Shay McCafferty
@lynx.art.2020
Founder and Creative Director of LYNX Art Academy and Professional Artist. Shay is a graduate from the Maryland Institute College of Art where she majored in drawing and concentrated in printmaking. Her artwork is very diverse as she is always looking for new ways of creating and uses a variety of materials. She has become known for her elaborate pencil drawings on wood, however, her favorite thing to do is make something out of nothing. Most of the wooden pieces she uses as a canvas she will find lying around on the street or in the trash. Her drawings are a reflection of her experiences thus far, they are a way of taking something used and forgotten and giving them a new life and meaning.
Shanelle Harrison
@intellect.art
https://linktr.ee/intellectart
Shanelle Harrison is a visual artist, educator, and author primarily working in printmaking, drawing, and mixed-media art. She was born in Columbia, MD and received her B.A. from Morgan State University in 2019. As an artist, Shanelle explores sociological and psychological conditions to convey a story and begin a dialogue. As an educator, Shanelle teaches art for elementary school children, hosts art lessons for beginning artists, and creates art videos on YouTube for people who cannot afford art lessons. She enjoys reading books, taking road trips, and embraces the idea of spiritual journeys. Recently, Shanelle exhibited artwork for her first solo show, TRANSITION, at the Motor House Gallery in Baltimore, MD. She has exhibited work at The Washington County Museum of Fine Art in Hagerstown, MD, The Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit, MI, and The American Hungarian Foundation in New Brunswick, NJ. Shanelle is the author/ illustrator of the interactive educational art children's book, Curious Colors; self-published in 2021.
Tita Fontava
@fontava_5 @titandmv
Tita Fontava loves art and everything creative. He studied illustration at Montgomery College Maryland where he earned his Associates of Arts and Science in 2020. Tita creates music, draws and occasionally paints. He often uses art as an outlet of self expression, through his music, his painting or his digital art. Tita's largest project has been to help create a large mural in the PE Building at Montgomery College Germantown Campus. More of Tita's work can be found on his website, www.titafontava.com.
Emmye
@emmyestudio
Emmye is a multimedia artist based in DC. She merges fantasy with 3D and 2D within digital and traditional realms; sometimes mimicking the human vascular system in her style she calls: NODs. They are her therapy to express life’s entanglements while dancing in chaos. Her traditional work takes forms of several different appearances using textiles, resin, and silicone as well as drawing, printmaking, painting and more. Her research interests include surrealism, plant roots, the human body, street art/murals, fractals, apps Mirror Lab & Glitch Lab, materiality combinations, 3D animation/modeling, sci-fi, anime/kawaii culture, & pastels. You can find more of her work @emmyestudio on Instagram.
Belle Fontava
@fontavabowties
Belle has always been drawn to art and it all started with a blank canvas which later carried onto her clothes. She started making a combination of African wax patterns on modern occidental style clothing. Initially she created these for herself but soon her friends started requesting them. Art has always been a passion so she loved doing it for them. Although, she had no background in sewing or working with craft, she taught herself how. One day Belle made a bow tie and a friend liked it so much she promised she would make one for him too. Every time a new request came in, the passion only grew stronger.
She then found herself in fabric & hobby shops, looking for the next perfect pattern to make the perfect bow tie. The support & demand of others worked as a great boost.
The story behind the earrings is very much the same. Everyone can relate to that moment you want to go out but the five hundred and sixteen accessories in you jewelry box simply do not get to that "ooh I'm snatched" feeling. She had enough time & material to renovate a pair of earrings so she whipped it up & wore it out. From that day on she sat for countless hours working on everything that she presents today.
She is extremely thankful for the recognition that she's gotten from her friends, family, and everyone who has bought her work.
Leke Fontava
@lekelike @lekelikephoto @lekelikestore
Leke Fontava is a local artist based in the DMV area. Leke was born and raised in Cameroon. Leke is a trained photographer, a multi talented individual who uses her art to help and connect people to things and places through her custom works. Leke is the founder and CEO of Lekelike LLC. Lekelike LLC was Established in early 2015. The original goal for the company was to create arts that leke liked hence the name Lekelike. Eventually Lekelike would become more than just things that leke likes. In 2018 Leke was presented with an award from Family Development & Samaritan Foundation from the work she did with Lekelike. Lekelike is a company which specializes in custom made products. At Lekelike LLC the number one mission is creating quality products which hold sentimental values to its customers. Some of the custom products include longboards ,clothing, rugs, photography, and video service. Leke it’s a strong believer in the importance and power in which art holds, for it has been one of the strong foundations in building the person that she is today.
Saneyah James
@KittyWillCutYou
@KittyWillCutYou.Illustration
Born in Washington DC and currently based in Baltimore, Saneyah ‘Nea’ James is an Illustrator and concept artist who works in both traditional and digital media. As a graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art she had taken to freelancing and often uses her craft to give life to the multitude of characters, personalities, and worlds that she comes up with on the daily as well as a way to further parse and understand certain events in both her life and stories that have resonated with her throughout.
