CALENDAR
ART TALK w/ Katie Neece, Visual Artist
Meet and learn from visual artist, Katie Neece
ABOUT KATIE:
Katie Neece (b. 1989) lives and works in South Bend, Indiana. She received her MFA in Painting at the University of Notre Dame and her BFA from Indiana University- South Bend. Her work has been published in Friend of the Artist, Create! Magazine and RUNG Magazine in Bristol, UK. Neece has most recently exhibited her work in the group show FUTURE PERFECT and Summer Idylle at 550 Gallery in Queens, NY, and the Neon Heater in Findlay, OH.
ABOUT KATIE’S ART:
Using traditional oil painting techniques that rely on nuanced physical touch and demanding material execution, Neece’s work incorporates imagery from computer graphics software programs and related digital ephemera. She creates an artificial pictorial space using gradients, drop shadows, and flat areas to construct an illusionistic environment within the conventions of the screen and digital manifestations of space. Choosing to paint the digital constructions draws attention to both advancements in technology and the advancements in the historical trajectory of painting. She uses the pictorial language of geometric abstraction among the early 20th-century European avant-garde while simultaneously focusing on 90’s American mall aesthetic, pop culture, and design aesthetics. She incorporates and uses these forms as a reference to an inherent optimism in a utopian future that has continually failed to materialize. This re-contextualization is an attempt to illustrate that the past continually reminds us of the future’s failure in the form of haunting.
FOLLOW + SEE KATIE’S WORK:
Website: https://katieneece.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katie_neece/
This event will be on Wednesday, December 7thth from 6:30-7:30 PM CST on Zoom.
ART TALKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
ART TALK w/ Dr. Erin Latham, Installation Artist, Printmaker + Writer
Meet and learn from Erin Latham!
ABOUT ERIN:
Erin Latham Ph.D. is a concept driven installation artist, printmaker, and writer, living and working in Oklahoma. She received her Bachelors of Fine Art from the University of Oklahoma in 2008, Masters of Fine art from the Pratt Institute in 2012, and her Doctorate of Philosophy in Art Theory, Aesthetics, and Philosophy from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. She has a passion for sharing art with others and has been a teaching artist for eleven years and a professional artist for almost twenty years. She is the Manager of Current Co-op LLC, an artist-run cooperative studio space and is a co-founder of “Rock Paper Scissors Collaborative” an installation based collaborative artmaking team, as well as a co-founding artist of a former OKC based artist collective. She has exhibited bodies of work in many spaces across the US, and has received multiple grants from organizations to facilitate the creation of new artwork and collaborative projects. Latham’s work is driven by collaboration and her lived experience as both an educator and lifelong learner, and strives to collaborate with artists, students, and participants through both her writing and her installation work.
ABOUT ERIN’S ART:
I wear many hats. I am a mixed media printmaker, installation artist, arts educator, writer, and maker. I am exploring the world around me-the environment I exist within-both ecological and social-through an interplay of materials and processes. These processes are both theoretical and practice based. My work is predicated upon research of subjectivity and nature, via the human reaction to the environment and other people. I am concerned with the effect I have upon the environments I exist within, because of this, I seek to create work that has an understanding of its impact both. I am discovering what it means to be an intersubjective artist working within collaborative environments while also nurturing my individual artistic autonomy. The work I make both collaboratively and individually is meant to awaken wonder in the participant/viewer and allow them to reconnect themselves with moments of clarity in nature and with other humans. My current body of work is exploring play through process and form while continuing to investigate the effect nature has on humans and the moment of wonder created within this interaction.
FOLLOW + SEE ERIN’S WORK:
Website: https://erinlatham.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eelpress/
This event will be on Wednesday, November 16th from 6:30-7:30 PM CST on Zoom.
ART TALKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
ART TALK w/ Theresa Hultberg, Visual Artist + Community Leader
Meet and learn from Theresa Hultberg!
ABOUT THERESA:
Theresa Hultberg is an artist from the United States with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Oklahoma. She works primarily in painting, drawing and printmaking and has created illustrative work for publication. Theresa has shown artwork in exhibitions across Oklahoma, the United States and has displayed printmaking in exchanges shown internationally in Mexico, South America and New Zealand.
Theresa is Program Manager of the Paseo Arts Association in the Paseo Arts District of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the United States and serves on leadership for the local art collective, Art Group OKC which actively supports emerging artists through studio visits, networking and event organization.
ABOUT THERESA’S ART:
In my work, feelings of connection, solitude and control, drive an exploration of the unknown. Through painting and printmaking, atmospheric forms and mark-making play together to create abstracted landscapes and mystic compositions. Each piece is inspired by the rhythm and sound of the landscape and an instinctual sense of unseen forces, natural or spiritual. The sensation and sound of wind is often brought into each piece as it is uncontrollable and invisible; only seen when it affects something else.
FOLLOW + SEE THERESA’S WORK:
Website: theresahultberg.com
Instagram: instagram.com/theresakateh
This event will be on Thursday, October 27th from 6:30-7:30 PM CST on Zoom.
