Artist Bio (Needs work!)

“I find myself greatly affected by the history of Craft in America. The matrilineal heritage of creative expression and repurposed materials passed down through the culture of quilting touches me, particularly in work from the African-American community. Women used the scraps of their work to create warmth for their families; these pieces became a form of artistic self-expression of a magnitude long overlooked in our cultural narrative. They made something from nothing. And then, passed it down to us. We discard the scraps of our consumer society and make nothing from something. And then, what will we pass down?”

Nina grew up in Virginia with a “spirited, bohemian” mother who encouraged her to explore all areas of creativity. She studied art and English in college. When she found her early formal education hindered by Attention Deficit Disorder, she learned her craft by mentoring with talented artists, intensive self-study of contemporary art, and an insatiable appetite for reading.   At forty, she continues to study and is preparing to re-enter academia. “My education has been a lifelong pursuit that will hopefully never end. I am very open about my Attention Deficit Disorder and intend to live my life not only as an advocate for others with learning disabilities, but also as an example of a tenacious (if perhaps non-traditional) practice of art.

Recently she trained as a Teaching Artist and collaborated with middle school girls on a mixed media installation in her award-winning LEAP (learn + empower art program) after school 4-H program. In 2009, she conducted a pilot arts integration residency, “Circles of Life”. She used individual student artwork and suggestions for improving their own personal “ecosystems” to create a collaborative work representative of interdependence (concentric circles) in family, classroom, school, community, state, nation, and planet.