which were "all very hilly rides."
Her team raised more than $80,000 for Blood Cancer United.
However, because of a cycling accident in the Outer Banks, Frederick said she no longer does distance riding.
"I'm a fanatic about wearing a helmet. I went over the handlebars on a bike and suffered a concussion. Without a helmet, it would have been so much worse," Frederick said.
She said she suffered from post-concussion syndrome after the accident and could not draw, paint or do photography for six months while she recuperated.
Frederick is involved in her community as well, as exemplified by her participation in educational programs and events for Mill Creek MetroParks as an educator. She said she developed social media programs promoting the park.
Additionally, she has functioned as a mentor, evaluator, liaison and supporter of art student teachers at Youngstown State University. As a renowned artist and photographer, she is also a judge for the arts at the Canfield Fair.
Frederick lives with her husband, Brian, in Austintown. Their daughter, Madison, lives in the Cleveland area and their son, Daniel, lives in the Youngstown area.