ART TALKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
CLASS: Watercolor Meditations w/ Volta Voloshin-Smith
CLASS: Watercolor Meditations w/ Volta Voloshin-Smith
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Class attendees will get an introduction to basic watercolor skills as well as a series of watercolor meditations, or exercises, that combine colors and mindfulness for a meditative experience.
It can be enjoyed by anyone and prior art experience is not necessary to feel the healing benefits of relaxing with watercolors.
What to Expect:
5 minute meditation to kickstart the class and get into a creative flow
Introduction to basic watercolor techniques
Watercolor meditation exercises that combine art making and breathwork
Reflection and wrap up time as a class
What to Bring and Have Ready for the Class:
Watercolor paper (140lbs paper for best results but any paper will work!)
A set of watercolor paints
A watercolor brush or brush pen
Paper towel
This class will take place on Thursday, September 22nd from 1:00 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST. All attendees will meet with Katelynn and the Art Friends community to watch this pre-recorded workshop from Volta and do the activity together.
ABOUT VOLTA:
I grew up in post soviet union Moldova where I spent my youthful summers helping my grandmother in her garden. Being a part of the process from planting to harvesting left an imprint in me to appreciate the fullness of the food in front of me and all the journey it took to get here.
Coming to America opened up my eyes and stomach to the possibilities of food from many other cultures. Exploring other cultures helps me connect with my community and I carry that inspiration with me when I paint.
Painting food brings up a sense of belonging, of sharing a meal and sharing in each other’s triumphs and losses. It is how I tether myself to my environment; always inspired by a local chef’s recent creation and moved to the point of tears upon seeing beautiful and fresh produce.
My art aims to uplift, to encourage, to color. I embraced watercolors as my chosen medium because of its effervescence and soothing qualities. My intention is to combine the joy of vibrant colors and the calm of watercolors for an experience of pure, unfiltered joy, the kind we all used to have back before the world told us we needed to fit into a box.
ABOUT VOLTA’S ART:
An immigrant from Moldova, Volta Voloshin-Smith celebrates food with art and animation. Volta’s fine art pieces range from evocative still lifes that capture nostalgia of a meal shared with family and friends, to playful birds on snacks that celebrate life’s simplest joys. Volta is the author of Watercolor Snacks, an instructional book on how to paint various foods with watercolors. She hosts watercolor workshops and does brand activations for corporate clients like Dallas Mavericks, Home Depot, Michaels Stores, Buzzfeed, American Airlines and others. Most recently, Volta was one of the first 100 members to be part of LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program, where she created engaging content on topics of creativity, mindfulness and food.
FOLLOW + SEE VOLTA’S WORK:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/colorsnack/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/colorsnack
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voltavoloshinsmith/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV4vLYgUGDD8Xm0KBgFS7YQ
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorsnack
Website: www.colorsnack.com
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
ART TALK w/ Volta Voloshin-Smith, Illustrator + Animator
Meet and learn from Volta Voloshin-Smith!
ABOUT VOLTA:
I grew up in post soviet union Moldova where I spent my youthful summers helping my grandmother in her garden. Being a part of the process from planting to harvesting left an imprint in me to appreciate the fullness of the food in front of me and all the journey it took to get here.
Coming to America opened up my eyes and stomach to the possibilities of food from many other cultures. Exploring other cultures helps me connect with my community and I carry that inspiration with me when I paint.
Painting food brings up a sense of belonging, of sharing a meal and sharing in each other’s triumphs and losses. It is how I tether myself to my environment; always inspired by a local chef’s recent creation and moved to the point of tears upon seeing beautiful and fresh produce.
My art aims to uplift, to encourage, to color. I embraced watercolors as my chosen medium because of its effervescence and soothing qualities. My intention is to combine the joy of vibrant colors and the calm of watercolors for an experience of pure, unfiltered joy, the kind we all used to have back before the world told us we needed to fit into a box.
ABOUT VOLTA’S ART:
An immigrant from Moldova, Volta Voloshin-Smith celebrates food with art and animation. Volta’s fine art pieces range from evocative still lifes that capture nostalgia of a meal shared with family and friends, to playful birds on snacks that celebrate life’s simplest joys. Volta is the author of Watercolor Snacks, an instructional book on how to paint various foods with watercolors. She hosts watercolor workshops and does brand activations for corporate clients like Dallas Mavericks, Home Depot, Michaels Stores, Buzzfeed, American Airlines and others. Most recently, Volta was one of the first 100 members to be part of LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program, where she created engaging content on topics of creativity, mindfulness and food.
FOLLOW + SEE VOLTA’S WORK:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/colorsnack/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/colorsnack
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voltavoloshinsmith/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV4vLYgUGDD8Xm0KBgFS7YQ
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorsnack
Website: www.colorsnack.com
This event will be on Thursday, September 8th from 6:00-7:00 PM CST on Zoom.
ART TALKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
CLASS: Branding and Marketing for Artists w/ Katelynn Noel Knick
CLASS: Branding and Marketing for Artists w/ Katelynn Noel Knick
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Art Friends Founder, Katelynn Noel Knick, will be guiding a class that’s all about branding and marketing yourself as an artist and your creative business! Creating a brand gets to be easy and fun, with a few simple tools and tricks Katelynn will show you how to create a brand that feels like your most authentic self. Once we have your brand established, then we can use it! Katelynn will go over marketing basics including building a mailing list and website, how to create an offer and sell it, and other fun ways to share your voice and creations with your community.
