WELCOME 2010::
Exciting news
1.) i'm engaged!
2.) i had the honor of snagging 2 gold ADDYs at the Triangle's 2010 celebration "Under the Influence", for the student division, of course.

Previously
1.) The Lee Hansley Gallery hosted an exhibition of Paul Hartley's students in his two Raleigh galleries... that exhibition is now traveling to Greenville, NC.

Upcoming
1.) hopefully completing that kinston mural that has been in the works FOREVER!
2.) show in greenville @ Moxie in June... can't wait to unviel that work!
3.) i'm moving to durham

more soon!

Take the first step! Learn the basics of Encaustic painting!
ENCAUSTIC PAINTING WORKSHOP
Ages 16+
An introduction to encaustic painting.
This workshop will introduce participants to the age old medium of encaustic painting. Dating back to ancient Egypt, encaustics have re-emerged as a popular and versatile medium. All materials provided. All skill levels are welcome. Please bring a sack lunch. September 12, 2009 11- 4 pm, instructor Niki Litts


Holly Springs Residents $50
Non- residents $60
Materials fee $25 (to be paid to instructor the morning of the workshop)

Register by September 9th.
Register online at www.hollyspringsnc.us (contact the Cultural Center first to get your barcode and family PIN)

(919) 567-4000 or email niki at niki.litts@hollyspringsnc.us

I'm officially 6 weeks into my education for webdevelopment. The jury is still out, but i'm hoping that it's just the adjustment period that i'm dealing with and that something will light a fire under my ass soon.

I haven't had hardly anytime to do things like make artwork or update my website, save this rare instance when the caffine has not worn off and my head is killing me from sinus pain. (Joy the head cold).

Keep thinking that i should be painting or working on homework, but in all this rat race shit, i've sort of lost sight of what gets my creativity going. I'm a journal keeper. Have been since 1992 and keeping a journal over the last 3 years has been more of a chore than anything. I think it might be time to get to a point where it's a regular ritual of the evening again. It's strange how i don't want to write since i don't have anything to bitch about anymore. This has been the best year of my life, between meeting my <3 and relocating from eastern NC. I should have work coming out of my ears.

I think i'm gonna go work on that.
love. n.

Announcing two exhibitions for the month of June
featuring Niki Litts
Raleigh, NC

The Cultural Arts Center in Holly Springs will host a solo exhibition for Niki during the month of June. A small reception will be held in the artist honor on June 12, 6:00 - 8:00 PM during the Holly Springs/ Fuquay Varina art walk, Art After Dark . The Cultural Arts Center is located at 300 W Ballentine St., in Holly Springs, NC.

In addition, the United Arts Council in downtown Raleigh will host a two person show featuring Litts along with 3-D artist Allison Coleman. An opening reception will be held on Friday, June 5th from 6- 9 PM. The exhibit will be on display from June 5- 30, 2009. The United Arts Council Space is located at 110 S. Blount Street in Raleigh. This exhibit is part of the Community Exchange Exhibition program curated and facilitated by the Visual Art Exchange.

In September KungFu Tattoo of Durham will host a two-person exhibit featuring Fred Doyle & Niki Litts: Sept 18, 2009, with the epic third Friday bash. Please do not miss this!

For further information:
Holly Springs Cultural Arts Center
www.hollyspringsnc.us

United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake Co.
www.unitedarts.org

Visual Art Exchange
www.visualartexchange.org

Niki Litts
www.nikilitts.com
http://www.myspace.com/thegoodchild

Kung Fu Tattoo
http://www.kungfutattoo.com

*Announcing two exhibitions for the month of June
featuring Niki Litts
Raleigh, NC*

The Cultural Arts Center in Holly Springs will host a solo exhibition for Niki during the month of June. A small reception will be held in the artist honor. Date & Time TBA. The Cultural Arts Center is located at 300 W Ballentine St., in Holly Springs, NC.

In addition, the United Arts Council in downtown Raleigh will host a two person show featuring Litts along with 3-D artist Allison Coleman. An opening reception will be held on Friday, June 5th from 6- 9 PM. The exhibit will be on display from June 5- July 30, 2009. The United Arts Council Space is located at 110 S. Blount Street in Raleigh. This exhibit is part of the Community Exchange Exhibition program curated and facilitated by the Visual Art Exchange.

