Saturday, July 19, 2008

Darla Nunnery - Artistic Instructor St. Leo Prodigy





Darla Nunnery is a visual artist specializing in professional henna body art, painting, and multi-media collage. She received her Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from the University of South Florida in 2001 and began her henna business, Starlight Mehndi Studios, that same year.

Darla has worked in children's art programs at the Tampa Museum of Art, AmeriCorps ArtsUSF, Hillsborough County's Artists in the Schools program, and is presently employed as a Cultural Arts Instructor with Saint Leo Prodigy. With over 10 years experience as an artist working with young people, Darla's gift is encouraging students to tell their personal history through their artistic creation. Her ideas for projects to create with her students bring together influences from our living environment and cultural history, while at the same time emphasize community perspectives and personal growth.

Darla's work has been shown at the Tampa Museum of Art, University of Tampa's Scarfone Gallery, and the Globe Coffee Lounge in St. Petersburg, Florida. Additionally, she has been curator at many art events and gallery showings for her students over the years.
Currently site director for Saint Leo University Prodigy Program.
*****

This is my Goth Other Chile, Darla that I'm so proud of! I've known Darla since her much younger years and have costumed for her during her reenactment days in some beautiful regalia.
She does more than painting and teaching art to children. Darla has a thriving business of doing traditional Mehndi. She's so good at it, making her own henna pastes from scratch and being a purist that the Bay Area Indian and Middle Eastern families use her for their traditional wedding rituals. She's beginning to experiment with henna on cloth as well. You can take a look at some of her Mehndi art on her MySpace page.
She's been featured in articles in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Newsday and was chosen in Tampa's annual Best of the Bay for best body art.
Descended from a real French princess (she acts regal!), she also boasts a rarity in Florida: A real Florida Native from a long line of Floridians.
We're celebrating our birthdays tonight - mine past and hers coming up. Rituals are important to her as is family.

I'm giving her a reading from Madam Zucchini and she's taking me to dinner.

4 comments:

Martha Marshall said...

All these years of hearing about Darla, I feel I know her, though we've never met face to face. She's beautiful, and a force for good with all her involvements.

Happy birthdays to you both!!

Unknown said...

Martha,

I keep thinking that you two do know each other because she never skips a beat when I say, "Martha said..."

Thank you for our b'day wishes!

D

Vikki North said...

Really nice tribute to your friend. I’m sure she’s delighted and very grateful. Beautiful detailed work, by the way.

We (Lilly and I) have come up with a fun little project. I’d love for you to check it out and tell me if you’d like to write a short segment. No Obligation.

It’s a lot of fun…and right up your alley. You can do whatever you want with the character but the one hitch is he has to die in the end. If you have a minute, go to Lilly’s Life first- http://fearlessandfabulous.blogspot.com/
Vikki

Unknown said...

Vikki,

Left an answer on your blog!! I'd love to do this with you and Lilly et al!

D