This class will take place on Tuesday, August 30th from 1:00 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST.
All classes are held virtually on Zoom and will be recorded. Participants will receive a link to download the recording shortly after the class. Any questions? Email hi@artfriendsforever.com :)
ABOUT KATELYNN:
Katelynn is a professional artist, mentor, and community leader based in Oklahoma City. She received her BFA in Studio Art from the University of Oklahoma in 2015. She has exhibited solo projects and murals at the Ft. Smith Regional Art Museum, Plaza Walls, Atelier 339, Myriad Botanical Gardens, ahha Tulsa, and MAINSITE Contemporary Art. She is the founder of Art Friends (@artfriendsforever), a nationwide online platform dedicated to supporting emerging artists through community and education. Katelynn is the co-founder of Art Group OKC, a local artist collective and is a teaching artist at Oklahoma Contemporary (@okcontemporary) and Arts Council of Oklahoma City (@artscouncilokc)!
FOLLOW + SEE MORE FROM KATELYNN:
Website: www.katelynnknick.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katelynnnknick/
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
*** all proceeds from this Class will go towards Art Friend’s BIPOC scholarship fund ***
ART TALK w/ Andy Arkley, Artist + Designer + Musician
Meet and learn from Andy Arkley!
ABOUT ANDY:
Andy lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but is originally from Seattle, WA. He has a BA from The Evergreen State College where he studied animation and electronic music. He is a member of the sound collage band, The Bran Flakes, producing 6 full-length albums since 1999. He currently has installations at AHHA Tulsa, the WNDR Museum in Chicago and the Sweet Tooth Hotel near Dallas. He is also a fellow at the Tulsa Artist Fellowship.
ABOUT ANDY’S ART:
Andy Arkley is a visual artist, designer, musician, animator and technologist who often combines these disciplines in his work. He strives to make art that fosters inclusion, positivity and elation. He has primarily presented his work in installations - many of which combine sculpture, light, music, animation and interactivity. These interactive installations are meant to encourage creative collaboration between strangers. Recently he has become focused on creating more traditional paintings/sculptures using cut wood and acrylic paint. He likes to use brightly colored simple forms that invoke a sense of joy about being alive.
FOLLOW + SEE ANDY’S WORK:
Website: www.arkley.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_arkley/
This event will be on Saturday, August 13th from 2:00-3:00 PM CST on Zoom.
ART TALKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
CLASS: Legal Issues for Artists w/ Attorney, Artist, and Community Activist Ben Ezzell
AF CLASS: LEGAL ISSUES FOR ARTISTS
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Do I need an LLC? When should I use a written contract? Am I actually an independent contractor? In this session Ben Ezzell will discuss legal strategies for artists and what steps are actually necessary when growing a business. Come prepared with your questions or email Ben <BEzzell@gmail.com> with issues you are having or questions you'd like answered. This is an informational session, not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship.
This class will take place on Monday, July. 25th from 6:00 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST.
All AF Classes are held virtually on Zoom and will be recorded. All participants will receive a link to download the recording shortly after the class. Any questions? Email hi@artfriendsforever.com :)
ABOUT BEN:
Ben Ezzell is an attorney, artist, and community activist born and raised in Enid, Oklahoma. His legal practice has specialized in litigation, corporate and nonprofit law, bankruptcy, and real estate. Ben is a lifelong woodworker and visual artist with a focus on printmaking and immersive experiential art. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and volunteered time with many local organizations. Ben served two consecutive four-year terms on the Enid City Council from May 2013 – May 2021. In 2018 he co-founded a nonprofit, Atelier 339, Inc. to provide low-cost living and work space for artists alongside shared resources and equipment. Ben co-lead “Sugar High”, a temporary immersive installation in Enid that ran for six weeks in Spring 2022. His current venture, Itinerant Immersive, will bring mobile immersive installations to communities large and small.
FOLLOW + SEE MORE FROM BEN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ezzellworkshop/
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
*** all proceeds from this Class will go towards Art Friend’s BIPOC scholarship fund ***
ART TALK w/ Malcolm Zachariah, Artist
Meet and learn from visual artist, Malcolm Zachariah!
ABOUT MALCOLM:
Malcolm Zachariah is a multi-disciplinary artist based in his hometown of Oklahoma City. Self-taught while studying biochemistry (BS, University of Oklahoma), Malcolm draws on motifs from the macroscopic (rainforests and coral reefs) and microscopic (cells and molecules) worlds. He has recently explored the diverse relationships among life forms, including our own species, through printed kirigami installations made in collaboration with Emma Difani. Malcolm is also active in the arts through leadership in the Art Group OKC collective and promoting diversity and inclusion in art.
ABOUT MALCOLM’S ART:
I am a bridge-builder making connections between art and science with nature as my guide. I experiment in several media including pen and ink drawing, watercolors, ceramics, printmaking, and over 25 years of kirigami (cut and folded paper) sculpture. I find drawing and linework to be a common foundation, from sketchbooks to 3D watercolors. Recently, I have been making successively larger kirigami installations. Each medium teaches me something different about the elements of art, and I often distill biological forms into abstract geometries. I am often concerned with the intersection of planes.
