AIGA card, Ann Petit, and Graphics West

Last time I wrote I talked about an AIGA card. Until today I had not scanned the card, but here it is:



I wanted to scan it instead of put the original file because I'm so excited about it and the paper grain proves to me its existence. So there it is. I know that's funny, but hey I'm kind of a little weird.

Here are people who helped make the AIGA card successful.

Ann Petit from Suede Studios designed the card.

I met Ann soon after moving to Vegas at a Henderson Chamber of Commerce event. She has become a great friend... but most importantly for the purposes here, she is an excellent graphic designer, creative director, and visual consultant with over 25 years experience.

She is incredible. Her and I sat for hours making this card. This is how our night went:
Nicky: lets do this and that
Ann: "ah how about this?"
Nicky: "WOW that's amazing, I would never had thought of that."

Over and over again for hours.


Then I went home to do some work and she spent more hours on it.

Ann came to my rescue to assist when last minute I didn't have an assistant. She's going to help make giant recycled paper (a pain in the butt process that makes this project go around). I want to send her a large big cuddly thanks, she def doesn't have the time to help with this project, but has squished me in when she can, and when she shouldn't have but I was desperate. Its all well appreciated.

Here might be a good place to add that she also let me experiment on her with the cast. She was the first person to let me do it to them, not even my boyfriend would let me! For good reason, I hadn't perfected my skill yet and ripped out quite a bit of her hair. She was a trooper though. I have planned for her to be the next model photographed, 1st business owner to be photographed...exciting! So if I ever get to the editing for the last shoot, soon after Ann's photos will be up. They're going to be awesome. Even her hair in intertwined in the project! That's dedication and great friendship ;)

I am hiring Ann to reconstruct everything visual for Nicky Watts Studios, including a new website, logo, business cards, a secret marketing idea that we developed, and more. I am so excited because she is in tuned with all that stuff that I could care less to think about. So far we have had a consultation. She's absolutely organized and really sat there with me until both of us understood what was getting done. This service is priceless when you are hiring someone for this sort of thing. I recommend you have her redo your business's public image and advertising. Its worth it.

Suede Studios
Ann Petit
www.suedestudio.com
ann@suedestudio.com

Thanks to Sam, Val, Morgan, Jenn, and Marcelo for attending the reception. It was a great time.

After the event:

The company that sponsored the AIGA fundraiser: What's your Cause, was kind enough to print us 100 cards and 25 posters of our cards for free. This greatly helped the Wear Recycle crew to get out the word, and to start feeling like all this hard work is worth something, recognition I guess you could say. I want to formally thank Graphics West for being the first sponsor of Wear Recycle! Thank you.

Graphics West
www.graphicswest.com
3901 Graphic Center Dr
Las Vegas, NV 89118
(702) 798-9444

They did a great job, so lets use them when possible and send them happy and warm thankful energy.

Name change...coming again..Wear Recycle

Wow has the month moved fast.

I first want to acknowledge that it is about 40 degree warmer here in Vegas then I am used to from Chicago. Its awesome. I go out with minimal layers, no jacket at night! I love that.

So for those who have been watching my flickr page, I have been doing some commission work that's not to exciting. That's nothing compared to the advances that have been made in the Wear Recycle project.

The name will soon be changed again because I'm finally pinpointing the concept down. I was never really settled with the project being about fashion's relation with material. It was a start in developing the idea for the physical sculptures, but for the process: casting someone, the closeness, the conversation, the relationships that were being built and exploited in the process seemed more important than the fashion aspects. Tricia Blauvelt is helping me develop another name. I will announce it when it is officially changed...again.

Wear Recycle updates

Wow has the month moved fast.

I first want to acknowledge that it is about 40 degree warmer here in Vegas then I am used to from Chicago. Its awesome. I go out with minimal layers, no jacket at night! I love that.

So for those who have been watching my flickr page, I have been doing some commission work that's not to exciting. That's nothing compared to the advances that have been made in the Wear Recycle project.

The name will soon be changed again, because I finally pinpointing the concept down. I was never really settled with the project being about fashion's relation with material. It was a start in developing the idea for the physical sculptures, but it the process: casting someone, the closeness, the conversation, the relationships that were being built and exploited in the process seemed more important than the fashion aspects. Tricia Blauvelt is helping me develop another name. I will announce it when it is officially changed...again.

Last time I wrote I talked about an AIGA card. Until today I had not scanned the card, but here it is:



I wanted to scan it instead of put the original file because I'm so excited about them and the paper grain proves to me their existance. So there it is.

Here are people who helped with the success of the AIGA card.

Ann Petit from Suede Studios designed the card.

I met Ann soon after moving here at a Henderson Chamber of Commerce event. She has become a great friend... but most importantly for the purposes here, she is an excellent graphic designer, creative director, and visual consultant with over 25 years experience.

