NAC is proud to partner with The Cottage Restaurant & Bar for a fun event coming Wednesday, February 26 from 6-8:30 pm – “Night of 1000 Endoras: A Bewitching Costume & Dance Party”! Tickets are $25 and include one beverage and light appetizers. The event benefits both NAC and The Cottage and is limited to the first 50 patrons, guaranteed a bewitching (early!) night of fun! Attendees are encouraged to come as Endora, or any character you choose, including yourself! An original portrait of Endora by artist Michelle Filer will be raffled at the event. Tickets and raffle tickets are on sale now at our website www.nacartscollab.com. See Endora portrait image on this page.
Falling Star Gallery @ NAC opened “Lens: The World by K.I.”, on Thursday, January 30 to an enthusiastic crowd of friends and art patrons. The exhibition continues Saturdays from February 1 through March 1, 11-4 or by appointment. Enjoy the profile on K.I. below written by our own super-volunteer Nancy Ellen Walker.
NAC is accepting vendor applications for Arts Market fairs to be held in our parking lot starting in March. Vendors can sign up for these events on our website now.
Nacogdoches Arts Collaborative is located inside the Williamsburg Plaza, 320 North Street, Suite 307. The Falling Star Gallery @ NAC is in Suite 306 and is open Saturdays from 11-4 or by appointment by texting 917-209-1050. We are also an easy walk from downtown at 415 N. Fredonia Street, one block north of the Fredonia Hotel.
Meet K.I.!
K.I. is a 21-year-old senior at SFA, slated to graduate this May with a B.A. in art (her major is drawing) with a minor in business communications. Born in Atlanta, GA, K.I. moved with her family to the Dallas area when she was 15. She is the eldest of four sisters, all of whom are creative.
“I was one of these kids who drew all the time. On everything. My homework papers went unfinished but I had covered the papers with all these drawings.” After graduating from high school, K.I. started out as a business major at SFA and by the end of her first semester, she was miserable. Her parents encouraged her to change majors and to pursue whatever would get her out of bed and into a seat in class. She changed her major her sophomore year. “Art was just the natural path for me. I am so fortunate that my family supported me in this decision.” After graduation, K.I. plans to pursue an MFA and is investigating programs at SMU, UT at Arlington and TCU. “I’d like to be closer to my family now,” she says, “especially since I plan to try my luck in New York at some point.”
K.I. works in mixed media, often adding elements to her paintings after the fact. Her images are layered and influenced by manga, anime, and other cartoon styles, plus artists such as graffiti artist Clarence James and the late Jean-Michel Basquiat . “I often use recycled materials, including paper. Canvas is expensive. I can work in pencil, but also pastels and graffiti markers– even cattle markers!” She laughs and pulls up a photo on her phone of cattle markers for sale, big greasy crayons in bright colors that would show up on cowhide. “They’re cheaper than oil pastels,” she confides.
K.I.’s current show at Falling Star Gallery is her first public exhibition. It will include original drawings and paintings, plus two helmets she has built and painted for the event. You may have seen her vending her work at recent NAC arts markets. The Nacogdoches Arts Collaborative is proud to support K.I. and other young artists like her in the continuing quest to shed light on local talent and create opportunities for visual artists, musicians, dancers, theater people and creative writers to earn revenue from their art.everyone– music, visual arts, dance, theater and creative writing– and we all benefit from them flourishing here.