FOLLOW + SEE MALCOLM’S WORK:
Website: www.malcolmzachariah.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lakshwadeep/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malcolmzachariahart/
This ART TALK will be on Sunday, July 17th from 1:-30-2:30 PM CST on Zoom.
ART TAlKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
CLASS: How to Confidently Charge Your Holy Fuck Pricing w/ Designer, Muralist, and Mindset + Pricing Coach Jess Langley
ABOUT THE CLASS:
How to Confidently Charge Your Holy Fuck Pricing
Ready for a confidence boost? Jess is going to walk you through how to set badass boundaries, advocate for yourself, and be okay with imperfection so you can make more and work less in your business. We'll touch on pricing strategies, how to deal with burnout and perfectionism, and finding your set of tools to feel at ease in your business. All so we can charge our Holy Fuck Pricing (which you'll learn more about), value ourselves, and ditch the starving artist mentality, together.
This class will take place on Friday, June 24th from 1:00 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST.
All AF Classes are held virtually on Zoom and will be recorded. All participants will receive a link to download the recording shortly after the class. Any questions? Email hi@artfriendsforever.com :)
ABOUT JESS:
Jess is a designer, muralist, and mindset + pricing coach. She runs two distinct businesses focused on bringing color, celebration, and business strategy to brands, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits so they can make a bigger impact.
Her first business, White Coffee Creative, is a design and mural studio that she started in June 2017 (5 years ago!) after getting laid off when the design firm she was working for restructured (genuinely, it was one of the best things that ever happened to her!). After connecting with many other creative entrepreneurs while running her business, she started to see the cracks in the industry — such as perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and lack of boundaries — and realized she wasn't the only one dealing with these struggles. That lead to her adding coaching offers. As The Colorful Jess, she helps creative entrepreneurs let go of perfectionism, feel confident, and ditch burnout by combining mindset work with pricing strategy and intuitive tools. She started a movement called Holy Fuck Pricing, which is all about empowering you to believe in and charge your value so we can ditch the starving artist mentality, together.
When she's not working, you can find Jess sipping coffee, bingeing Netflix shows, hiking with her pups, or dreaming about having a cabin in the woods.
FOLLOW + SEE MORE FROM JESS:
Instagram @thecolorfuljess and @whitecoffeecreativeco
All about Holy Fuck Pricing: thecolorfuljess.com/holy-fuck-pricing
Podcast: @thebadassroadmap and thebadassroadmap.com
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
ART TALK w/ Scout Coumo, Artist + Mentor
Meet and learn from artist + mentor, Scout Coumo !
ABOUT SCOUT:
The light-infused work by Scout Cuomo explores the intersection of the human and natural world. As an impressionistic and abstract impressionistic full-time working artist, Scout works predominately in the mediums of painting and drawing. By embedding pigment in thick coats of epoxy, she infuses her pieces with light to create a glass-like gloss. The end result is a surprisingly delicate, three-dimensional painting. An artist industriously producing new work, Scout has sold her paintings and prints online internationally for over a decade. Scout is dedicated to supporting the local creative economy as an artist coach and non-profit gallery owner at The You + ME Gallery. She collaborates with other community artists and makers, from blacksmiths to graphic designers. A native of Texas, she moved to the Northeast over fifteen years ago to seriously pursue her art. She’s a graduate of Smith College and has also worked as a tattoo apprentice and resurfaced wooden boats in the harbor of Provincetown, MA, while living on a sailboat—experiences that inform her work today.
ABOUT SCOUT’S ART:
Over time, I have realized that my pains, joys, and creative life are what connect me with all of humanity. I am not alone. You are not alone. We are connected. Painting has become my spiritual home. It is where I transform my discomfort and invite others into a shared experience of emotion.
Attending to metaphorical qualities of water and color, I aim to create art that is personal and universal — to depict psychological experiences of living that are reparative, serene, and immersive. We are fluid selves, clusters of contradictions in a culture that prioritizes productivity over presence. We frequently find ourselves in need of recentering. That is what my art offers. It offers a place to rest, expand, recoup, submerge, emerge, and be vulnerable... together.
FOLLOW + SEE SCOUT’S WORK:
www.scoutcuomo.com
https://www.instagram.com/scoutcuomo/
ART TAlKS are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
CLASS: Creating a Tarot Deck and Self-Publishing Your Work
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Creating a Tarot Deck and Self-Publishing Your Work
The class will be centered around the process of self-publishing a Tarot deck, from researching your first illustrations to shipping the final product out to a customer base. While the class will be focused specifically on Eric’s experiences with Tarot, the information will be relevant for any large serial work or independently published art product.
We’ll go over the technical processes of research, illustration, image editing, printing, getting a copyright, marketing, and selling your work to a wide audience. We’ll also touch on some of the more abstract and emotional aspects involved in a large project, like dealing with impostor syndrome, and balancing your personal aesthetic with a desire to be “marketable.”
This class will take place on Monday, May 23rd from 6:00 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST.