For further information:
Holly Springs Cultural Arts Center
www.hollyspringsnc.us

United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake Co.
www.unitedarts.org

Visual Art Exchange
www.visualartexchange.org

It is 18 minutes to 6. I am counting down my minutes here. Sun kissed East Coast skin says goodbye, goodbye. Flat open fields, skies for miles and miles. It never sounds bad when i describe you geographically. Aesthetically, I love you in cotton, i love you in tobacco, I love you sun scorched and burning in the heat of July. Sometimes i even love your friends, in spite of themselves. I don't care what they do at night, I don't care which side of the fence they rest on, as long as a smile rests on me and mine.

You may love me, and i may love you, but your wide open expressions never made me feel at home. I loved you the way i love to eat cake, just a little taste, too much is a waste. Your wide open expressions are dramatic and make me feel i am the center of all things, but when i am drunk with the illusion, you're sending your devils to steal away my happiness.

The truth is that you are no good for me. We could never see eye to eye. You will always be able to sweep me up dramatically, believably, but you'll never capture the best of what i have to give, no, that sort of thing can not be conned out of a lover, a friend or any other.

I am taking my best and leaving you. Please, don't call, don't write. I won't ever be back for you. My love in the city is waiting. I won't make him wait anymore.

The official news: I have been accepted into school for design and web development. June 2009 is the lucky month. So i'm looking for employment in the raleigh area. There is a slim possibility that i will be able to remain at the arts council through the summer. But both sides are still negotiating details and realities.

The relocation is still unofficial. We are working on that.

This is a move that has been a long time coming and will, ultimately, allow me to create more work. I've also been blessed with a shiny new shared studio space in rals. The space will allow me to FINALLY create large scale pieces and hopefully get this ball rolling again. Added bonus * my studio mates are my badass bf and his son. ;)

In the meantime, I am still living in Greenville. The anticipated change is refreshing and needed, as i have been increasingly losing momentum in my work production since i moved here three (gosh, nearly four) years ago. I can't believe it's only been that long, feels like i've been here for EONS!

I'm not a fan of trying to find footing on this loose ground of an art scene. Great artists roll in and outta here so quickly. The people holding it down are the gallery owners and a few key kids rocking the alternative performance space. Then, being on the administrative side, I'm getting to see the uglier side of the artist here in the East. This position has given me priceless insight into how easy it is to come off as a jerk to the people i who i should be cooperating with! The wonders never cease. More as it becomes available.

I will be participating in the annual holiday craft festival at the Holly Springs Cultural Arts Center on OCT 25, 2008 from 10:00- 4:00 PM. The festival will be on rain or shine!

I will be there selling holiday ornaments! Please come visit me!

It's official. I have an exhibition scheduled for June 2009 at the Cultural Arts Center in Holly Springs NC.

I'm struggling though.

I was just waiting for some rediculously large files to load at work and searched an old classmate's name. lhttp://www.boydshropshire.com/kymia/lKymia Nawabil Her work is autobiographical, beautiful and gross from the most genuine personal places. It's hard to make work like that. I searched her a long time ago, after grad school to see what she'd been up to and what her work was like and i couldn't find much. But today i searched and came up with tons of stuff. She's very specific about what she offers her viewer.

I think this is where i've fell off.

I'm working on a series of graphite portraits. People who, for whatever reason, have cemented in my mind. Their image, art, person, etc. I am trying to capture how i feel about them and their person, what makes them special using as little image as possible. I'm on the verge of finishing my first one. I'm fairly clear about my objective here.

But i've yet to find that same clarity with paint. In grad school, i went from being a painter to a composer/designer. Painting has not been the same for me since. I miss painting. I'm hoping that some day soon, I'll be able to sit down and make a painting that feels as good as the drawings i've been making.

I never update this like i should. BUT... after spending the last 4 weeks swamped at work with marketing, i'm finally moving out of that haze and into some actual visual art projects.

I've taken on my 3rd mual project in Kinston. It's currently in the design stages. The location is Spring Hill and Queen, to demonstrate the highly specific "Kinston, we're on the Way." I have some nice ideas that will stir nostalgia in some current residents of the town. Expect a design utilizing perspective and optimistic realism.