She is incredible. Her and I sat for hours making this card. Mostly I was like lets do this and that, and she was like "ah how about this", and I was like...."WOW that's amazing, I would never had thought of that". Over and over again for hours.
Then I went home to do some work and she spent more hours on it.

Related but unrelated: Not to mention she came to my rescue to assist when last minute I didn't have an assistant, and she's going to help make giant recycled paper (a pain in the butt process that makes this project go around). I want to send her a large big cuddly thanks, she def doesn't have the time to help with this project, but has squished me in when she can, and when she shouldn't have but I was desperate. Its all Well appreciated.

Here might be a good place to add that she also let me experiment on her with the cast. She was the first person to let me do it to them, not even my boyfriend would let me! For good reason, I hadn't perfected my skill yet and ripped out quite a bit of her hair. She was a trooper though. I have planned for her to be the next model photographed, 1st business owner to be photographed...exciting! So if I ever get to the editing for the last shoot then you will soon after see Ann's photos. They're going to be awesome.

I am hiring Ann to reconstruct everything visual for Nicky Watts Studios, including a new website, logo, business cards, a secret marketing idea that we developed, and more. I am so excited because she is so in tuned with all that stuff that I could care less to think about. I recommend you have her redo your business's public image as well. Its worth it.

Suede Studios
Ann Petit
www.suedestudio.com



After the event:
The company that sponsored the AIGA fundraiser that put this competition on, was kind enough to print us 100 cards and 25 posters. This greatly helped the Wear Recycle crew to get out the word, and to start feeling like all this hard work is worth something, recognition I guess you could say. I want to formally thank Graphics West for being the first sponsor of Wear Recycle! Thank you.

Graphics West
www.graphicswest.com
3901 Graphic Center Dr
Las Vegas, NV 89118
(702) 798-9444

They did a great job, so lets use them when possible and send them happy and warm thankful energy.

To move on.

Last weekend Rich, our old roommate Tim from Chicago, and I drove to LA where we attended a Christmas party with a band named Malbec. Malbec is great. They have wicked hip music and are so creative when it comes to their videos and photos. I photographed them before when I went to LA with Rich.

This time the whole Malbec crew, excluding their manager let me cast them. It is huge because it they are the first people that did not have their heads casted. We casted Nick's upper back/shoulders, Mark's whole back while he was bending down touching his toes, Sam's shoulder to her elbow but she had it extended back and inverting and flexing, I don't know, it was weird, Sid's shoulders but more in the front and separate, and Pablos two forarm tops held in fists. They came out great and I'm really excited both to have alternative body parts other than heads, and 5 people. That's the most so far in one shoot. Exciting!

I just want to mention that I wore a crazy hootchie tight bright red jump suit with a candy cane print belt to their Christmas party. It was treacherous. Certainly a good laugh. I never meant to really wear that thing...

Here's a great video that Malbec just put out.

video

Look at this awesome video that Rich Castro made for the Wear Recycle shoot #4!


Nicky Watts Studios - Wear Recycle Photoshoot #4 from Rich Castro on Vimeo.

Wear Recycle #3, sneak peak of #4, and more

Hello everyone.

A new Henderson Art Association blog is really kick butt: www.hendersonartassociation.blogspot.com

A lot has been going on in the crazy life of Nicky. I have started the sculptures I am making for WoPro, my licensing for Nicky Watts Studios has been officially started, I submitted a card design for AIGA, the Recycle Paper Sculpture Series has moved forward, I am starting a branch company with another photographer, the Chamber had Ann and I present at the network breakfast, and these last two weeks have been killer.

Those of you who have been following my blog are familiar with my assignment with WoPro. I have started the first of the 15-20 sculptures. It's a bust. She'll be wearing a large fancy hat and a corset to pay tribute to the first woman to receive a patten in the US: Mary Kies. I'll talk more about this when I have photos to show and more sculptures.

I am applying to be an S-Corp under the recommendation of a lawyer who will be my corporate lawyer. Her name is Darcy and she is very nice, intelligent, and she's going to let me cast her head for Wear Recycle (well, I think I have convinced her).

As for Wear Recycle (formally Recycled Paper Sculpture Series): I got this new name because, with the recommendation of Ann, I submitted a card to the AIGA "What's Your Cause" card fundraiser. Ann (Pettit) of Suede Studios helped me design it. She's my best buddy here and a really great designer. She came up with Wear Recycle and it sounds a whole lot better than Recycle Paper Sculpture Series, so I'm using that now....thanks Ann. I'm always stealing here incredible ideas.

Well, to make a long story short about this fundraiser, the place that sponsored the event: Graphics West, is printing me up a bunch of extra copies of the cards. So unofficially they are the first sponsors of the project. I haven't told them that yet, but I'm sure they won't mind the advertising. I appreciate what they are doing so much.