All AF Classes are held virtually on Zoom and will be recorded. All participants will receive a link to download the recording shortly after the class. Any questions? Email hi@artfriendsforever.com :)
ABOUT ERIC:
My name is Eric Maille, and I’m an independent illustrator working in the Oklahoma City Area. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2016 and have stayed in the area making artwork ever since. I’m a member of a local collective called “Art Group,” and my work has been shown in a handful of galleries, museums, and non-traditional venues in the state.
I work mostly traditionally, creating art by hand with ink and watercolor. In the fall of 2020, I self-published my first tarot deck, “The Ink Witch Tarot.” In the following year I also released an “expansion” set of cards for Ink Witch along with an extensive companion book for the deck, and my first Lenormand deck “The Paper Oracle.” I’m currently working full time as an independent artist. And most of my time these days is spent working on two new oracle decks; one of my own, and one that is a collaborative project.
FOLLOW + SEE MORE FROM ERIC:
https://www.instagram.com/elliamvi
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
ART TALK w/ Gina Ariko, Visual Artist
Meet and learn from visual artist, Gina Ariko!
ABOUT GINA:
Gina Ariko is a Seattle-based artist, educator, and community organizer. She credits her lifelong love of painting to her ojichan and obaachan, who were both professional artists in Kitakyushu, Japan. Despite the language and distance barriers between them, painting gave them a way to connect, which deeply impacted her relationship to art. After earning a BA in both English and Fine Art, she views art as another form of storytelling, and is particularly interested in exploring all the ways identity, cultural heritage, and self expression can be communicated with and without language.
ABOUT GINA’S ART:
Growing up biracial and a first-generation American, I often felt caught in the in-between, sometimes feeling “too American to be Japanese” and other times “too Japanese to be American.” This push-and-pull shows up in my work: nostalgia and a search for belonging are recurring themes in my paintings. I'll often incorporate Japanese still life objects or pattern work into my paintings as a way to study and share more of my heritage. I like painting common household objects in order to capture quiet, intimate everyday moments that might otherwise be overlooked.
Likewise, my figurative work is inspired by old family photos, at once familiar and distant, and the way shared memories can almost feel more like dreams. I love lingering in that in-between space, and hope that my paintings bring out a mix of comfort and curiosity in others, too.
FOLLOW + SEE GINA’S WORK:
https://www.instagram.com/ginaariko
ART TAlK’s are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
Printmaking Demo w/ Kathleen Neeley
Join us for a live printmaking demo on with the one and only, Kathleen Neeley! Kathleen will walk us through her hand printed linocut process and share her insights as a professional printmaker who has collaborated on projects for Netflix, the band Phish, and American Solera craft brewery.
ABOUT KATHLEEN:
Kathleen Neeley is an artist specializing in relief printmaking and illustration. She received a B.F.A. and M.A. from the University of Oklahoma. She lives in Tulsa. Her work is influenced by nature, fiction, music, medieval and ancient art, myths, and the decorative arts. It interprets personal and some less personal subjects—our ongoing climate crisis, for one—as characters in the myths and rituals of a fictional culture.
FOLLOW + SEE KATHLEEN’S WORK:
This is an exclusive member event! Join the Art Friends community here and catch the demo with Kathleen. The demo will be recorded and added to the Member Library, for members in the Community + Classes tier!
CLASS: The Magic of Rest w/ Witch and Coach, Cait Byrnes
ABOUT THE CLASS:
The Magic of Rest and How to Actually Fit it into your Damn Schedule
In this virtual class, Cait will guide us through:
The different types of rest and why they're essential for creatives
Why and how to reframe productivity + self-care
Working with your own internal cycles and the cycles of astrology for deeper rest and more creative vibes
The real real of being a business owner and side hustler and how that affects rest
All AF Classes are held virtually on Saturday, April 2nd 1:30 - 2:30 pm CST, on Zoom, and will be recorded. All participants will receive a link to download the recording shortly after the class. Any questions? Email hi@artfriendsforever.com :)
ABOUT CAIT:
Cait Byrnes (she/her) is a Holistic Wellness + Business Coach from the Jersey Shore, which is the traditional homeland of the Lənape Haki-nk (Lenni-Lenape) people and was known as Lenapehoking. As a practicing Witch with lineages from Irish and Italian traditions, Cait supports creatives who want to get out of the shitty toxic burnout cycle and build their service-based business, all with the help of magic (in a non-culturally appropriative way). Cait is also an Integrative Nutrition coach, multi-disciplinary artist, and burlesque performer, who uses a mixture of holistic wellness practices, spirituality, spell work, sensuality + sex magic, life coaching, and money mindset work to help creatives feel their best while they explore and heal their ancestral line, move through blocks, tap into the cycles of nature, and learn to work from a place of flow (instead of always overworking and overachieving). Cait is the founder of the Witch Healer School, and the creator of the New Moon Healing Circle, a monthly workshop for creatives interested in magic, astrology + witchcraft!
FOLLOW + SEE MORE FROM CAIT:
https://www.caitbyrnes.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cait.byrnes/
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
ART TALK w/ Krista Jo Mustain, Fiber Artist + Muralist
Meet and learn from fiber artist + muralist, Krista Jo Mustain!