Also, in the planning stages is an exhibition during the spring of 09 at the Holly Springs Cultural center facility. I'm itching to get more indepth with encaustic, and sewing and integrating local landscapes. More images coming soon.

I suppose i owe you a report on my workshop in durham.

The 5 days were a sort of blur of information. Each evening i would return to my hotel room and crash, brain completely overflowing with information i felt desperate to hold on to. First we approached the digital photograph. This part was very easy for me since i am a visual artist, so i spent most of the day with my partner testing our cameras trying to make good use of the objects we brought along to use as props. My partner on this day was the planning director for the Hallowa-Saponi (spelling) Indian tribe near Rocky Mount. He was a member of a drum circle and was interested in documenting the culture of his community. My favorite part of that day was when he sang. If you have not heard the American Indians from this part of the country sing. You need to figure out how to make this happen before you die. They throw a pow wow every year. If i get the information, i will be sure to share. And i certainly will be making a trip to see these guys in action.

The next chapter was audio. I have no prior experience with audio, but i fell for the medium. HARD. The process of recording and editing was so seductive regardless of the fact that our computer kept crashing. My partner on that day was a young mom from Knightdale who was working to establish a documented history of social rights activists. Our interviews got rather personal as we attempted to find parallels between us and creatively deliver our message. The presenter that day was a master of his medium. I was impressed with the resources and examples her presented. I REALLY wanted to an audio project, but work had already dictated was i was going to be working on... :(.

Then came the video. This was by far the most difficult to tackle in one day. We made a 3 minute documentary on a visiting artist. After figuring out the technical crap on the camera, i was enjoying the challenge of capturing visual information. The editing process on the other hand was scary and rushed. I have immense respect for people in the field. This has the most potential for richness, however, only if it is done well.

Work has kept me INSANELY busy! I will be headed to Durham on friday to attend the annual folklife institue confrence. It is 5 days of intense workshops, presented in partnership with the Center for Documentary Studies, NC Arts Council and others. Participants will learn about ALL asspect of documenting, including digi photography, Gathering data, sound recording, podcasts!, editing, project development, etc.

This is an area that i have had NO access to in the past, and therefor, have ignored possibility of exploring this territory.

Not only will this add an additional fascet to my job title (like i need one more thing), but this process could lend itself to future installations. I'm very excited about this opportunity.

Report soon.

The Visitor's Center mural in Kinston, North Carolina is finally complete and has been installed! While the mural falls outside of my normal comfort zone, and frankly, is not all that interesting, it shines in it's intended context. I am waiting for the landscaping to be finished before i head out there for documentation. Please ckeck back to see images of this new piece that is to be included on the Community Council for the Art's Public Art Trail.

The next mural is already moving forward. I am due to complete a mural, on site, at the Lenoir County Memorial Hospital's Wellness Center. It's a rather comtemporary facility and is proud of it's abstract details. I have to say i am looking forward to completing this project. Colors used in the design represent different states of mind and body. Images to follow it's completion.

It's been a busy month!
I am currently working on new drawings and encaustic paintings that will be shown for the first time at my upcoming exhibit.

Exhibit will be Aug 23- Oct 12 at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, NC, located in the administrative building lobby. A closing reception and artist talk has not yet been scheduled. Again, please check for updates.

New drawings quietly explore the relationship between self and intimate emotional expression. What happens when you are left with you own love? Ans what becomes of the things you give away when the one you give them away to no longer exists?

My pieces are traditionally autobiographical, but where the "myself" was an assumed presence, I have replaced that assumption with self portraits.

All new drawings are done in graphite and are void of color in an effort to simplify the subject matter and my attachment to color as a symbol. (Not to mention my inability to paint these days)

Encaustics serve as studies and sketches as I explore and determine my personal relationship with new candidates for my visual vocabulary bank.

I've just begun work on a mural for the new Visitor's Center in Kinston, NC. I obtained the job through my work at the Arts Council. The mural is set to be completed in the next 3 weeks. Dimentions are 4x 10- a lovely oval shape. The dedication ceremony is tenatively scheduled for the beginning of September. Please watch for up dates