Since the last time I wrote, the team and I have shot two photo shoot, three people, and I have casted three more. We are weaning into business owners and community members. I have a lot of people who have agreed to do it now. About 15 professionals! I'm really excited about that. Bre and Alice from the Henderson Chamber are doing it along with a handful of chamber members. I love getting the community involved. I'm trying really hard to link the business owners and professionals I meet with the arts in Henderson. One could say it is my goal.

#3

Thank goodness these are done! The editing in this batch took a while, but I'm finally finished. Honestly, I didn't think I shot it very well, but I'm happy with the final outcome.

Photographer and Sculptor: Nicky Watts
Model: Brittani Rael
Hair Stylist: Valarie Zwahlen
Make Up Artist: Samantha Henrikson
Assistants: Jennifer Nicholson and Jeannette Spradley









Here's a sneak peak of what #4 looks like



Photographer and Sculptor: Nicky Watts
Model: Malika Istandarova
Hair Stylist: Valarie Zwahlen
Make Up Artist: Samantha Henrikson
Assistants: Ann Pettit

This is from the 4th shoot. I rushed getting the editing for this done because Malika is submitting it for the cover of a magazine in the country she is from. Don't ask me what country because she told me and I had never heard of it. I guess it used to be part of Russia, but I could be totally wrong on that. Geography was always a challenge to me. I'm crossing my fingers because it would be great if it were published, especially on the cover! Wear Recycle international!

I had to put this set on hold after completing this image so I could finish Brittani's photos. So they will be done soon. The shoot was also with Pharoah Najm, but you'll see him in the finished products ;).

I will tell you more about my future endeavors with Jenn and Marcelo when it is more set up and ready.

Network Breakfast!!! Ann Pettit (previously mentioned) and I had the opportunity to present our Strategic Alliance at the breakfast. This was a great opportunity for Ann and I to boast about our skills and companies and each others in front of everyone. We used the AIGA card as an example and discussed how we plan marketing strategies together. I used my recent ploy: the coca cola playing card attached to my business card. We did a great job. I am sure I got at least one client from it, and possibly another. Good work to both of us!

Well, I'm pretty tired of writing now. There are advances in HAA and the artist/live space I'm trying to build too, but I'm too tired to explain. More very soon, not sure when because I have a shoot tomorrow that will take a lot of editing, but soon.

Thanks for reading. :)

Another Jenn Martin, my trip to MA: Aaron, RPSS update, and some patrotism

I'm sorry I have been awful with updating lately. Basically, I was in MA for 10 days and have not stopped moving since I got back.

Here is the image I have finished in a crazy style from the Jenn Martin shoot. I wanted to make it creepy since the idea of blocking oneself from being able to talk is a morbid, but consistently real idea. She looks bird like, intense. What do you think of the style?



Makeup Artist/Light Hair: Zoya Pride
Assistant: Jenn Nicholson


So I went home to help my mom move from the cellar back up into the normal part of her house and to attend a Halloween Wedding of my great friend Natalie.

The wedding was the most fun and interesting wedding I have ever attended. Natalie was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.

For my mom's house, I scraped a lot wall paper and lead paint. I wore a whole body suit, gloves to my elbows, a face mask, and goggles. I felt mighty protected. I ended up wearing this wonderful outfit as my Halloween costume, it worked well.

I also brought my camera gear for my sister so I could take photo of her family. I shot my nephew and two new nieces. The baby is blood and the oldest is married in, but hell, she's my niece too no matter what anyone else wants to say about it. I guess I have one more, but since I haven't spent any time with her yet its hard to consider her my niece too. I have not finished the other photos yet, only Aaron's. Well family stuff, not what you're here for, but you have got to see these photos of my nephew. If he is not a performer I don't know who is.



That's the normal one, proper.



Yup, this was his idea to put his hat like that.



Here's his shocked look

And this next one is my favorite:



His gangster look.

Now it is very clear to me that this kid has a future in media mainstream. For 10 years old to have his awareness of emotion behind the camera! Oh how I love this kid. Look at how awesome his eyes are. I'm not sure if its just a strange reflections that was going on, but he has an orange spot in his right (our left) eye and the other one is a much stronger blue. I did saturate them, but I didn't change any colors. Crazy awesome. Our Aunt Lisa has a spot in one of her eyes too. Tarcy (my sister, his mom) said he doesn't, so maybe its just my photos, but it looks like he does too. I love it.


Recycled Paper Sculpture Series Update

I have a shoot tomorrow and next Wednesday I have another one but that one will be the first one that I shoot two models at one time. I'm not sure how it will go, but we'll see.