ABOUT KRISTA:
Krista Jo Mustain is a fiber artist and muralist who is driven by an obsession with color, a craving to cover every surface in vibrant patterns, and a desire to celebrate everyday activities. She has a fascination with comfort and a deep love for naps. Mustain graduated with her BFA in Textile Design from the University of Kansas in 2011 and relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2015. Outside of her art practice she is the Production Manager at Flash Flood Print Studios where she loves getting to work with their team of artists to bring other creative’s vision to life. Krista loves nachos, confetti and hanging out with her dog.
ABOUT KRISTA’S ART:
I am a visual and interactive fiber artist who specializes in creating transformative environments and experiences through the use of murals, hand-dyed textile paintings, and sculptures. As a fiber artist, I have always intended for my work to be fully functional. I sought to create interactive work in which people felt free to wrap themselves in the quilts; enveloped in the emotion and history of that piece.
Rooted in an art history background, my energetic and exploratory work is inspired by a passion for the laborious felting processes of Turkish nomadic tribes and the beautiful, spontaneous and utilitarian quilts of Gee’s Bend. These references to historical processes speak to the importance I place on the use of pattern and color within the language of my work. I infuse my deep relationship with color theory into the artwork, which explores high-chroma color and it’s relationship to the human eye. Each step of my process is rooted in improvisation; every action a response to the previous one. The entire process is done by hand, with nearly no digital intervention. Spending intentional, dedicated time physically preparing the work, and touching every single part of it is a crucial part of my process. This analog practice is, in it’s own way, a pattern rooted in history; from which I draw great inspiration.
FOLLOW + SEE KRISTA’S WORK:
https://www.instagram.com/printpartyprintparty/
http://www.printpartyprintparty.com/
ART TAlK’s are exclusive member events. Not a member? Join the membership here!
All talks are held virtually on Zoom and the recording is uploaded to our Member Library.
ART TALK w/ Laurén Magda, Artist + Designer
Join us as we meet and learn from guest artist and designer, Laurén Magda!
ABOUT LAURÉN:
Laurén Magda is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She graduated from Detroit’s College for Creative Studies in 2011 with her degree in Illustration and has a decade of professional graphic design experience.
School and comparison created a conflict in Laurén’s art practice, but after embarking on a trauma healing journey in 2018 her longtime representational style took an abstract turn as a result of a more intuitive, meditative process.
Generational trauma healing, spiritual connection and mental health advocacy are the running themes in Laurén’s work and mission as an artist. To see more from Laurén, visit her IG profile @Laurenmagda_art or her website: laurenmagda.com
ARTIST STATEMENT:
I create because when I do, I feel the overwhelmingly beautiful peace of the Universe. That is to say, the raw state of flow that transports me to a place seemingly in another dimension beyond space & time — A place where organic inspiration happens without effort.
Growing up, I fell into the grip of generational trauma. Cutting the ties to those vestiges of pain and suffering through a healing journey has given me sacred space to create daily, and to make the art that my soul has always longed to. So my mission as a creative is to help break the stigma of trauma and mental health issues.
I use both natural and anatomical imagery to depict the connectedness of humans to the planet and that which cannot be seen with the naked eye.
My boldly vibrant art is the outward expression of my belief in the spiritual realm that I inadvertently kept hidden away for most of my life. Now free, my heart floods my canvases with color, love and the beautiful state that I find myself in when I put pen to paper & brush to board. I feel that we are supposed to pursue the peace of the Universe in this lifetime, & show others how to access it — Art is my conduit.
My work starts with a seed: a simple phrase or word that grows intuitively and blossoms into a finished entity. The sense of calm I feel as I create leads to detailed line work and vivid yet calm color palettes that start off as digital paintings and eventually become lively, tangible works on wood. My flat, graphic painting method most likely traces back to my upbringing in the Orthodox Church, where as a child I was engrossed by the flat, tempera painted religious iconography plastered to the cathedral’s walls and ceilings.
FOLLOW + SEE LAURÉN’S WORK:
laurenmagda.com
https://www.instagram.com/laurenmagda_art
CLASS: Redefining Social Media for 2022 w/ Jennifer V Hartly
Jennifer V Hartly is a multidisciplinary artist whose passions include creating flower crowns and empowering female creatives in their life, love, and business through her podcast The Modern Frida.
In this virtual class Jennifer will be teaching you how to make social media fun again. We will uncover the reasons why you’re over social media and how you can ignite your social spark again.
This class is perfect for the creative who wants to feel inspired and not drained, creating and sharing themselves and their work online.
FOLLOW + SEE MORE FROM JENN:
https://beacons.page/jennifervhartly/
Registration Cost: $26
Free for AF Members with the Class Pass
ART TALK w/ Artist, Marium Rana
Join us as we meet and learn from guest artist Marium Rana!
ABOUT MARIUM:
Marium Rana is an American-born Pakistani visual artist, who works primarily in ink and aqueous media. She is a graduate from Florida State University, where she received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art in 2013 and a Masters in Art Education in 2014. For five years, Marium taught fine art and art history in Tampa, Florida. Marium currently resides in Oklahoma with her husband and baby, Safiya, where she paints from her home studio.
