Good bye 2011-2012 ready or not...

Last year has been an interesting year for me with lots going on. The year started off with a bang, I was invited to participate in 3 shows- then it turned into 6 shows as well as being juried into a group show at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art!. ..... It was an honor and pleasure as well as a lot of work getting new work together, prints, prep and attendance. Here is a list of some of the shows from 2011:

2011 shows:

January 22 – “The Ellen Art Show” Gab Studio Wynwood Miami FL
January 29 – “Art Night Pompano”, Pompano, FL
March 10 – “Pieces of Jamaica” the LAC Gallery, Lauderdhill FL
March 26 – “Spoken Soul Festival” The Stage, Wynwood Miami FL
March 31 – “Sister 2 Sister” Old Dillard Museum, Fort Lauderdale FL
June 18 – “The Lynching Eye” Broward Historical Commission, Fort Lauderdale FL
July 16 – Curated show- Into The Rabbit Hole -1310 Gallery, Fort Lauderdale
October 1 - Be Inspired - Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art
October 13 - Hospitality Trade Show - Broward Convention Center
October 14 - Pretty in Pink - Delray Beach
December 17 - The Natural World, 1310 Gallery, Fort Lauderdale

Donated Art to charitable orginazations:

April 2011 - Donated original artwork for fundraiser event for OVERTOWN RHYTHM & ARTS FESTIVAL
October 2011 - Attended a workshop and painted custom Converse to be auctioned off for Sole +
November 19 - Donated two Fine Art Prints for fundraiser for Love Thy Neighbor

Along with new work I also focused on some work I have started a while back and reworked them as well as worked on some new ideas that I have been itching to try as well. For example in "Alice O Alice"

This is combing both photography and digital art. I have worked on similar projects in the past, however creating photomontage has until then been more of an aspiration and just thoughts i my mind of sketchbook then actual execution.

Finally took the steps to set up my Etsy shop. I signed up so long ago. I am still learning the ins and outs and finding out about teams, etc. If anyone has tips and tricks to share- I would LOVE them. If you have an Etsy shop, please list it below or send me a message and I will check it out and add you to my circle :-). For now my shop is located at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nikiartstudio. Since I became on the roll with the shop set up, I also set up here: Shop Niki Art Studio. Hopefully I will have good news to report, for now- still building.

I also signed up and participated in a 10 week all volunteer program with a local non profit "Drag It Out'. I am always talking about how I hate boundaries, boxes, and labels and just love exploring, researching and creating. These classes was taught by professional Drag Kings and Queen all donating their time and talent. During the class you develop a charter and a number and at the end there is a Draguation and fundraiser for three charities this non profit supports. Please check out their link and see what they are all about. Fort Lauderdale New Times named them best non profit for 2011! It was lots of fun and hard work and made some new friends on the way. May another blog I will share some of my performance and custom- which I will at least say it was one of the most different ones out of the show and of course- out of this world and cosmic (my character was an alien of course).

As for family life, I had one of my sisters and nephew spend the summer with me, that was fun for me and little Marley - my two and a half year old son. Who also picked up conversation with a vengeance. He went from saying 'Mama' and 'Papa' to "Mommy whats so funny" and racing but ending it with "tag your it!". Its fun at times watching him grow, hitting all these milestones with lighting speed, at the same time it can be a bit overwhelming. I say I'm a Visual Artist and Graphic Designer, but truth is I'm a juggler. Juggling not only doing my art, but building my work, exploring, and learning, mixed with learning marketing the hard way, stay at home mom of a terrible two's, homemaker, girlfriend, under cover chef, social media, art shows and exhibits, art community, and family life while helping some of my fellow colleges .... SHEESH! the list goes on and on- it never seems enough hours in the day. But at the end of the day, I am happy, building and looking forward to 2012 and what it has in store. Tweaking things that didn't work, really pushing things that did, organizing, and have so many ideas. Making sure it doesn't collect too much dust in my sketchbook before making it happen. Painting, sketching, researching, cooking, cleaning, and spending time with my son. I'm ready!

Hello 2012!