I have also halted on casting models and have now moved into performers, business owners, community members, and families. Mainly what I call normal people. I have casted my friend Ann, actually, she was my test cast, but I will hopefully be shooting her soon. I have received confirmations from a few Henderson Chamber of Commerce members too. I am very excited about this transition into "normal people". I am hoping to cast Rich soon and maybe he will cast and shoot me too. I want to cast everyone I know. I'm not sure if that's possible, but I want to try. As soon as I buy the big box of plaster from online, I think I will have a huge casting day where I invite people over all day to cast. I love that idea!

If you are interested in being casted and can come to me just let me know. I would love to expand it internationally, but since I'm a broke artist it could only be if you come to me, or get me to you. Really I like the second option more :) But then you would still have to get to Vegas because my hair and makeup artists who are signed for the whole project are here in Vegas. Of course we could all travel to other places, I'm sure they wouldn't have any objections ;).

Another update on this project is that I made a card for AIGA for a fundraiser they have going on. The fundraiser is Name Your Cause. Of course I was fusing fashion with recycling. Ann Petit, my very good friend here in Vegas, who is an exceptional graphic designer helped me design it. The card came out great and I am happy to announce that many participants in the project will be attending the reception on Thursday. I am very excited that even a couple of the models who have not been shot yet are going to the reception to support the project. I love that; it makes me feel like the models feel good about participating in the series. Ann did a really great job.

There's a lot of other really exciting stuff that's going on and to make it simple I am going to copy and paste what I wrote for Stefani for WoPro. This is pretty advertising proper, but I just wrote it yesterday...along with the first proposal to the Artist/Living spaces that I mention in here.


Bio
As an active member of the contemporary art world, Nicky Watts has organized seventeen art exhibitions and has been a featured artist in 18 exhibitions nationally and internationally including two solo exhibitions. Her art medium/type ranges from fashion, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, and video. Aside from her personal art experience, Nicky Watts has worked as a free-lance photographer for the past five years.

Currently, Watts is involved in an array of activities including starting her own business, developing a large-scale art exhibition, volunteering in her community, and planning art living spaces in a developing Henderson neighborhood.
Watts combines her event planning, contemporary art skill, and experience with photography to Construct the Perfect Image to Sell Your Product under the name Nicky Watts Studios. She works with companies to create cutting edge images for advertising as well as photographs models and talent to create creative and diverse portfolios. Whether the product is a person, object, or idea, when one chooses Nicky Watts Studios it is guaranteed quality and satisfaction.

“An artist or business owner is only as strong as the community that surrounds her.” Therefore Watts believes being an active volunteer in her community is vital for growth, success, and satisfaction.

“I am asking the community business owners, families, and politicians to contribute their time to show their support for Mother Earth.” Watts is in the middle of creating a large conceptual art exhibit using junk paper to make photographs of the “Recycled Paper Sculpture Series”. She has been photographing Las Vegas models and is just beginning to cast (the first process to complete the sculptures) performers, business owners, and community members. She will then move on to prominent figures in the community, politicians, and celebrities. Watts is hoping to gain participation from a few full casts of Las Vegas shows such as one of the Cirque du Soleil or Phantom of the Opera.

Watts is an ambassador to the Henderson Chamber of Commerce where she welcomes new businesses to the Chamber community. This relationship has been a strong developing tool for her and she feels grateful to be able to give back encouraging other members to realize and utilize potential for success in the business world through the Chamber.

Recently, Watts has become the first Public Relations person for the Henderson Art Association in over three years. The Association, also know as HAA, is a driving force for artists in the Henderson area. It is responsible for the Third Thursday event that takes place in the Water Street District of Henderson and is a large part of a development effort to make the Water Street District a thriving arts district in Henderson.

For WoPro, Watts is developing a large-scale sculpture series based off important women in our history and present time to create a photo montage timeline that WoPro will use for advertising memorabilia. Watts is a founding member of the organization which celebrates women’s achievements and strengths. Her art making and dedication is a large point of interest within WoPro.

Using the relationships she has made in the Chamber of Commerce, Henderson Art Association, WoPro, and her previous experiences of art organizing, education, managing artists, and event planning, Watts is planning to build artist live/work spaces in the Water Street District. If achieved, these living spaces will be a grounding achievement in the development of the Water Street District by bringing artists into the community. It will be a core-working environment for artist offering photography, 2d, and sculpture studio space as well as a music production room and a wood/metals workshop. It will give the neighboring restaurants and cafés a reason to stay open late, as well as put Henderson on the map as a leading art environment.

I wrote this for the front page to the WoPro website. I am honored that Stefani is putting me on there. She's great. I will talk about her when the work I am doing for WoPro has developed a little more than it has right now. Its a great organization with a great president. If you see any typos in the bio, let me know. I'm not a very good editor of my own stuff.

Well, so much is going on I could keep talking, but then I wouldn't get much done. There's one more Jenn Martin image coming but I need a higher resolution Waterford Wedgewood logo to put on it before it gets sent out.

Thanks for reading.

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