In the summer of 2011, during her time in art school, Marium received an undergraduate research grant to study traditional Mughal miniature painting in Lahore, Pakistan. Marium studied with Professor Naheed Fakhar of the National College of Arts, the top fine arts school in Pakistan. This traditional technique includes painting with a brush made from one hair of a squirrel’s tail. Following this experience, The Qalam Series arised. The Qalam Series consists of twenty-one 8x11 inch paintings. The aesthetics of this series were inspired the traditional ornamentation of the region and modern day street art in Pakistan. Marium has curated numerous art exhibitions, held solo exhibitions, and exhibited throughout the United States. When she is not painting in her studio, she has served as the design chair for TEDxFSU, painted various murals, has been commissioned by Aramco World Magazine, and presented her research at symposiums and various institutions.
Currently, Marium is working on a series of 22x30 inch paintings. The series, A Place to Call Home, delves into the complexity of belonging to two different cultures and trying to make a home out of stories of places and moments one has not personally experienced. The paintings depict landscapes that do not exist our tangible world and seem as imaginary as the places that have existed before us.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
The painting series, A Place to Call Home, depicts the complexity of belonging to two different cultures and trying to make a home out of stories of places and moments one has not personally experienced. The paintings depict landscapes that do not exist in our tangible world, lost somewhere between the past and the present. These vibrant landscapes seem as imaginary as the places that have existed before us.
FOLLOW + SEE MARIUM’S ART:
ART TALK w/ Danny Joe Rose III, Artist
Meet and hear from artist and designer, Danny Joe Rose III!
Danny Joe Rose III is an artist and educator who has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, as well as Indonesia, Argentina, Mexico, Romania, and Canada. They seek inspiration in their travels through sunsets, rock formations and the various landscapes they’ve encountered. Experimentation plays a big role in their process and has led Rose to adopt an intuitive method of painting, relying on memory and impulse.
“My work is inspired by colors and forms found in nature. I discover my pictures through an intuitive method of drawing and painting. A variety of tools and mediums are used in an effort to explore many outcomes. The paintings that emerge from this practice reveal memories of the natural world and my desire to connect with it.”
FOLLOW + SEE DANNY’S WORK
https://www.instagram.com/dannyrosestudio/
https://dannyrosestudio.com
All ART TALK’s are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone.
ART TALK’s are exclusive events for AF Members only.
Not a member yet? JOIN HERE
CLASS: Resumes for Artists w/ Katelynn Noel Knick
Join AF Founder, Katelynn Noel Knick, for a deep dive on how to create, curate, and maintain your creative resume. Katelynn will present ideal practices for how to create the perfect resume for various art opportunities and jobs, tips to keep it easy to maintain, and offer specific guidance on how to organize, strengthen, and curate your resume based on your individual strengths.
This is perfect for the artist who is wants extra support in fine tuning their resume and building confidence in identifying and sharing their achievements with the world.
All AF Classes are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone.
Registration Open!
Class Cost: $20
Free for AF Members w/ Class Pass
ART TALK w/ Joshua Jaiye Farrell, Artist + Muralist
Meet and hear from artist and muralist, Joshua Jaiye Farrell!
Oklahoma-based artist Jaiye Farrell cultivated his style of painting from abstract patterns that transcend societal and cultural divides and remember the communal roots of humanity. From an infatuation with archeology emerged a creative and ambitious talent: to craft signature designs that inspire self-reflection.
“The pattern I am cultivating is a rhythm of line and shape. I use like a substance that morphs so I can transform surfaces objects and spaces around me.”
FOLLOW + SEE JAIYE’S WORK
https://www.instagram.com/dawnjaiye/
https://www.jaiyetheartist.com/
All ART TALK’s are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone.
ART TALK’s are exclusive events for AF Members only.
Not a member yet? JOIN HERE
CLASS: Creative Meditation w/ Aimee Sones
Join us and learn mindfulness and meditation techniques that will have you feeling grounded, relaxed, and ready to feel your best in and out of the studio. Participants will learn a few simple meditative tools to access your inner wisdom, joy, amusement, creativity and intuition. In this class you will experience the opportunity to be grounded and the possibilities that open up for your creative practice when you turn the volume up on your inner voice and let go of the chatter and busy-ness of the world around us.
ABOUT AIMEE:
Aimee Sones is a professional artist, educator, and meditation expert. Aimee was born and raised in southern California, holds an MFA from the Ohio State University, her work has been published and exhibited nationally and internationally. She has taught at numerous institutions including California State University, Fullerton, the National School of Applied Arts “St. Luca,” Sofia, Bulgaria and the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Aimee’s passions include making art (mainly photographs these days), cooking, swimming and meditation. She believes that meditation unlocks the creative center within each one of us and looks forward to empowering people of all ages to access their intuition and inner gifts.
FOLLOW + LEARN MORE ABOUT AIMEE:
https://www.instagram.com/aimeesones
https://www.aimeesones.com/
https://www.mountainmoversschool.org/
THE DETAILS:
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7th 11:30 - 1:00 PM CST
All AF Classes are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone. Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the class.
AF Classes are open to anyone! You can register by clicking the “Register for Class” below. '
AF Classes are included in the Community + Classes Membership tier! Any member at this level can attend for free.
All participants will receive a private link to the recording after the event.
Registration Open!
CLASS: NFT's w/ Kris Kanaly
This class dives deep into NFT’s, what they are, and how artists can get their foot in this new market. Are you curious about what they even are or how you can transform your work into this digital medium + currency? This is 100% for you then, my friend.
Taught by artist, muralist, and designer Kris Kanaly. Kris has created and sold many NFT artworks and wants to share his process, knowledge, and skills with ART FRIENDS.
ABOUT KRIS:
Kristopher Kanaly is a lowbrow fine artist, muralist, 8-bit animator, curator, graffiti scoundrel, graphic designer, co-founder of a nonprofit, and now ... maker of NFTs. Hailing from Oklahoma City with extensive family origins in the art world (dating back to his great grandfather’s gallery established in 1919), Kanaly grew up in a family of artists, art collectors, art dealers, and graphic designers. Kanaly pushed the family art envelope further by immersing himself in the graffiti and street art culture of the late 90s and quickly started traveling to paint jams and mural festivals as early as 2000. Alongside the evolution of his artistic career, Kanaly worked as a graphic designer and creative director for some of the SW region’s top agencies until pursuing art full time by 2018. In 2021 Kanaly launched his first NFT and has since created several significant bodies of work in the NFT space.
FOLLOW + SEE KRIS’ WORK
http://pyramidguy.xyz/
http://galactibles.xyz/
https://www.instagram.com/pyramidguy
https://www.kriskanaly.com/
THE DEETS
All AF Classes are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone. Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the class.
AF Classes are open to anyone! You can register by clicking the “Register for Class” below. '
AF Classes are included in the Community + Classes Membership tier! Any member at this level can attend for free.
All participants will receive a private link to the recording after the event.
ART TALK w/ Dan Lynh Pham, Artist
Meet and hear from artist and illustrator, Dan Lynh Pham!
Dan Lynh Pham is a Vietnamese artist and illustrator in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pham uses a variety of art mediums from watercolors, sculpture, and digital art and illustrations. She completed her BFA in Studio Art at Oklahoma State University. Pham’s work focuses on her ongoing fascination with her identity, socialization, and the construction of culture. Her work aims to redefine what it means to be an Asian American woman.
“My work examines my ongoing fascination with my identity, socialization, and the construction of culture. I was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States in 1994 as a refugee. My family life growing up followed the Confucian family structure, yet I was forced to assimilate to the dominant American culture I experienced outside my household. I want to celebrate the unique experiences I had growing up as a Vietnamese immigrant in a predominantly white community. Many of the things I found comfort in as a child were viewed as exotic or strange by my peers. I seek to normalize these unique cultural elements and educate others. I want my peers to take away a deeper understanding of my culture and the struggles that Asian/Asian Americans face and for my AAPI peers to celebrate and feel prideful about the unique cultural elements that may have alienated us from the mainstream American experience in the past.
My newer work approaches the recent spike in violence and continued racism against the Asian community and how it plays into the history of anti-Asian sentiment in the United States. Members of the AAPI community, particularly Asian women, are often expected to meet several conflicting tropes that have pervaded throughout American culture: the docile servant, the exotic sexual object, the industrious worker. However, we are never seen as strong, independent, or commanding. We are expected to perform in the workplace, but are rarely promoted to leadership roles. These depictions of Asian Americans serve to dehumanize us and permit violent and racist acts against our community. My latest work combats these tropes by reminding viewers of our humanity and reclaims our identity as powerful and competent individuals.”
FOLLOW + SEE DAN’S WORK
https://www.instagram.com/danphamit.art
https://stillmill.store/
All ART TALK’s are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone.
ART TALK’s are exclusive events for AF Members only.
Not a member yet? JOIN HERE
ART TALK w/ Taryn Singleton, Artist and Founder of Artist Made Patterns
Meet and hear from artist and queen, Taryn Singleton!
Taryn Singleton is an artist, designer, and educator. She lives in North Eastern Oklahoma, exhibits regionally, and is the creative behind Artist Made Patterns. She works in a variety of mediums to make fine art and functional art objects.
She is interested in the persistence of power dynamics / imbalances and systemic inequality. She explores these concerts through the use of formal elements and implied narrative by creating invented landscape spaces in print, paint, and fiber. She then navigates through the spaces using observation, abstraction, line, shape, pattern, color and the cultivation of accidents. Working non-objectively, one decision informs another and the sum of her choices slowly warps the whole as characters move in and out from their surroundings and one another. In this way the world outside herself slowly merges with the world within and she seeks to understand it all through the process of making.
FOLLOW + SEE TARYN’S WORK
https://www.instagram.com/tarynwearsstuff/
https://www.instagram.com/artistmadepatterns/
https://artistmadepatterns.com/
All ART TALK’s are virtual and held over Zoom. Times listed are US Central Time Zone.
ART TALK’s are exclusive events for AF Members only.
Not a member yet? JOIN HERE
NEW MEMBER LAUNCH PARTY
Join the AF community for our NEW MEMBER LAUNCH PARTYYY! 🎉🎉🎉
All members who join before September 16th are invited to attend our welcome party to celebrate and get to know the founding members. There will be giveaways, games, and all the good vibes.
AF Members: Zoom link to follow, bb’s.
US Central Time Zone.
Not a member yet? JOIN HERE